CENTRAL PLAINS GIRLS 47, STERLING 30 – Central Plains Oiler Marilyn Soeken scored 20 points with a trio of 3-pointers to spark a 47-30 non-league basketball victory over Sterling. Addyson Ogle contributed 14 points. Soeken drained three early 3-pointers and scored all 11 Oiler first-quarter points. The Oilers shot 11 for 14 from the free throw line in the second half, which proved to be a big advantage.
“Every win is important," said Central Plains coach Pat Stiles. “We want to get better every game. We want to put ourselves in a good spot come postseason time.”
Sterling’s Blaine Locke scored 10 points and Aleya Raven added eight points.
The Oilers (8-3) face Macksville Friday.
Sterling 7 12 5 6 – 30
C. Plains 11 13 10 13 – 47
STERLING (4-8)— Locke 3 4-4 10, Raven 3 1-1 8, Olsen 2 0-0 5, Linden 1 0-0 3, Garrett 1 2-3 4, Total 10 7-8 30.
C. PLAINS (8-3)—Soeken 6 5-6 20, Ogle 3 6-8 14, Lamatsch 2 0-3 5, Strouse 2 0-1 4, Kempke 1 0-0 2, Sheehy 1 0-0 2, Totals 15 11-17 47.
3-pointers—S 3 (Linden 1, Raven 1, Olsen 1); CP 6 (Soeken 3, Ogle 2, Lamatsch 1)
STERLING 65, CENTRAL PLAINS 37 – No. 3 state-ranked 2A Sterling (11-1) converted 10 3-pointers and placed Riffel (18), Briar (15) and Smith (10) in double figures to roll past Central Plains 65-37 in Tuesday's non-league basketball game.
Central Plains (7-4) hung within 33-28 at halftime, but was outscored 32-9 after halftime. Brodie Crites scored 17 points and Eli Hurley added eight points.
"Sterling's a good basketball team. They’re ranked for a reason," said Central Plains coach Michael Ryan. "We played really well in the first half, but we need to close out games down the stretch. Our next game will be very important. We don’t want back-to-back losses, and this game will count for league standings.”
Sterling's Gabe Riffel (18), Lucas Briar (15) and Smith (12) scored in double figures.
Sterling 15 18 19 13 – 65
C. Plains 14 14 4 5 – 37
STERLING (11-1)—Riffel 7 4-4 18, Briar 6 0-0 15, Smith 4 0-0 12, Ekart 2 3-4 8, Beagley 2 0-0 6, Farney 1 0-0 2, Newberry 1 0-0 2, Gray 1 0-0 2, Totals 24 7-8 65.
C. PLAINS (7-4)—Crites 6 3-6 17, Hurley 3 0-0 8, Peyton Ryan 3 0-0 6 Hekele 2 0-0 4, Grubb 1 0-0 2, Totals 15 3-6 37.
3-pointers–S 10 (Smith 4, Briar 3, Beagley 2, Ekart 1); CP 4 (Crites 2, Hurley 2).