BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
Years from now, St. John’s Jackie Rios will tell her family how she fearlessly defended the state’s best basketball player.
Rios’s denial defense forced four turnovers and limited Central Plains all-stater Emily Ryan to 19 points, half her average.
But to Ryan’s credit, she never forced her offensive play, deferring to teammates Delaney Rugan (18) and Rachel Lamatsch (12), who combined for 30 points and six 3-pointers.
No. 1 ranked Central Plains roared past the pesky St. John Tigers 60-26 Friday to capture its fifth consecutive Hilltop Hoops Classic championship. The Oilers’ trapping defense forced 31 Tiger turnovers, which turned into 39 points.
The Oilers (12-0) has swept 70 consecutive games and have posted a 115-1 record over the past five years.
Lamatsch drilled a pair of 3-pointers and Rugan ended the half with a 3-pointer for a 30-15 lead. Rugan and Lamatsch started the second half with back-to-back 3-pointers for a 36-15 lead.
“The way they were playing us, we knew there would be some opportunities,” Lamatsch said. “My teammates did a great job getting me the shots. After you make a couple shots, you feel good.”
The Oilers showed off four fullcourt trapping schemes. The halfcourt zone sparked a 21-3 third-quarter spurt for a 51-18 lead.
“We really played great that third quarter,” said Central Plains coach Pat Stiles. “St. John is well coached and they did a nice job against our pressure at times. We found a defense that worked for us.”
All-tournament Ryan, the state’s premier recruit, was spectacular distributing the basketball for open shots. She had seven steals and six assists. She averaged 35 ppg and 10 steals per game in three tournament games. Ryan surpassed the 1,000-point barrier and converted 59-of-60 free throws to win the free throw contest.
“It’s an absolute privilege to coach these girls,” Stiles said. “They play the game the right way and are so unselfish as a team. They come out every game and play their best basketball.”
The Tigers (7-4) featured all-tournament Tara Nelson with 14 points, including the first 3-pointer for a 3-0 lead.
BARTON HILLTOP
CLASSIC GIRLS
FRIDAY
1st—Central Plains 60, St. John 26
3rd—Moundridge 43, Little River 34
5th—Macksville 40, Larned 39 (OT)
7th— Ell-Saline 53, Ness City 36
THURSDAY—Consolation—Macksville 52, Ness City 45; Semifinals—St. John 42, Little River 24; Cen-tral Plains def. Moundridge
TUESDAY—Consolation—Larned 47, Ell-Saline 32; Central Plains 94, Ness City 14; Moundridge 47, Macksville 34
MONDAY—Little River 48, Ell-Saline 39; St. John 37, Larned 32
HILLTOP ALL TOURNAMENT
Emily Ryan, Central Plains; Delaney Rugan, Central Plains; Tara Nelson, St. John; Bethany Stucky, Moundridge; Lexi Kochanowski, Ell-Saline,
CENTRAL PLAINS 60, ST. JOHN 26
1ST PLACE
St. John 9 6 3 8 — 26
C. Plains 16 14 21 9 — 60
ST. JOHN (8-4)—Nelson 4-11 4-6 14, Meyer 1-2 0-0 2, Rios 1-3 0-1 2, Fisher 1-5 4-5 6, Doran 1-2 0-0 2, Totals 8-23 8-12 26.
CENTRAL PLAINS (12-0)—Emily Ryan 7-9 4-4 19, Lamatsch 4-11 0-0 12, Rugan 7-11 2-3 18, Donecker 1-1 0-0 2, Hurley 2-3 0-0 4, Cunningham 0-0 1-2 1, Crites 2-2 0-0 4, Potter 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 23-38 7-9 60.
3-point—SJ 2-6 (Meyer 0-1, Fisher 0-1, Nelson 2-4), CP 7-17 (Ryan 1-1, Lamatsch 4-10, Rugan 2-4, Hurley 0-1, Potter 0-1). Rebounds—SJ 19 (Nelson 6); CP 14 (Ryan 3, Crites 3). Assists—SJ 4 (Rios 2); CP 14 (Ryan 6, Lamatsch 6). Steals—SJ 8 (Nelson 3, Fisher 3); CP 21 (Ryan 7). TO—SJ 31, CP 15.
MOUNDRIDGE 43, LITTLE RIVER 34
3RD PLACE
Little River 6 10 11 7 — 34
Moundridge 11 6 7 19 — 43
LITTLE RIVER (9-4)—Emma McBride 3-6 2-2 8, Melanie Renken 3-10 4-8 10, Bergkamp 2-3 0-0 4, Konen 1-1 0-0 2, Madison Loder 2-8 2-3 6, Gadberry 0-0 0-1 0, Michelle Loder 0-3 3-3 3, Eberle 0-6 0-0 0, Totals 11-37 12-19 34.
MOUNDRIDGE (8-5)—Helms 1-4 0-0 3, Ellen Durst 0-2 0-0 0, Kourtney Kaufman 2-6 2-2 7, Kassidy Kaufman 1-6 1-2 4, Bethany Stucky 6-14 3-7 15, Unruh 4-7 0-2 8, Sebrant 2-5 0-0 4, Totals 16-44 8-15 43.
3-point—LR 0-4 (Madison Loder 0-3, Renken 0-1), M 3-14 (Helms 1-4, Ellen Durst 0-1, Kourtney Kaufman 1-4, Kassidy Kaufman 1-5). Rebounds—LR 30 (Renken 7), M 35 (B. Stucky 9). Assists—LR 6 (Renken 2), M 11 (Kassidy Kaufman 5). Steals—LR 7 (Konen 4), M 9 (three with 2). TO—LR 18, M 18,
MACKSVILLE 40, LARNED 39 — Macksville’s Lyset Ibarra delivered the tying and game-winning free throws with nine seconds in overtime as the Mustangs nipped Larned 40-39 for fifth place. Shaylee Nesby handed the Indians their final lead 39-38 on a jumper with 35 seconds left. Baylea Perez missed the game-winning attempt by Larned.
Larned forced overtime when Katelynn Sanger and Katie Fischer sank free throws after Jenna Russell’s free throws. The Mustangs (6-6) trailed 15-0 and failed to score for the first 121/2 minutes. Russell scored eight fourth-quarter points and Lyset Ibarra and Cindy Ibarra scored three points apiece in a 16-point fourth quarter.
Fischer (15) and Sanger (13) led Larned (2-11). Russell scored 14 points with four 3-pointers.
5TH PLACE
Macksville 0 10 9 16 5 – 40
Larned 13 6 8 8 4 – 39
LARNED (2-11)—Sanger 5-15 3-4 13, Fischer 6-10 3-5 15, Butler 2-10 0-2 5, Perez 0-5 2-2 2, Alyssa Clark 1-5 0-0 2, Monica Clark 0-1 0-0 0, Anderson 0-2 0-0 0, Nesby 1-2 0-0 2, Totals 15-50 8-13 39.
MACKSVILLE (6-6)—Russell 4-8 2-2 14, Wright 2-9 5-6 9, Cindy Ibarra 2-6 3-3 7, Lyset Ibarra 1-7 4-6 6, Anchutz 1-1 0-2 2, Galan 1-1 0-0 2, Totals 11-32 14-19 40.
3-point—M 4-9 (Russell 4-6, Wright 0-3), L 1-11 (Butler 1-4, A. Clark 0-1, Anderson 0-2, Perez 0-2, Sanger 0-2). Rebounds—M 32 (Wright 7), L 30 (Fischer 11). Assists—M 9 (Russell 4), L 8 (Perez 6). Steals—M 6 (L. Ibarra 3), L 12 (Butler 4). TO—M 22, L 14.
ELL-SALINE 53, NESS CITY 36 — Ell-Saline’s Lexi Kochanowski scored 22 points and grabbed 17 rebounds to spark Ell-Saline. The Cardinals dominated the boards 56-38 and scored 25 points off 36 Ness City turnovers. Ness City’s Tiana Epperson had 11 points, seven boards, three assists and three steals.
7TH PLACE
ES 14 13 14 12 – 53
NC 10 3 12 11 – 36
ELL-SALINE (2-12)— Ditto 3-12 1-3 9, Ashton Travis 1-3 1-2 4, Schrock 3-8 0-0 6, Kochanowski 7-20 8-15 22, Vogt 0-3 4-4 4, Lange 0-8 0-0 0, Johnson 1-5 0-0 2, Byerley 0-2 0-0 0, Hynes 1-2 0-2 2, Short 2-8 0-0 4, Totals 18-71 14-26 53.
NESS CITY (0-13)—Epperson 4-14 3-11 11, Walker 1-7 0-0 2, Werth 1-2 0-0 2, Flax 0-2 0-2 0, Foos 0-1 3-5 3, Pfannenstiel 0-1 2-2 2, Guzman 2-3 3-4 7, Morales 2-2 1-1 5, Moody 0-2 0-1 0, Starr 1-3 0-0 2, McGranahan 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 11-38 14-28 36.
3-point ES 3-18 (Ditto 2-9, Travis 1-2, Kochanowski 0-1, Lange 0-3, Schrock 0-2, Byerley 0-1), NC 0-7 (Walker 0-2, Flax 0-1, Pfannenstiel 0-1, Epperson 0-3). Rebounds—ES 56 (Kochanowski 17), NC 38 (Epperson 11). Assists—ES 7 (Ditto 2), NC 8 (Foos 3, Epperson 3). Steals—ES 25 (Kochanowski 7), NC 10 (Foos 3, Epperson 3). TO—ES 27, NC 36.
FREE THROW CONTEST
1—Emily Ryan, Central Plains, 20-19-20—59
2—Torre Fisher, St. John, 19-14-17—50
2—Denise Galan, Macksville, 18-12-20—50
4—Lexi Kochanowski, Ell-Saline, 17-17-14—48
5—Melanie Renken, Little River, 19-15-16—44
5—Alyssa Clark, Larned, 15-15-14—44
7—Jocelyn Walker, Ness City. 14-12-10—36
3-POINT CONTEST
1—Rachel Lamatsch, Central Plains, 12-14-11—37
1—Lyset Ibarra, Macksville, 12-12-13—37
3—Ashton Travis, Ell-Saline, 5-18-11—34
4—Emma McBride, Little River, 7-15-10—32
5—Kassidy Kaufman, Moundridge, 3-12-15—30
6—Baylea Perez, Larned, 6-11-10—27
7—Tara Nelson, St. John, 6-6-6—18
