MANHATTAN – Janae Ryan and her Central Plains High School senior teammates celebrated their fourth consecutive Class 2A state basketball championship Saturday.
Ryan sparked an early run with four 3-pointers and the Oilers outlasted the pesky Alma-Wabaunsee Chargers 60-48 in Saturday’s Class 2A state championship. Janae missed all six 3-pointers in Friday’s 2A semifinals.
“I kept a next-day mentality and put it behind me,” Janae Ryan said. “The championship game was the one that mattered. I knew I would shoot better than that. I was ready to play.”
Emily Ryan found her sister twice for early 3-pointers. Janae Ryan scored 14 points.
“It was a relief to make the first one to get my confidence back,” she said. “My teammates do a great job finding me when I’m open. They gave me the ball at the right time.
Emily Ryan fouled out in the fourth quarter after an 18-point night.
“We had seniors out there and I told Emily they were going to bring it home when she fouled out,” said Central Plains coach Pat Stiles. “They are winners who know how to compete. If we’re in a game, they’re going to win it.”
But Central Plains converted 17 of 19 free throws, 10 of 10 down the stretch to seal the victory. The Oilers converted 19 of 39 field goals with 21 turnovers against the Chargers’ aggressive defense.
The Chargers (23-3) sliced an 11-point deficit to five points. Karsen Schultz scored 21 points with four assists. Abby Oliver contributed 13 points and keyed the Chargers’ offense with excellent passing from the high post area.
The Oilers led 30-22 at halftime behind nine points apiece by Emily Ryan and Janae Ryan. Janae Ryan, Kylee Kasselman, Avery Hurley scored and Emily Ryan converted a 3-point play for a 40-29 lead.
Schultz scored 11 fourth-quarter points to bring the Chargers within 48-43 and 50-45 in the fourth period.
“Wabaunsee plays so hard,’ Stiles said. “They are the best athletic-team and best rebounding team we’ve played. They went hard to the glass and the officials let everyone play. They played extremely well.”
The Oilers finished the game on a 10-3 scoring run. Janae Ryan fed Kasselman for a basket, followed by Cassidy Crites’ assist to Emily Ryan. Kasselman scored four more points and Janae Ryan added two free throws.
The Oilers had trouble defending the Chargers’ high-post offense.
“They had a couple of shooters that we had to honor,” Stiles said. “We left some gaps in the middle. We couldn’t play man the whole time. We would’ve been in foul trouble. We’ve beaten some really good teams with that zone.”
The Oilers (26-0) finished Ryan’s four-year career with a 103-1 record with their only loss to rival Ellinwood. The Oilers’ other seniors are Chelsey Bieberle, Cassidy Crites, Keeley Hipp, Kylee Kasselman and Kirsten Gunder.
“I don’t remember saying this, but Kylee Kasselman said I told them that they had a shot of winning four state titles when they were playing in eighth grade,” Stiles said. “It’s quite an accomplishment.”
AW 12 10 7 19 – 48
CP 17 13 10 20 – 60
WABAUNSEE—Karsen Schultz 5-15 10-13 21; Abby Oliver 5-10 3-4 13; Madelyn Hutley 1-5 0-0 3; Ray Johnson 1-4 1-2 3; Madelyn Michaelis 3-13 0-0 6; Autymn Schreiner 1-2 0-0 2; Totals 16-49 14-19 48.
CENTRAL PLAINS—Emily Ryan 6-10 6-7 18; Kylee Kasselman 6-9 6-6 18; Janae Ryan 4-9 2-2 14; Cassidy Crites 0-5 3-4 3; Avery Hurley 3-4 0-0 7; Chelsey Bieberle 0-0 0-0 0; Julie Donecker 0-2 0-0 0; Totals 19-39 17-19 60.
3-point goals—AW 2-7 (Hutley 1-4, Schultz 1-3); CP 5-11 (J. Ryan 4-7, Hurley 1-2, E. Ryan 0-1, Crites 0-1). Rebounds—AW 31 (Johnson 7), CP 29 (J. Ryan 7). Assists—AW 7 (Schultz 4), CP 11 (E. Ryan 4, Crites 4). Steals—AW 15 (Schultz 6), CP 9 (Kasselman 3). TO—AW 16, CP 21.
