The Central Plains Oilers passed their first test with flying colors. The Oiler girls built a 27-point lead and coasted past Wichita Life Prep 53-38 to capture its fourth consecutive Barton Hilltop Basketball Classic.
The No. 1 ranked Class 2A Oilers sped to a stunning 13-0 first-quarter lead and built a 27-point lead (51-24) in the fourth quarter.
All-Tournament Emily Ryan was an unstoppable first-half force with 19 points and an assist for a 25-16 halftime lead. Kylee Kasselman contributed four assists and Janae Ryan three assists.
Only a barrage of four 3-pointers by All-Tournament Rongomi Timson in the final 2:16 prevented a running clock in the final period. Timson finished with 17 points.
The Oilers (12-0) dished out an eye-popping 17 assists on 20 baskets with perfect teamwork. The Oilers always made one extra pass for a high quality shot.
“It was a clinic out there the way they moved the basketball from side-to-side and found the open girl,” said Central Plains coach Pat Stiles. “They always make that extra pass. That’s why we shot a high percentage. They were awesome tonight. I feel privileged to coach these girls. They play basketball the right way.”
All-tournament Oiler Emily Ryan led the way with 22 points, Kylee Kasselman defended 6-4 post player Aissatou Fall and contributed 17 points, 11 rebounds and four assists.
All-tournament Janae Ryan said the Oilers looked forward to a challenge.
“It was a lot of fun playing a game like this,” said Janae Ryan. “We saw where we were as a team. We showed we can play with anyone. This was definitely our best game all season. We came out with more energy than we’d showed all year.”
The Oilers held the Fire to 25 percent shooting and a 51-24 lead until the late flurry by Rongomi Timson. The Fire outscored the Oilers 14-2 in the final three minutes.
“Kylee Kasselman played really good defense. It was really good team defense,” said Stiles. “We were moving defensively and talking. They have great shooters. They showed that at the end. We did a great job getting out on them.”
Emily Ryan set the Oilers were pumped up for a strong effort. The five starters all played at least 25 minutes.
“We knew we had to get some easy scores,” she said. “We pushed it more than usual tonight.”
St. John’s Bailey Burns and Life Prep’s Regan Tibbits also earned All-Tournament honors.
CENTRAL PLAINS 53, LIFE PREP 38
LP 8 8 6 16 — 38
CP 15 10 17 11 — 53
LIFE PREP—R. Timson 6-17 0-0 17; M. Timson 1-4 0-0 2; Tibbitts 4-12 0-0 10; Martinez 0-3 0-0 0; Fall 1-7 0-0 0; Blackburn 4-5 0-0 8; Ali 0-1 0-0 0; Totals 16-49 0-0 38.
CENTRAL PLAINS—Emily Ryan 8-19 5-5 22; Kylee Kasselman 6-11 5-7 17; Cassidy Crites 5-9 0-0 11; Keeley Hipp 0-1 0-0 0; Janae Ryan 1-7 0-0 3; Totals 20-47 10-12 53.
3-point goals—LP 6-20 (R. Timson 5-12, Tibbits 1-7, M. Timson 0-1); CP 3-12 (J. Ryan 1-3, Crites 1-3, E. Ryan 1-4, Kasselman 0-1, Hipp 0-1). Rebounds—LP 28 (Tibbits 10); CP 31 (Kasselman 11). Assists—LP 8 (Martinez 3); CP 17 (E, Ryan 6). Steals—LP 6 (Tibbits 3), CP (Kasselman 3). TO—LP 11, CP 8.
ALL TOURNAMENT—Emily Ryan, Janae Ryan, Central Plains; Regan Tibbits, Rongomi Timson, Life Prep; Bailey Burns, St. John
FREE THROW CONTEST—1—Kylee Kasselman, Central Plains, 54; 2—Melanie Renken, Little River, 48; 3—Emma Stimatze, Macksville, 47
3-POINT CONTEST—1—Regan Tibbits, Life Prep, 45; 2—Sophie Filbert, Macksville, 41; 2—Lexi Lorimor, Moundridge, 41,
