ST. JOHN — It was a back-and-forth struggle for the Central Plains High School girls’ basketball team on Friday night.
The Lady Oilers outscored St. John-Hudson 10-8 in the final quarter to win 37-36.
The two teams played to an 8-8 stalemate in the first quarter, but Central Plains, which is ranked No. 7 in Class 2A in the latest Kansas Basketball Coaches Association poll, unleashed 14 points to lead 22-13 heading into intermission.
The Lady Tigers, who are ranked No. 3 in 1A Division-I, battled back with 15 points in the third quarter to lead 28-27 with eight minutes remaining.
Janae Hekele led the Lady Oilers (14-2) with 15 points. Taylor Rolfs added a season-high 13 points.
Both players went 7-for-8 from the free-throw line.
Morgan Osborne recorded a double-double for St. John (13-2), scoring 10 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.

HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL

GIRLS

Friday

At St. John

Central Plains 37, St. John 36
CENTRAL PLAINS (14-2)
    Janae Hekele 3-9 7-8 15, Breanna Holmes 0-2 0-0 0, Katie Hipp 0-5 0-0 0, Jennifer Hitschmann 3-7 1-2 7, Taylor Rolfs 3-7 7-8 13, Reagan Phelan 1-8 0-0 2. Totals 10-38 15-18 37.
ST. JOHN (13-2)
    Tia Smith 2-5 0-0 6, Jessica Hanson 0-1 0-0 0, Morgan Osborne 4-12 0-1 10, Jamie Waters 2-8 1-2 7, Tara Christie 1-1 0-0 2, Alexis Witt 2-9 1-3 5, Teresa Christie 2-4 2-3 6. Totals 13-40 4-9 36.
Central Plains    8    14     5    10  —  37
St. John              8     5    15     8   —  36
    Three-point goals — St. John 6-16 (Waters 2-6, Osborne 2-6, Smith 2-4); Central Plains 2-11 (Hekele 2-7, Phelan 0-3, Rolfs 0-1). Totals fouls — St. John 18, Central Plains 15.  Fouled out — St. John (Te. Christie); Central Plains (None).

Victoria 61,
Macksville 44
MACKSVILLE — Macksville fell behind early against Victoria, trailing 46-14 at halftime.
Mindy Wood led the Lady Mustangs (3-10) with 12 points, going 6-for-8 from the free-throw line.
Tara Bunker added 11 points, and Melissa Espino scored 10.

GIRLS

At Macksville

Victoria 61, Macksville 44
VICTORIA
    Maegan Karlin 0 0-0 0, MaKayla Crawford 1 0-2 2, Kristin Huser 7 0-0 15, Brooke Schmidt 2 0-0 6, Brooke Pfannenstiel 2 5-6 9, Audra Nowak 3 6-7 12, Rylee Broyles 4 2-3 10, Ashley Dome 2 1-2 7. Totals 21 14-19 61.
MACKSVILLE (3-10)
    Melissa Espino 3 4-5 10, Tara Bunker 3 5-8 11, Karissa Langlois 0 1-8 1, Selena Galan 3 0-0 6, Clara Cross 2 0-0 4, Mindy Wood 3 6-8 12. Totals 14 16-29 44.
Victoria        22    24     6     9   —  61
Macksville     4    10    13    17  —  44
    Three-point goals — Victoria 5 (Dome 2, Schmidt 2, Huser); Macksville (None). Total fouls — Victoria 21, Macksville 15. Fouled out — None.

BOYS
St. John 54,
Central Plains 35
ST. JOHN — St. John didn’t get off to a great start, but a 21-7 second quarter led the Tigers to a win over Central Plains.
The Tigers, who are ranked No. 1 in 1A D-I, was led by Dean Wade and Spencer Nusser. Both players finished with 18 points.
Nusser also grabbed nine rebounds, and Wade finished with seven.
Zuriel Reyes added 11 points for St. John (15-0).
Braeden Crites led Central Plains (8-8) with 13 points and eight rebounds.

BOYS

At St. John

St. John 54, Central Plains 35
CENTRAL PLAINS (8-8)
    Layne Bieberle 2-10 1-2 5, Konnor Hickel 1-10 0-0 3, Joe Barton 0-2 0-0 0, Michael Ryan 2-4 1-2 5, Colton Zink 0-1 0-0 0, Braeden Crites 5-8 2-4 13, Evan Liebl 2-6 3-3 7. Totals 13-44 7-11 35.
ST. JOHN (15-0)
    Trey Nelson1-2 0-1 2, Omar Ramirez 0-2 0-0 0, Francisco Calleros 0-0 1-2 1, Spencer Nusser 6-8 5-6 18, Ethan Long 0-1 4-6 4, Dean Wade 7-12 4-4 18, Zuriel Reyes 4-10 2-2 11. Totals 18-35 16-21 54.
Central Plains    14      7    10    4  —  35
St. John              10    21    19    4  —  54
    Three-point goals — St. John 2-11 (Reyes 1-6, Nusser 1-3, Ramirez 0-1, Wade 0-1); Central Plains 2-17 (Hickel 1-7, Crites 1-2, Bieberle 0-6, Ryan 0-1, Zink 0-1). Totals fouls — Central Plains 15, St. John 11. Fouled out — Central Plains (Crites); St. John (None).

Macksville 59,
Victoria 49
MACKSVILLE — Adolfo Ibarra scored 28 points to lead Macksville past Victoria.
Ibarra also grabbed a team-leading seven rebounds for the Mustangs (10-4).
Simon Miller added 11 points, going 9-for-12 from the free-throw line.

BOYS

At Macksville

Macksville 59, Victoria 49
VICTORIA
    Gagnon 1 0-0 3, Ottley 1 0-0 2, Dome 3 9-12 16, D. Brown 2 0-0 5, Roth 4 2-2 10, D. Dreiling 2 1-3 7, N. Dreiling 0 0-0 0, L. Brown 2 0-0 4, Nowak 1 0-1 2. Totals 16 12-18 49.
MACKSVILLE (10-4)
    Tanner Tranbarger 2 0-0 4, Hugo Flores 0 2-2 2, Adolfo Ibarra 11 5-8 28, Clayton Wood 2 2-3 6, Jordan Welch 2 0-0 6, Simon Miller 1 9-12 11, Billy Burnett 1 0-0 2. Totals 19 18-25 59.
Victoria          9      9    15    16  —  49
Macksville    10    14    14    21  —  59
    Three-point goals — Macksville 3 (Welch 2, Ibarra); Victoria 5 (D. Dreiling 2, Gagnon, Dome, D. Brown). Total fouls — Victoria 24, Macksville 21. Fouled out — Macksville (Tranbarger); Victoria (Nowak, Gagnon, Ottley).

                                                                           — Kevin Price