MACKSVILLE — The full-court defense of the Central Plains High School girls’ basketball team proved too much for Macksville on Friday night
With more than 15 turnovers in the first half alone, Macksville fell behind 36-8 by halftime, and Central Plains rolled to a 61-25 victory.
“I thought our effort was pretty good tonight,” Lady Oilers head coach Toby Holmes said. “That’s what we talked about Tuesday night after the game. We thought that our effort needed to get better. I could stomach getting beat if we played hard. I didn’t think that we played hard on Tuesday. I challenged them to play harder and they did tonight.
“We didn’t have to run a half-court offense because we were getting some easy things, but I was proud of our effort.”
Lady Mustangs head coach Nathaniel Norman said that his team worked in practice to prepare for the Lady Oilers’ defensive pressure.
“Since Tuesday, we’ve been working against nine players trying to prepare for their pressure,” he said, “and we still couldn’t simulate their execution and size, length and speed. We were a little more confident coming in that we could handle it better. We got out of our comfort zone.”
The Lady Oilers began the game with a 12-0 run that ended with two minutes, 25 seconds remaining in the first quarter on a 3-pointer from Melissa Espino for Macksville’s first points of the game.
Central Plains was led by 6-foot junior Jennifer Hitschmann, who finished with 10 points and four rebounds.
Sydney Rugan, a 5-8 senior, grabbed a team-leading eight boards and added nine points.
“Coach (Norman) tells me before the game, ‘you girls are tall,’” Holmes said. “Yeah, we are. Unfortunately, when you’re not tall, I’ve been on that side too. There’s not a lot you can do. You can body up. You can do whatever you can do, but when you’re bigger than somebody else, it’s just tough.
“(Hitschmann and Rugan) did a good job inside. I thought both of them played really well, and attacked the basket really, really hard.”
Karissa Langlois led the Lady Mustangs with nine points. Tara Bunker, a 5-7 freshman, led Macksville with eight rebounds.
“We want her to take any open look she can get,” Norman said of Langlois. “She’s definitely proven that she is a kid that can score for us, so we encourage her every time she touches the ball to take that look. Especially in a situation like tonight where we weren’t getting a whole lot of good shots.”
The Lady Oilers defense was led by point guard Janae Hekele.
“Janae’s just a pest,” Holmes said. “She’s just all over the ball. She’s got such quick hands and such good instincts. She’s just a pest, and she can create some problems for people.”
Hekele also scored six points.

HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL

At Macksville

GIRLS

Friday

Central Plains 61, Macksville 25
CENTRAL PLAINS (5-2)
     Janae Hekele 1 4-6 6, Breanna Holmes 1 1-3 3, Katie Hipp 2 4-6 8, Jayde Beck 1 0-0 2, Sydney Rugan 4 1-3 9, Amanda Lewis 0 1-2 1, Miranda Burton 3 2-4 8, Jennifer Hitschmann 4 2-2 10, Lindsey Woodmansee 1 1-2 3, Abby Holmes 4 1-3 9, Alanna Burris 1 0-0 2. Totals 22 17-31 61.
MACKSVILLE (0-7)
     Keira Parr 1 0-0 3, Melissa Espino 1 0-0 3, Kristina Murphy 0 1-3 1, Bri Evans 1 2-2 4, Tara Bunker 0 0-0 0, Karissa Langlois 4 0-0 9, Mindy Wood2 0-2 5. Totals 9 3-7 25.
Central Plains                          16  20  15  10  —  61
Macksville                                 3    5  15    2  —  25
     Three-point goals — Macksville 4 (Parr, Espino, Langlois, Wood); Central Plains (none).