ST. JOHN — Long cold-shooting periods for Macksville High School’s girls’ basketball team, and St. John-Hudson’s fast-paced transition offense led to a lopsided halftime score.
The Lady Tigers, who are ranked No. 3 in Class 1A Division-I in the latest Kansas Basketball Coaches Association poll, never let their Stafford County rivals back into the game, winning 66-15 on Friday night.
“I thought the girls played real hard,” St. John head coach Danny Smith said. “They still need to work on some things, but we’ll get that figured out at practice.
“This is one of the fastest teams I’ve had. We’ve worked a lot on that in practice. We get up and down the floor fast, and we get decent shots.”
The first quarter was a 17-2 run for St. John that was only interrupted by a layup from Macksville’s Mindy Wood.
“We’d get close to making a play and then miss an easy basket,” Macksville head coach Nathaniel Norman said. “We knew their pressure was going to be real good. It’s hard to get a clear idea of what that looks like until you’re here. They’re No. 3 in the state for a reason.”
Lady Tigers forward Teresa Christie made a trio of buckets in the paint. She finished with a game-high 17 points while grabbing seven rebounds.
St. John’s two seniors got into the mix, with Jamie Waters hitting a 3-pointer and a layup off a steal for five points and Morgan Osborne making the second of two free throws.
“I love their effort, and everything that they’ve done this year,” said Smith of his seniors, who were recognized between the girls and boys games. “They’ve been having a good year. They enjoy coming to practice and the games and being around each other. It’s a real blessing.”
Waters finished with a pair of 3s, scoring 10 points. Osborne scored nine points, grabbed a team-leading nine rebounds and had seven assists.
St. John post player Alexis Witt scored the final six points of the opening quarter.
“They know that we’ve made it a focus to try to get it inside to (our post players),” Smith said. “It makes it easier on our perimeter players. Frees them up a little more.”
The run continued into the second quarter.
With the Lady Mustangs in a scoring draught that lasted 11 minutes, one second, St. John continued building its lead.
The Lady Tigers held a 44-4 advantage at intermission.
Macksville was led by Salena Galan, who scored all of her seven points in the second half.
“She’s been a player that I thought would be a stand-out player,” Norman said. “She’s a good shot. She can play at what I think is a high level when she lets loose. She needs an opportunity to come out and get that ball rolling.”

HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL

GIRLS

Friday

At St. John

St. John 66, Macksville 15
MACKSVILLE (4-14)
    Krisina Murphy 0-3 0-0 0, Karissa Langlois 0-4 0-0 0, Margaret Penner 0-1 0-1 0, Salena Galan 2-4 2-4 7, Clara Cross 1-2 0-0 2, Mindy Wood 2-10 0-2 4, Elizabeth Penner 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 5-27 4-9 15.
ST. JOHN (17-2)
    Tia Smith 1-2 0-0 3, Jessica Hanson 2-5 0-0 5, Marsena Irvine 0-1 0-0 0, Morgan Osborne 4-13 1-4 9, Jamie Waters 4-8 0-0 10, Tara Christie 3-3 0-0 6, Maddy Lippoldt 3-10 0-0 6, Alexis Witt 4-6 2-4 10, Brandi Hanson 0-2 0-0 0, Teresa Christie 8-13 1-2 17, Bella Haskins 0-3 0-2 0. Totals 29-66 4-12 66.
Macksville     2      2     4    7  —  15
St. John       17    27    20    2  —  66
    Three-point goals — St. John 4-12 (Waters 2-4, Smith 1-2, Hanson 1-2, Osborne 0-2, Lippoldt 0-1, Hanson 0-1); Macksville 1-5 (Galan 1-1, Langlois 0-2, Murphy 0-1, Freeman 0-1). Total fouls — St. John 14, Macksville 9. Fouled out — None.