Oilers earn fifth finals trip
BY JIM MISUNAS
MANHATTAN – The drive for five is alive.
Central Plains all-stater Emily Ryan established an aggressive offensive tone with 20 first-half points to spark the Oilers to a dominating 60-35 Class 2A semifinal victory over Hill City. Ryan contributed a team high 29 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals.
Central Plains has captured the past four 2A state championships, riding a 29-game postseason winning streak. The Oilers (25-0) have swept 83 consecutive games and a state-record tying four consecutive basketball titles. The Oilers own a 128-1 record over the past five seasons.
Hill City coach Linda Nighswonger elected to not defend Ryan with extra players – which was just fine with the Oilers.
Ryan controlled the first half with 20 points and three assists to account for 28 of the Oilers’ 38 first-half points. The Oilers started superbly offensively with 13 of 17 shooting for a 30-14 lead. Rachel Lamatsch dished out two first-half assists.
“We want to bring the same intensity no matter who we play,” Ryan said. “Our goal is to come out and play as hard as we can . If we do that, the score will take care of itself.”
Oiler Avery Hurley contributed seven points and four steals. Lamatsch scored six points with three assists. The Oilers converted 24 of 41 field goals for 58 percent with 18 turnovers.
Ryan delivered the key defensive assignment by holding Hill City’s high-scoring Conner Keith to six points on 3 of 12 shooting.
“Emily is a really good defender and she did a nice job on Keith, making it tough on her,” said Central Plains coach Pat Stiles.
The Oilers achieved their goal of slowing Hill City’s perimeter game. The Ringnecks made 3 of 18 shots from 3-point range. Hill City did a decent job attacking the basket against the Oilers’ man defense. The Ringnecks shot 27 percent on 13 of 48 field goals.
“We played our defense really well,” Stiles said. “We did a really good job extending our defense on their 3-point shooters. Hill City is an experienced team and they did a good job driving past our defense at times.”
HC 12 11 8 4 –35
CP 22 16 10 12 – 60
HILL CITY (21-4)—Keener 4-12 1-4 11, Jones 3-13 2-3 9, Conner Keith 3-12 0-0 6, Kennedy 2-5 3-6 7, Russell 1-3 0-0 2, Underhill 0-1 0-0 0, Pimlott 0-2 0-0 0, Totals 13-48 6-13 35.
CENTRAL PLAINS (25-0)—Emily Ryan 11-20 5-5 29, Lamatsch 2-4 0-0 6, Rugan 2-3 0-0 4, Donecker 2-3 1-2 5, Avery Hurley 3-5 0-0 7, Oeser 1-1 0-0 3, Rylee Cunningham 1-2 0-2 2, Stratmann 2-3 0-0 4, Totals 24-41 6-9 60.
3-pointers—HC 3-18 (Keener 2-5, Jones 1-6, Russell 0-1, Pimlott 0-1, Keith 0-4), CP 6-14 (Lamatsch 2-4, Ryan 2-7, Oeser 1-1, Hurley 1-2). Rebounds—HC 23 (Kennedy 7), CP 32 Ryan 7). Assists—HC 2, CP 11 (Ryan 5). Steals—HC 11 (Jones 3), CP 10 (Ryan 4). TO—HC 16, CP 18.
