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Record-breaker: Oilers earn 108th consecutive victory
Oilers state-bound after 108th win
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Central Plains Emily Ryan (11) battles Libby Mosley (2) for the loose basketball. The Central Plains Oilers earned a state record of 108th consecutive victory Saturday against Atwood Rawlins County Buffalos. - photo by Hugo Gonzalez


Record-breaker

By: Hugo Gonzalez

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Four years after the Central Plains girls lost their last basketball game, the Oilers wrote their latest chapter in the state history books.

The Oilers earned a state record 108th consecutive victory with a dominating 69-13 1A substate victory over Atwood Rawlins County Saturday.

The No. 1 ranked Oilers (24-0) will head to Dodge City for the 1A state tournament after winning five consecutive 2A state titles. They’ll be an overwhelming favorite at Dodge City with three unbeaten teams.

All-stater Emily Ryan scored 33 points and dished out six assists at Barton County’s Kirkman Gym. Avery Hurley added 11 points.

“It’s the best feeling in the world to play basketball with my teammates,” Ryan said. “I’m so blessed. As long as we score, it doesn’t matter how we do it. We try and stay in the moment.”

The Oilers forced 40 Buffalo turnovers and had 29 steals behind their swarming full-court defense. Every pass was a struggle for the Buffaloes.

Kassidy Nixon had seven steals, Ryan and Addison Crites five apiece and Rachel Lamatsch four steals.

“We were really good defensively,” said Central Plains coach Pat Stiles. “Our girls are good basketball players. we mesh together so well. Our girls other than Emily (Ryan) defend well and they can score.”

Crites has rallied from a season-ending injury last season.

“Addison has made our defense so good,” Stiles said. “I knew she’d step in and play great. Avery Hurley is a bulldog. Rachel Lamatsch plays great defense. They don’t care who scores. It starts with Emily playing so unselfish.”

Central Plains led 13-5 after one quarter with 6 of 19 first-quarter shooting that showed the Oilers were a little tightly-wound.

The Oilers outscored the Buffaloes 29-2 in the second period. Lamatsch and Crites combined for three steals to start the second period. Ryan scored 27 first-half points for a 42-7 lead.

Stiles said he felt a little pressure thinking about maintaining the current winning streak.

“Then, I thought maybe I shouldn’t feel that way coaching this team.” he said.

The Buffaloes stunned the Oilers with a 3-pointer by Kristen Backman to start the game. They started the second half with a 3-pointer by Kirstyn Domsch.

The Buffaloes (16-8) finished with 5 of 21 field goals and 40 turnovers.

 

Rawlins Co. 5 2 5 1 – 13

C. Plains 13 29 20 6 – 69

RAWLINS COUNTY (16-8)—Beckman 2-7 0-2 5, Domsch 1-2 1-2 4, Crouse 1-4 0-0 2, Mosley 1-3 0-0 2, Sattler 0-1 0-0 0, Angie Singhateh 0-2 0-0 0, Sramek 0-2 0-0 0, Totals 5-21 1-3 13

CENTRAL PLAINS (24-0)—Ryan 12-21 6-6 33, Avery Hurley 5-6 0-0 11, Lamatsch 2-3 0-0 5, Nixon 2-2 0-0 4, Rugan 2-6 0-0 4, Crites 2-5 0-0 4, Oeser 1-5 0-0 2, Cunningham 1-1 0-0 2, Potter 0-0 1-4 1, Jeffrey 0-2 0-0 0, Totals 28-54 7-10 69

3-pointers—RC 2-8 (Domsch 1-1, Beckman 1-3, Mosley 0-1, Sramek 0-1, Crouse 0-2), CP 6-19 (Ryan 3-10, A. Hurley 1-1, Lamatsch 1-2, Oeser 1-3, Rugan 0-1, Jeffrey 0-2); Rebounds—CP 22 (Crites 5); Assists—CP 16 (Ryan 6); Steals—CP 29 (Nixon 7)