Riding a 117-game win streak, the Central Plains girls have put up all kinds of odd numbers over the past decade. At home Jan. 7, a 3-point basket from Jennah Jeffrey with 1:49 remaining gave the Lady Oilers 99 points. They had to slow down from there, settling on a 99-24 win against an Ellinwood team battling for the No. 2 spot in the Central Prairie League.

That high score came in spite of an uncharacteristically slow start. Rachel Lamatsch passed to Emily Ryan who found Kassidy Nixon for the first points of the game nearly two minutes in. The Lady Oilers kept the ball moving from there with 24 more points over the next six minutes.

The sophomore Nixon had a career night that began on the defensive end with 11 steals. Some of those takeaways led to her 22 points, and others led to three assists and other passes to teammates.

“She’s just so athletic, so quick,” said Lady Oiler coach Pat Stiles.“Her defense from last year to this year is just so much better. She understands positioning and has a good first step. She’s probably the quickest player I’ve ever coached.”

“It’s great knowing you have a team that can shoot the ball really well and you can always pass it to anyone,” Nixon said.

Central Plains helped force 14 Ellinwood turnovers in the first eight minutes. The Lady Eagles, meanwhile, turned up the press. Ryan took advantage with multiple long-court passes to finish the night with 12 assists.

“No one has pressed us before,” Stiles said. “It’s hard to press us because of (Emily’s) vision and her ability to throw those passes.”

Senior Delaney Rugan was a beneficiary of some of those passes. She scored eight quick points in the second quarter and scored all 16 of her points in the first half. Senior Addison Crites was also on the receiving end. On assists and offensive rebounds, she finished a strong night with 18 points, 10 rebounds, and three assists on perfect 9-for-9 shooting.

Ryan, meanwhile, got her share of points. Missing just one time in the second quarter, she fired in 17 points to help the Lady Oilers to a 61-16 lead at the break. She hit three more treys in the third quarter, finishing the night 5 for 9 from behind the arc with 34 points. She missed a triple-double by just two steals with eight.

The Lady Oilers outscored Ellinwood 28-0 in the third. Ten of those points came in the first two minutes of the second half, then Ryan knocked down a pair of her threes. Her steal and assist to Nixon gave the Oilers a 79-16 lead with 4:28 to play in the quarter. Rachel Lamatsch later took a steal the distance for her two points in the game, and Crites added a putback late in the frame.

With a running clock and mostly bench players on the floor, Central Plains still scored at will in the fourth quarter. Nixon hit a three and Lexi Oeser and Zoe Potter each scored to set up the Jeffrey 3-pointer with just under two minutes to play.

Ellinwood’s leading scorer, junior Mya Maxwell, was held to just two points in the game. Freshman Brittney Simpson paced the Eagles with eight points and sophomore Mary Dimitt added seven points.

The Lady Oilers shot 65 percent from the floor on the night. Ryan, Nixon, Crites, and Rugan all reached double figures in scoring. Lamatsch added six rebounds, six steals, and five assists with her two points. Oeser finished with four points, Jeffrey three points, and Potter two points.