The Lady Oilers welcomed in a Sterling team Tuesday, Jan. 14, with wins against Haven and No. 3 Cheney (3A). The result was more of the same: Central Plains bumped its win streak to 119 games in a 54-26 rout.

“I saw them on tape,” Central Plains coach Pat Stiles said of Sterling.“They beat Cheney, which was the No. 2 team in 3A at the time. I knew it was really going to be a battle. Our defense, they had 14 points at the half. Those kids, I’m so proud of them. They can defend like no other.”

The last time Central Plains lost a post-season game came against Sterling in 2013. For a while Tuesday, the Black Bears seemed headed for another landmark win by forcing five Lady Oiler turnovers in the first four minutes. The result was a 4-0 lead.

Emily Ryan finally put Central Plains on the board at the 4:42 mark with a take to the rim. She added five more points in the frame. Senior Addison Crites was huge inside in the first half. She added four points, four rebounds, and two blocks in the first quarter as the Lady Oilers pulled ahead 17-11.

“When I know I’m going to be guarding girls who are physically stronger than me, I just have to mentally prepare and know I have to hustle for everything,” said Crites. “I can probably beat them on speed even though they can beat me than strength.”

The defense took over in the second quarter, holding the Black Bears to just three free throws. Crites grabbed four more rebounds in the frame but Central Plains also struggled to score. Ryan scored all 11 Lady Oiler points in the stanza as Central Plains extended the lead to 28-14.

The Lady Oilers cleaned up the offense in the second half, turning the ball over just 10 times in the final three quarters. Just nine seconds into the third quarter, senior Delaney Rugan scored through a foul for a 3-point play.

“They were switching on everything,” Stiles said.“We just kept running our offense until we got a switch we liked and then we tried to exploit that. Emily is so smart out there. The girls just take ownership of the program. The set to start the second half was Emily’s idea. We ran it and it was a big basket — and one.”