For about 15 minutes Friday, Haven had high hopes of ending the state’s longest winning streak. The Lady Wildcats entered the game ranked No. 8 in Class 3A, and pulled within two of the Lady Oilers early in the third quarter. Central Plains responded with a 17-5 run to end the half and never looked back in a 60-33 runaway win, extending that win streak to 117 games.

“It’s a lot of fun,” said Lady Oiler senior Delaney Rugan.“It’s good to have people really challenge us so we can see what our team is capable of.”

The game featured a pair of Division I signees in Emily Ryan and Haven senior Faith Paramore, who has signed with Oral Roberts University in Oklahoma. Paramore was largely muted Friday with just five points and one field goal — a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter.

Ryan, on the other hand, got her 25 points throughout the evening. Her drive midway through the first gave the Lady Oilers a 6-2 lead, and she scored twice more in the first for a 10-4 score. Junior Lexi Oeser added a late trey for a 13-7 score after eight minutes.

Things got a little dicey for Central Plains after that. Haven post Sara Yutzy scored a pair of early baskets inside to cut the lead to 15-13. She had six points in the first four minutes of the quarter before picking up a third foul with 3:43 to play in the half.

Lady Oiler senior Addison Crites helped keep Central Plains on top, first on an assist from Kassidy Nixon that resulted in a basket and foul, then on another basket and foul for a 19-13 score. Crites’ assist to Rugan capped a quick 6-0 Lady Oiler run.

With Yutzy sidelined, things got out of hand quickly. Nixon took a steal the distance, then Ryan scored on a pair of drives and Rugan added another. The Lady Oilers went on an 8-3 run in the final 3:29 of the first half to lead 32-18 at the break.

The gap continued to grow in the third. Ryan started things off with a jumper, then Nixon took another steal for a layup. Nixon found Ryan for a trey, then Oeser swished another three from the corner. Turnovers led to four more points from Ryan and two more from Nixon as the Lady Oilers capped an 18-3 run to open the second half.

With transition baskets off of eight Wildcat turnovers, the Lady Oilers made 10 of their 16 field goal attempts in the third. Haven converted just a banked 3-pointer and a putback late in the frame.

“Our defense has just carried us all year,” said Lady Oiler coach Pat Stiles.“We just kept after them and it wore them down a little bit. Our defense just creates a lot of our offense.”

The clock stayed in motion as the Lady Oilers led 58-25 to open the fourth. Crites provided the only two Central Plains points in the final eight minutes. Paramore knocked down her lone field goal of the night.

“I was pretty nervous but I don’t know if the kids were,” Stiles said. “I know how good Haven is and how good they’re playing right now. They have good size and a great player in the Paramore girl. They’re just a very good team. I was worried but the kids always find that next gear in big games.”

Crites added 11 points for the Lady Oilers, and Nixon had a perfect shooting night to finish with 10 points and five steals. Oeser scored eight points, Rugan finished with six points, and Rachel Lamatsch did not score but contributed six rebounds, six assists, and three steals to the cause.

Oiler boys struggle against unbeaten Wildcats

A fter a pair of close wins to open the season, the

Haven boys had rattled off three more wins to

enter Friday’s game in Claflin with a perfect 5-0 record. The average margin of those last three wins: 32 points. The Oilers managed to crack that average but struggled offensively in a 48-24 loss.

Haven coach Lonnie Paramore is known for his 1-3-1 zone. Friday night the Wildcats worked it well to hold the Oilers to just two points in the first quarter and eight at the half.

“We know we can defend in any particular defense and we have a lot of confidence in anything we run but our 1-3-1 has gotten us quite a few miles,” Paramore said. “I knew they’d lost a lot of key players last year. I watched them on film and they play really hard. They continued to play hard in the second half. I was hoping we could pressure them into some turnovers.”

The Wildcats scored from the inside and out early on. Six-foot-three senior Wyatt Carmichael scored eight points in the first quarter and junior Zane Jacques added a pair of threes. The Wildcats led 17-0 before Oiler junior Tyler Holmes got his team on the board through a foul at the 2:04 mark in the first.

The Oilers shot the ball just six times in the first eight minutes and resorted to 3-point tries against the zone in the second. The team was 0 for 7 from the outside before Lawson Oeser ended the drought. Michael Laymon added a late trey but the Oilers still trailed 32-8 at the half.

JJ Heredia opened the second half with a basket and foul in transition, then Oeser swished another three for a 34-14 score. Those proved to be the only Oiler field goals in the frame as Haven pulled ahead 38-17 by the end of the third.

Central Plains closed the game on a 7-0 run but not before some damage was done. With 6:10 to play in the game, Carmichael flushed a putback for his first career dunk in a varsity game. His basket also set the clock in motion for good with a 47-17 score.

Carmichael led all players with 18 points and seven rebounds. Jacques added 12 points for the Cats, and Darby Roper scored 10 points.

Oeser paced the Oilers on 3 of 8 shooting from the outside. Laymon added five points, Heredia and Holmes each scored three points, and Jerred Bieberle and Cole Lamatsch each finished with two points. Bieberle grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.