OAKLAND – With a balanced offense that averages more than 66 points per game, Central-Park Hills has a number of players who take pride in their ability to put the ball in the basket.
Junior Sydney Miles takes pride in her ability to keep it out.
“We have a lot of scorers on our team, so my main role on the team is defense. I guard all the best players, and my focus is not letting their main players score as many as they usually do,” Miles said.
Miles led a tremendous defensive performance and was one of four Rebels to reach double-figures as Central-Park Hills defeated Ursuline 58-40 in a Class 4 quarterfinal Friday at Ursuline Academy.
Central (26-4), which advanced to the MSHSAA state semifinal for the second consecutive season, will face Owensville (22-7) at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Mizzou Arena in Columbia.
Lift for Life (26-3) and Chillicothe (27-1) will meet in the other Class 4 semifinal at 8 p.m.
Ursuline (24-6) concluded its season by surpassing the school record for wins in a season and advanced further in the postseason than any girls basketball team in school history.
“The first thing I told the girls was, ‘Don’t let this game define what we’ve done this year,’” Ursuline coach Jeff Stevens said. “We’ve got so many young kids coming back, and we’re building a program and a tradition here.”
Unlike Ursuline, whose rotation includes three freshmen and two sophomores, Central’s lineup was teeming with upperclassman who experienced a third-place finish at state last season.
Central looked to exploit size matchups that benefited them, including senior Khloe Dischbein posting up Ursuline senior point guard Brooklynn Williams. Dischbein led the Rebels with 16 points by scoring four baskets near the basket and going 8-for-10 from the free throw line.
“We isolated the post and that really worked in our favor,” Dischbein said. “We knew if we could get them on the bench in foul trouble we could beat them.”
And the fouls quickly piled up for the Bears. Central shot 11 free throws in the first quarter alone, and when senior Kinley Norris banked in a three at the buzzer, the Rebels opened a 17-8 lead after one quarter.
Central’s ability to score near the rim and at the foul line was only one part of the story. Miles’ ability to slow down Ursuline sophomore Evelyn Shane, who entered the game averaging 19.6 points per game, was the other.
Miles played ball-denial defense and chased Shane from one side of the floor to the other while her teammates stood with one foot in the paint waiting for the drive. The combination of foul trouble and excellent defense resulted in Shane scoring only four points – the first time she was held below double-digits this season.
“We definitely wanted to play (Shane) tight and then have help at all times,” Central coach Aaron Tyree said. “Our girls did an excellent job helping off of her and executed perfectly.”
Miles contributed offensively as well, draining a short baseline jumper and a right wing 3 to help the Rebels build a 12-point lead in the second quarter.
“We moved the ball, and getting the defense to shift really worked for us,” said Miles who scored 10 points.
Both Williams and Shane were forced to the bench with four fouls midway through the third quarter, and the game had the possibility of getting away from Ursuline, but the Bears mounted a late charge.
Excellent interior play from sophomore Nancy King and great shooting from freshman Abby Walsh kept Ursuline within striking distance. King scored six points, including a smooth, 15-foot baseline jumper, and Walsh connected on three triples, part of her team-high 14 points.
“Our girls kept fighting and I was proud of them for that,” Stevens said.
But straight-line drives by junior Allysa O’Connor, who had 15 points, and Norris, who added 11, helped the Rebels pull away in the fourth quarter as they earned their second consecutive trip to the state semifinals.
The Rebels, which won a state title in 2015, lost to Benton 55-48 in overtime in the state semifinal last season after leading by eight points heading into the fourth quarter.
“The semifinal game kind of got away from us last year,” Tyree said. “We were bringing a lot of people back, and we were excited thinking we had a legit shot to make it back. I’m just glad we were able to do it.”
Dischbein added, “From getting third place at state last year, our goal was to make it back and do better. We’ve had a great season and we’re hoping to win it all.”