Conway Springs girls grab long-awaited win over Garden Plain

There is a “little sister” feeling within the Conway Springs girls basketball program when it comes to its rivalry with Garden Plain.

The Owls have always won more games, always gone further in the postseason, and always found a way to edge past Conway Springs. This has been the case for the past 10 years.

But that is the case no longer, as Conway Springs finally conquered that hurdle on Friday night and knocked off Garden Plain, ranked fourth in Class 3A, 46-34 for the first win over its rival since 2006.

Coincidentally, 2006 was the last season Conway Springs (12-3) won the Central Plains League, a race it now has the inside track on with a perfect 4-0 record.

“They’ve known for years that they can play with them,” Conway Springs coach Pat Carl said. “But Garden Plain has always come back and found a way to win. Tonight we were determined.”

There was no defining run to point to or hot streak Conway Springs used to break open the game. This was a consistent effort and a defensive performance that suffocated Garden Plain, a team averaging nearly 49 points per game, to its lowest output this season.

Thanks to a 2-2-1 zone press, Conway Springs was able to hold Garden Plain to 32-percent shooting and force 21 turnovers. After three quarters, the Owls could only muster 19 points.

“We’re just really good at (that press),” Conway Springs freshman Hailie Jones said. “We know what spots to cover and we can tell where teams want to pass the ball.”

There were some moments in the fourth quarter, when Garden Plain twice cut the lead to five, that conjured up flashbacks to past late-game failures against the Owls. thBut this time, Conway Springs kept its composure and committed only one turnover in the fourth quarter that was vital in protecting its lead.

Jones made all six of her free throws in the fourth quarter, and with help from Sabrina Bellar (game-high 13 points) and Lacey Pauly (10), Conway Springs closed out the game strong to hand Garden Plain its second loss of the season.

“We have so much confidence right now,” Jones said. “We’re so overwhelmed and happy.”

While the victory is important for its regular-season goals, Conway Springs is well aware that a trip to the state tournament will likely have to go through Garden Plain again later this season.

“It feels great to finally beat them for the first time, but we know we might see them later,” Conway Springs senior Erica Ebenkamp said. “But this really does give us a lot of confidence that we can beat them again the next time we see them.”

This story was originally published February 5, 2016 at 10:28 PM with the headline "Conway Springs girls grab long-awaited win over Garden Plain."