Oran routs Scott City to open Lady Devils tourney

~ The Eagles beat the Rams 76-13 in the first round of the Lady Devils Invitational

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Oran girls basketball coach Ethan Evans would be the last person to say his Eagles were in midseason form after just two games. They just looked that way.

Oran rocketed to a 20-2 lead after one period on its way to dismantling Scott City 73-16 Wednesday night in the opening round of the Lady Devils Invitational Tournament in Chaffee.

The Eagles (2-0), the tourney's second seed, parlayed their trademark ball-hawking defense with a relentless transition game that nearly ran the Rams (0-2) out of the gym.

It was 39-8 at halftime after Oran forced eight second-quarter turnovers, leading to easy layups or trips to the free throw line.

"Being out of school like everyone else down here, we had a couple practices that hadn't been very good," Evans said. "I didn't know what to expect, but I thought we really got out and got after it tonight. We played good defense and ran the floor well, which is what our girls got to do."

Scott City’s Michaela Kiefer takes a shot against Oran’s Christan Sauceda during the first quarter of their first-round game of the Lady Devils Invitational on Wednesday in Chaffee, Mo. (Fred Lynch)

Senior guard Addie Kielhofner was her typical pesky self, accumulating a number of steals or forcing turnovers to fuel the Eagles' running game. She ended the night with a game-high 21 points.

"We've been talking about coming out with intensity, and that's what we didn't do in our first game," Kielhofner said. "We kind of came out flat, so we were trying to make sure we were intense the entire game. So that's what we worked on, and it showed."

Any thoughts Scott City harbored of cutting into the deficit were quickly doused when Oran put on a third-quarter clinic, outscoring the Rams 22-6 while creating 11 turnovers, including eight steals, which led to 14 Eagles points.

Included in the barrage were three 3-pointers by Christan Sauceda, who added 18 points -- all from long range.

"I look inside from my teammates first, but if they need anything, I'm back there," Sauceda said of her positioning behind the 3-point line. "I'm definitely out there waiting for it if I'm on."

A 14-0 run made it 56-12 and the Eagles were able to coast with a running clock in the fourth quarter.

"They're a very good team," Scott City coach Kerry Thompson said. "They shoot the ball really well. You can tell they've played together for a while. They're well-coached."

Oran features three seniors -- Kielhofner, Sauceda and Taylor Nenninger -- that have played together on the varsity since they were freshmen. Evans said their experience was a key factor in the win. "We've got some girls that just instinctively know where to be," he said. "They know how to pressure people and know where to be to get steals. That does set up our athleticism and our quickness to get down the floor and shoot layups."

Kielhofner agreed that familiarity with one another will go a long way toward whatever success the Eagles enjoy this season.

"A lot of us have varsity experience, which other teams don't really have that," she said. "We have three people that are really familiar with the game. Other teams have lost people, and we just keep coming back."

"We've had a small team for a long time," Sauceda said. "Having all these girls, and three of us being seniors, that's gonna help us a lot."

Thompson hopes his Rams can use this game as a learning experience.

"We've just got a long way to go," he said. "The only thing we can do is just keep going to work every day and get better and better. Luckily we've got another game [Thursday]. Hopefully we'll see if we learned anything from this."

Scott City 2 6 6 2 -- 16

Oran 20 19 22 12 -- 73

SCOTT CITY (16) -- Shea Martin 2, Anna Kern 4, Natalie Woods 2, Carly Howell 2, Michaela Kiefer 6. FG: 7. FT: 2-7. Total fouls: 19. (Fouled out: Martin)

ORAN (73) -- Addie Kielhofner 21, Ashlyn McIntosh 3, Taylor Nenninger 13, Allie Cummins 6, Tatum May 12, Christan Sauceda 18. FG: 26. FT: 11-24. Total fouls: 12. (3-pointers: Sauceda 6, Nenninger 1. Fouled out: none)