Oregon finds the hoop in win over Burlington Central

Neither Burlington Central nor Oregon shot the ball very well Monday night.

Well, almost no one was able to connect. Oregon's Carissa Oelke found the hoop numerous times and provided offense for what was an otherwise defensive-oriented game. Oelke shot 8 of 16 from the floor and scored 22 points to lead the visiting Hawks to a 51-37 win over Burlington Central Big Northern Conference girls basketball crossover in Burlington.

"She was quick and she had a nice shot," Central forward Taylor Colby said. "When we were in the 2-3 (zone), (coach Wade Maisto) wanted us to look out for her."

It didn't matter if Central (4-5) used its 2-3 or 1-3-1 zone, Oelke was able to find a way to wiggle free for a wide-open 3-pointers. The senior nailed 5, several times answering back a Central basket.

"She was the difference in the game," Maisto said. "We've had a hard time stopping the other team's best player. We totally lost her sometimes."

Central never really was able to find its offensive rhythm against Oregon (7-1).

The Rockets shot 31 percent (15 of 48) from the floor and did not reach double digit scoring in a quarter until scoring 10 in the fourth period. Central went just 23 percent (4 of 17) from 3-point land in the game, and was only 2 of 12 before Jordan Maisto and Kate McNutt hit 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.

Oelke was 5 of 9 from long range.

"We shot difficult 3s," coach Maisto said. "When they shot, it was an easy catch and shoot. Their speed on top was better than our speed on top."

Despite the struggles on offense, Central was only down 25-18 after Jordan Maisto (8 points, 3 assists, 2 steals) scored on the opening possession of the second half.

Oregon answered back with a basket from Gina Beck (4 points, 7 rebounds) and then a 3-pointer from Oelke to go up 30-18. Central never got closer than 9 points the rest of the game. The Rockets shot just 3 of 11 in the remainder of the third quarter.

"We just weren't on tonight," said Colby, who led Central with 11 points, but was 5 of 15 from the floor. "We didn't have the shooter's edge. Me and (Maisto) couldn't make a basket for our lives."

Aside from Oelke, Central did a solid defensive job, holding the rest of the Hawks to 31 percent (9 of 29) shooting. Kelsey Kleveland did come off the bench to score 7 of her 11 points in the first quarter, which sparked the Hawks to an 8-0 run to open the game. Central answered back to bring it to 11-7 going into the second period.