By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
Last week, Central Plains High School girls basketball coach Pat Stiles tuned into the basketball game between Iowa State University and the University of Texas women. Stiles watched as his former player, Emily Ryan, handled the Lady Longhorns’ full-court pressure with ease as Ryan and the Cyclones took on a nationally-ranked team.
Stiles acknowledges there were some that questioned
what impact Ryan could make on a NCAA Division I program after coming from a
school that competes in Kansas’ smallest classification. For Stiles, there
were no questions.
"I'm not surprised," said Stiles. "I saw her work ethic and get better all the time. She's a sound ballhandler and leads the Big 12 Conference in assists. I thought that was her biggest attribute, the way she can see the floor and pass the basketball."
Ryan has started all 12 games for Iowa State as a freshman, is scoring seven points per game and leads the Cyclones with 6.4 assists per game.
Her 77 assists currently ranks third in the country. Ryan scored 20 points
versus Drake right before Christmas and has also recorded two double-doubles in
points and assists.
Stiles attributes a lot of Ryan’s success to her unselfishness and desire to do
what is necessary for the team to win. When Central Plains’ state record 138-game
win streak was upended by Phillipsburg last December, it was Ryan that was the
first one to text coach Stiles. Ryan was a big part of the streak, going 106-0
with three state championships (and a “Final Four” appearance in 2020 due to
COVID-19) while attending Central Plains.
The Claflin area in Barton County has fully supported their superstar.
"You walk down the hallways and you see Iowa State shirts everywhere," said Stiles. "It used to be Kansas State and KU, but now it's Iowa State. Everyone is a big fan of Iowa State."
Of course Claflin is no stranger to supporting exceptionally good talent on the
basketball floor. Jackie Stiles, coach Pat’s daughter, starred for then Claflin
High School in the mid-1990s and later went on to play at Missouri State University before
getting drafted with the 4th overall pick in the 2001 WNBA Draft.
Jackie is now an assistant coach at Oklahoma University. Jackie’s Sooners and
Ryan’s Cyclones are scheduled to play each other twice in Big 12 play (Jan. 19
and Feb. 9).
“I have to be careful,” said Pat. “Emily gave me an Iowa State lanyard. When
Jackie came home over Christmas and saw it, that did not go over so well.”
Jackie and Emily are two of only three girls in Kansas to ever score over 3,000
points in their high school careers.
If COVID-19 obstacles clear up within the Kansas State University women’s program,
Stiles says he would like to haul the Central Plains High School team to
Manhattan when Ryan and Iowa State take on the Wildcats Jan. 27.
"Emily is really doing well," added Stiles. "I am so proud of her. It's really fun to watch her play."
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