By CONOR NICHOLL

cnicholl@dailynews.net

HILL CITY -- On Jan. 13, the Hill City High School girls' basketball team, then-ranked No. 8 in Class 2A, moved to 6-1 and advanced to the Mid-Continent League tournament finals with a five-point victory versus Phillipsburg.

However, the next day, Hill City suffered a 32-point loss to Smith Center in the title game. The loss started a 10-game stretch where the Ringnecks went 3-7 and dropped out of the rankings.

Three of the defeats were big blowouts (32, 34 and 57 points) to Smith Center and Hoxie, each undefeated against Kansas High School Activities Association teams this season. The other four losses came by a combined 13 points.

"I think there was some frustration," Ringneck junior guard Shelby Stewart said. "Everyone was going through different things. It was a difficult time. We just weren't confident. Confidence is a really big thing that we were lacking."

The Ringnecks have turned their season around lately with three straight close wins versus Osborne, Kensington-Thunder Ridge and Oakley. On Monday, Hill City defeated Thunder Ridge, ranked No. 8 in Class 1A, Division 1, by three. On Tuesday, the Ringnecks collected a 56-50 victory against Oakley on Senior Night.

"It's awesome," said senior point guard Kelsey Keith, who posted a game-high 21 points with three assists. "With all of the struggles that we have had this season, winning tonight meant so much to us. It was great that we got to come together tonight and win for us seniors."

Hill City completed the regular season 12-8, while Oakley lost for the second time in three contests and dropped to 15-5. The two teams could meet up again next week in the Ellis sub-state. Oakley is the No. 1 seed and Hill City will be the fourth seed. The Ringnecks, long known for their superb 3-point and free throw shooting, shot 38 percent from the field and hit five treys.

"We didn't play very alert," Oakley coach Randall Rath said. "We didn't react well the whole game. We were about a step behind, I thought, and their kids shot the ball well. It was a bad combination."

Hill City, which had set and reset the state record for free throw percentage in 2009-10 and '10-11, and is at 70 percent on foul shots as a team this season, finished 13-of-15 from the foul line, including 5-of-6 from Keith.

"We had a great win yesterday against Thunder Ridge and we just needed to just come in and just be solid," Hill City coach Linda Nighswonger said. "We didn't have to do anything spectacular. We just had to play good help defense and take open shots when we had them and that's what the girls did."

Stewart scored eight points, all in the fourth quarter, and helped carry the offense when Keith missed several minutes with foul trouble. She went 2-of-3 from the field with two treys and sank her two foul shots.

"I had foul trouble early in the game," Stewart said. "I didn't really do much in the first three quarters, I knew when I came in in the fourth quarter, I knew I had to step up and play like me. Be careful on the fouls and just play Hill City basketball."

For part of the season, the Ringnecks, one of the area's top programs for the last four seasons, struggled with playing Hill City basketball. The MCL title game loss started a four-game losing skid, a stretch where Hill City shot 29 percent from the field, 25 percent from beyond the arc and averaged 15 turnovers a contest.

After two straight wins, the Ringnecks lost three of four - with the only win a forfeit versus Almena-Northern Valley. Hill City averaged 37.7 points per game in those defeats. The team had several meetings and Nighswonger called the stretch "stressful." Still, the coaching staff stayed positive and the team came together in practice.

"Practicing harder and harder every single day, we have gotten more confident," Stewart said. "It definitely pays off, shooting with confidence and playing overall as a team."

Versus Oakley, a team that permits 38 points a contest, Hill City took a 24-17 lead midway through the second quarter behind Keith's shooting. Oakley put pressure on Keith on every possession as she dribbled the ball down the court. Still, Keith hit her first four shots and finished with 14 first-half points.

Then, she missed eight straight shots, but the Ringnecks found other options, especially senior forward Haley Dinkel (10 points, game-high 15 rebounds). Oakley, led by 13 points from freshman Marlee Rath, led 25-24 at halftime, but Hill City had a 37-34 lead after three quarters.

Stewart hadn't attempted a shot until 5:30 remained when she sank a trey from the left wing that broke a 41-41 tie.

When Keith left the game with four fouls, Stewart sank two free throws and found junior Tiffany Russell for a jumper. Then, she and Keith iced the game in the final 2:13. Stewart hit another trey that made the score 51-48 and then Keith had five points, including three free throws down the stretch.

"We have talked so much about how we can peak when it matters," Keith said.

"We can come together and play good. That just gave a boost that we can do it."