By RANDY GONZALES

rgonzales@dailynews.net

444If they're lucky, other teams have two really good players.

Thomas More Prep-Marian girls' basketball coach Alan Billinger is thrice blessed, for he has three really good players to lead his Monarch squad.

The triumvirate of senior forwards Rachel Jacobs and Jenna Lang and junior point guard Heather Ruder has helped lead the Monarchs to an 11-3 record this season.

In the last three-plus years, the TMP girls are 78-11, have won the program's first state title, finished fourth at state another time and have kept alive a string of eight straight conference championships.

The Monarchs' Big Three of the 5-foot-9 Jacobs, 5-8 Lang and 5-7 Ruder are fun to watch -- when he's not playing them, said Ellinwood coach Ryan Mountain.

"I'm a fan," Mountain said. "When we're not playing against them, I like to catch them on highlights, too."

When his two tallest players graduated after last year's team made it to state, Billinger knew this year's squad would have to rely more on the 3-pointer. So, in practice he has had his players work more on shooting than in previous years. Jacobs, Lang and Ruder all can shoot the 3-pointer; when all of them are on -- look out.

"Basically, their game is the 3-pointer, game in and game out, whether it's Heather Ruder or Jenna or Rachel," Billinger said. "We have people who can shoot the 3."

Russell coach Frank Schulte found that out first-hand earlier this year, when TMP lit it up from outside in a 61-43 win over the taller Broncos. Jacobs tied her career high with 30 points, making 6-of-7 3-pointers, and added nine assists, six rebounds, four steals and two blocked shots.

"In our game, she killed us with the 3-pointer," Schulte said. "Many of those were shot with a hand in her face.

"That was very impressive, to say the least," he added. "She pretty much stole passes and got layups, and shot 3-pointers."

Lang, a guard last year who moved to forward this season, had a big game for the Monarchs in a 52-41 win at then state-ranked Abilene last month. Lang scored 22 points, made three treys, with six rebounds and six blocked shots.

Able to shoot outside to set up her drives to the basket and either score or dish off makes Lang tough to stop.

"She's not super fast going to the hole, but she takes care of the ball," Mountain said. "She positions her body in a way so people can't steal the ball. Then she attacks the basket with her eyes up.

"Everyone knows she can shoot the 3 -- all three of them can," Mountain added. "But Lang, the thing that separates her apart is her ability to go to the hole the way she does, and get the open shots from about eight feet."

Ruder has bedeviled Mountain's team in both meetings this season. She scored 20 points for a career high the first time around, then topped that last week, pouring in 22 points in another Monarch victory.

Ruder, who has always been a defensive pest with her quick hands, has added the outside shot this season to go along with easy buckets for layups after steals.

Billinger said the difference between last year and this year for Ruder is simple: "Confidence."

"She's gained a lot of confidence all year long," Billinger said. "She's just one of these people that she knows when people got to rely on her she is going to step up."

Such was the case at Ellinwood last Tuesday. With Jacobs -- the team's leading scorer and rebounder -- home sick, Ruder helped key a second-half rally to pull out a 39-28 win. She did it with defense, helping force turnovers, which led to fast-break baskets.

"Baskets in transition for her," Mountain said. "She would get several picks -- not only on our point guard, but the ball coming back to the top to re-set the offense.

"She was quick enough to get a hand in the passing lane," he added. "She's quick enough down the floor, she's going to score from the right and left hand on the layups."

Ruder and Lang both have improved their totals as the years have gone by, while Jacobs has been a starter from the very first game of her freshman year.

Ruder averaged 5.2 points and 1.5 assists as a freshman, then scored 6.5 points per game last season. Through 14 games this year, Ruder is averaging 11.6 points, 4.1 assists, 3.4 steals and has 21 3-pointers.

Lang is averaging 13.7 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.2 steals, and has made 20 treys.

Two years ago, Lang averaged 4.5 points and 3.1 rebounds. Last season, Lang averaged 9.1 points and 4.6 rebounds, including a career-high 25 points in the sub-state finals.

"Lang and Ruder are insane complements to (Jacobs) and to each other," Mountain said. "All three of them complement each other so well.

"They're all basketball smart, know the game inside and out, which makes them deadly to defend," he added.

Jacobs, who has signed to play basketball next season at Fort Hays State University, keeps the player trying to guard her off-balance. Jacobs can either post up and hit a bank shot off the glass or a turnaround jumper on the baseline, or she can hang out by the 3-point line and scorch opponents from there with her quick release.

"I think what makes them unique is Jacobs' ability to play inside and out," Mountain said. "She can stroke the ball anywhere on the floor, get hot at any time, stay hot -- she's not a girl that really gets cold.

"She knows how to draw the fouls, and that young lady can make a living at the free throw line," he added.

For the season, Jacobs is shooting 91 percent from the foul line, and has swished 22 pointers, connecting on 46 percent of her shots from beyond the arc. Jacobs is averaging 16.1 points and 8.0 rebounds, while adding 4.6 steals, 2.7 assists and 2.3 blocks.

As a freshman, Jacobs averaged 12.7 points and 8.3 rebounds, then improved to 15.7 points and 8.5 rebounds per game as a sophomore. Last year, when Jacobs was selected The Hays Daily News' Player of the Year, she averaged 17.1 points and 7.9 rebounds. Jacobs also scored a career-high 30 points in the sub-state semifinals and turned in her first career triple-double in a game last season.

Jacobs, who earlier this season brokt he school's career rebounding and scoring records, also makes an impact in ways that don't show up in the statistics. She makes the extra pass; she makes the big bucket when needed; she finds the open teammate when double-teamed; she is a calming presence on the floor.

"Just her presence on the floor is enough, because now you got to defend a little bit differently," Billinger said. "The whole stat sheet; she's a big contributor to everything."

Billinger said senior Rebecca Pray, in her fourth year in the program, has been a contributor this season, too -- especially against Ellinwood, with Jacobs out.

But game in, game out, year in, year out, the Big Three have come up big for the Monarchs.

"A lot of teams have just one star player and several supporting cast," Mountain said. "They have three stars and then the supporting cast.

"They're a very deadly team."