FAIRBURY - Like most "big" games involving Central Catholic High School's No. 2-state ranked girls basketball team this season, Monday's showdown against Prairie Central morphed into a lopsided Saint triumph. | Photo gallery

"I'm really shocked," said Hawks coach Barry Corban after his team fell, 60-36, to drop to 15-2 overall and 6-1 in the Corn Belt Conference. "I thought we would be more competitive than that."

Prairie Central kept it interesting for 13 minutes, staying within 22-21 of its guest before the Saints made a 19-3 getaway while improving to 18-0 and 7-0, the best start in school history.

"Their press gave us more trouble than I anticipated," said Corban, whose team committed 29 turnovers and shot 30 percent from the field. "I really thought that we could handle their pressure. We did a terrible job."

Meanwhile, Saints sophomores Jess Reinhart and Allie Norton worked over the Hawks for 21 and 16 points, respectively.

Reinhart applauded her ball hawking teammates, especially Kelly Curran, Jennifer Monk and Anna Novario, who play defense as if they have four arms each, all of which can elongate an extra six inches when needed.

"They are the main people on our press," Reinhart said. "They are up there getting steals."

Reinhart's 13 rebounds led Central to a 43-29 advantage on the glass. Prairie Central's Kaley Corban, the coach's daughter, scored a team-high 14 points while Whitney Scurlock added 12 rebounds, seven blocks and six points.

The Hawks' only threat in the second half came on a 7-0 run, which Norton snuffed out with a layup off a slick spin move followed by a 3-pointer.

"Allie looks so smooth out there," Coffman said. "You'd never know she was a sophomore. I think you could put her on a college court and she would look the same way."

The Saints ended the first half with a 6-0 run to take a 28-21 lead into the locker room. In the third quarter, the Hawks committed 10 turnovers and sank just 1 of 9 shots.

"I always tell our kids that when you are on the road in the Corn Belt, you've got to play like you're already down 10 points," said Coffman, whose team took an 18-point lead into the fourth period.

"I thought the kids played hard. They stuck to our game plan."

Central, which shot 37 percent from the field, used its depth to grind down the Hawks, who used only five players most of the way.

"That is their strength," Corban said. "They can come at you with all those different people defensively, regardless of what they do offensively."

These teams meet again in Bloomington Feb. 5 and possibly in the regional.

"It was definitely a big game," Reinhart said. "We were definitely prepared."