St. Mary's Colgan girls basketball limited visiting Riverton to a combined 11 points in the second and fourth quarters Tuesday night on their way to a 61-38 victory in CNC League play at the SMC Fieldhouse.

The Panthers improved to 15-2 on the season and 8-0 CNC before their home game Thursday night against Frontenac.

Defense and 3-point shooting have become major parts of the Panthers' team identity this season. Colgan made six 3-point baskets Tuesday.

"I take that as a compliment because I told the kids in the locker room that we're not very big," Colgan girls coach Abby Farabi said. "This is probably the smallest lineup that I've had to put out there in all my years of coaching and you have to play big when you're small. These kids do and their effort is ... I tell them it separates us because you never question their effort. We do shoot the ball really well consistently and that puts a lot of pressure on teams if you play us zone, man or if you faceguard. They've just done a really good job."

Colgan honored senior point guard Jakayla Davis between games for becoming the school's all-time leading scorer with her 32 points Jan. 30 against Girard taking her to 1,785 points during her career. Davis scored a game-high 30 points against Riverton, elevating her total to 1,885.

"It kind of hit me last week that just all the highs and lows I've had with that kid," Farabi said. "We've spent a lot of time together the last four years. She's started every game for me and she's the only kid that's ever done that. Just the growth that she's made as a player and a leader, it makes me smile because she could have taken the easy route and just continue to be as good as she is, but she hasn't. She has improved her game every single year that she's stepped out on that court. Yeah, I hope to go as long as I can with her and continue to ride her success with her.

"I had to do an article about her (Monday) and I said what I admire most about her is her mannerisms. I've never seen Kay shoot an arrow. I've never seen her talk smack and I've never seen her do anything except but to expect the ball to go into the hoop for her. She's not cocky, she's one of the most humble kids I've ever coached and she expects to be good and she puts a lot of pressure on herself but she carries herself so well."

Freshman guard Mari Gilmore added 12 points against Riverton, aided by a pair of 3-point baskets.

"She has been very good for us," Farabi said. "She's been our second-leading scorer for us and she's seen some triangle-and-2 the last few games. I think she's been a little frustrated because she hasn't been scoring, but her defense has been phenomenal for us. From day one to now, she has improved so much and having to guard two kids consistently, that's a lot of pressure on defenses. So, she does a lot of things she probably doesn't even know she does and it was really good to see her going tonight because I know mentally that she was in a bit of a slump. I think she's back."

Riverton junior post Savannah Mathews, who does a lot of the Rams' dirty work and provides a presence with her 6-foot-1 height, and senior leading scorer Ellie Helms both fouled out in the fourth.

"When your best player is having to guard our best player, we benefit from it," Farabi said. "She (Helms) plays pretty good defense, but I think Kay does a good job of wearing down defenders. It was a physical game. We got in foul trouble with some silly fouls, but I thought we handled it really well."

The Panthers started a stretch of playing four state-ranked opponents in five games with Riverton and continue that with Frontenac on Thursday. The Raiders are 13-3 on the season after their 61-19 win Tuesday over Galena.

"It's going to be a dogfight," Farabi said. "They've done a really good job. They have some good basketball players that will want nothing more than to beat us. We just have to come in and take care of ourselves and the rest will take care of itself."

RIVERTON (38) — Rilyn Thomasson 1, Kynlee King 14, Ellie Helms 17, Avery Barnett 2, Traylee Deckard 4.

ST. MARY'S COLGAN (61) — Mari Gilmore 12, Hayden Turnbull 2, Dani Yaghmour 6, Jakayla Davis 30, Katelyn Schiefelbein 2, Bella Ascanio 6, Janessa Davis 3.

Riverton 10 5 17 6 — 38

Colgan 16 14 17 14 — 61

3-point goals: Helms, King, Jak. Davis 2, Gilmore 2, Yaghmour, Jan. Davis.

This sports reporting is made possible, in part, by the Support Local Journalism Project Fund. Learn more at: southeastkansas.org/fund/support-local-journalism-project-fund/