Kortney Smith scored a game-high 21 points, and the Haskell Indian Nations University women’s basketball team knocked off Central Christian, 77-61, on Friday at Coffin Complex, moving ahead of the Tigers and into third place in the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference.

“The happiest I’ve been in a long time,” said Haskell coach Phil Homeratha. “We had a big win tonight.

“We’ve been playing pretty well. This is probably one of our two best games of the season right here.”

In addition to Smith, the Fightin’ Indians (13-13) enjoyed solid offensive games by Amber Tecumseh (16 points), Shanda Murdoch (13) and Whitney Warrior (10).

Haskell’s defense had Homeratha giving out high praise.

“Our guards did a really good job. We just went out and pressed them,” Homeratha said. “When we got ahead, we went to a zone, and they couldn’t shoot very well.”

The top four conference teams advance to the playoffs, a prospect that excites Homeratha given his team’s recent run of strong performances.

“We got our foot in the door,” Homeratha said. “We might be right in the race. The biggest thing is we can go to the playoffs. I think we think we can go to the playoffs.”