Park Hill freshman Ja’Kyla Wright works in the post against Platte County junior Macy Doll in the Trojans’ win on Jan. 29.
The Park Hill girls basketball team earned a hard-fought road win against Platte County on Jan. 29, never letting an early lead slip as they won 35-27.
The Trojans came flying out of the gates behind big first quarters from freshman center Ja’Kyla Wright and sophomore guard Audrey Sims. A 15-0 run helped the Trojans take a commanding 17-2 lead after the first quarter.
Platte County wasn’t going to go down as easily as it appeared in the first quarter. They finally came alive with an 11-0 start to the second quarter as Addie Ayers, Rylee Carr and Madeline Arthurs kicked the Pirates’ offense into gear as Park Hill and Platte County traded scores to end the half with the visitors in front 22-16.
“In the first quarter, we were playing to win, and in the second quarter, we were playing as if we were waiting to see when the win was going to happen,” Park Hill head coach Xavielle Brown said. “That’s what we talked about, is to play to win rather than waiting and seeing how the outcome of the game is going to go.”
Platte County senior Rylee Carr drives towards the basket in the Pirates’ home defeat to Park Hill.
Each time Park Hill looked to extend its lead, Platte County did enough to stay in the game as Ayers and Carr each knocked down triples for the Pirates. Another score from Carr late in the third drew Platte County within a score, but Wright had Park Hill’s answer to make it 29-24 going to the fourth.
Still, Platte County wasn’t done fighting its way back. Carr made it a one-score contest again after hitting a pair of free throws, but that was as lethal as the Pirates’ offense got down the final stretch of the contest.
Wright scored the only fourth-quarter field goal for either team to put Park Hill ahead 32-26. The messy end to the contest favored the Trojans, as Platte County struggled to make the shots it desperately needed.
“It’s hard to win on the road,” Brown said. “Our girls are starting to put it together, so I’ll put that to them. Both teams played hard and we fought through some adversity.”
The contest followed a similar pattern as the two sides’ previous meeting back on Dec. 2, when Park Hill rose victorious 49-27 at the Winnetonka Tournament. One of the few differences was Park Hill never hit the accelerator to put the game out of reach in the second half.
For a second time this season, Platte County’s offense struggled against Park Hill. While they shot 4 of 10 from beyond the arc, they shot just 24% from the field and gave up 21 turnovers, which was an improvement from shooting 23% with 27 turnovers from their previous defeat to the Trojans in early December.
A rough first and fourth quarters for Platte County, where they were held without field goals, made the contest an uphill battle. Carr led the way with 14 points while Arthurs tied her career high by grabbing 11 rebounds.
Park Hill sophomore guard Audrey Sims lines up a 3-point shot against Platte County.
Park Hill was led by the duo of Sims and Wright. Sims hit three triples and was 4 of 6 from the line to lead all scorers with 19 points, while Wright had an 8-point first half and finished the night with 12 points.
The Trojans earned another win earlier in the week, using triple-overtime to defeat North Kansas City 68-62 on Jan. 26. Park Hill trailed early in the contest before charging in front, but relied on a defensive stop to get the game to overtime.
Another defensive stop forced another overtime, from which Park Hill built a 59-55 lead in the final minute of the second overtime. After Park Hill missed an opportunity to ice the game, North Kansas City drove up the court and tied it 59-59 to force a third overtime.
This time, the Trojans finished the job to take the 68-62 win. Brown saw his team’s resilience on display in the 3OT victory, something he hopes continues to be instilled into his team.
While it has taken some time, Brown is seeing the progress he had been hoping for. He emphasized the desire to put together a streak of consecutive wins, but also wants his team to value each practice.
“We’re finally getting to the point where we’re playing together,” Brown said. “Playing together, and playing with energy. Not allowing the ups and downs to dictate our emotions.”
Both wins for Park Hill brought them back to .500 with an 8-8 record on the season. They will finish the regular season with six consecutive conference matchups, opening the month by hosting St. Joseph Central on Feb. 9.