Drew Aggus
Special to the Citizen
The Platte County Pirates took advantage of a strong second quarter, defeating the Lee’s Summit Tigers 50-38 on Thursday, Jan. 23.
The first quarter was very much a back-and-forth affair, as the two teams essentially traded buckets the entire quarter. Pirates senior Addison Long led her team through a rough first quarter, in which the hosting Pirates struggled mightily with the Tigers’ full-court pressure defense. Despite the struggles, the Pirates found themselves down just 15-13 at the end of the quarter.
But in the second quarter, things began to shift.
“It just became a really aggressive game,” Long said. “Our intensity went up, and we started to flow with each other and feed off of each other. It allowed for good passes, quick run-offs and easy scores.”
Long finished the game with a team-high 16 points.
By the end of the second quarter, the Pirates found themselves up 27-17, outscoring the Tigers 14-2 in the quarter.
Pirates coach Becca Strobbe was very impressed with her team’s performance and poise in the second quarter.
“Due to the fact that they were pressing us, we didn’t really want to slow down the momentum,” Strobbe said. “We wanted to keep attacking. We had advantages down the court.”
Strobbe was also pleased with how well freshman Peyton Akins played on both sides of the ball, picking up numerous steals and assists.
In the third quarter, the Tigers outscored the Pirates but only by two, and it was only because Tigers freshman Khalia Woods knocked down a last-second 3-pointer. The Pirates still held a 38-30 lead.
And in the fourth quarter, the Pirates outscored the Tigers 12-8, resulting in a 12-point win.
Following the tough first quarter, the Pirates rarely turned the ball over. They didn’t even look like the same team. And according to Strobbe, the final three quarters are how they had prepared to play the whole game.
“We knew that they were going to play some zone and that they were going to press,” Strobbe said. “We just wanted to take care of the ball and control the boards.”
The Pirates will now prepare to host the Bulldogs of Kearney on Thursday, Jan. 30 before hitting the road to take on Raytown South on Monday, Feb. 3.
OTHER GAMES
Park Hill South girls 54, Ruskin 28
Makailee McGhee scored 15 points and landed on the all-tournament team after the Panthers won the fifth-place game at the Oak Park Tournament on Thursday, Jan. 23.
The Panthers scored more points in the first half than the Golden Eagles, leading 29-11 at halftime. McGhee accounted for 13 of her points in the first half and led the team in scoring. Bali Cortes added 10 and Cara Sparks scored 10 points for the Panthers.
Park Hill South girls 49, Wyandotte 11
The Panthers allowed only one point in the first half and never had issues picking up a win over the Bulldogs on Tuesday, Jan. 21 in the consolation bracket at the Oak Park Tournament.
Park Hill South scored 30 points in the first half, with six players scoring more points than Wyandotte in the first two quarters. Makailee McGhee scored 12 of her team-high 14 points in the first half, while Taryn Brown scored seven of her eight points in the first half.
Park Hill girls 75, Ray-Pec 44
The Trojans improved to 10-4 on the season with a blowout victory over the Panthers in a Suburban Conference Gold Division game on Monday, Jan. 20.
Park Hill scored a combined 43 points between the second and third quarters to overwhelm the Panthers.
Kennedy Townsend led a quartet of Trojans scoring in double figures with 25 points, hitting 8 of 15 shots from the field, grabbing eight rebounds and blocking three shots.
Teresa Thomas scored 14, followed by 13 from DQ Guillory and Jordan Austin added 10.
UP NEXT
Park Hill South: The Panthers traveled to St. Joseph to play Central on Tuesday, Jan. 28, but the results weren’t available by press time. On Friday, the Panthers will travel to Liberty North for a league game and then move into the North Kansas City Tournament on Monday, Feb. 3, playing state-ranked Kearney at 6:30 p.m. The tournament will also be held Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Blue Springs South is the top seed, while Kearney is No. 2 and St. Pius X is No. 3. The Panthers are the No. 7 seed.
Park Hill: Two non-conference games are coming up the next week, but first was a Suburban Gold game on Tuesday, Jan. 28 against Blue Springs. Results weren’t available by press time. Next up will be a game on Thursday, Jan. 30 hosting St. Pius X and then traveling to Raytown on Tuesday, Feb. 4.
Platte County: The Pirates will have three league games in a row, starting with a game at home versus Class 4-ranked Kearney on Thursday, Jan. 30. Then, Platte County travels to Raytown South (Feb. 3) and Grandview (Feb. 5).