By Dennis Sharkey
The Park Hill South girls’ basketball team slugged out it with the Benton Cardinals for much of the contest before pulling away late in a 78-66 win on Friday, Dec. 20, at the 2024 St. Joseph Area Sports Hall of Fame High School Holiday Hoops Classic at St. Joseph Civic Arena.
Both teams went toe to toe in the first quarter, with Benton answering every time the Panthers tried to extend a lead. With time winding down in the first quarter, South guard Anaya Guess connected on a three-point basket to give South a six-point lead, but seconds later, the Cardinals answered with a long shot. Platte County held for the last shot of the first quarter in a game that featured a 35-second shot clock, but a last-second three-point shot harmlessly rimmed off.
LaNicia Parker
South’s senior guard LaNicia Parker got a tough shot to go in the lane and was fouled, setting up a traditional three-point play to give South a six-point lead. However, the Cardinals answered seconds later with a three-point shot.
Parker hit another three-point shot and then followed that up with two free throws on South’s next trip to the offensive end to give South its biggest lead of the game at 27-19. However, on the next trip down the floor, a three-point shot found the basket for Belton.
South missed two free throws on the next trip down the floor a Benton player hit a shot and was fouled for a three-point play to make the game one possession with about four minutes left until halftime.
South started to turn the pressure defense back up, and it led to steals and fast break points, and before Benton could blink, the Panthers were up by 10 points. Benton tried holding for the last shot of the third quarter, but South’s defense forced a bad shot at the buzzer. The Panthers used a 9-0 run during the period to build a lead.
Anaya Guess
South would extend the lead to more than 20 points in the fourth quarter before Benton came back in the final minutes to make the game look closer. South Head Coach Josh Dorr told The Citizen after the game his staff knew Benton could shoot the ball and that his team talked about that before the game.
“I think they played well, but the big thing is we kept talking about doing the little things and the details, and then on our scouting report, we emphasized they have good shooters, and they can get up and down the court, and we were going to have to get back, and I think we did a good job,” Dorr said.
This is the first time this season the Panthers have played with a shot clock. Last year, the team played in a tournament with the shot clock, so it wasn’t completely unfamiliar. Dorr said it didn’t affect the way his team played.
“As you can see, we can get up and down the court, so I don’t know if we’ll have any violations,” Dorr said.
Dorr said he wants to see more of the shot clock and that he thinks it’s an advantage to the way he coaches. Dorr said last year, they used a specific defense in a game with the shot clock, which proved effective. However, weeks later, in a game without a shot clock, it didn’t work because the other team was allowed to stall.
“I know some people feel like it can take away from coaching, but I thought we had more options on defense,” Dorr said. It adds to the flow of the game, and it’s another thing to think about its different strategy, and it keeps the game moving quicker.”
The Panthers improved to 7-0 on the season and will play in the 810 Varsity Showcase when they return from the break.
