Ayers comes up with 8 points off bench to lead Platte County to comeback win

Addie Ayers strode to the free throw line with little experience in pressure situations but plenty of confidence.

In the final minute, Platte County’s reserve sophomore guard hit a pair of free throws to ultimately help the Pirates close out a 33-31 victory over Fort Osage on Monday night at Pirate Fieldhouse. The Indians led by 11 at halftime but scored just five points in the final 16 minutes.

Platte County (15-2) survived an off night from every key offensive player to extend a winning streak to 12 straight. Ayers finished with a team-high eight points, none bigger than the final two from the line with 29.8 seconds left to extend the Pirates’ advantage from a tenuous one to a slightly more comfortable three.

“I was just taking a deep breath and putting them in. I wasn’t trying to think about anything or think about the pressure,” said Ayers, who only has one career game with more than eight points — a career-high 16 in a blowout of Van Horn earlier this season. “I took some deep breaths, and after I made the first one, I knew the second one was gonna go in. It just felt right.”

Platte County shot just 19.5% from the floor and hit only one 3-pointer, a big spark from senior Lydia Doole on the Pirates’ first possession of the third quarter that started the comeback.

However, Fort Osage (7-11) didn’t trail until inside of 2 minutes left in regulation despite making only one shot from the floor in the second half and going 2-for-4 on free throws. The Indians also committed 24 turnovers. Platte County’s big sparks came from Ayers and freshman forward Amani Harlin off the bench. Both received increased minutes as junior forward Lauren Stone (six points and four rebounds), junior center Addy Schlake (three points, 11 rebounds and three blocks), sophomore Rylee Carr (one point, three rebounds) and Doole (four points and three steals) all struggled.

Harlin’s three-point play with 3:49 left in the third quarter pulled Platte County within 26-23 and accounted for the last of her five points.

“They understand,” Platte County coach Eric Mitchell said. “Sometimes it’s the hot hand that gets to go. You’ve got to continue to tinker around and find that five at different times — foul trouble, people being tired, shots not going down. You’ve got to keep tinkering around until you find that right combination, and I thought a couple of times tonight we had some really good minutes from players that came in and gave us a spark off the bench. That’s what they’ve got to do and how they can earn more time.”

Fort Osage’s Niki Brisbee hit a 3 late in the third quarter to stop Platte County’s time-consuming 8-0 run, and Carr split two free throws with 5.4 seconds on the third quarter clock to put the Pirates’ deficit at four going to the final 8 minutes.

The key stretch came late in the fourth quarter when Platte County junior point guard Haley Barlow converted a layup and then set up Stone for another on a breakaway off of a turnover. The quick four points put Platte County ahead for the first time at 31-30 and only 1:57 left in regulation. Fort Osage responded with a turnover, and the Pirates started to run as much clock as possible.

Ayers eventually ended up at the free throw line in the clutch situation and hit both.

On the ensuing possession, Schlake fouled out and put Brisbee at the free throw line. She split the two attempts only for a loose ball to go out of bounds off of Platte County when the second shot missed. The ensuing possession resulted in an open look at a 3-pointer for Ragan Filmore, who misfired.

Barlow, who finished with four points, three steals and two assists, missed two free throws with 1.8 seconds left, but Fort Osage could not get even a desperation heave off.

This marked the second straight comeback win for Platte County after surviving a road test at Kearney. The Pirates scored just 38 in that one but had scored 44 or more in each of the 10 previous games during the current winning streak.

“It was just one of those nights, and we’ve had two in a row, where we just consistently struggled to score,” Mitchell said. “I thought in the first half we got some good looks. We just couldn’t put the ball in the hole.”

Platte County, which continues to rank No. 9 in the Class 5 Missouri Basketball Coaches Association poll, scored only two points in the first quarter — an inside basket from Schlake at the buzzer off of an assist from Barlow.

However, Fort Osage only led 9-2 at that point. The Pirates would pull within 9-5 but needed an 8-0 run that included six points from Ayers and two from Harlin on free throws to close the gap to 15-13. Ayers and Harlin played an extended stretch of the second quarter with Mitchell recognizing the boost they provided at a critical juncture and continuing his tendency to adjust rotations based on performance.

“I was just trying to go in and pump up the energy,” Ayers said. “We were definitely down a lot, so I was just trying to hit some shots and just have confidence in myself and my shot. Some of them went in and some of them didn’t.”

Yet, Fort Osage closed the half on an 11-2 run with Emmah Crowe sticking a long two-point jumper at the buzzer to seemingly take all the momentum into halftime.

Platte County ratcheted up the defensive intensity and slowly climbed out of the hole, starting with Doole’s 3-pointer on the first possession of the third quarter. The Pirates pulled within 26-23 when Stone hit two free throws on an intentional foul, but the resulting possession resulted in a turnover and delayed the momentum needed to make a run at a lead.

Platte County ended up shooting 16 of 23 on free throws, including a pair from senior guard Delaney Childers in the fourth quarter.

“Coach is always saying defense makes your offense,” Ayers said, “so our defense wasn’t that good in the first half. We just came out there, started talking more, and I think our defense really fueled our offense. And that’s how we got our win.”

Platte County doesn’t play again until Monday at Grain Valley before traveling to William Chrisman on Thursday for back-to-back Suburban Conference White Division matchups. The Pirates also added a game Saturday against Bishop LeBlond in St. Joseph to make up for the cancellation of a game earlier this season scheduled against Excelsior Springs.

The final seven games of Platte County’s regular season include just one home game — a February 21 matchup with North Kansas City (14-4).