Haley Barlow built up experience in recent seasons beneficial in the decisive moments of Monday’s nonconference matchup with rival Smithville.

Platte County senior point guard Haley Barlow dribbles the ball during the fourth quarter of Monday’s game against Smithville at Pirate Fieldhouse.
Platte County’s fourth-year starting point guard picked the right spots for her offensive contributions in what ended up a 48-43 victory likely with seeding implications for the upcoming Class 5 District 8 tournament. The Pirates saw a 12-point whittled down to a single possession late in regulation then calmly leaned on the poise developed during a resurgence under third-year coach Eric Mitchell.
“It helps us a lot, especially we’re getting closer to districts so playing these teams that are challenging us really helps for when we have those harder games coming up,” said Barlow, who scored all four of her points in the fourth quarter to go with five rebounds and a team-high four assists.
Platte County (10-5) never trailed behind a double-double for senior center Addy Schlake on a team-high 14 points and 11 rebounds, while senior guard Lauren Stone added the final two free throws to also finish in double-figure scoring. The win expanded the Pirates’ winning streak to a season-best five, although the run ended three night’s later with a six-point loss against Class 6 Park Hill.
After missing the previous two games with illness, Stone put up nine of her 11 points in the first half with Platte County taking a nine-point lead into the break. All eight players to see the floor for the Pirates scored to provide the diverse contributions to earn a second straight win over Smithville — the other coming in December 2023 before the Warriors went on to reach the state playoffs and place third in Class 5.

Platte County senior forward Addy Schlake takes a shot against Smithville on Monday at Pirate Fieldhouse.
“I think we’re starting to get into a rhythm for the rotations,” Mitchell said. “When somebody is maybe not on their A game, we’re having other girls step up in moments when they need to step up. That’s the qualities of a good team when you can have that. You’re not going to have your best night every night. Sometimes you’ve got to have other people who haven’t had as good of a night and maybe it’s their night to step up.”
Schlake scored two baskets sandwiched around one of four 3-pointers for Smithville senior forward Peyton Wohlford to start the third quarter, pushing the lead to double-digits for the first time.
Platte County then hit an offensive lull with junior guard Addie Ayers providing her contributions at a critical juncture. She hit a 3 to answer one from Wohlford, who finished with a game-high 18 points, then added a transition layup that briefly pushed the lead to 37-25 — the largest of the game.
Wohlford’s third 3-pointer of the frame then started a 7-0 run, only for Ayers to hit another 3 with 12 seconds left in the third quarter to send Platte County into the fourth with a 40-32 advtange. She scored all eight of her points in the third quarter.
“Addie’s minutes have really ticked up the last three weeks,” Mitchell said. “She’s done a good job of playing inside the system, getting better and really, really helping this team out.”

Platte County junior guard Addie Ayers takes a 3-pointer against Smithville on Monday at Pirate Fieldhouse.
Barlow and Schlake scored Platte County’s only field goals in the fourth quarter, while both junior forward Rylee Carr (two points) and Ayers missed a pair of free throws to provide an opening.
Smithville twice closed within six, and three free throws from senior Molly Sanders (11 points) pulled the Warriors to within 44-39 with 4:07 left in regulation. The Pirates’ advantage went to three when Stone went to the ground after a collision on her way to the basket that resulted in a foul.
Forced to leave with an apparent chest injury, Carr missed the two resulting free throws, but Wohlford clanged a potential tying 3 on the last shot for Smithville while within one possession.
After a timeout from Platte County with 2:16 on the clock, Barlow went to the free throw line at the 1:33 mark and hit a pair on either side of another timeout from the Warriors, who then went down and missed another 3. The Pirates drained another 30 seconds before Stone, who came back in after a brief respite on the bench, hit two more to extend the lead back out to 48-41.
Smithville scored just once in the final 44.7 seconds despite two more missed free throws.,” Mitchell said.
“We knew they had some 3-point shooters,” Mitchell said. “We were trying to identify them and push them off the line a little bit, but they did a good job of getting us a couple of times. But I think we did a good job at times (of guarding them), as well.”
Barlow helped spark Platte County’s early 7-2 run with aggressive play in the opening possessions.

Platte County senior guard Lauren Stone takes a shot against Smithville on Monday at Pirate Fieldhouse.
With Smithville regularly switching defenses, the early look gave Barlow, known more as a facilitator, the ability to attack the basket. She missed two early layups, but Schlake grabbed both and turned them into points with a putback off of one and a pair of free throws after the other. She posted six of her first-half points to help build a 11-3 lead that also included a 3-pointer from senior forward Haley Schank, who didn’t score again but added four rebounds.
In addition, Platte County sophomore forward Amani Harlin and freshman guard Kinleigh Howren both scored their only baskets during the first half to help fill the void until Stone found her rhythm again.
“I think we all know what each other is good at,” Barlow said. “We all know how to work with each other and around each other, so I think everybody having their own thing that they’re good at, we know how to spread it amongst the team.”
Schlake did a miss free throw on a three-point play opportunity when the lead hit 17-8 in the first quarter, and Smithville hit two 3s at critical points to close within 17-11 going to the second. Four of the Warriors’ first six field goals came from beyond the arc, and they eventually closed within 21-19.
Stone answered with a 3-pointer at the 2:12 mark of the second quarter that ended up in a 7-0 run going into the break.

Platte County junior forward Rylee Carr drives to the basket against Smithville on Monday at Pirate Fieldhouse.
“We really need Lauren. She’s a big part of the team,” Barlow said.
Platte County found a way to win against another quality opponent on a night when Carr, the team’s second-leading scorer on the season, didn’t have the normal offensive punch. The Pirates’ recent unbeaten streak puts them in position to post a third straight winning season under Mitchell, who guided them to the Class 5 District 8 title game in 2023 and a 20-win campaign a year ago.
However, Platte County beefed up this year’s schedule, and four of the recent wins came against teams expected to finish well outside of the Suburban Conference White Division race. The loss to the Trojans on Thursday marked the final nonconference game of the season, and three of the next eight games come against Grain Valley and Fort Osage — the other top contenders for the White Division crown.
Grain Valley won the first matchup with Platte County, which has yet to see Fort Osage and currently sits at 5-1 in conference play. The Pirates have those games to prepare for another run at ending a playoff drought that stretches to the program’s only state title, won in Class 4 back in 2009.
A year ago, Platte County dominated Smithville in the regular season but then suffered an upset loss to Kearney in the Class 5 District 8 semifinals. Smithville then beat Kearney on the way to the state semifinals.
Park Hill 55, Platte County 49
The Pirates committed 20 turnovers with only five players scoring in Thursday’s nonconference loss at Park Hill High School in Kansas City.
Stone hit six 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 19 points for Platte County, while Schlake just missed a double-double with eight points and 14 rebounds to go with a team-high four assists out of the post. Carr bounced back with nine points, but the Pirates hits just eight shots from inside the arc and finished 6 of 13 on free throw attempts.
Two of Platte County’s next three games are vs. Fort Osage (11-7) on Tuesday and vs. Grain Valley (16-1) a week later. The Pirates also close the regular season on the road against Fort Osage on February 27.