Platte County’s defense clamps down to fuel blowout of Belton

The players might tire of hearing the message, but the results leave little room to argue.

Platte County second-year coach Eric Mitchell continues to preach the overall benefits of solid defensive play, and once again, this proved true in what ended up a comfortable 63-31 victory over Belton on Friday night at Pirate Fieldhouse. At one point, Platte County scored 25 unanswered points and turned a once-tight Suburban Conference White Division matchup into a running-clock blowout.

A steady stream of offense from early in the second quarter to midway through third came as a result of consistently flustering Belton with defense.

“Our defense definitely led right into our offense,” said Platte County junior center Addy Schlake, who scored a season-high 15 points to go with nine rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal. “Yes, it does get repetitive, but we need to hear it.”

Platte County (9-2) ran the current winning streak to six after back-to-back conference victories. The Pirates have not allowed more than 37 points in a game during that stretch.

Perhaps most importantly, Platte County survived an off night from junior leading scorer Lauren Stone (five points). Lydia Doole, a senior guard, set a career-best with a game-high 16 points, while Schlake matched her career-high from scoring set as a sophomore in a win over Winnetonka. She has now scored in double figures three straight games and finally topped the 14 she put up a season-opening win over Savannah.

Schlake scored seven in the second quarter to help Platte County take a 31-15 lead into halftime and then added six more in a 26-point outburst for the team in the third quarter.

“I was having a great game, and we were all so hyped,” Schlake said. “The energy was so good on the court and on the bench, and it was making everything so much more fun.”

Despite the eventual overwhelmingly convincing margin of victory, Platte County also continued a penchant for starting slow.

Doole opened with the first of her career-high four 3-pointers and accounted for Platte County’s first four points, but the Pirates also went 1-for-10 on free throws in the opening 8 minutes and trailed Belton 11-10 going to the second quarter. Doole then started the second quarter with another 3-pointer to put Platte County back up 13-11 and then added another to break a 13-13 tie.

Belton wouldn’t be even or lead again.

“She definitely carried us and kept our momentum going,” Schlake said.

Platte County led 16-15 when Belton’s scoreless drought of more than 8 minutes began.

The original 14-0 run concluded with back-to-back three-point plays from sophomore Rylee Carr, who again provided a big spark off the bench with eight points, and Schlake. In the closing seconds of the first half, Schlake attempted a long pull-up jumper, and Doole hustled down for an offensive rebound and drew a foul with just 0.9 on the clock. She split the two free throws and sent Belton into the break down 31-15.

To start the third quarter, Schlake sandwiched inside baskets around a fastbreak layup for Doole. Platte County eventually led 41-15 before Belton banked in a 3-pointer to break the scoreless spell.

“We were all just caught up in the game,” Schlake said. “We didn’t stop to pause to see how much we were up by.”

Platte County senior Delaney Childers, who has earned a starting role as the relentless top piece of a pressure defense, answered with a three-point play, and she later added a 3-pointer at the third quarter buzzer on her way to scoring in double figures for the first time in her career. Childers finished with 11 points to go with three of Platte County’s 12 steals, matching Doole for the team lead.

For much of the fourth quarter, Platte County led by 30-plus, allowing for a running clock. Pirates junior point guard Haley Barlow scored four points and dished out a team-high three assists, while freshman Amani Harlin impressed with four points and five rebounds in limited minutes.

Platte County 53, Raytown 11

The Pirates forced 32 turnovers and opened White Division play with the largest margin of victory on the season.

Eight players fairly evenly split Platte County’s scoring Wednesday at Pirate Fieldhouse with Schlake totaling a team-high 10 and Stone adding nine. The Pirates shot just 35.8% from the field, but Raytown didn’t have a made field goal in the first half and trailed 32-1 at the break.

Platte County junior Haley Schank matched her career-high of seven points from earlier in the season, and Doole also wound up with seven to go with five steals. Barlow and sophomore reserve guard Addie Ayers finished with six points apiece, while Carr scored five and Harlin three.

Raytown finished second in the White Division a year ago but saw the head coach and multiple potential returning players depart the program.