Eric Mitchell somberly exited the locker room at Pirate Fieldhouse and dropped a Missouri-shaped plaque on top of his duffel bag — setting aside a symbol of both continued progress and disappointment.
Platte County senior guard Lauren Stone goes up for a layup against St. Teresa’s Academy in the Class 5 District 8 championship game Tuesday at Pirate Fieldhouse.
Platte County’s coach and architect of a swift program turnaround didn’t have time to dwell on the immediate aftermath of Tuesday’s 53-47 loss to St. Teresa’s Academy in the Class 5 District 8 championship game. The Pirates pulled within two twice in the second half but were unable to create the extended run needed to spring a minor upset of the top seed.
Instead, Lauren Stone, Addy Schlake, Haley Barlow and Haley Schank — Platte County’s concentrated senior core — played the final game of their careers with an inspired effort. The Pirates’ playoff drought dating to 2009 continues, but a second district title game appearance in three years sandwiched around a 20-win season in Mitchell’s short tenure have changed the expectations.
With that context, Mitchell knows the value of that Class 5 District 8 runnerup trophy but also the increased sense of finality with this particular group.
“When I took the job three years ago, I wanted to change the culture; I wanted to change what people thought about the girls basketball program at Platte County,” he said. “And those four have been a part of the change — for three years. They’ve worked and continued to get better, and I’m just sad we couldn’t deliver them a district title.”
The defending District 7 champion moved back over in this year’s postseason alignment, St. Teresa’s (19-5) never trailed but needed a late run to pull away just enough to earn a return trip to the Class 5 playoffs.
Platte County senior forward Haley Schank throws a pass against St. Teresa’s Academy in the Class 5 District 8 title game Tuesday at Pirate Fieldhouse.
Stone, a third-year starter and Platte County’s leading scorer, hit a step-back 3-pointer with 2 minutes, 17 seconds left in regulation to trim the Pirates’ deficit to 47-45. On the other end, Stars senior forward Nora Roddy, who finished with 11 points, split two free throws, extending the lead but also keeping the lead at one possession.
Platte County committed a turnover on the ensuing possession, unable to attempt a shot with a chance to draw closer or even tie the score for the first time.
St. Teresa’s sophomore point guard Jazlyn Rhodes missed a runout layup, but the Pirates were caught out of position in transition. Roddy grabbed a followup rebound and made an uncontested layup to put the Stars up 50-45 with 1:20 to play in a decisive sequence.
“They played their tails off tonight,” Mitchell said. “We just didn’t make enough plays when we needed to, but man, it wasn’t because we didn’t try. Sometimes, that just happens.”
Platte County (17-9) came no closer than four the rest of the way but were only in position to challenge thanks to a spirited second half effort.
Rhodes finished with game-highs of 17 points and seven steals, leading three St. Teresa’s players in double figures, and pushed the Stars to an early lead. She hit an early 3, and sophomore guard Addison Moylan added a second on consecutive possessions early in the first quarter.
Platte County senior guard Haley Barlow dribbles into the St. Teresa’s Academy defense during the Class 5 District 8 title game Tuesday at Pirate Fieldhouse.
Platte County went scoreless for nearly 4 minutes but were down only 6-2 when junior forward Rylee Carr broke the Pirates’ early drought.
In the opening sequences, Rhodes also missed two free throws and a contested layup off of a steal that limited St. Teresa’s separation. Schank, a first-year starter and second-year contributor known more for defense than offense, then hit a key 3-pointer to close Platte County within 6-5. She eventually drew the assignment to shadow Rhodes and ultimately slowed the dynamic point guard but also finished with six points and made three 3-pointers combined in the district semifinal win over Smithville and season-ending loss to the Stars.
“Long story short on Haley, I tried to get her to play as a freshman and was unsuccessful,” Mitchell said of Schank, who also led Platte County with three assists. “Luckily, she decided as a sophomore to come out, and I’m so glad that she did. She’s just kind of a testament to what our program is: somebody that will work hard, comes to work every single day and takes any task you ask her to do and will give her all. She’s been hitting some big shots for us down the stretch, and that’s just a testament to her character and her personality.”
The momentum didn’t last, and St. Teresa’s answered with a 9-0 run to take a double-digit lead for the first time. Rhodes capped the stretch with her second 3-pointer, but the Stars went into the second quarter up eight points.
Schlake, a 6-foot center and three-year starter who recorded a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds in her final game, scored late in the first quarter to stop the run and ultimately started a string of seven unanswered points for Platte County. Barlow split two free throws and added a layup before Schlake added a second bucket from the post to close the Pirates within 15-12.
Platte County junior guard Addie Ayers takes a 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer against St. Teresa’s Academy in the Class 5 District 8 championship game Tuesday at Pirate Fieldhouse.
With Stone scoreless until well into the second half and held to just eight points, the production from the other three seniors helped Platte County avoid losing touch at multiple points in the first half.
“They were doing a good job of (limiting Lauren),” Mitchell said. “We had some other players step up when she couldn’t get those shots.”
Platte County also seemingly missed a chance to pull even closer with St. Teresa’s limited to just one free throw in the first 3 1/2 minutes of the second quarter. The Stars ultimately ended up on an 8-0 run and went up 23-12 with 1:58 left before halftime — the largest lead of the game. Schank’s second 3-pointer stopped the stretch, and the Pirates actually ended up back within six at the break after a pivotal exchange in the closing seconds of the second quarter.
After Barlow split a pair of free throws with 15.6 seconds on the clock, St. Teresa’s rushed and missed a 3-pointer on what ended up the Stars’ final possession of the first half.
Platte County rebounded, and junior reserve guard Addie Ayers chaotically moved the ball up the near sideline and fired an off-balance, contested 3-pointer from just across half court and near the scorer’s table. The shot banked in at the buzzer for her only three points and provided the Pirates some energy despite still trailing 25-19.
“It was a big, big play, and people won’t really realize that but looking at the box score, that got us back to within a couple of possessions,” Mitchell said. “That was a big shot. Funny story, sometimes we work on those (situations). I don’t know if we worked on that angle, and I don’t think we’ve worked on banking it in. But she did it, and that’s Addie. She can hit some of those shots.”
Platte County senior center Addy Schlake tries to take a shot against St. Teresa’s Academy in the Class 5 District 8 title game Tuesday at Pirate Fieldhouse.
Roddy scored St. Teresa’s’ first five points out of the break, and after committing 14 of 19 total turnovers in the first half, Platte County hit another offensive lull. The Stars would eventually go back up 11 points with 3:09 left in the third quarter at 32-21.
Seemingly in the danger zone, Platte County answered again.
Schlake aggressively scored back-to-back buckets in the post, and Barlow, a fourth-year starting point guard for Platte County, added a layup for the last of her six points. The six unanswered points became an 11-2 run that included a 3 from Lauren Stone — her first points while limited as the clear focal point of the St. Teresa’s defense — and another two in the post for Schlake. The Pirates went from down double-digits to within 34-32 with 30 seconds left in the third quarter.
“I thought Addy Schlake might have played some of the best basketball of her career there late in the second quarter into the third quarter,” Mitchell said. “I think she was one of the most dominant players on the floor tonight at times, which was a tribute to her and her work ethic and to take some of that pressure off of Lauren.”
St. Teresa’s went into the fourth quarter up three and pushed the advantage to seven twice more, both times on inside buckets for sophomore Mabel Bland (eight points).
Platte County junior forward Rylee Carr takes a shot against St. Teresa’s Academy in the Class 5 District 8 title game Tuesday at Pirate Fieldhouse.
Carr, the only non-senior starter, provided Platte County’s final push, scoring 10 of her team-high 14 points in the final eight minutes. Her runner pulled the Pirates within 45-42 near the midway point of the fourth quarter.
However, Platte County committed the fifth team foul of the fourth quarter right after that point, putting St. Teresa’s in the bonus and starting a string of free throw opportunities critical to the eventual outcome. The Stars took advantage and scored six of their final eight points at the line.
The only exception ended up being Roddy’s putback on the transition runout.
“That’s the name of their game, man,” Mitchell said. “If you don’t get back on them, they will make you pay because they will get that ball and go, and they do an excellent job of that. We kind of got caught up in the paint. They leaked out on us and got a good look at the other end.”
Platte County and St. Teresa’s then exchanged turnovers, and Bland kept the Stars’ lead at five after blocking a layup attempt from Schank. Rhodes split two free throws, and Carr’s final field goal left the Pirates down 51-47 with just 28 seconds left.
Platte County senior guard Lauren Stone walks off the court after a loss to St. Teresa’s Academy in the Class 5 District 8 title game Tuesday at Pirate Fieldhouse.
Two final free throws provided the final margin with St. Teresa’s Academy advancing to play Grandview (19-8) in a Class 5 state quarterfinal and rematch of last year’s District 7 title game.
“We gave ourselves a chance,” Mitchell said. “I looked up once in the third, and we were down 11. We kept chopping it down and chopping them down. We just couldn’t get over that hump. We fought and fought and fought, and we got it close in the fourth once. We just couldn’t get that shot to get over the hump, and not from lack of trying. I mean we tried, but that’s a quality opponent.”
Platte County’s playoff drought hit 16 years since winning the Class 4 state championship in 2009. Prior to Mitchell’s arrival, the Pirates went through three straight losing seasons but immediately reversed fortunes in the 2022-23 campaign.
With Stone, Schlake and Barlow in the starting lineup, Platte County went all the way to the district title game and lost by five to Lincoln Prep. Schank joined the rotation as a junior when the Pirates won 20 games but suffered an upset loss to Kearney in the district semifinals.
Platte County won two more postseason games this year in a bracket that included two returning playoff teams and came up just short against a youthful but talented St. Teresa’s squad. The Pirates shortened the rotation with Ayers playing the most minutes off the bench, sophomore forward Amani Harlin limited in minutes and freshman point guard Kinleigh Howren a DNP to round out the group of eight main contributors this season.
Carr and the key reserves have big shoes to fill with the departure of Stone, Schlake, Barlow and Schank after playing individually impactful roles in implementing the changes to Platte County’s culture that Mitchell envisioned.
