Platte County’s turnaround continues with convincing wins over Smithville, Van Horn

Eric Mitchell would not want any one victory to define a turnaround.

Still, Platte County’s first-year coach likely can’t deny the importance of Monday’s 45-34 victory over rival Smithville at HyVee Arena. The Warriors have been one of the most consistent programs in the state the past two decades, mostly under veteran Trevor Mosby’s exemplary guidance and have dominated the series for years.

Platte County hadn’t beat Smithville since December 4, 2018 — more than four years earlier — but broke the drought thanks to senior forward Joslyn Hupp’s double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds plus five assists, three steals and two blocks. The matchup occurred on a neutral site after the teams were split into different divisions of the Suburban Conference this year as part of the 12 Courts of Christmas feature event bringing together teams from across the state.

“It’s probably a little bit of everything,” Mitchell said. “I think early we were all just kind of feeling everything out and kind of seeing how it was going. I think now they’re seeing that when we get the ball to the post, our offense seems to run a bit smoother, whether we can score from the post or the post can kick it back out for a good shot on the perimeter. We’re trying to get a lot of that offense to run through Joslyn right now.”

The real proof of Platte County’s turnaround under Mitchell’s guidance comes in the 6-2 record heading into Wednesday night’s home date with St. Pius X. The Pirates have now won four straight, and while still prone to offensive struggles, they have found ways to make those droughts more brief in contrast to previous seasons.

In addition to Hupp, Platte County sophomore point guard Haley Barlow turned in one of the best games of her career with 10 points against Smithville, while sophomore Lauren Stone added nine to complete a high-scoring trio. The Pirates shot 44 percent from the field and made 10 of 14 free throw attempts.

Platte County entered the season minus just two starters from last year, while turning to Mitchell to combine the returning pieces like senior forward Reese Pickett (four points, four rebounds), senior guard Morgan Stewart and junior guard Lydia Doole (three points) with developing options like junior Delaney Childers (three points, two rebounds) and sophomore forwards Addy Schlake (two points) and Haley Schank. The results have been immediate with the Pirates now just two wins from matching the win total from all of last year.

“Our coaches have really been a big motivator,” Stewart said. “We have grown in skill and confidence all because of them. They really care about us. They push us every day. They make us put in the effort.”

Platte County 52, Van Horn 32

The Pirates avenged the loss that ended the 2021-22 season with a dominant effort Friday night at Platte County High School.

Just nine months earlier, Van Horn came into the same building and held on for a 36-34 win in a minor upset for the opening round of the Class 5 District 8 tournament. This time around, Platte County took control from the outset, led by as many as 25 and left no doubt in the rematch. Hupp — now in a stretch of four four straight games in double-figure scoring — led the Pirates with 11 points, but Stewart took the spotlight.

In the best game for the reserve guard to this point in the season, Stewart hit a pair of 3-pointers and finished with 10 points. Her first triple came in the first quarter and pushed Platte County’s lead to 13-6. On the next trip down the court, she grabbed an offensive rebound, drew a foul and hit a pair of free throws.

The outside shot provided confidence.

“I haven’t hit very many 3s this year, but we’re working on bringing that back in,” she said. “It felt really good, and I’m hoping to see that a little bit more this season.”

Pickett, who also had a 3 early in the first quarter, added a outback basket on the opening possession of the second quarter to stretch Platte County’s lead to double digits for the first time at 17-6. Van Horn would not be closer than 10 the rest of the way with Hupp scoring the next seven for the Pirates.

The leading scorer a year ago, Hupp reemerged as a top target on the offensive end, but Platte County also continues to find more success through defensive pressure and second-chance points. The Pirates shot just 33.3 percent from the floor against Van Horn but grabbed 16 offensive rebounds (four for Pickett and three for Schlake), while adding nine steals (three for Barlow).

“That definitely helps us,” Mitchell said. “We’ve struggled a little bit, to be honest, in our half-court offense at times. Trying to find ways to score in transition and offensive boards have kind of been a focus here lately, just to help us relieve some of that pressure.”

Up 24-9 with 3 minutes, 54 seconds left in the second quarter after Hupp’s solo 7-0 run, Platte County started to receive contributions from the extended parts of the rotation. Pirates freshman guard Addie Ayers converted a layup off of a turnover for only bucket of the night, while Schlake soon added another on her way to five points and six boards. Stewart then added her second 3 and two more free throws, accounting for all 10 of her points before halftime.

Platte County led by 22 late in the second quarter and went into the break up 33-13 after allowing a buzzer-beater basket that broke up a 14-2 run.

“We as coaches kind of challenged them not to worry about the score but playing against the game of basketball and executing better,” Mitchell said.

Eleven players ended up in the scoring column for Platte County — a list that included Pickett (seven), Stone (five plus four rebounds and four assists), Barlow (four points), Childers (two points, two rebounds), Doole (two points and a team-high five assists), senior forward Mackenzie Shields (two points) and freshman Riley Carr (two points on the first basket of her career). Mitchell used the comfortable margin to fully explore the rotations and give the younger players some varsity experience.

Platte County scored the first four out of halftime to go up 24, but the offense struggle to execute at times as players cycled onto the floor. However, the Pirates’ defense stayed strong, and a layup on an inbounds play to Childers made it 45-22 at the end of the third quarter. The margin briefly grew to 25 in the fourth quarter before Van Horn closed the final margin against mostly reserves.

“Love to get them time,” Mitchell said. “They work hard in practice. We’re trying to get everybody into the game and minutes, and it’s not an easy thing. When you get those opportunities, it sure is nice.”