Platte County certainly doesn’t want to make a long-term trend of slow starts, even if the overall results haven’t have been positive.
Platte County sophomore Rylee Carr looks for space to shoot against St. Michael the Archangel on Monday at Pirate Fieldhouse.
On Monday, the Pirates endured a lengthy and frustrating scoreless stretch to begin a third straight game but stormed all the way back for a comfortable 54-36 win over St. Michael the Archangel behind a career-high 25 points for junior forward Lauren Stone. The Guardians raced to a 14-0 lead but ultimately fell behind for good midway through the second quarter.
Stone buried a pair of her four 3-pointers early in the third quarter to stretch Platte County’s advantage to 18 points in what ended up a 38-6 run spanning about 12 minutes of game time.
“I think we moved the ball really well tonight and really connected with each other,” said Stone, who added four steals and two rebounds. “We really got our momentum right before halftime, so I think coming out I wanted to keep it going. We kept the energy high.”
Platte County (5-2) made it two wins in the three games this season when facing a big early deficit. The Pirates were down seven before coming back to beat Truman in the third-place game of the Winnetonka Invitational’s gold bracket in late November, but they didn’t recover a week earlier in a double-digit loss to Lafayette, which scored the first 12 points of the previous Monday’s nonconference matchup.
St. Michael hit two early 3s and flustered Platte County into turnovers while scoring 14 unanswered. The Pirates didn’t score their first points until sophomore forward Rylee Carr, who finished with 10 points, five rebounds and four steals, hit a pair of free throws with 1 minute, 26 seconds on the clock.
Platte County junior center Addy Schlake goes in for a layup against St. Michael the Archangel on Monday at Pirate Fieldhouse.
From there, the momentum shifted, and Stone added her first 3-pointer in a 7-0 run to close the first quarter.
“When we were playing better defense, they couldn’t get into their press, and that allowed us to get us better looks,” Platte County coach Eric Mitchell said.
St. Michael went more than 5 minutes without a bucket in what became a 13-0 run.
Platte County initially tied the score at 16-16 on a 3-pointer from senior Delaney Childers, who finished with a pair and six points to go with three steals and three assists. The Pirates then took the lead for good on a significant play from sophomore reserve guard Addie Ayers.
St. Michael blocked an additional 3-point shot from Ayers, who then recovered the loose ball and restarted the offense. The ball found her again on the left wing, and she knocked in the deep, open look to put the Pirates ahead for the first time at 19-16.
“Addie’s doing a great job,” Mitchell said. “WE’ve got several young players that are trying to find their way right now, and they’re doing a great job in practice and starting to see the pay off.”
Platte County junior center Addy Schlake (seven points, game-high 13 rebounds) beat the second quarter buzzer with an up-and-under shot inside to send Platte County into the break up 27-18. Stone then accounted for the Pirates’ first eight points of the second half as the lead ballooned to 18 for the first time at 38-20.
Platte County senior Delaney Childers dribbles in the paint against St. Michael the Archangel on Monday at Pirate Fieldhouse.
Fouls piled up on Platte County the third quarter, and St. Michael minimally took advantage, hitting 5 of 10 free throws in what became a 9-1 run. However, the Guardians finished just 6 of 14 at the line and never cut the deficit back to single digits.
Stone scored 16 in the second half and hit 7 of 8 free throws, while Carr was a perfect 4-for-4 at the line.
Platte County shot 13 of 16 on free throws overall but only had six players score with junior guard Haley Barlow adding three points. Lydia Doole, the Pirates senior guard, went scoreless but totaled four assists.
“I don’t know if they’ve just had enough and started play a little freer,” Mitchell said. “We hit shots tonight, which makes a big difference. When you can hit shots like we were hitting it makes things easier. What impressed me was the first 3 1/2 minutes our defense was poor and from that point on, I thought our defense was as good as it looked all year.
“This team needs to realize — and I think they’re getting to that point — that is where we can make our hay. We can play really good defense, and it’s going to fuel our offense.”
Stone finished in double figures for scoring five times as a sophomore, and her prior career-high of 16 came in December of her freshman season. She’s added two more to her total in the past three games after putting up 14 in the win over Truman.
Platte County sophomore Addie Ayers dribbles around a defender against St. Michael the Archangel on Monday at Pirate Fieldhouse.
Platte County 65, Van Horn 13
Ayers tallied career-highs of 16 points and four 3-pointers, as a big lead for the Pirates allowed Mitchell to use his depth Thursday night in Independence.
Ten players scored for Platte County in the win with Doole adding 11 with three 3-pointers. Schlake (nine points plus seven rebounds), Carr (seven) and Childers (seven) were next on the scoring list. Childers notched five of the Pirates’ five steals.
Platte County dominated start to finish despite Stone scoring just three points, all on free throws. Barlow and junior Haley Schank added four apiece, while junior Rylee Pickett and freshman Macy Doll each hit their only shot from the field for two points.
Having won two straight since the loss to Lafayette, Platte County hosts Smithville (6-1) on Monday in the annual rivalry matchup before a road game at St. Pius X ahead of the holiday break.
