Platte County came up with an unbelievable finish to its opening game last week.
Rockey Chambers, a junior guard, banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer for the Pirates to complete a stunning comeback against Liberty North on Monday, Nov. 21 at Platte County High School. Chambers and sophomore guard Jaycie Stubbs combined for 40 points and four 3-pointers, none bigger than the last.
CHRIS PATTERSON/Citizen photo
Platte County guard Rockey Chambers pulls up for the winning 3-pointer for the Pirates right before the buzzer in a 70-67 win against Liberty North on Tuesday, Nov. 22 at Platte County High School. Chambers banked the shot on to break a late tie.
With only a few seconds remaining, Stubbs inbounded to Lauren Walker from under Liberty North’s basket. Walker turned and quickly shot a pass to Chambers in the middle of the court. She took one dribble and shot on the run from about 28 feet.
The 3-pointer went down just as the clock hit 0.0. Teammates mobbed Chambers near the 3-point line in celebration of the victory.
Platte County gave up 24 points in the second quarter and went into halftime down 36-29. Liberty North held a slim one-point lead entering the fourth quarter but continued to hold off the Pirates’ charges.
Stubbs hit two of her three 3-pointers in closing minutes, drawing Platte County level at 63-63 with 42 seconds to play to set up a dramatic final salvo. Stubbs scored a game-high 22 points, while Chambers finished with 18 points, hitting her only 3-point attempt at the buzzer.
With three of five starters back from a year ago, Platte County started strong but struggled to overcome a bad stretch late in the second quarter. The Pirates featured balanced scoring behind its top two guards with Walker scoring 11 followed by sophomore Hannah Valentine with eight and senior Ava White with seven.
Platte County shot 18 of 35 overall and made 5 of 11 3-point attempts.
William Chrisman 41, Park Hill South 26
The Panthers didn’t score more than eight points in any quarter of a season-opening loss Monday, Nov. 21 in Independence, Mo.
William Chrisman led 22-10 at halftime, outscoring Park Hill South 14-2 in the second quarter. Alecia Westbrook scored 10 points in the loss for the Panthers, who didn’t hit any 3-pointers and shot just 8-for-19 on free throws.
WINNETONKA TOURNAMENT
Lee’s Summit 67, Platte County 64
The Pirates dropped to 1-1 on the season with a tight loss in the opening round of the Cardinal bracket on Monday, Nov. 28 in Kansas City, Mo.
The two teams went into the final quarter tied, but Platte County’s defense couldn’t do quite enough. Lee’s Summit shot 42.37 percent from the floor and held a big advantage in free throw attempts, making 15 of 24.
Platte County was just 4 of 11 at the line.
Taylor Farr turned in a huge effort for Platte County in the loss. A sophomore guard, she hit 3 of 6 3s and finished with a team-high 13 points to go with two steals. Stubbs and Walker had 11 apiece, but Stubbs also had seven of the Pirates’ 18 turnovers.
Chambers fouled out with eight points. Liz Peterson and Valentine also scored eight apiece in another balanced effort for Platte County, which was scheduled to play a consolation bracket game on Tuesday, Nov. 29. The result was not available at The Citizen’s deadline.
Park Hill and Park Hill South opened their seasons on Tuesday, Nov. 29 in the opening round of the Gold Bracket. Park Hill South played Grandview at 4:30 p.m. while Park Hill faced the hosts at 6 p.m. Winners advanced to Thursday’s semifinal round while the losers would be in consolation games on Wednesday.