Three turnovers in the final 1:09 of the Class 5 District 8 Championship were crucial for the Platte County girls’ basketball team (18-9) with the postseason contest slipping away in the final moments on March 7.
Platte County senior Reese Pickett attempts a floater in the second half of the Lady Pirates’ 42-37 loss to Lincoln College Prep in the Class 5 District 8 Championship on March 7.
In what was the first district championship appearance in more than a decade for Platte County was a 42-37 loss to top-seeded Lincoln College Prep (17-9). The gymnasium at Pirate Fieldhouse was arguably the loudest it’s ever been in its short existence in the district title game, especially in the final stretch as the contest went down to the wire.
A layup by Reese Pickett with right under five minutes to play put Platte County ahead 35-34, but the Lady Tigers responded with two straight buckets to earn a 3-point cushion. After a timeout with 3:29 on the clock, Lincoln College Prep milked nearly two minutes off until a travel was called with 1:54 remaining.
Platte County guard Lydia Doole goes up for a first-half transition layup in the Class 5 District 8 Championship.
Pickett took advantage of her opponent’s mistake, converting on a layup on the other end to bring the game within 38-37 and the Lady Pirates immediately called a timeout to set up their press. Lincoln College Prep broke the press quickly but threw the ball away on its side of the court and Platte County regained possession.
The Lady Pirates crossed half-court and called another timeout to set up a play, but Pickett was called for a travel as soon as the ball was inbounded. Despite the turnover, Platte County regained possession quickly as Addy Schlake came up with a steal seconds later, but Lydia Doole’s pass was stolen and taken the other way for two points.
Lauren Stone pulls up for a jumper in the Lady Pirates’ 42-37 loss to Lincoln College Prep.
With less than 35 seconds left, the Lady Pirates turned it over once more while trying to run a play and the Lady Tigers again converted on the other end to make the score 42-37 with 18 seconds on the clock. Platte County had one last shot, but it was missed, and the buzzer struck ending the Lady Pirates remarkable turnaround season.
While the loss will surely sting for the Lady Pirates, they finished the year with one more win than the last two seasons combined – when they were 17-28 – and earned 18 victories for the first time since 2011. The last time Platte County was in a district championship game before this year was 2011 as it hasn’t won a district title since 2009.
Entering this year’s district tournament, not a single Platte County player had experienced a postseason win with the team’s last one coming in 2019, which was when this season’s senior class was in eighth grade. Nonetheless, the Lady Pirates earned a pair of district triumphs before having an impressive performance in the district championship.
Lauren Stone, Delaney Childers and Haley Shank played some crucial minutes off the bench to give the starters some rest as they wore down Lincoln College Prep. With the No. 1 seed taking an early lead, they were physically gassed so Platte County kept it competitive.
Joslyn Hupp played their last games for Platte County on March 7.
The Lady Tigers led by as much as six points in the second quarter – occurring twice, including once in the final minute – but Joslyn Hupp scored her third first half bucket with 22 seconds left to make the score 21-17 at the break. Hupp went on a bit of a scoring surge coming out of the locker room, scoring seven of Platte County’s first 13 points of the third quarter as it went up 30-25 midway through.
The Lady Tigers tied the contest up with two straight layups in transition – adding another point with a free throw on an and-one opportunity – and then went up 32-30 before the third quarter ended. Schlake tied the game at 34 and Pickett gave Platte County its final lead of the season with a right corner 3-pointer with 4:56 before Lincoln College Prep ended the contest on an 8-2 run.
Hupp and Pickett ended their high school careers without a fight, being the two leading scorers for Platte County and both recorded one steal. Hupp shot five-of-eight from the field to end with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Pickett ended with 12 points and making the only triple for the team.
This was the first year under Eric Mitchell and the team made bigger strides than it has in recent memory, tallying 10 more triumphs in the victory column from a year ago. The Lady Pirates will bring back three starters next season and look to continue improving.