Senior McKenzie Brockhoff had quite the showing on Monday, Jan. 6.
The North Platte forward nearly outscored Maysville as her team rolled to a 60-29 victory in the opening game of a doubleheader in Dearborn.
Brockhoff had 17 points in the first half, as North Platte built a 32-13 lead over the Wolverines. The Panthers closed the second quarter on a 10-0 run to further pull away from the Grand River Conference school.
The run expanded to 18-0 as it carried over to the third quarter. Brockhoff finished with 25 points in only three quarters of playing.
Lonee French and Josie Roach added nine each for North Platte.
Penney girls 54, North Platte 29
Penney went on a big run late in the second quarter and never looked back in a win on Friday, Dec. 20 in Dearborn.
The game was a rematch of a semifinal showdown in the KCI Tournament, which Penney won 59-32
BREANNA CHEADLE/Special to the Citizen
North Platte’s Jaylin Burgess goes up for a layup against Penney during a game on Dec. 20 in Dearborn.
The Panthers led 15-13 in the second quarter before an 11-0 run by the Hornets gave them a 24-15 lead at halftime in the rematch. North Platte scored the first three points of the third, but the Hornets then outscored North Platte, 21-1, the rest of the way.
Nora Ford scored 22 of her 28 points in the second and third quarters for Penney.
Jaylin Burgess and Josie Roach scored seven each to pace the offense for North Platte. Jordyn Smith had nine rebounds for the Panthers (4-3).
North Platte 49, Bishop LeBlond 46
The Panthers were down by six with three minutes to play but rallied to pick up a win on Tuesday, Dec. 17 against the Golden Eagles.
McKenzie Brockhoff started the rally with a layup and then Josie Roach hit a jumper. A steal by Madison DeBord preceded a 3-pointer by Ryann Smith that gave North Platte a 44-43 lead.
Roach added another bucket to make it 46-43, before DeBord hit three of five free throws to account for the final points in the win at home.
“I’m really proud of our girls for how they were able to persevere and find a way to pull that game out,” North Platte coach Ryan Davis said.
The Panthers hit 19 of 26 free throws, while the Golden Eagles hit only 9 of 21, which kept North Platte around.
Roach had 18 points, five rebounds and five steals. Brockhoff had 10 points and nine rebounds, just missing a double-double. All eight players that played scored for North Platte, which snapped a two-game losing streak.
Up Next
North Platte: The Panthers host North Andrew on Jan. 8 before going back to KCI play on Jan. 10 at Plattsburg.
West Platte: The Bluejays have been idle since a Dec. 20 loss against Mid-Buchanan. West Platte plays at home against South Holt on Thursday, Jan. 9 and then at Lawson on Friday, Jan. 10.
Lawson Tournament: Both North Platte and West Platte will play in the Lawson Invitational, which starts on Monday, Jan. 13. North Platte opens with a 7 p.m. showdown with Carrollton on Tuesday, Jan. 14. West Platte is in the same side of the bracket, playing No. 2 seeded Trenton at 4:30 p.m. that same day. The losers of those games play at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 15, while the winners move on to the semifinal at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 16. The Penney girls are the top seed in the tournament.