Over the years, stringing together multiple wins in a row has been a rarity for the West Platte girls’ basketball team (7-3), but that has changed, as the Lady Blue Jays have now been victorious in their last five games.
Since 2010, there have been five instances where West Platte has failed to win five total games in a year, let alone consecutively. Before coming out with a 31-27 win over Mid-Buchanan (5-9) – which was the first Lady Blue Jay victory over said opponent in 14 tries dating back to early 2016 – the most recent winning streak was three in the 2016-17 season.
Nonetheless, West Platte has been playing what might be considered its best basketball in the 21st century. After losing in the KCI Tournament third place game, the Lady Blue Jays won their next two home games by a margin of 106-39 before taking down Summit Christian Academy (7-5) – who is a Class 3 school – in the Twelve Courts of Christmas by a score of 43-22 on Dec. 20.
With three consecutive victories, West Platte kept that going against another bigger school on Jan. 4. The Lady Blue Jays held Hogan Prep scoreless in the second and third quarters and won by a 73-9 margin.
Five different Lady Blue Jays scored in double figures as Colby Shepardson had 16 points in 15 minutes and Madisyn Matlick had 14 points in 14 minutes. West Platte forced 61 turnovers – scoring 57 points off of them – and shot 36 free throws.
West Platte’s Madisyn Matlick (#25) shoots a layup in the Lady Blue Jays’ first win over Mid-Buchanan since 2016 as they’ve now won five in a row.
In a more competitive game and the second victory in KCI Conference play this season in just as many tries, West Platte was in a battle with Mid-Buchanan. The Lady Blue Jays outscored the Lady Dragons 7-5 in the first two quarters to lead 14-10 at the break, but Mid-Buchanan had a big third quarter and took a 24-19 advantage ahead of the fourth quarter.
While the Lady Blue Jays have had some struggles down the stretch in the previous years, they showed up this time and closed out the game in the final eight minutes. West Platte led by six points until the final seconds and snapped a 13-game losing skid to the conference rival.
West Platte scored 10 points off 30 Mid-Buchanan turnovers and scored 12 points in the paint, led by Matlick who shot seven-of-eight from the charity stripe for a team-high seven points. Julia Pattison was a vocal leader in the fourth quarter and ended with a team-high five steals and three assists, along with six points.
West Platte has a chance to extend the historical win streak in the Lawson Invitational Tournament. The Lady Blue Jays were scheduled to take on Richmond (4-5) in the opening round on Jan. 10.