West Platte’s Libby Vandel, above left, scored a floater with 7:00 left in the first half to cut Polo’s lead to 16-12 before the Panthers responded with a 14 to two run to close out the half and took a 30-14 lead at the break on Jan. 24.
Polo (14-3) showed why it’s the No. 2 seed in the North Platte Tournament when the Panthers defeated the West Platte girls’ basketball team (6-9) 48-27 in the first round on Jan. 24.
Polo knocked down four of its five 3-pointers in the opening half to help propel a double-digit lead over West Platte, but the Blue Jays kept it competitive early on. After the Panthers scored the first bucket, Katie Groom tied the contest with an offensive rebound putback layup.
Polo scored seven unanswered, then Madisyn Matlick scored five points in the final 4:12 of the first quarter when the Blue Jays trailed 14-7. Matlick sunk a trey in the first 12 seconds of the second frame and Libby Vandel scored a floater with 7:00 left as Polo’s lead was cut to 16-12.
The four-point differential was the closest the game was for the rest of the night as the Panthers responded with a 14 to two run to close out the half and took a 30-14 lead at the break. Julia Pattison scored four of her eight points – including one 3-pointer – in the third quarter, but West Platte still trailed 41-20 when the final period began.
Avery Holmes made the Blue Jays’ third shot from downtown in the final two minutes of the contest. Matlick tied Pattison when she also finished with eight points and four Blue Jays scored two points apiece.
The loss sent No. 7 seed West Platte to the consolation side of the bracket where it will be playing No. 6 seed Plattsburg (8-8) on Wednesday, Jan. 26, at 7:15 p.m. The Blue Jays’ final game of the tournament will be played on Friday, Jan. 28, with a chance for the consolation championship or seventh place.