North Platte decided to make sure the seeding looked off.
In the first round of the KCI Conference Tournament, the sixth-seeded Panthers blasted No. 3 seed Plattsburg 58-26 in the opening round to advance into the championship bracket. Janell Manville, a junior, put up 19 points and eight rebounds in the convincing win Saturday, Dec. 2 in Plattsburg, Mo.
North Platte was scheduled to play No. 2 seed East Buchanan in a semifinal Tuesday, Dec. 5, but the result was not available at deadline.
After going 0-2 in the event a year ago and not placing, North Platte left no doubt in this year’s first round. Panthers coach Ryan Davis called it his team’s best performance since winning a district title at the end of the 2015-16 season.
North Platte led 8-2 after three minutes and didn’t trail from there.
McKenna Fulton, a senior guard, added 12 points and four steals, while forwards Grace Rice and McKenzie Brockhoff had eight points apiece. Manville matched Fulton with four steals.
West Platte — the No. 8 seed — lost 59-21 to top-seeded Mid-Buchanan in Saturday’s opening round. The Bluejays were eliminated from the tournament with a 39-31 loss to Lathrop on Monday, Dec. 4.
Lea Moose led West Platte with 12 points in the loss to Lathrop. The Bluejays were up 14-11 at halftime but scored just two points in the fourth quarter.
OTHER GAMES
Orrick 55, West Platte 34
The Bluejays opened the season with a loss Tuesday, Nov. 28 at West Platte High School in Weston, Mo.
Moose led West Platte with eight points, while Emily Norman and Lexie Smither added seven apiece. The Bluejays struggled to score early and went into halftime down 24-15.
Five of West Platte’s 12 field goals were 3s, including two for Moose.
West Platte followed up with a 66-33 loss to North Andrew on Thursday, Nov. 30 in Rosendale, Mo. in the leadup to KCI.
Southwest Livingston 57, North Platte 49
The Panthers went into the league tournament off of a nonconference loss Thursday, Nov. 30 in Ludlow, Mo.
Jordyn Smith, a sophomore forward, suffered an ankle injury late in the first quarter, and Southwest Livingston responded with a 10-0 run. The Wildcats led 23-8 after the first 8 minutes, but North Platte stayed closed behind 12 points for Manville, nine from Rice and eight for Brockhoff.