On the back of a dominant defensive performance, the No. 2 ranked Park Hill South girls basketball team defeated Park Hill with a 54-23 victory in the Class 6 District 8 semifinal at Staley High School on Saturday, March 8.
Park Hill South crushed Park Hill’s ambitious dream of a rivalry upset to give South its first loss and end its season. Instead, the Panthers got their 28th consecutive win by doing what they’ve done all season long: run an efficient offense and take even more pride in its defense.
After a couple of empty possessions to start the game, the Panthers slowly established themselves in the game to lead 9-3 after the first quarter. Led by forward Ava Kells, the Panthers truly showed their fangs in the second quarter as they outscored the Trojans 21-5.
Kells was dominant in the paint on both sides of the ball, scoring 9 points in the second and 13 in the game. The 6-foot-2 senior ended the half with an exclamation point as she was fouled and converted an old-fashioned 3-point play with 6 seconds remaining to put the Panthers up 30-8 at the half.
Park Hill South’s Ava Kells against Park Hill’s Boston Wand in the district semifinal on March 8.
“Mindset is really the biggest thing,” Kells said. “I’ve had the moves down, I was just able to use my mind to focus, lock in, ignore the crowd and go for it.”
That was a deficit far too steep for the Trojans to come back from, but they did finally get some offense going in the third period, though the Panthers still stretched their lead to 32 points. With a running clock for nearly the entire fourth quarter, Park Hill managed to outscore the Panthers 6-5 in the final frame.
The Panthers hit four 3-pointers and were clinical at the free-throw line, hitting 14 of 16. It was the Panthers’ defense that really showed the brightest, holding Park Hill to just three points in the first quarter and five in the second.
“That’s going to be the difference,” Dorr said. “You can score points; it’s great, but if you’re giving up the same number, it’s not going to matter. We have to play defense and take pride in our defense.”
Park Hill’s leading scorer, Boston Wand, had her influence minimized in the first half after getting into foul trouble. After a scoreless opening half, Wand became the Trojans’ highest scorer with 6 points in the second half to conclude her high school career.
Such a strong defensive performance for Park Hill South was nothing new. The Panthers defeated bottom-seed Central (St. Joseph) 60-10 in the district quarterfinals on Thursday, March 6. Central’s leading scorers were Mikenna Main and Kylie Bachali, each scoring 3 points while South’s LaNicia Parker had 19 points and Addison Bjorn had 18.
The Panthers have been on cruise control against much of their competition this season, but head coach Josh Dorr has made sure that his team doesn’t get complacent in the most critical time of the year.
To celebrate his team’s undefeated 26-0 regular season, he took the team out for a nice dinner. After that, the team reset and has been focused on keeping the season alive, game by game.
“That’s the end of that,” Dorr said. “It’s fun; that’s a great season, but we needed to reset our mind. We talked a lot about how each game is now 0-0. It just comes down to next game up.”
The shift in seasons and team reset doesn’t seem to have harmed the Panthers. Park Hill South continues to prove why they have been ranked so high for so long.
“We’re still having fun,” Kells said. “We’re very close as a team, which I think helps a lot. We’ve been locked in and think of each game as a new game.”
Park Hill South’s next matchup will be a true test as they face No. 3 ranked Staley, 27-1 on the season, on Staley’s home court for the district championship on Tuesday, March 11.
The Panthers are fully healthy and prepared for a highly-anticipated district title game between two of the state’s top three teams.
“Each game is another step. We have to make sure we are taking those steps. Each day you come to practice, each day you play a game. It's all new because it’s a new season,” Dorr said.
The Park Hill South bench celebrates a big play against Park Hill in the district semifinal on March 8 at Staley High School.