After a three-game losing skid, the North Platte girls’ basketball team (18-8) ended the regular season on a high note when it took down Excelsior Springs 51-19 on Feb. 16.
North Platte senior Gracie Ramsey, above, had 17 points and seven rebounds in the Panthers 51-19 win over Excelsior Springs on Feb. 16.
North Platte set the tone with a strong opening period – outscoring its opponent 20-3 – and cruised to a 32-point victory. Gracie Ramsey led the way with 17 points and seven rebounds, while Gracelynn Hoffman added 12 points and Karli Guinn had 10 points.
Before the win against the Tigers, the Panthers have struggled as of late – losing four of their last six games ahead of the regular season finale – but they have ended the season with the most wins since 2016 when North Platte was 24-5 overall. During that losing stretch, North Platte let the chance to share the KCI Title slip away when it fell to West Platte (11-12) 49-36 on Feb. 15.
In the final night of conference play Mid-Buchanan (15-9), Lathrop (12-14), East Buchanan (14-11) and North Platte all had a 4-2 conference record with West Platte and Plattsburg (12-11) tied a game behind with a 3-3 conference record. When the night came to an end, East Buchanan and Mid-Buchanan finished as the KCI Champions, while North Platte, Lathrop and West Platte were tied for third in the conference at 4-3.
While the Blue Jays have earned a couple of wins against the Panthers in various tournaments in past years – including the KCI Tournament early on this season – the recent defeat was the first time West Platte has taken down North Platte in conference play since 2017. The Panthers were in control with a 30-19 lead late in the third quarter, but with around four minutes left that changed.
From that point on, the Blue Jays outscored the road team 29-9 to pull off the upset and gave North Platte its third consecutive loss. While they weren’t able to pull out the win, the Panthers had a strong first half where they outscored the Blue Jays 12-9 in the opening frame and led 27-17 at the break.
Hoffman led North Platte with 15 points when the junior converted on five of her 11 3-point shots from downtown. Guinn ended with 13 points, seven rebounds and three blocks.
Although the Panthers have been on the wrong side of the scoreboard lately, there is a fresh start when the postseason begins. North Platte received a first-round bye in the Class 2 District 15 Tournament, while the other teams had to play in the opening round and were scheduled to take on Plattsburg (14-11) on Feb. 22 at 6 p.m.