The North Platte Panthers (25-4) used a late offensive roar to take down Nodaway Valley (25-3) in the Class 2 state tournament on Tuesday, March 4, in Dearborn, MO.
The battle between the Thunder and Panthers had been hyped up all season, as the two heavyweights appeared to be on a collision course. With both teams in the Class 2 top 10 all season long, it was finally time to see the conclusion of one of the most anticipated games in the state.
Early on, North Platte had a hard time slowing down Nodaway Valley’s All-State center, senior Ava Graham, who piled up 12 points in the first quarter. However, strong passes allowed the Panthers to break the Thunder press early. North Platte freshman Addison Skala had four points early, helping the Panthers earn a 15-14 advantage after the first period.
North Platte extended the lead to 17-14 before Thunder freshman Annalee Livengood and senior Paige Hanson led the Thunder on a 6-2 run, stealing the lead from North Platte with Nodaway Valley holding a 20-17 lead late in the second period.
While Nodaway Valley took a 26-22 lead into halftime, the Panthers held Graham to just two second-quarter points, a far cry from her 12 points in the first, and Panther coach Clay Atteberry mentioned that he liked what his team was able to do to slow her down.
“She (Graham) is just so athletic. It’s something you don’t always see,” Attebery said. “She’s tough inside to gameplan for. She hit some tough shots tonight, a couple of fadeaways that you just can’t guard, you just have to ride it out. I thought our girls responded well.”
While the Panthers had Graham slowed down, North Platte struggled to stop the rest of the Thunder throughout the third, as Nodaway Valley sprinted out to a 37-28 advantage in the third period, deflating a loud gym.
North Platte wasn’t go to go out easily, however, as the Panthers dug down, going on a quick 5-2 run to close out the third period, cutting the Thunder lead to 39-33 while giving the North Platte faithful a taste of what was about to happen the fourth period.
“We all played as a team. Yeah, we were down, but we’re so good with each other that we came back together,” junior Ally Smith said. “We didn’t get frantic, we slowed down and we played our basketball.”
That calm demeanor led the Panthers on a 10-4 run, capped off by a bucket from senior Linny Ramsey, who finished with a team-high 18 points, tying the bout at 43, and sending the crowd into a frenzy.
“In the locker room, we were like what’s going on, what do we need to do better?” Ramsey said. “We need to pick up the pace, we’re not playing as we do. It was a team decision that we needed to get shots up.”
The Thunder and Panthers traded intense buckets down the stretch, and with just more than a minute on the clock, North Platte held a 51-48 lead looking to close out the battle.
The Panthers did just that, going on a 7-2 run to claim the intense 58-50 win. North Platte outscored Nodaway Valley 25-11 in the final frame, erasing a slow start to move on in the Class 2 state tournament.
“Props to them (Nodaway Valley) that’s a good basketball team, that’s a veteran basketball team, they came into hostile territory and didn’t back down one bit,” Atteberry said.
North Platte’s comeback was fueled by strong defense, as Ramsey and Skala forced multiple uncharacteristic turnovers from a usually secure Thunder team.
It wasn’t just Ramsey and Skala that led the charge and Atteberry mentioned that it was a total team effort.
“We just try to get as many deflections as we can to get some hands on some passes,” Atteberry said. “Anytime you have Linny Ramsey and Ally Smith and athletes like that, you better use them. They’re just so athletic and they’ll do whatever you ask, they’re going to play until they pass out on the floor. Not just them, all of them, we had some big-time players step up tonight.”
It didn’t get any easier for the Panthers as they headed into the Elite Eight, as North Platte will made the trip to Urbana, MO, to battle Skyline (26-3) on Saturday, March 8, for a shot to head to Columbia, MO, for a chance at the Class 2 state title.