KANSAS CITY – Since taking down the William Chrisman girls’ basketball team (2-5) on Dec. 4, Park Hill (2-6) has lost three straight games against worthy opponents.
Each of the last three teams Park Hill has played has had a favorable record and proved why. North Kansas City (6-2) came into the matchup with four straight wins and extended that streak with a 54-47 victory on Dec. 7.
McKenna Sosna’s season-high 19 points wasn’t enough to take down the Lady Hornets. Sosna was responsible for three of Park Hill’s five made 3-pointers and she forced two steals.
Smithville (6-1) has been one of the top ranked teams in Class 5 early on with its only loss being to an undefeated team as the Lady Warriors bested the Lady Trojans 63-34 on Dec. 11. Smithville shot 58 percent from the field and 46.7 percent from deep opposed to Park Hill’s 23.9 shooting from the field and 26.1 percent shooting from deep.
Lydia Keller scored season highs in back-to-back games, starting with a team-high nine points against Smithville. Sosna had eight points and seven rebounds and Paige Barry added seven points.
Arguably the toughest team that Park Hill has had to play this season was the most recent one, Liberty North (5-0) on Dec. 16. The Lady Trojans have knocked the Lady Eagles out of the postseason each of the last two seasons, but the regular season matchup had a different result as Liberty North won 74-46.
Keller had a career-best 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting from downtown, but that wasn’t enough. Boston Wand and Taylor Finney both had eight points.
Before the 3-game stretch against teams with a combined record of 17-3, Park Hill beat William Chrisman 49-23. Three players scored in double figures, led by Sosna with 17 points.
Izzy Petznick had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds and Brooklyn Bronston-Byrd ended with 11 points and seven rebounds. Park Hill doesn’t play again until it hosts Liberty (3-5) on Jan. 4 of the New Year.