Platte County junior Lauren Stone (#4) goes up for a layup in the first half of the Lady Pirates’ 65-13 win over Van Horn on Dec. 14.
INDEPENDENCE – In the most one-sided girls’ basketball game early on this season, Platte County (5-2) over-performed Van Horn (4-4) in every facet of the 65-13 beatdown on Dec. 14.
There were 10 separate Platte County players that scored, seven doing so in the opening half. Van Horn scored the first basket of the game but failed to score again in the next 11:24.
Rylee Carr knocked down a left baseline jumper to ignite a 26-0 scoring run that didn’t end until there was 3:24 left in the second quarter. Carr scored four points in the first quarter to help lead her squad to a 17-2 margin, while Lydia Doole and Addie Ayers both knocked down a triple in the first eight minutes as well.
Van Horn made a free throw with 2:25 left in the half and Haley Barlow made a layup in the final minute to put Platte County up 29-5 at the break. Carr had seven points and Ayers had six points at halftime.
Platte County kept its foot on the gas pedal in the second half, pushing the score to 53-7 ahead of the fourth quarter. The Lady Pirates cruised to a 65-13 win in the end.
Ayers had a huge night, leading all scorers with 16 points and converting on 4-of-8 from behind the arc. Entering the contest, Ayers only had 15 points and four made 3-pointers in the entire season to make that outing even more impressive.
Doole nearly outscored the opponent herself, ending with 11 points and three triples. Addy Schlake ended with nine points and seven rebounds, whereas Carr and Delaney Childers each scored seven points.
Platte County had a season-high 18 offensive rebounds and 18 steals in what ended up being the second-largest margin of victory in the Eric Mitchell era. Mitchell’s largest was an 81-14 victory over Excelsior Springs last season.
The Lady Pirates move to 2-0 on the road this season, a better record than at home where they’ve won one and lost one. St. Joseph’s Lafayette (2-1) came to town and left with a 51-38 win on Dec. 4.
Platte County bounced back with a 54-36 triumph over St. Michael the Archangel (2-3) on Dec. 11. Lauren Stone surpassed 16 points for the first time in her career, erupting for 25 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field and 7-of-8 from the charity stripe.
Stone was responsible for nearly half of Platte County’s points and Carr added 10 points and four steals. Schlake walked away with seven points, 13 rebounds and a steal.
Platte County will only have one more game this calendar year, a road matchup with St. Pius X (2-5) on Dec. 20. After that, the Lady Pirates won’t play again until Jan. 3, 2024.