West Platte guard Sam Baker (#5) shot 2-of-4 from behind the arc and a team-high 11 points against Mid-Buchanan on Jan. 19.
FAUCETT – Getting to rematch the team that won on a buzzer beater in the first round of the KCI Girls’ Basketball Tournament earlier this season, West Platte (5-8) once again fell to the hands of Mid-Buchanan (6-7) on Jan. 19.
Dating back to 2016, Mid-Buchanan has now gotten the better end of West Platte in 15 of the last 16 meetings. Senior guard Julia Pattison missed the earlier matchup with an injury, but she was back in the regular season matchup.
West Platte took control early but struggled to put the ball in the hole in the second and fourth quarters as Mid-Buchanan pulled off the comeback to win 37-31. The Lady Blue Jays scored 14 first quarter points – leading by seven – but they only scored 17 points the rest of the way.
West Platte clinched a 2-point lead in the second and third quarters, but only scored two points in the final eight minutes. Both teams made one free throw and four 3-pointers on the night.
Sam Baker has had a coming out party recently and that didn’t change in the KCI Conference matchup. She led the team with 11 points and forced three steals, making two triples.
Julia Pattison tallied eight points, six rebounds and a steal, whereas Blair McHenry had six points and seven boards. Avery Holmes and Catelyn Carlson both knocked down a shot from behind the arc.
That was West Platte’s first game in two weeks since there were some cancelations with the poor weather conditions and school being cancelled. The Lady Blue Jays currently sit at 1-2 in KCI Conference play as four of the final five games of the season will be against KCI foes.
West Platte was seeded sixth in the North Platte Invitational Tournament and had to take on a tough St. Joseph Christian squad (12-3) in the first round on Jan. 22. The Lady Blue Jays lost 49-36 and had some offensive struggles.
Holmes tied the game at two with a bucket in the opening two minutes of the game and that was the only points West Platte scored in its offense until the second quarter buzzer. Pattison knocked down a 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded and St. Joe Christian was up 28-14 at the break.
Pattison had seven of her 14 points before the break, but four of those were in transition. The rest of the Lady Blue Jays’ first half points came from the charity stripe.
West Platte entered the fourth quarter trailing 39-27 and scored five quick points in the first minute to cut the deficit to seven points. The Lady Lions immediately responded with a 6-0 run of their own.
Catelyn Carlson split a pair of free throws with 5:36 left and St. Joe Christian responded with a bucket on the other end, and it was a defensive battle the rest of the way. In the final five minutes, both teams only scored two points each.
West Platte is officially on the consolation side of the North Platte Invitational Tournament bracket with the loss. The Lady Blue Jays will play on Jan. 24 at 7:15 p.m.