Park Hill sophomore Brooklynn Bertoncino made two 3-pointers to score six points against St. Joseph’s Central on Feb. 1.
KANSAS CITY – Scoring 50 points in one game has only happened three times for the Park Hill girls’ basketball team (7-10) – with each one resulting in a win – most recently against St. Joseph’s Central (0-20), snapping a 3-game losing skid on Feb. 1.
Since being one game under .500 ahead of its 14-point loss to Park Hill South (9-7) on Jan. 18, Park Hill had some offensive woes. The Lady Trojans recorded three straight losses, all of which produced less points than the last game, before taking down the Lady Indians.
The 55-16 win wasn’t only the largest margin of victory of the season but also the least amount of points allowed since beating Hogan Prep Academy Charter 58-9 on Jan. 11, 2023. Park Hill has only shot over 40 percent on three occasions this year – two of which being when scoring at least 50 points – including a 48.6-percent outing against Central.
Every Lady Trojan who made at least two field goals shot at least 66 percent from the floor. Lydia Keller led the way when the junior shot 5-of-7 from the field and 4-of-6 from deep to score 14 points.
Taylor Finney didn’t attempt a shot inside the arc, shooting 4-of-5, which matched her total 3-point makes in the previous nine games combined and tied her career-high in points with 12. Izzy Petznick finished with nine points and two blocks and Brooklynn Bertoncino had six points, making both of her 3-point attempts.
Park Hill made 10 shots from downtown on the night, a vast improvement from recent games. The Lady Trojans only made six triples in the 43-32 loss to Lee’s Summit North (12-7) on Jan. 22 and they shot 4-of-22 from deep against Staley (19-1) on Jan. 25.
Staley has not only been one of the best teams in the metro area, but also one of the top ranked teams in all of Class 6 but Park Hill put up a fight, only losing by five points. McKenna Sosna had 13 points and five rebounds on the night, along with making all four of her free throws.
Keller made three of Park Hill’s four 3-pointers to give her 11 points and she forced one steal. Boston Wand had 15 of the Lady Trojans’ 34 rebounds, two more than her previous career-high.
Each of the Lady Trojans’ next four games will be against a team that they lost to earlier this season, starting with a home matchup versus Park Hill South on Feb. 8. Park Hill will rematch with Lee’s Summit (13-7), Lee’s Summit North and Staley afterwards.