Lady Eagles Basketball Fights Hard in Comeback Effort in Loss to Pirates

by John Unrein

The Grain Valley girls basketball team could not protect a 24-23 halftime lead in their loss to the visiting Platte County Pirates on Monday, February 18th .

The Lady Eagles were able to attain the early lead due to playing tough defense and their timely shooting. First half highlights included two first quarter three pointers by Junior Forward Keely Hill and timely drives to the basket and free throw shooting by Senior Forward Gracelyn LaForge.

“I was pleased with our effort tonight as we’ve been playing well. We continue to find the identity of our team. I think the first half we played simple and aggressive basketball and that’s who we are. We missed a couple of shots late in the half that we needed to make and would’ve given us more space (with our lead) heading into the half,” Head Girls Basketball Coach Randy Draper said.

Turnovers and missed assignments on defense by the Eagles allowed the Pirates to regain the lead during the second half. Platte County turned the table, playing tough defense themselves as well as capitalizing on turnovers with good shooting. This allowed them to take the lead by the end of the third quarter by a margin of 36-43.

“There were two possessions back to back in the second half where we lost their shooter at a time of high priority and we didn’t get it done. We went from up one to down five and the game gets dictated differently after that. That’s the beauty of close basketball games in that every possession matters,” Draper said.

Play become heated during the final quarter. The Lady Eagles maintained their composure while continuing to compete. Senior Guards Kendra Sibert and Brittney McKay became even more active in their efforts to score as the game winded to a close with a final score of 56-66.

The Eagles cut the lead down to single digits with three minutes left in the fourth quarter refusing to have the door slammed on them in their comeback efforts. McKay and Hill led all scorers with 20 and 15 points respectively.

“One of the things I love about this team is that we have competitors and they don’t back down. That makes it fun to coach. It’s fun to go to work with this group. Brittney and Keely have been through tough situations in games and are good shooters. On top of that, our sharing of the basketball has improved and if your open, we’re going to get it to you,” Draper said.

Junior Forward Keely Hill with a free throw attempt. Photo credit: Valley News staff