Defense rules day as Platte Valley marches on
JON DYKSTRA/THE FORUM
Platte Valley senior Tina Turpin scores against Northeast Nodaway on Wednesday in Stanberry.
STANBERRY, Mo. — Platte Valley scored on the first three possessions of the game on Wednesday night in Stanberry, and those seven points felt like they might be enough to win the semifinal matchup for much of the game.
Platte Valley (25-1) ended up picking up a 45-13 victory over Northeast Nodaway (16-9) to earn the team a trip to the district championship and a matchup with Nodaway Valley (23-4).
“We’ve been building up to this moment since the day we started practice,” Platte Valley senior Maggie Collins said. “Now we are in one-game seasons. We are lucky to be able to practice another day.”
The game opened with a 3-pointer from junior Maleeah Bliley and senior Tina Turpin promptly added four quick points for a 7-0 lead.
“Phenomenal effort, phenomenal focus and phenomenal teamwork,” Platte Valley coach Tyler Pedersen said.
Both teams locked down defensively for the rest of the first quarter as a Collins free throw was the only other point scored as Platte Valley took an 8-0 lead into the second quarter and Turpin added another basket in the second quarter for a 10-0 lead.
“It feels great coming in and bringing in all the energy that we built up all season to hopefully make a long run in the postseason,” Turpin said. “Just having my best friends and my teammates by my side, it is really great to do this my senior year with them.”
After Platte Valley shut the Bluejays out for the first 11 minutes and 42 seconds, Northeast Nodaway was able to get on the board with freshman Blair Nelson scoring.
“Our girls — they played hard and together,” Northeast Nodaway coach Sheldon Saxton said. “I still am very proud of them. They put together a heck of a season — something to be proud of.”
Platte Valley had the size advantage across the board and that size wore on the Jays. Collins was fouled and hit one free throw, missed the second, but got her own rebound and was fouled again.
Collins missed both foul shots, but junior Mackenzie Swinford reeled in another offensive board and got it to Collins for a layup. Swinford was strong off the bench, allowing Collins to play more on the perimeter defensively.
“She really just worked her butt off and was after those offensive boards tonight,” Collins said of Swinford. “She really, really worked hard tonight.”
Collins took over with 9-straight points and her shot to open the third quarter extended Platte Valley’s lead to 20-4. Collins finished with a game-high 16 points.
Platte Valley’s sophomore shooters also found their strokes in the third quarter with Mya Wray and Emalee Langford each hitting a 3-pointer in the period. Platte Valley extended the lead to 28-6 after three quarters.
“I think that just mixing it up between our man and our zone has just added another element to our defense,” Collins said.
Collins scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to push the lead to 33-6. Platte Valley forced a running clock on a Bliley 3-pointer.
In addition to Collins’ 16 points, Platte Valley had six 3-pointers — three from Bliley, two from Wray and one from Langford. Bliley had 10 points, Turpin had eight, Wray had six, Langford had three and Swinford had two.
“We have a lot of players around Maggie who are capable and whenever they step up and hit those shots, it does open it up for her inside,” Pedersen said. “She is just a competitor. She sees double- and triple-teams all season long and she sees zones that are just focused on taking her away. I think the message is that you just can’t focus on Maggie, there are other players around her who can score too.”
Northeast Nodaway was led by senior Dalanie Auffert and Nelson with four points each. Mylee Wilmes had a 3-pointer and Baylie Busby had the other two points.
The Bluejays saw the careers of seniors Jill Boswell and Auffert come to a close.
“I can’t say enough about them,” Saxton said. “We will continue to build. Like I said, maybe we get a bunch of life lessons out of this one.”
