Third-quarter explosion sets up Thunder rematch with Platte Valley
JON DYKSTRA/THE FORUM
Nodaway Valley junior Ava Graham makes a pass on Wednesday night against Rock Port in Stanberry.
STANBERRY, Mo. — In its most recent loss, Nodaway Valley had control of the game against Platte Valley, but when Platte Valley made a run, the Thunder were unable to swing momentum back.
In Wednesday night’s 53-38 win over Rock Port, the first half contained one of the most dramatic shifts in momentum that you will see. An Ava Graham bucket put Nodaway Valley up 25-13 in the second quarter.
Rock Port (18-7) owned the rest of the half with a 17-2 run before Graham hit a free throw to close the half. The Bluejays took a 30-28 lead into the break and seemed to have all the momentum against a team they only lost to by three in the regular season.
“We knew it was going to be a physical ballgame going into it,” Nodaway Valley senior Sydney Marriott said. “We know how they like to play so our biggest goal was just to meet the physicality.”
The Nodaway Valley core group of juniors has been starting together since their freshman season and if they are going to accomplish the goals they have for each other over the rest of this season and next year, it is quite possible that Wednesday night’s third quarter is an 8-minute stretch that sets the tone for that.
“I went in at halftime and I said that I’m not going to stand in here and yell,” Nodaway Valley coach Mitch Barnes said. “You’ve got to decide how you are going to respond and if you want to go home tonight.”
The Thunder (23-4) dominated defensively and shut Rock Port out in the third quarter.
On the offensive end, Graham did the heavy lifting. The center scored six of the team’s 12 points in the quarter and proved that Rock Port simply had no match for her.
“She handled the ball real well inside when we gave it to her and finished at the basket,” Barnes said.
Graham capped the third-quarter barrage with a basket off an assist from Savanna Marriott.
Paige Hanson opened the fourth quarter with a basket before Rock Port finally scored a free throw. That was a brief halt in the Thunder surge as Graham finished a 3-point play then Hanson scored off a steal and Graham added another hoop.
All in all, it was a 22-1 run from Graham’s free throw to her final field goal. The lead had ballooned to 49-31.
Graham finished with 19 points. Sydney Marriott helped the Thunder build their early lead with a trio of first-quarter 3-pointers and finished with 12 points.
“It is really nice because we can go back and forth,” Graham said. “They have to come guard me, but then they have to go out and guard them (the shooters). It is just kinda a back and forth. It is nice cause it takes pressure off me.”
Paige Hanson added 12 points, Savanna Marriott had seven and Paidyn Linville had five.
For Rock Port, Ella Meyerkorth and Chaney Vogler each had nine while Addy Maifeld had eight, Avery Meyerkorth had seven and Dylan Kemerling had five.
Nodaway Valley now gets the chance to avenge their one loss this season against a Class 1 opponent when they face Platte Valley (25-1) on Friday for the district championship at 6 p.m. in Stanberry. Platte Valley rallied for a 45-36 win on Feb. 6.
“They had a way better second half than us when we first played them,” Graham said. “We started throwing away the ball in the third and fourth quarter because I think we just got excited because Platte Valley is a big name. We were beating them at halftime then when we got in the second half, I feel like we kinda came off the gas, took our foot off their throat and kinda gave it away. I’m excited to come back and have another chance to beat them.”
