The Northeast Nodaway girls finished off the season on a high note, going out on top with a 31-28 win over Platte Valley Thursday to claim the Platte Valley Tournament title. They built up a 20-14 lead at the half and then had to hang on against Platte Valley’s frantic efforts to get back into the game. Platte Valley nearly whittled it away at one point in the third quarter, but Northeast was able to take a huge chunk of time off the clock in the last minute before Platte Valley could get to five team fouls and put them on the line.
The Bluejays missed both free throws, and Platte Valley had one last chance to send it to overtime. With no timeouts left, Jenna Pappert rushed the ball up the floor, but her shot was long and landed out of bounds as time expired.
Northeast led by as much as 16-9 in the first half after Kiley Yost’s runner, and then Maddy Faustlin stole back a ball after Platte Valley had gotten a steal in the closing second and found Khloe Burns to make it 20-14 at the break.
Platte Valley started whittling away, flying to the offensive glass and getting multiple chances, cutting it to 20-19 at the 3:35 mark of the third quarter. But they passed up several chances to take the lead, and Northeast could not find the range either, getting an eighth-chance possession that came up empty. Finally, Maddy Faustlin went coast to coast, took on the taller Jenna Pappert, and drew a foul, hitting a free throw to break the scoring drought to make it 21-19 after three.
Emma Wilmes came off a screen and banked home a 3-pointer to spark the Bluejays in the fourth, and Ellie Jackson added a free throw. Maddy Faustlin scored off a drive and then added a steal to make it 29-19 at one point before Platte Valley hit a pair of jump shots and Pappert converted a three point play to make it 29-26. With 53 seconds left, Maddy Faustlin hit Emma Wilmes inside for two, but Pappert took on three Bluejays and converted with 28 seconds to set up the frantic finish.
The Bluejays won handily over King City 41-23 in the semifinal round. They jumped out to an 11-2 lead after one quarter and had the game under control the whole way.
It was Northeast’s second win against Platte Valley this year. They finished the season with only two losses, against St. Joseph Christian in the King City Tournament and against Stanberry in the regular season. They avenged the Stanberry loss in the King City Tournament with a 33-20 win.
The Bluejays had quality wins against several opponents. They beat King City three times, Worth County twice, Platte Valley twice, along with Stanberry, Mound City, and Nodaway Valley. It was just like the Mizzou football teams of the Al Onofrio years, who always seemed to rise to the occasion against the best teams in the area.
The boys, who had been struggling for much of the year, suddenly rose to the occasion at the Platte Valley Tournament, knocking off South Harrison and St. Gregory’s to grab the consolation trophy.
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