Consolation for Lady Trojans, big week ahead

After a consolation game victory against the host school last Friday in the Basehor-Lindwood Tournament, the 10-4 Trojans come into a pivotal week which includes games at Oak Park and then an anticipated rematch with conference leader Truman at home this Friday night. Before Monday’s game at William Chrisman, the two teams were tied for second place in their conference.

A disappointing second half last Monday against Platte County led to 48-32 loss, leaving Park Hill in a position to finish no better than 5th in the Bobcat Classic, but they took it in stride as they competed in their last tournament of the year before hitting the final streak of conference games leading into districts. In their second game of the tournament on Wednesday, the Lady Trojans played a struggling Wyandotte High. Park Hill was easily able to pull out the victory by a score of 58-27 behind Laura Bennett’s 17 points and a 16 point breakout performance from Katy Plummer. 23 of Wyandotte’s 27 points were accredited to junior guard Royce Shields. Coach Brian Rockers was happy to get the victory, especially with what he thought was an ugly game.

“It’s just one of those games where you try to take care of business,” Rockers said. “It was sloppy and we just wanted to come in and get the job done.”

In Friday’s consolation game against Basehor-Linwood, the Trojans got out to a 10-6 lead in the first quarter and would never look back. After not using their full-court press all week, Park Hill put a light press on the Bobcats early to make them feel uncomfortable. The soft, but always present pressure led the Bobcats to 12 turnovers in the first half.

“We didn’t get a whole lot of steals, but we forced them to make some passes they probably weren’t supposed to,” Rocker said.

With a 27-15 halftime lead, the Trojans gave up a handful of three-pointers to allow Basehor to stay close. In the end, Park Hill was able to attract the fouls and convert the free throws necessary to extend their lead for a 54-39 victory. A fairly balanced performance defensively as well as point production from Park Hill’s top three scorers, Bennet (18), Plummer (10), and Emma Gossett (11) left Rockers pleased and excited going into a big week.

“Huge week,” Rockers simply said of his team’s next three games against conference opponents.