By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
DEARBORN - North Andrew played at Platte Valley on Dec. 17, and were barely ever in contention, getting blown out 71-14.
The Cardinals got Brylie Brincks and Alaina Officer back from injury since then, and gave the No. 2 team in Class 1 a much better challenge on Saturday at North Platte High School.
"I give a lot of credit to North Andrew for what they were doing in the first half," Platte Valley head coach Tyler Pedersen said. "Defensively, we turned it up (in the second half) and got some separation."
After leading 19-13 at halftime, Platte Valley (18-0) used an 8-0 run to start the fourth quarter and limited the Cardinals to three points over the final eight minutes in a 41-25 victory in the North Platte tournament championship on Saturday afternoon.
This tournament crown comes just two weeks after Platte Valley knocked off Stanberry in the Stanberry Invite title game on Jan. 16.
"We really wanted to pick up where we left off after Christmas break," said freshman Maggie Collins after scoring a game-high 15 points and being named the North Platte tournament MVP.
"I think by winning these two tournaments, we've rally proved that even with that break, we can continue on the right path."
Platte Valley also proved they could continue on the right path after experiencing a rain delay at the end of the third quarter.
Yes, you read that right. A rain delay in a basketball game.
At the end of the third quarter, game officials noticed Saturday's rain was leaking on to the floor, causing about a 15-20 minute delay.
Eventually, North Platte school personnel got a scissor lift and North Platte girls' basketball coach Ryan Davis got onto the scaffolding and patched the leaky spot in the roof.
The game was able to safely resume.
"We kind of just laughed that off honestly," Collins said. "We just kind of went with it and waited it out."
Having never experienced that situation before, Coach Pedersen wasn't sure how his team would respond after a long pause in between quarters, but they settled right back in.
"That's never really happened," Pedersen said. "That could've been a situation where we came out flat, but the girls came out ready."
Both teams were flat early, especially on offense. Platte Valley led 6-4 at the end of the first, but made five, two-point shots in the second quarter and six more buckets in the third, including a three from senior and all-tournament team selection Paige West.
West finished with 10 points. Fellow senior Malia Collins, who scored four points Saturday, was also an all-tournament team selection, along with North Andrew seniors Carlie Grace and Alaina Officer.
With three all-tournament team selections and three double-digit wins in Dearborn this past week, Platte Valley has proven two things - they're not going away and they're only getting better.
"They're very resilient," Pedersen said. "There's different girls that step up in different ways and they're competitors. I don't really care about the undefeated part. I want these girls to play well as a team, and the girls feel that, too."
Platte Valley 41 - 6, 13, 13, 9
North Andrew 25 - 4, 9, 9, 3
Platte Valley scorers - Maggie Collins - 15, Paige West - 10, Brylie Angle - 4, Malia Collins - 4, Madelyn Mattson - 4, Sydnee Dean - 2, Sarah Langford - 2
North Andrew scorers - Autumn Rasnic - 6, Carlie Grace - 4, Brylie Brincks - 4, Madison Ecker - 4, Riley Walker - 4, Alaina Officer - 3.
