By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
SPRINGFIELD - After such a thrilling victory over Walnut Grove the night before, Platte Valley had roughly 18 hours to turn around and do it all over again against Leeton in the championship.
They got behind early, which Platte Valley isn't used to doing. But just like they have all year, Platte Valley relied on their entire rotation to come through for another victory.
Capping off a perfect 31-0 season, Platte Valley overcame a nine-point, first-half deficit and topped Leeton, 56-44, in the Class 1 girls' state championship game at JHQ Arena in Springfield.
The team reached the ultimate goal in just the second year of the Platte Valley cooperative (South Nodaway, Jefferson Conception) in basketball and after finishing runner-up the year prior.
"We finally did it," said senior Malia Collins, after scoring nine points and dishing out three assists. "I mean, we've had the big game experience. We've been on this stage, and finally, the pieces clicked. I mean, we just...we did it!"
Just like Friday's semifinal, Saturday's championship featured a back-and-forth, high-scoring first quarter. Both teams buried a trio of three-pointers, and Leeton jumped out a 21-17 lead at the end of the first.
The Bulldogs (23-5) led 18-9 at one point, but Platte Valley wasn't rattled after overcoming a fourth quarter deficit the day before against Walnut Grove.
"We've had a few close games, but not a lot where we've had to battle back from a deficit," " said Collins. "So, that was really good experience (Friday), especially against teams of this caliber."
Still trailing 29-26 to start the second half, Platte Valley put the clamps down on Leeton's best shooter, who on Saturday was sophomore Bailey Fleming, who knocked down four first-half threes.
After scoring 16 in the first half, Fleming was limited to just four in the last two quarters. Further, Leeton sophomore Regan Shaffer, who averages a team-best 14.5 points per contest, was limited to just six Saturday.
The second half belonged to Platte Valley, as they outscored the Bulldogs 30-15 in the last 16 minutes.
A Sarah Langford and-one, and two Jaclyn Pappert threes, gave Platte Valley a 41-37 advantage entering the fourth. The lead only ballooned from there.
"We knew we had to do all of the little things to get the job done," said Langford. "That kind of flipped everything around. We were boxing out and playing good defense."
While Leeton's top players were met with tight defense late, Platte Valley's top scorer put her best foot forward in the second half.
Freshman Maggie Collins was held scoreless in the first quarter, and had only five points at halftime, but she scored nine in the fourth and wound up with a team-high 19.
"I think that goes to show how unselfish my other teammates are," Maggie said. "My shots were falling, and they realized that, and that just shows how great of players they all are."
Her sister, Malia, is sad to leave the team with her senior season now in the books, but watching Maggie develop made it all worth it.
"As a freshman, that's a big role," Malia said. "That's a lot of pressure, but I'm so proud of her I can't even explain it. We knew that's where we had to go. She's had that role all year long. I knew she could do it. Everyone out there knew she was capable and...that was our game plan."
Platte Valley 56 - 17, 9, 15, 15
Leeton 44 - 21, 8, 8, 7
Platte Valley scorers - Maggie Collins - 19, Malia Collins - 9, Brylie Angle - 7, Jaclyn Pappert - 6, Sarah Langford - 5, Madelynn Mattson - 4, Paige West -4, Stephanie Turpin - 2
Leeton scorers - Bailey Fleming - 20, Jordan Crooks - 7, Regan Shaffer - 6, Rowan Schmidi - 6, Hailey Bingaman - 3, Jadeyn Johnson - 2
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