North Kansas City girls top Smithville for tournament title

North Kansas City girls’ basketball team overcame some cold shooting in the third quarter and then a three-pointer by Smithville at the start of the fourth quarter that put North Kansas City behind by five points.

Thanks to four, fourth-quarter baskets by freshman Chandler Prater and a couple of clutch free throws by senior Maya Brewer, the North Kansas City Hornets were able to surge to a 49-39 victory Friday night in the championship game of the 7th Annual Lady Oakies Basketball Invitational at Oak Park High School.

“It was an amazing comeback and win,” said Brewer, who was voted MVP in the tournament. “We never want to lose.”

North Kansas City improved to 13-1, and Smithville dropped to 10-4.

The Smithville Warriors appeared to be in good position when junior Trace Mosby hit that three-pointer that put Smithville ahead 34-29 at the start of the fourth quarter.

But Prater made three quick baskets, and that got the Hornets rolling again. Her fourth field goal put North Kansas City ahead 37-36 with 4:10 left. Prater finished with 13 points.

“Going into the fourth quarter, I told them we were going to face some adversity,” North Kansas City coach Jeff Lacy said. “To see a freshman step up like she did was huge. She hit basket after basket after basket. Every one seemed so timely.”

Smithville took its final lead on a basket by senior Carly Adams, who finished with 15.

But with 2:15 left, Brewer got the Hornets back in front for good with two free throws that made it 39-38.

“I decided to step up and take the lead and make those free throws to get us up,” Brewer said.

North Kansas City solidified its lead with a layup from Cassidy Turner, making it 41-38. The Hornets stayed hot and wound up outscoring Smithville 12-1 in the last 2:15 to garner a 10-point victory.

Despite struggling to score the first 4 minutes in the second quarter, North Kansas City went into halftime ahead 21-17.

With the game tied at 10-10, senior Kianna Lane provided the spark for North Kansas City with her second three-pointer of the game. Prater followed with a steal and drove from halfcourt to the basket for a layup.

Those two plays ignited a 9-0 run that gave North Kansas City a 19-10 lead. Smithville stayed calm and scored seven of the last nine points in the quarter.

This story was originally published January 22, 2016 at 10:10 PM with the headline "North Kansas City girls top Smithville for tournament title."