Lady Pirates Win Non-Leage Hoops Matchup With Ladue

Sometimes girls basketball teams don’t get the respect they deserve. Far too often, good girls basketball is played before sparse crowds.

That’s hardly the case in the friendly confines of the Lady Pirates of Pattonville. An enthusiastic crowd came to cheer the home towners to a hard-fought 46-40 win over visiting Ladue Friday. The event had all the trappings with a red-hot pep band, a large number of cheerleaders and all kinds of gymnasts in green and black outfits.

It was a night of fun in Pattonville’s gym.

Senior forward Kristen Hanna led the way with 14 points. Mikala McGhee added 13. “For the most part, we’re happy how we played. We were sloppy at times, but the crowd was good and we fed off of that,” said Hanna.

The game went back and forth for some time, with the host Pirates holding a slim 17-16 halftime lead.

At the 3:41 mark of the third quarter, the Pirates got a three-pointer, finally opening a 28-22 lead. Ladue fought back, cutting the lead to 28-27, but that’s where the Rams offense stalled out.

Predictably, Pattonville was going to have its hands full with 6-foot-3 Taylor Robinson in the pivot. Playing with a sore back, she she managed to top all scorers with 23 points.

“We know all about Taylor. We knew she’d give us a good game,” said Hanna.

Coach Craig Gregory was mostly pleased with the effort. “We’ve played a lot of games in a short span.” The Pirates are off to a 7-2 start. They will play in the Rockwood Summit holiday tournament Dec. 27-29.

“We didn’t shoot well but I’m happy we won,” said Gregory. “We pressed them a lot to keep the pressure up,” said the coach.

Friday was senior guard Kailey Utley’s 18th birthday. An electrifying steal and slick reverse layup was the candle on her cake. “She scored right away, getting a layup on Taylor Robinson,” said Hanna.

With the loss, Ladue fell to 4-3. Senior guard Kate Holloway had plenty of chances but nothing would fall. Her lack of scoring production didn’t help matters for the Rams.