​Eagles fast paced offense, defense overwhelms Kearney in 56-27 victory

by Michael Smith
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Any basketball team led by veteran head coach Randy Draper is going to play fast.
 
His teams often use a full-court press to force turnovers and often will push the pace on offense to score before the opposing defense can get set.
 
That’s what happened in Friday’s non-conference matchup with Kearney as Grain Valley’s suffocating defense and fast-paced offense led to a 56-27 victory at Kearney High School.
 
“That’s when we are at our best,” Draper said of when his team pushes the pace on offense. I love our defense, it adds to the pace of play.”
 
Grain Valley led Kearney 16-2 at the end of the first period and cruised from there as Kelly scored eight of her game-high 17 points. The Eagles then scored seven points following Kearney turnovers in the second period which led to a 30-13 halftime lead.
 
“We had a lot of backside help,” Kelly said. “Whether it was me or Finley (LaForge) helping trap Aspen in the middle there was always help when a girl would cut through the middle. Our posts Meghan (Knust) and Addy (Seyfert) were always there to come down and get any pass that’s thrown over.”
 
“We also got into their heads by scoring and not letting them score.”
 
In that period, freshman Madison Rust scored all nine of her points to provide her team a boost. Draper recently inserted her into the rotation and she has proven to be a quality player off the bench.
 
“She’s a highly skilled player,” Draper said of Rust. “She is getting used to the pace of play and her ceiling is really high.”
 
Grain Valley (9-5) really pushed the pace in the third period. In the first five possessions, the Eagles got a shot up in seven seconds or less following either a turnover or a defensive rebound. Sophomore swingman Aspen Reed was the beneficiary of that as she scored 10 points in the period to extend the lead to 49-23.
 
“We had almost two weeks off at the beginning of the month,” Kelly said. “We have a drill where we have to get the ball down and back in 10 seconds and the ball can’t touch the ground. It contributes to our pace in games.”
 
Draper then emptied the bench in the fourth quarter as all 12 players on the varsity roster received playing time.
 
“Our bench did a really good job,” Draper said. “Our energy level was a lot better than it was the other night (a 54-43 loss to Platte County Tuesday). We needed to play like this.”

Sophomore Aspen Reed, left, and junior Camryn Kelly combined to score 28 points in Grain Valley's 56-27 win against Kearney Friday at Kearney High School. Photo credit: Michael Smith

Grain Valley freshman Addison Rust rises up for a jump shot while two Kearney defenders swarm her. Photo credit: Michael Smith

Grain Valley sophomore Addy Seyfert drives by Kearney sophomore Brooke Paalhar, left, and senior Grace Bomar for a layup attempt. Photo credit: Michael Smith