​LaForge, Sears step up to help Eagles win Grain Valley Invitational

by Michael Smith

     This is the game that Grain Valley girls basketball coach Randy Draper said he was waiting for.
     More often than not, senior forward Grace Slaughter scores a bulk of the team’s points, often dropping 30-plus.
     In Friday’s championship game of the Grain Valley Invitational, Draper in the Eagles didn’t need Slaughter score as much as usual.
     The senior did have a game-high 23 points, but had plenty of help as guard McKenah Sears and Finley LaForge combined for 26 points in a 63-44 victory at home against the Blue Springs South Jaguars.
     “I have always envisioned multiple scoring options with the way we moved the ball,” Draper said. “Today is about as close as he have come to being where I want us to be offensively.
     “Now you gotta do it again.”
     And that’s the kind of performance Draper hopes to get out of his players not named Grace Slaughter for future games. If Grain Valley can get games like what LaForge and Sears had, the team could be dangerous come playoff time.
     LaForge scored 14 points, including a trio of 3-point baskets and Sears added 12 as she hit a pair of treys to help Grain Valley space the floor.
     “Three of us were in double digits and that is key for us,” LaForge said. “It is hard to beat us when three or four of our players are in double digits, especially with Grace on our team.”
     Added Sears: “If we can keep doing what we are doing with our double digit scorers, and we are sharing the wealth, we are going to win.”
     After the Eagles posed for photos following the win, they doused Draper with water in the weight room.
     “If they play like that, they can do that all the time,” Draper said of the water dump from his players. “It’s not like it ruins my hair.”   
     Grain Valley raced out to a 20-6 advantage at the end of the first period and held on to a 27-15 lead at halftime. In the first half, South star forward Kendall Puryear scored 13 points. For the rest of the game, the Eagles limited her to six as they focused a lot of their defensive attention to stopping the junior.
     Grain Valley packed the paint to make it difficult for Puryear to receive entry passes. Any time she caught the ball in the second half, there were at least two Eagles defenders surrounding her. Draper and his players gave senior forward Ella Clyman a bulk of the credit for the defense on Puryear.
     Not only did the Grain Valley defense do a good job of guarding Puryear in the post in the final 16 minutes, the Eagles made life difficult for South’s perimeter players as they hounded them, got into passing lanes and got deflections that resulted in turnovers.
     “When we realized she was their main threat, we really buckled down,” Sears said. “We were laying off their other shooters and made their guards prove they could shoot before we guarded them close on the perimeter.”
     “(Puryear) is really, really strong, but Ella did a really good job on her.
     For the game, Grain Valley (14-4) had 11 steals and that helped it take a 43-27 lead into the fourth as the team cruised to a victory.
     Slaughter, Sears and LaForge were all named to the all-tournament team.

​The Grain Valley girls basketball team poses for photos after defeating Blue Springs South 63-44 in the championship of the Grain Valley Invitational. Photo credit: Michael Smith

Junior forward Meghan Knust, right, drives baseline with Blue Springs South junior Kendall Puryear, left, and senior Koeeyn Van Acker defending her. Photo credit: Michael Smith

​Grain Valley sophomore Camryn Kelly, right, tries to get by Blue Springs South sophomore Mykael Hicks. Photo credit: Michael Smith

Grain Valley junior McKenah Sears unleashes a 3-pointer from the wing. Photo credit: Michael Smith