MARYLAND HEIGHTS • When Mikala McGhee, Kristen Hanna and Kailey Utley started at Pattonville High in the fall of 2008, they thought they would win a few Suburban North Conference basketball titles.
The league title, however, had eluded them for three years. Thursday, the trio stepped onto the court at Pattonville with the conference championship on the line in a winner-take-all game with Hazelwood Central.
With McGhee, Hanna and Utley shouldering most of the load, Pattonville broke open a tight game with a big third quarter. The Pirates then overcame a late run by the Hawks en route to a 42-34 victory in the SNC showdown.
"Getting this our senior year meant a lot," Utley said. "It was our goal since the beginning of the season."
The victory helped the Pirates, 21-3 and No. 8 in the STLhighschoolsports.com large-schools rankings, claim their first league crown since 2003. The finished 7-0 in league play.
Pattonville also snapped a 37-game league win streak by the Hawks, who were five-time league champs. Hazelwood Central slipped to 6-1 in league play and 14-9 overall.
"It came together this year," said Missouri State University-bound McGhee, who finished with a team-high 15 points. "It's good to go out, you know, graduate on this note (knowing) I gave this school a conference championship my last year. I'm sure all the seniors feel like that."
Up 16-14 at the half, the Pirates were the aggressors in the third quarter. They outscored the Hawks 15-7 in the eight-minute stretch to take a 31-22 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Hawks, who struggled to get on track offensively most of the game, cut Pattonville's lead to 35-32. They had a chance to tie the contest with a couple minutes left on the clock, but Maxine Beard's 3-point attempt missed its mark.
"Offensively, we pretty much shot ourselves out of the game," Hazelwood Central coach Wendy Reeves said. "We weren't going inside, we definitely weren't penetrating. Their 2-3 and their little zones worked because we didn't attack."
After Beard's miss, Pattonville got a fastbreak layup from Utley. They then put the game away by making free throws down the stretch. They were stellar the whole night from the line, making 20 of 25.
"Being able to make free throws in the fourth quarter ... it just sealed the game," Pattonville coach Craig Gregory said. "It makes it a lot easier."
Pattonville trailed Hazelwood Central 9-7 after one quarter. However, they took the lead for good in the middle of the second quarter when McGhee scored five points in a row.
"We talked (at halftime)," Gregory said. "I think we were a little uptight. I mean, it's Hazelwood Central. They've won four undisputed (titles), four outright. You have to get over that."
Utley, who scored 10 of her 12 points in the second half, and Hanna, who had seven of her 11 points in the final two quarters, gave the Pirates a lift in the final two quarters. Their timing couldn't have been better -- McGhee was in foul trouble in the second half and fouled out late in the game.
"Everybody stepped up and hit the shots we needed to and contained them on defense," McGhee said.
Alyssia Winston led Hazelwood Central with 15 points.
