The girls basketball team chased away the third-quarter blues on Friday night, and the team dusted in the process.
North used a third-period explosion to knock off the Pirates, 51-42, in a key Suburban North Conference game at Pattonville.
The Stars, who improved to 10-5 overall, recorded their fourth successive victory and fifth in the last six games. Pattonville fell to 7-4 and 0-2 in league play.
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North senior forward Kaci Cason led the way with 26 points, including 16 in the second half when her club outscored the hosts, 34-19.
"Our third quarters haven't been too good," Cason said. "We've been letting games slip away in the second half.
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This time, we were not going to let that happen."
North coach Dwayne Polk made sure he mentioned the lack of third-quarter success to his team at halftime.
"There were games where we'd get (just) two points or four points and give up 20," he said. "I wanted to make sure they remembered that."
Cason led the charge; although she received plenty of help from junior Vanessa Alexander, who scored six of her eight points in the tell tale third period.
Senior Deanna Lockette and sophomore Markeyah Neil also added key baskets in a 14-3 run that turned a 23-17 halftime deficit into a 31-26 lead heading into the final eight minutes.
"They came out, made shots, and we didn't," said Pattonville coach Craig Gregory. "We just didn't come out ready and they took advantage of that."
North turned in a strong defensive effort from start to finish. The Stars held Pattonville junior standout Mikala McGhee to 19 points — 12 of which came in the final 5:47 when the game was all but decided.
McGhee, who is averaging 19 points a game, and Cason, who is scoring at a 22-point per game clip, are considered by many to be the top two players in the conference.
Cason and her teammates hassled McGhee from the opening whistle. McGhee was six for 19 from the field, missing a season-high 13 shots.
"We didn't want her to beat us," Cason said. "We worked hard to make sure she didn't."
North, 1-0 in conference play, scored 19 of the first 22 points in the second half to take control. A short jumper by Alexander capped off a 6-0 blitz that tied the game 23-23. Two minutes later, Alexander scored again from close range to give the Stars a 28-26 lead. Neil then added a 3-pointer from the left baseline to push the advantage to five.
The Stars tallied the first five points of the fourth period to put the game away. Cason's traditional 3-point play muscled the lead to 36-26.
Pattonville climbed to within 47-42 on a short jumper by McGhee with 1:33 left, but Cason hit three free throws in a 22-second span to halt the rally.
The Pirates scored 13 unanswered points in the second quarter to take a six-point lead into the break. Junior Kristen Hanna, who finished with 14 points, scored 11 in the second stanza.