Made the short hop over to Park Center High School on this cold Friday evening after a hard afternoon practice and workout (yes, my body was - and is - very sore) to take in this Northwest Suburban Conference clash between visiting Elk River and host Park Center. The Pirates; perennial contenders in the Class AAA-Section 3 stable, were looking to improve their seeding potential as well as keeping abreast of the leaders in a very competitive Northwest Suburban conference. Elk River has been working on improvement over last year's seven-win season and hoping to improve their chances in the Class AAAA-Section 8. Interestingly enough, the Elks took it to the Pirates in their earlier meeting up in Elk River this season so obviously the Pirates had redemption on their mind on this night.
Despite the obvious advantage in speed that the Pirates possessed in this matchup, Elk River managed to stay even with their hosts. After senior wing Hollie Sorensen got the Pirates out in front with her short jumper at the 17:53 mark, the Elks came right back and knotted things at 2 a piece when junior forward Molli Detloff was able to get into the paint for a score at the 17:30 mark. Park Center would get the lead up to 6-2 by the 16:39 mark when junior sensation Cayla McMorris connected with a running lay-up but the Elks would get right back and tie things at 6-all when senior guard Jordyn Sohns snared a steal and went in for a lay-up the other way at the 15:33 mark. But turnovers galore were the rule for both teams in the early going and likely prevented Park Center from putting the Elks in their rear-view mirror earlier than what they did.
The Pirates finally did put some cushion between themselves and their visitors but again, they were doing it the hard way with turnovers keeping a lot of points off the board. Up 12-9 after a lay-up by senior guard Kate Simonet at the 13:00 mark, the Pirates extended the lead to 14-9 when sophomore reserve guard McKenna DuBois connected with a lay-up at the 12:38 mark. Elk River would briefly close the gap on two free throws and a score by lanky freshman post Abi Scheid but the Pirates gradually began to pull away; going on a 9-0 run over the course of almost two minutes that really changed the complexion of this game and, by the time the Pirates finished off this run at the 9:27 mark, they were already in the bonus which only made things that much tougher on this young Elk squad that features only two seniors. To their credit, the Elks did make a push that enabled them to close the gap to a mere four points with 6:26 left. Junior guard Shelby Gracik knocked down two free throws after being fouled at the 8:23 mark and then Gracik was able to snare an offensive rebound for a putback with 7:36 left. Then it was the lanky Sohns getting inside for a score at that 6:26 mark that suddenly cut Park Center's lead down to 25-21 but the Pirates would waste no time in getting their lead back up to double digits. Simonet scored on a lay-up in transition and was fouled in the process with 5:48 left and she made the obligatory freebies. Then it was sophomore sensation Hannah Schaub lighting up the Park Center gymnasium - with her older sister Nicole who now plays for Anoka-Ramsey in attendance as well - as she swished a "3" from the right top area with 5:25 left that got the lead back up to double digits that the Pirates would maintain the rest of the way. DuBois was fouled in a transition lay-up attempt with 4:39 left and got a free throw out of it as Park Center by this time was in the double bonus. Then it was Schaub again at the 3:52 mark as she scored inside after pressure defense from the Pirates forced an Elk turnover. With 2:36 left, McMorris pushed Park Center's lead to seventeen at 40-23 when she used her leaping ability to snare an offensive rebound for a putback. Late scores by sophomore guard Anna Rollag and Gracik made a dent into the Park Center advantage just before the half but not nearly enough as the Pirates were riding a 42-27 cushion at the break.
Things did not get any better for the visiting Elks once the second half got underway either. Scheid did use her height to grab an offensive rebound and putback for the Elks at the 16:04 mark and once again at the 15:01 mark but Elk River's frustration was beginning to show early on in the second half as they simply did not have the overall team speed to keep up with Park Center on this night. McMorris was intentionally fouled at the 14:31 mark and made two freebies out of it. Turnovers, too, killed any hopes that Elk River may have had about making a legitimate comeback in this game. Schaub drained another "3" from the left wing at the 12:32 mark and then McMorris completed the one-two punch with a score inside at the 12:12 mark that had Elk River Head Coach Reed Caouette calling for a timeout to stop the bleeding but this game would require quadruple bypass as far as the Elks were concerned as Park Center continued their assault. Simonet uncorked a three-point bomb from the left corner at the 11:30 mark and then it was McMorris with a drive and finish at the 11:02 mark that made it a 61-37 game.
Even worse for the Elks on this night was their woeful free throw shooting. They made a total of FOUR freebies in the second half alone and, considering the number of trips they made to the charity stripe in the second half, this had to be a a major factor in the Elks downfall in this one. Coming down the home stretch, Schaub scored on consecutive lay-ups for the Pirates at the 4:06 and 3:43 marks and then reserve senior Zaida Henry, sporting lime-green colored Nikes, made one freebie with 3:14 left and then scored on a lay-up in transition with 2:19 left for a 75-44 Park Center lead. With the game in the bag, Park Center Head Coach Patty Sorensen inserted her reserves as did Caouette for Elk River and the Pirates cruised to an 80-50 victory that eased the sting from their trip up U.S. Highway 10 and the BNSF's Staples Sub mainline to Elk River earlier this season. Afterward, I had the pleasure of getting to speak with all three of the Schaub Sisters who have all had a part in making this Park Center program a threat to make it to the big stage in March. This team has come up short the last couple of seasons; falling each time to powerhouse DeLaSalle in the section final but this squad has enough talent and athleticism - and hunger - to maybe, just maybe take that proverbial next step. The only negative I could take away from this game from a Park Center standpoint were the turnovers they committed but they have enough time between now and late February/early March to make amends that just might allow them to steal the spotlight in the Class AAA-Section 3 field and get to State.
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