Had originally planned to be up in Anoka on this night for the Section 5AAAA semifinals but when those got pushed back to Wednesday night account of Tuesday's snowstorm (a.k.a. Winter Storm Saturn per Weather Channel) I then decided to make the hop out to Maple Grove to catch the action of the Section 3AAA semifinals out there and to check out specifically the Totino-Grace - Park Center matchup. I got settled in early enough to catch a good chunk of the 2nd half action of the first game that saw top-seeded DeLaSalle pull away from St. Anthony Village and now it would be up to the second-seeded Pirates to hold up their end of the bargain and hold off the sixth-seeded Eagles to set-up Friday night's showdown up in Anoka.
One of the things that made this game intriguing is that each side had an older sister and former player in the stands cheering on a younger sister currently on the team - Lauren Soukup whose younger sister Madison is a starting forward for the Eagles and Nicole Schaub whose younger sis Hannah is one of the starting guards for the Pirates. And I was lucky enough to be taking this game in with Anoka-Ramsey Head Coach David DeWitt; fresh off of his team's Region 13A Championship just two nights ago.
But even with the sibling aspect surrounding this game not even I could have envisioned the dominating performance that the Pirates would put on this night as they struck early and often and sprinted out to a quick 9-0 lead thanks to two scores by senior Kylie Browen, a "3" from senior Kate Simonet from the right top area and a steal and lay-up by Schaub that had Totino-Grace Head Coach Bill Essma sensing trouble and calling a quick time-out to try and find a cure. But Park Center, with its vast advantage in speed and quickness, was forcing the Eagles into turnovers with its pressure defense and it took Totino-Grace completely out of their rhythm offensively; not to mention that they simply couldn't put the ball into the hoop. At the 15:37 mark, junior standout Cayla McMorris decided it was time for her to show up and she simply put on a display that was outstanding. A lay-up after a steal at the 15:37 mark; an offensive rebound and putback at the 14:19 and 13:57 marks that made it a 15-2 game and then a strong drive and finish at the 12:19 mark that drew a foul and sent her to the line to add the freebie that padded the lead to 18-2 and had Essma burning another timeout to try and halt this massacre that was unfolding before his very eyes.
Soukup scored on a lay-up for the Eagles with 6:29 left but McMorris was just getting started. A drive along the left baseline and finish with 6:09 left along with a lay-up in transition with 5:10 left and then a sweet move and finish that drew "ooh's" and "ah's" from the crowd at Maple Grove High School with 4:37 left made it a 31-4 game. Sophomore McKenna DuBois and junior Alivia Buggs made scores down the home stretch that upped the Park Center lead even more. Strong senior post Ashley Carter made late scores in the first half that at least got the Eagles into double digits but down 44-10 at the half even Essma knew there was little that he or his team could do on this night.
Junior Hannah Hoestra got the Eagles on the board to start the second half with a jumper at the 17:02 mark but the bloodbath would continue. A jumper off of an inbounds pass by McMorris at the 15:16 mark and a "3" by Schaub from the left corner at the 14:44 mark made it a 49-13 game and then Simonet made it a 52-15 game at the 12:56 mark with her "3" from the same spot. Park Center's lead ballooned to as much as 61-18 with 9:13 left and Head Coach Patty Sorensen called off the dogs soon thereafter. McMorris came out for good with 9:05 left and with the "running time" aspect in effect at the 9:00 minute mark for games like this the end came swiftly. With scant minutes remaing, Essma pulled his starters to a standing ovation from the Totino-Grace contingent that gave the reserves a chance to shine. A score inside by senior reserve Marissa Stelzer with 3:49 left, a long jumper in the right corner just inside the arc by freshman reserve Julia Sullwold and a "3" from the left wing by sophomore reserve Emily Marsh made this tough night a bit more bearable as Park Center hung a 64-28 shellacking on the Eagles.
This sets up the rematch then with Totino-Grace on Friday night up in Anoka for the Section 3AAA Championship. Last year, Park Center bolted out to a great start only to see the Islanders overtake them in the second half. While DeLaSalle still has to be considered the favorite in this game, I personally think this Park Center team is ready to pull off a monumental upset here. They've got the athleticisim and speed to match DeLaSalle and the perimeter shooting to go along with it. Again, the nagging question from a Park Center perspective: How do you slow down Allina Starr and Tyseanna Johnson? McMorris is obviously going to have to have another standout performance but you know she'll be more than itching for this moment. It should be a great one to be sure. Meanwhile, Totino-Grace is arguably in a rebuilding mode with a solid core of youngsters ready to take over for departing seniors Hoestra, Soukup, Carter, and Ann Hinrichs. This is a program that has been to state before and won it all at Target Center not that long ago but sometimes when you've fallen a bit it takes a while to get back up on that pedestal again. Even Lauren Soukup confided to me afterward that there was a big part of her that wished she could have suited up to help her high school alma mater on this night. Still, I think there's reason for optimism for the future at Totino-Grace.
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