Made the trek over to Hamline's venerable Hutton Arena last night to take in the Section 3AAAA Championship Game that was a rematch of last year's final featuring the Wolfpack from Park against the Eastview Lightning. And, just like last year, Eastview was seeded #1 while Park was seeded #2 and you wondered if this time around if Park was possibly ready to turn the tables on the Lightning and get over that proverbial hurdle. Both schools had a strong student contingent inside Hutton Arena on this night ready to root on their team. It was on!
Park started out well enough in this one; a steal by senior standout Larissa Lurken and a tough lay-up the other way in traffic that drew a foul had the Park students roaring and Lurken made the obligatory freebie for a 3-0 lead at the 16:46 mark. Two more shots from the charity stripe by junior post Sydney Lamberty had the Wolfpack up 5-0 by the 15:55 mark and it looked as if the good start hoped for by Park was materializing. Slowly, however, Eastview took control of this contest. Scores in the paint by sophomore forward Hana Metoxen and Tyra Johnson cut the Park lead to 5-4 by the 15:05 mark. Park sophomore guard Annie Williams made good on a drive and finish at the 14:21 mark to increase her team's lead to 7-4 but Metoxen connected with a medium-range jumper at the 13:59 mark and then Johnson's "3" from the top of the key put Eastview up for good at 9-7. Not only had Eastview stolen the lead from Park, they also snatched the early momentum Park had for themselves and Park Head Coach Stephanie Tolkinen knew it as she called a timeout to get her teeam settled down.
But the Eastview Lightning Express was just only beginning to get the wheels warmed up. They not only proceeded to go on a 15-5 run that extended their advantage considerably but they also employed a tough pressure man-to-man defense that really had the Wolfpack reeling and rattled. Metoxen connected with a jumper off the glass in the lane at the 11:11 mark and Johnson knocked down a jumper from the right wing at the 9:34 mark for a 15-9 Eastview lead. Shots at the charity stripe by sophomore Madison Guebert, Metoxen, and junior reserve guard Kari Opatz gave Eastview a 21-11 lead with 6:56 left. On the ensuing Lightning possession, Eastview showed great patience working the ball around the perimeter and soon caught the Park defense napping as Guebert set up shop behind the arc in the right corner and hauled in a pass to drain a pretty "3" with 5:40 left that made it a 24-12 game and Tolkinen called another timeout to bring her team over to talk about it.
The Wolfpack tried to make inroads on the double-digit lead Eastview now held coming down the stretch. Lurken connected with a running jumper with 5:21 left and Lamberty did the same in a rare transition opportunity with 3:11 left. Lurken also connected with a sweet turnaround shot with 1:40 left but each time Park scored it was always met with Eastview replies so they really weren't able to make up any slack. A score inside by Johnson and a "3" from the top of the key by freshman Ericka Schlosser plus a lay-up in transition by Johnson with just under a minute left made it a 33-18 game. Guebert added a lay-up that drew a foul and the obligatory free throw allowed Eastview to take a rather comfortable 36-20 lead into the locker room at the break.
The Lightning wanted to go in for the kill early on in the second half and it looked as if they might do just that. Johnson connected with a jumper from the right elbow area at the 17:45 mark and another "3" by Guebert; this one from the left corner at the 15:02 mark had Eastview up 42-22 and it LOOKED as if it were over early. But the Wolfpack had a push left in them and they slowly chopped the Eastview lead down. And it was strong junior forward Temi Ogrnrinde doing a lot of the damage for the Wolfpack. After she knocked down two free throws after being fouled at the 12:26 mark, she used her strong 5'10" frame to get into the paint for a drive and finish at the 11:18 mark. After withstanding a "3" by Eastview's Johnson from the right top area, Ogrnrinde again muscled her way inside for a score with 9:32 left. Junior reserve guard Mikayla Jones was fouled at the 8:53 mark and she knocked down the front end of the one-and-one situation. The back end, however, bounced off the rim but Eastview failed to box out Lamberty and she snared the offensive rebound for a putback that cut the Lightning lead down to ten at 45-35. Lurken used her defensive skills to steal an Eastview pass and streak the other way for a lay-up with 7:43 left and a drive and finish with 6:34 left by the 5'9" Lurken cut the deficit into single digits at 47-39 and had the Park student section roaring again.
But just as quickly as Park had come alive again, they died the same way. The spark they had suddenly shown soon fizzled and it was puzzling in a myriad of ways (more on that in a bit). This allowed the Lightning; who never panicked during Park's burst, to put the finishing touches on this game. Having the foul situation in their favor allowed Eastview to be incredibly patient with the ball and this forced Park to foul that had Metoxen, Guebert and Co. making several forays to the charity stripe to salt this thing away as the Lightning punched their ticket to Target Center with a 61-45 victory. Afterward, a jubiliant Eastview Head Coach Melissa Guebert said that the keys to victory in this one were "being aware of them and what they could do; playing solid defense" and, perhaps even more important, "tuning out the noise". "They (Park) have an incredible student section". Keep your eye on this Eastview team at Target Center this next week. They play incredibly smart and they are always coming after you. They may not be the favorite to win it all but, with a few breaks here and there along the way, Melissa Guebert and her Eastview Lightning team could FINALLY be hoisting that state championship trophy in Target Center on Saturday night.
On the other end of the spectrum, I couldn't help but feel badly for the Park Wolfpack team; particularly Lurken who left everything she had on the floor out there; she took an incredible beating on this night. I don't normally like to pile on coaches or criticize their strategy in their decision-making but, for the life of me, I simply cannot understand why they did not attempt any three-point shots during their comeback bid. They had opportunities and had shooters out there on the perimeter during the critical moments in this stretch but, for whatever reason, they seemed hell-bent on trying to work the ball inside. Look, I'm not saying that you just get wreckless and start jacking up "3's" for the sake of doing it but when you're in a championship game with a trip to the State Tournament on the line and you're down, you've GOT to be willing to roll the dice a little bit and make calculated risks. I'm not saying that by trying to shoot some three-point attempts that they'd necessarily win, either. What I am saying is that, if you're trailing by eight, nine points and you sink a "3" that suddenly cuts the deficit down to five or six points, it greatly changes the complexion of the game and gives the other team something to think about. As it was, they didn't and they never could get any closer than eight. In some ways, it frighteningly reminded me of when Chuck Knox was the head coach of my Los Angeles Rams back in the day and how they'd always win the NFC West only to fall to either Dallas or Minnesota in the playoffs or NFC Championship Game. His conservative "Ground Chuck" offense and great defense would always rack up 11/12 wins during the regular season to easily claim the divisional title but that same conservatism on offense ALWAYS was the Rams undoing against Dallas and Minnesota in the playoffs or Championship Game and it prevented these great LA Ram teams from getting to the Super Bowl. I'm digressing here so, in any event, let's hope that this Park squad gets more opportunites down the road to get over that hurdle an into the State Tournament.
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