Made the short driver over to Park Center High School to catch this all-important Northwest Suburban Conference Clash between visiting Andover and host Park Center. The Pirates; trying to keep pace with conference leader Centennial, righted the ship after the heart-breaking home loss to Anoka last week Wednesday night by knocking off Elk River up in Elk River on Friday night. Andover meanwhile, was looking for a signature win that could bolster its seeding prospects once the section tournament play gets underway.
Neither side could gain any significant advantage early on. The Huskies were trying to do whatever they could to try and stop Park Center's scoring machine; senior forward Cayla McMorris, with mixed results. Andover forged a 5-4 lead by the 15:03 mark by a "3" from senior guard Amelia Leger from the left wing but the Pirates would come right back and grab an 8-5 lead thanks to a lay-up by junior point guard Hannah Schaub and two free throws by McMorris. The Huskies would then knot the issue at eight a piece on a "3" from the left top area by senior guard Madison Hahn at the 14:13 mark. Park Center would respond with a 5-0 McMorris spurt - 2 freebies and then a "3" from the left wing at the 13:28 mark for a 13-8 lead. Andover would creep to within one on lay-ups from both Hahn and freshman reserve guard Jolene Daninger but Park Center junior guard would knock down a "3" from the top of the key at the 12:33 mark and then connect with a short jumper off the glass; the latter score which gave the Pirates an 18-14 lead by the 11:40 mark. But the Huskies would come right back with a nice little 6-2 burst of their own. Junior reserve guard Dionndra Mullins nailed a "3" from the left corner at the 11:20 mark and then it was senior standout guard Haydn Becker knocking down a trey of her own from almost the same spot to put Andover back out in front 20-18 by the 10:48 mark. McMorris was able to get a score in the paint for Park Center twenty seconds later to tie the issue but, for the moment anyway, Andover had to be feeling good about where they were at against this Park Center squad on the road; particularly with the way they were hitting from behind the arc.
After trading jabs with their opponent in the opening minutes that resulted in nothing in a deadlock, the Pirates were finally able to get some separation and build a slight cushion. DuBois drilled a "3" from the left wing with 9:44 left and then it was Hannah Schaub getting into the land of giants to grab an offensive rebound for a putback and a 25-20 Park Center lead. A short jumper by McMorris in the lane with 7:50 left added to the advantage and then a score in the paint by lanky freshman post Mikayla Hayes with 6:38 left suddenly made it a 29-20 game and Andover Head Coach Robb Belschner knew he had seen enough to warrant a thirty-second timeout. The pause in the action seemed to have a positive effect for the Huskies as they were able to slowly edge closer down the stretch of the first half. Becker was able to connect with an incredibly tough shot off the glass with 5:11 left but Park Center was still able to establish a ten-point margin with 3:41 left on a free throw by McMorris and a score from DuBois with 3:41 left. Still, lay-ups by Daninger and senior guard Katie Yoder with 2:55 and 2:05 left, respectively, trimmed the Pirate lead down to 33-26. Two scores by McMorris seemingly had Park Center back in the safe zone again to go into the locker room with but Andover's Hahn would have the last say in this first half as she drained a "3" from the right top area just before the buzzer went off to draw the Huskies to within five at 37-32; certainly a far sight better than what they were looking at a bit earlier. Had Andover been able to convert some of those missed lay-ups that plagued their efforts in the first half, they may very well have been ahead.
Park Center, determined to not replicate my alma mater, Iowa, and lose two big home games in a row, made sure to set the tone early on in the second half. McMorris uncorked a "3" from the left top area at the 17:43 mark that had Belschner burning a quick timeout to get his squad on the right page on defense. But two scores in the paint by the 6'1" Hayes and another trey from McMorris from the top of the key had the Pirates up 48-35 by the 14:42 mark. Andover tried to counter with a Hahn "3" from the right top area at the 14:07 mark but then Hannah Schaub; who had to play in the shadow of her older sister Nicole who is now a standout at Anoka-Ramsey (and in the stands cheering her younger sis on), connected with a lay-up at the 13:57 mark and then drilled a "3" from the top of the key some thirty seconds later to give Park Center a 55-38 lead and, once again, Belschner was forced to use a timeout.
Andover was able to make a few dents into the lead afterward but they could never get a sustained run that would get them back to within single digits again and possibly make things dangerous for the Pirates coming down the stretch. Sophomore reserve guard Madison Griess knocked down a "3" from the right corner at the 12:50 mark and then it was Becker snaring a steal and dashing the other way for a lay-up a bit later but those jabs were quickly met with flashy McMorris scores that kept the double-digit cushion Park Center had established early on in the second half. Andover was able to get into the bonus with 6:36 left but that still was not nearly enough to overcome the deficit they were now facing. And the Pirates had no intention of letting their foot off the gas pedal anytime soon either. Freshman guard Ann Simonet connected with a lay-up with 6:28 left and another McMorris score in the paint had the Park Center lead at nineteen at 67-48. Yoder was able to knock down a "3" from the top of the key with 4:40 left for Andover but then Hannah Schaub put the exclamation point on this game with a sweet move into the lane for a lay-up that got her fouled in the process and she made good on the obligatory free throw for a 70-55 lead. McMorris also wowed the crowd late; getting a lay-up in transition with 1:50 left and then providing an encore performance when she grabbed a defensive rebound and promptly dashed coast to coast for a lay-up to put the finishing touches on a convincing 77-61 victory.
Park Center Head Coach Chris VanderHyde; relaxed and happy after the win, admitted that the Pirates had to do a better job guarding the Huskies behind the arc. "I felt we did that" he said. Also important from his viewpoint was that the Pirates had to get more scoring in the paint in the second half than they did the in the first half and VanderHyde seemed happy with the results. The remaining regular season schedule appears favorable with home games against Champlin Park, and out of conference date with Edina, and the regular season finale with Armstrong although tough roadies at both Blaine and Maple Grove are in the offing as well. But these games should get them more than battle-ready for the section tournament where they'll arguably be wearing the big target on their backs this time as the #1 seed; a role that has been held in previous years by powerhouse DeLaSalle. How well they respond to that new role remains to be seen.
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