Made my annual venture up to Anoka on this Friday evening and over to Anoka High School for the two sectional championship games taking place on this night - the first being the highly-anticipated rematch in Section 3AAA between rivals DeLaSalle and Park Center. Somehow, you just knew it would come down to these two again and it did. The Islanders, even though they were the three-time defending state champions coming into this contest, would not be the favorites as they had been in years past. That distinction would now belong to Park Center as the Pirates were the #1-seeded team in this section and were looking to finally put to rest their heartbreaks over the last few years of bowing to DeLaSalle in the section championship game.
The scoring would come at a premium in the opening minutes as both sides played tough, in-your-face man-to-man defense that kept both teams out of any real offensive rhythm. The Pirates finally shook off some early cobwebs beginning at the 15:25 mark when lanky 6'1" freshman post Mikayla Hayes knocked down one free throw after being fouled. Junior sharpshooting guard McKenna DuBois finally found her range from the right top area behind the arc at the 14:38 mark when she unleashed a "3" and then flashy senior forward Cayla McMorris, who struggled in last year's championship clash with the Islanders, connected with a lay-up after a steal at the 13:08 mark for a 6-0 Park Center lead that had Islander Head Coach Faith Johnson-Patterson calling a timeout to get her squad reorganized. DeLaSalle would come out of that timeout with new life as the Islanders got on a 6-0 run of their own. A charity stripe shot by sophomore reserve forward Camryn Speese at the 12:58 mark and an offensive rebound and putback by junior forward Taylor Toney of her own miss at the 12:32 mark cut the Pirate lead in half at 6-3. Freshman guard Aejah Lockett's "3" from the top of the key tied things up at 6 a piece before Park Center's Hayes went on her own little 5-0 push. A lay-up in transition that got her fouled in the process and allowed her to sink the obligatory freebie made it a 9-6 Pirate lead at the 10:58 mark and two more free throws with 9:44 left had Park Center back up by a count of 11-6.
The Islanders would again fight their way back into the thick of things and respond with a 5-0 push of their own. An offensive rebound and putback by Speese with 9:22 left and a "3" from Toney from the left corner knotted things up again at 11 a piece but the first fly in the ointment reared its ugly head for the Islanders as junior guard Patiance Griffin got nabbed with her third foul and Johnson-Patterson was forced to have one of her star players sit for a spell. Park Center would grab a 15-11 lead on another "3" from DuBois from the left top area with 6:50 left and one free throw from freshman point guard Danielle Schaub with 6:19 left but the Pirates could not get any real "wiggle" room in the first half as they had some difficulty adjusting to the speed and athleticism of DeLaSalle and how they get aggressive with their defense and get into the passing lanes as well. The Islanders would get on yet another 5-0 push over the next two minutes on a free throw by Speese with 6:08 left along with a drive and finish by Toney with 5:14 left and an offensive rebound and putback by Speese with 4:16 left that gave DeLaSalle its first lead of the game at 17-16. That lead would prove to be short-lived as Park Center's Hayes connected with a lay-up less than ten seconds later to put the Pirates back out in front by a 17-16 count. Both teams would trade free throws that had the score at 18-17 in favor of Park Center with 2:49 left but DeLaSalle senior reserve forward Akeyvianna Rembert underscored the Islanders tougher than nails attitude on the boards during the first half when she snared an offensive rebound of her own miss for a putback and got fouled in the process and even though she couldn't convert on the ensuing freebie, the Islanders regained the lead at 19-18 with 2:07 left. In previous years, this typically would have been the starting point where things begin to fall apart for the Pirates in this same venue against the same opponent.
This time around, however, the Pirates were determined to not let that happen again and they quickly set out to right the ship just before the half. A free throw from sophomore reserve forward Olivia Peterson tied the issue at 19-all. Two free throws from DeLaSalle's Lockett gave the Islanders one more lead at 21-19 with just :54.1 left. Finally, Park Center's McMorris, who had struggled in the first half with her normally flawless scoring touch, shook off some early nerves and got a hot hand. First, she got into the paint for a score with :37 left and got fouled in the process and though she missed on the ensuing charity stripe attempt, the long rebound went to the Pirates and McMorris soon found herself with the ball again and she dropped a short jumper with :30.9 left and a 23-21 Park Center lead. The Pirates had one more crack just before the half and the Wisconsin-bound McMorris proceeded to knock down a mid-range jumper in transition with just :10 left and, just like that, the Pirates had totally changed the complexion of this contest in less than a minute's time which gives you an idea of how explosive they can be at times. And this latest McMorris explosion allowed Park Center to take a 25-21 lead into the locker room at the half.
It may not have been the largest lead the Pirates have taken into the locker room this season but against this opponent where they have faltered so many times before, it had to give them a new mindset coming into the second half and that became apparent in the opening minutes. A lay-up in transition by Danielle Schaub after a Park Center steal at the 17:00 mark had DeLaSalle's Johnson-Patterson clamoring for another timeout to get her points clear to her squad as the Pirates opened up a 27-21 advantage. The early break would not faze the Pirates as they set out to finish what they started. Maintaining that 5-6 point cushion, Park Center started expanding on it as a pretty drive across the lane and one-handed finish by McMorris at the 12:57 mark now made it a 33-26 game. A McMorris "3" from the right wing at the 10:54 mark gave the Pirates their first double-digit advantage at 36-26 and things deteriorated even further for DeLaSalle as both Speese and Griffin picked up their fourth fouls before the midway point of the second half. A score in the paint by Toney at the 10:40 mark and two free throws by senior reserve guard Keyana Young with 8:14 left briefly got the Islanders back to within single digits trailing 36-30 but a lay-up in transition by Danielle Schaub with 8:05 left, a drive and finish by Peterson with 7:31 left and a three-point bomb by DuBois from the top of the key with 7:04 left put the Pirates back up by double digits at 43-32 and had DeLaSalle's Johnson-Patterson burning another timeout as she knew this one was slipping away.
Things would get even worse for the Islanders when junior guard Zae Sellers accidentally collided with another teammate in chasing down a loose ball with 6:27 left and went down with a possible knee injury as she had to be helped off the floor. Holding a double-digit lead the Pirates could now
finally begin taking their time with their possessions and work off as much clock as possible. DeLaSalle, now desperate to get the ball back one way or another was forced to foul and those three-point attempts that seemed to fall the other night over at Maple Grove High School against Totino-Grace were now missing their mark. With the Pirates holding a 44-34 lead with 4:31 left, McMorris was intentionally fouled in a transition attempt and made one freebie out of it and a McMorris score in the paint with 2:11 left made it a 47-34 ballgame that sealed DeLaSalle's fate. Toney fouled out for the Islanders with 1:50 left and both DuBois and McMorris made game-clinching free throws in the final minute as Park Center finally excorcised the demon for them that was DeLaSalle and celebrated in the final seconds in recording a 52-34 victory that sends this Pirate squad to the State Tournament for the first time in the program's history.
A jubilant and ecstatic Park Center Head Coach Chris VanderHyde was full of smiles and laughter afterward as were his players as this program had finally broke through to the big stage. For players like McMorris; who had endured disappointment after disappointment in this sectional championship game, it was almost as if the Red Sea had finally parted. The one question I couldn't resist asking VanderHyde afterward was whether the Pirates had to fight a mental block of sorts coming into this contest knowing full-well in the back of their minds that this DeLaSalle team had always seemed to get the better of them in this setting. VanderHyde agreed, saying that "there was a bit of a mental block but we pushed through it." The first year Park Center coach couldn't help but gush about his team's defensive efforts on this night. "We were tremendous on defense!" he said and anytime you hold a great program like DeLaSalle under 40 points you must be doing something right. The question for Park Center now becomes how does this team actually perform at the State Tournament now that they're there? I personally believe they have a great shot to win the whole thing if they keep playing like they're playing and don't get too caught up in the moment. I would feel even better about this team's chances if they had a healthy Hannah Schaub out on the floor as well. Hannah, of course, went down with an ACL injury to her left knee late in the regular season against Maple Grove but younger sister Danielle, only a freshman, has stepped right up to the plate in the face of adversity and has done a tremendous job at the point guard spot. She'll get even more experience this coming week on the big stage for sure.
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