Made my way over to Hopkins High School on this Saturday A.M. to take in the early action over at the annual Breakdown Tip-Off Classic; a premier event for girls high school basketball in Minnesota that showcases the top teams in the state. The first game on tap for me on this day would be a highly-anticipated match-up between defending Class AAA champ Park Center and Delano. This would be my first look at this Pirate team since their breath-taking triple overtime win over Marshall in the state title game this last March and I really didn't know what to expect.
It would be the underdog Tigers who would get off to a good start in this one; putting the defending state champs in an early hole. Lanky 6'1" post Alexandra Wittinger snared an offensive rebound for a putback for Delano's first score at the 17:35 mark and a drive and finish by fellow senior forward Bria Barfknecht at the 16:15 mark along with another offensive rebound and putback by Wittinger at the 15:55 mark not only gave Delano a quick 6-2 lead but also gave the Park Center contingent a reason for concern as to how the Pirates were going to cope with Delano's size in the paint. To their credit, however, the Pirates found a way after Park Center Head Coach Chris VanderHyde called a timeout to discuss strategy with his assistants and team. First, senior sharpshooter guard McKenna DuBois knocked down a jumper from the right wing at the 15:28 mark and then DuBois struck again at the 14:27 mark with a "3" from the left wing that drew the Pirates to within one trailing 8-7. An offensive rebound for a putback by 6'1" sophomore post Mikayla Hayes at the 13:49 mark gave Park Center its first lead at 9-8. Things would stay relatively tight over the next three to four minutes as each team traded stabs and jabs. Senior point guard Hannah Schaub, back in action after the ACL injury suffered late in the regular season last year knocked down a "3" from the left top area at the 12:25 mark as did sophomore guard Ann Simonet from the right top area at the 11:45 mark for a 15-14 Pirate lead. But Delano would proceed to go on an 8-2 run as "3's" from sophomore guard Erin Norling senior guard Brooke Lemke helped give the Tigers a 22-17 lead with 9:33 left as this contest was already giving us some unusual ebb and flow.
But the Pirates would gradually recover (again). DuBois drilled another "3"; this one from the right corner with 9:18 left and then Hayes scored in the paint with 7:54 left and got fouled in the process. Though she was unable to convert on the obligatory freebie, it drew Park Center back to within two trailing 24-22. Two free throws by sophomore guard Danielle Schaub with 7:44 left and a steal and lay-up the other way by Simonet put the Pirates back out in front 26-24 and had Delano Head Coach Amy Gould calling a timeout as the air had seemed to come out of the proverbial balloon for the Tigers. But Park Center would not let their foot off the gas pedal coming down the stretch of the first half. Danielle Schaub connected with a jumper from the left corner just inside the arc with 7:07 left for a 28-24 Pirate advantage. A score in the paint by Hayes with 6:32 left and a lay-up in transition by flashy sophomore reserve forward Fey Ayobamidele upped the Park Center lead to six at 32-26 as the Tigers struggled to establish anything offensively. Two more scores by the Hayes-Ayobamidele duo upped the Pirate lead to ten at 36-26 with 4:54 left that seemingly had Delano reeling. A "3" by Barfknecht from the left top area with 4:17 left appeared to give the Tigers a bit of a pulse and a Lemke lay-up with 2:29 left gave Delano a stronger heartbeat trailing 38-31. A free throw by senior forward Makenna Giese with 1:36 left and a jumper in the lane by Wittinger with just :05 left helped bring the Tigers to within six at the halftime break trailing 40-34.
The beginning of the second half saw yet another shift in momentum as Delano struck quickly. Two free throws by Barfknecht at the 17:49 mark and a lay-up by sophomore guard Erin Norling at the 16:50 mark cut the Pirate lead down to 42-38 then a short jumper off the glass by Giese at the 16:11 mark drew the Tigers to within two. Wittinger completed this early 9-2 run with a drive and finish at the 15:32 mark that suddenly had Delano back up 43-42 and now had Park Center's VanderHyde calling a timeout once again to get his troops re-assembled. The Tigers, however, would extend their lead as Wittinger was able to snare an offensive rebound for a putback at the 14:35 mark and both Barfknecht and Wittinger put down free throws by for a 47-43 Delano lead and things now looked uncertain for the defending state champs.
But, just as they had in the state championship game, the Pirates would show their resiliency and battle right back and - once again - take control of things. First, Danielle Schaub knocked down a "3" from the left top area at the 11:20 mark that drew Park Center back to within one and two Simonet charity stripe shots gave the Pirates the lead back for good at 48-47 at the 10:45 mark. A score in the paint by Hayes at 10:11 mark and then two treys by Simonet - one at the 9:41 mark and another at the 8:52 mark - suddenly made it a 56-47 game and this decisive 13-0 burst by Park Center changed the tune of this one for good. Even more disconcerting for Delano was that the Pirates were getting their transition game going and things were starting to click for them. The Tigers tried to counter as Lemke knocked down a much-needed "3" from the right corner with 7:44 left but another "3" by Danielle Schaub from the left corner with 5:53 left upped the lead to nine again at 61-52 and not even another timeout by Delano's Gould could stem the tide. A lay-up in transition by DuBois with 4:16 left and a jumper from the left side of the rim by Ayobamidele with 2:58 left gave Park Center a 65-52 lead and put a choke-hold on the Tigers. The Pirates were able to close things out on charity stripe shots and, when the buzzer sounded, Park Center was able to claim a convincing 69-54 victory.
Unbeknownst to me until afterward was that Hannah Schaub was playing at something less than 100% for this one as she had been battling congestion in her chest area and her voice sounded very tired afterward. I did ask VanderHyde afterward about the unusual swings in momentum in this game and if the temporary letdown the Pirates had at the beginning of the second half would be an issue that the squad would have to guard against as the season progressed. While VanderHyde dismissed the notion, he did admit that there were other items that the team needs to work on. Despite a couple of shaky moments in this one, the Pirates seem on solid footing and they seem to be the popular choice to repeat as Class AAA state champs. Some very tough tests remain however, and this squad no longer has the dynamic Cayla McMorris who is now at Wisconsin but I suspect this squad will only get better as the season progresses and, if everyone can stay relatively healthy enough, it will be tough for anyone else out there to deny them another shot at the whole ball of wax.
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