Made the drive over to Minnetonka High School on this Tuesday night with the Christmas holiday in the immediate offing for this intriguing early season clash between two high profile teams - #1 Park Center in Class AAA against host Minnetonka rated #4 in Class AAAA. The Pirates, off to another solid start in their defense of their state title from last season were looking to make a big splash just before the Yuletide but the host Skippers; anxious to crawl out of the shadow cast by rival Hopkins, were looking to notch an important win on their schedule and build their confidence heading into the first of the year.
A 7-0 Minnetonka run in the games opening minutes had the visiting Pirates reeling. Strong 6'2" junior forward Courtney Fredrickson started the run at the 17:03 mark with a lay-up and a "3" from the left corner by senior sharp-shooting guard Caroline Shelquist at the 16:19 mark along with an offensive rebound by 6'0" forward Lizzie Odegard at the 15:54 mark made it look like that this could be a long night for the Pirates but Park Center slowly gathered themselves and got right back into the thick of things despite the fact that the Skippers had an obvious size advantage and that the Pirates were having an incredibly difficult time working the ball inside early on. A lay-up at the 15:38 mark by sophomore guard Danielle Schaub and a "3" from the right wing by older sis and senior point guard Hannah Schaub drew Park Center to within four trailing 9-5 by the 14:44 mark. Minnetonka would manage to stretch the lead to nine again on scores in the paint by both Fredrickson and Odegard over the next two minutes, however, as the Pirates still were having a difficult time in neutralizing the Skipper "bigs" down low and with a 17-7 score at the 10:40 mark, Park Center Head Coach Chris VanderHyde knew a timeout was warranted.
That stoppage in play seemed to light a fire for the Pirates as they once again closed in on the deficit. Two free throws by lanky sophomore post Mikayla Hayes at the 10:04 mark and a jumper from the left top area by sophomore reserve forward Fey Ayobamidele drew Park Center to within six trailing 17-11. A Hayes lay-up with 8:19 left and a lay-up in transition by Hannah Schaub completed a smart 8-0 Park Center run to cut Minnetonka's lead to 17-15 but, at the same time, the Skippers woke up from their brief slumber and went back to work. Odegard scored in the paint off of an inbounds pass with 7:23 left and a "3" from the left wing by freshman 6'2" forward Kayla Mershon upped the Minnetonka lead to 22-15. The Pirates tried to answer as Danielle Schaub uncorked a "3" from the right top area with 5:42 left but an offensive rebound and putback by junior reserve guard Grace Allen and a "3" from the left wing area by junior guard Hannah Hedstrom with 4:51 left made it a nine-point 27-18 Skipper lead. Another Shelquist three-point bomb - this one from the left top area with 4:20 left - made it a 30-18 game and Minnetonka would stretch the lead to fourteen at 34-20 when Odegard snared yet another offensive rebound for a putback with 2:57 left. Late scores by Park Center's Hayes and sophomore guard Ann Simonet helped close the gap a bit at the half but the Skippers still held a ten-point cushion at 36-26.
The Pirates got off on the right foot once the second half got underway as senior sharp-shooting guard McKenna DuBois finally found her touch and drilled a "3" from the top of the key at the 16:47 mark and a Hayes score in the paint at the 16:11 mark brought Park Center back to within five trailing 36-31 but once again Minnetonka woke up from its short siesta. Shelquist nailed a "3" from the left wing at the 15:55 mark and a short turnaround jumper by Fredrickson at the 13:34 mark re-established the ten-point advantage at 41-31. Allen uncorked a "3" from the right wing at the 12:43 mark for an eleven-point 44-33 lead and it looked at this point that the Skippers might be in position to finally run away with this one.
But the Pirates weren't quite ready to lay down their swords to enjoy all the holiday festivities just yet. Hayes connected on a pretty one-handed scoop lay-up at the 11:22 mark and then the always-dangerous Ayobamidele let loose with a "3" from the left corner with 9:44 left to get Park Center back to within six trailing 44-38. A drive and finish by Hayes with 9:06 left drew the Pirates to within four but alas, that's as close as Park Center would ever get in this one as Minnetonka always seemed to have an answer for every Pirate charge. A score in the paint by Hedstrom with 8:51 left along with another Shelquist three-point bomb; this one from the right top area with 8:21 left made it a nine-point 49-40 game and a Hedstrom steal and lay-up the other way with 8:08 left pushed the lead back into double-digit range. Park Center would twice get the deficit back into single-digit range on scores by both Ayobamidele and Danielle Schaub but the Pirates were never able to sustain any potential momentum. Scores by Fredrickson and Hestrom once again pushed the lead back into double digits at 57-45 with 4:26 left and Park Center's VanderHyde called a timeout to adjust his team's defensive approach to be more aggressive in the backcourt which did yield a few positive results albeit too little too late. Treys from Hannah Schaub and Simonet got the Pirates to within eight trailing 59-51 with 2:13 left but now Park Center was forced to foul as well which quickly had the Skippers in the double-bonus with 2:03 left. Minnetonka was very patient on offense knowing full and well that they were going to be sent to the charity stripe to finish this one off. Free throws by Shelquist and Fredrickson down the stretch offset a late "3" from DuBois and a short jumper by Danielle Schaub as the Skippers chalked up a big home win right before the holidays with a 65-56 victory.
No comments:
Post a Comment