Another Friday night found me over at nearby Park Center High School as the Pirates hosted Armstrong which had ventured up to the neighborhood in another important Northwest Suburban Conference game. Park Center; coming off a three-game skid with losses to rivals Osseo and Maple Grove and then most recently a 75-61 setback up at Elk River on Tuesday night, needed to get back on track at home on this night to regain some confidence and swagger - and hopefully cement their claim to the number one seed in Section 3AAA as well.
The Pirates grabbed an early 4-0 lead thanks to lay-ups in transition from the Schaub Sisters - one from younger sis and freshman Danielle at the 17:25 mark and one from senior Hannah at the 16:51 mark - while elder sis Nicole - a former Pirate herself and now at UW-Stout, applauded approvingly from the stands. Armstrong, however, would answer as flashy senior guard Lyrik Williams with one freebie at the 16:12 mark and a lay-up in transition at the 15:49 mark had the Falcons up 5-4. Hannah Schaub's drive into the lane and finish off the glass at the 14:50 mark put Park Center back in front 6-5 but Williams would do the same at the 14:23 and 14:00 marks to give Armstrong a 9-6 advantage. A Hannah Schaub "3" from the left top area would level the score at 9-all but a turnaround jumper in the lane by senior post Miranda Robinson gave the Falcons an 11-9 lead at the 11:43 mark and a pesky Armstrong team led chiefly by Williams and her flashy play appeared ready to give the Pirates a tussle on their home floor and add to their latest frustrations as well. Freshman reserve post Olivia Heckt connected with a lay-up off of an inbounds pass at the 11:21 mark and then senior guard Kalley Fleck connected with a jumper from the left corner that gave the Falcons a 15-11 lead at the 10:34 mark and gave the Park Center home crowd and students reason for concern.
Much to the relief of those loyal to the green and gold, the Pirates slowly battled their way back and were able to regain the lead. A score in the paint by 6'1" sophomore post Mikayla Hayes at the 10:18 mark and two Hayes charity stripe shots with 9:25 left tied the issue at 15. Then it was freshman reserve guard Jada Buford getting some quality minutes and she responded with a drive and finish with 7:51 left that also got her fouled and allowed her to sink the obligatory free throw for an 18-15 Park Center lead. A Danielle Schaub jumper in the lane in transition with 6:44 left and an offensive rebound and putback by Hayes with 5:02 left suddenly expanded the Pirate lead to 22-15 and had Armstrong Head Coach Antiwan Easley clamoring for a timeout to get his squad calmed down. By that point, it appeared that Park Center was primed to embark on a sizable run that would give them a comfortable cushion going towards halftime but it was here that the Pirate offense got stuck in neutral and floundered; squandering several easy opportunities that would have put more distance between themselves and their opponent. Late in the first half, the Falcons were able to take advantage of Park Center's offensive boo-boos and chip away at the deficit. Junior guard LaTeah Turmon was able to maneuver into the paint for a score with 2:21 left and then also connected with a lay-up in transition with 1:31 left that got Armstrong within three trailing 22-19. That's how the first half ended and, given the promising run that the Pirates had earlier in the half, it certainly seemed like a glass half-full proposition for Park Center at the halftime break.
The Pirates; looking to make amends for a somewhat sloppy first half, started the second half with a 10-0 blitz. Hannah Schaub was able to connect with a lay-up in transition after a block on an Armstrong shooter at the 17:25 mark and then followed that up with a lay-up at the 16:38 mark for a 26-19 Park Center lead. Sophomore guard Ann Simonet got into her groove with a lay-up in transition at the 16:12 mark and then Danielle Schaub knocked down a jumper from the left wing at the 15:40 mark for a 30-19 lead and the Falcons' Easley; fearful of having this game slip away from him early in the second half, had no choice but to call a halt to the action to get his squad reorganized. Simonet snared an offensive rebound for a putback at the 14:18 mark and then senior guard McKenna DuBois; who had thus far struggled with her shooting touch, buried a "3" from the left wing that allowed Park Center to grab a somewhat cozy 35-21 advantage by the 13:04 mark. Perhaps just as important, the Pirates had neutralized the effectiveness of Williams; hounding her on defense and not allowing her good looks.
But Armstrong had some tricks up their collective sleeves and also found a way to get Williams involved offensively again as well as they slyly whittled away at the fourteen point deficit. A Williams "3" from the right wing area at the 12:20 mark and an offensive rebound and putback by Robinson at the 11:00 mark helped the Falcons creep closer trailing by ten at 39-29 and a lay-up in transition by eighth-grader guard Carly Krsul got Armstrong back to within single digits at the 10:41 mark trailing 39-31. Park Center was able to dig in and maintain a 9 - 12 point cushion over the next five minutes. Two scores by Hayes - a lay-up at the 10:21 mark and a pretty off-balance shot with 9:42 left increased the Pirate lead to 43-31 and a Hayes score in the paint with 9:06 left had Park Center up 45-33 and presumably in good shape. Hayes would get into the paint for another score with 8:22 left and a Simonet lay-up with 6:23 left maintained the twelve-point advantage at 49-37. But the Pirates were not out of the woods just yet. Two charity stripe shots by Williams with 5:49 left and a jumper from the free throw line by Robinson with 5:11 left once again got the Falcons back to within single digits trailing 49-41. A lay-up in transition by Williams with 4:39 left that cut the Pirate lead down to 50-43 and some pressure defense applied by Armstrong were giving Park Center fits and some in the stands had visions of the nightmare collapse against Osseo a little more than a week ago. This time, though, the Pirates dug in their heels and averted disaster. A score in the paint by DuBois with 4:23 left and free throws by junior reserve guard Olivia upped the Park Center advantage to 54-43 with 3:39 left. More heroics by the Falcons' Williams got Armstrong back to within single digits trailing 54-46 with 2:41 left. A jumper along the left baseline by Fleck with 1:19 left and two Williams free throws by 1:02 left brought Armstrong closer trailing 56-50. Danielle Schaub; who was fouled with :55 left had a chance to ice this game for good but both attempted freebies missed their mark and Williams and the Falcons were off to the races again. Williams was fouled with :49.4 left and canned both free throw attempts to get Armstrong to within four trailing 56-52 to try and throw one last scare into the Pirates. The Falcons, forced to foul to have any chance left, put Danielle Schaub to the line once more and this time she came through with two free throws for a 58-52 Park Center lead. Armstrong was unsuccessful on their next possession and the Pirates got the ball inside to Hayes where she scored with :24.7 left to make it 60-52. Williams would get one last score for the Falcons with :16 left but Hannah Schaub was sent to the line with :13.2 left where she cashed in on both free throw attempts. Turmon would give Armstrong one last hurrah with a jumper in the lane but Park Center was able to escape this close call by a 62-56 margin.
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