Made the quick run over to Park Center High School on this Tuesday night to take in another big Northwest Suburban Conference game between host Park Center and visiting Osseo. This is a rivalry that has had some memorable games over the years and this game would be another big addition to that storied rivalry. It's funny when I think of some of the great Osseo teams in recent years that featured players such as Jennie Sunnarborg, Jenny Oligmueller, Brianna Olson that helped take Osseo to state in '07 and '08 and then later on players such as Mikayla Bailey and Janay Morton that helped take Osseo to the state championship game a few years ago. A new cast of characters now proudly wear the black and orange these days of course but the goals and dreams haven't changed. More importantly, though, I had to wonder how the Orioles would fare after their last game; an upset loss to Irondale. The Pirates, meanwhile were rolling right along and came off a convincing win over Blaine back on Thursday (1-22).
Things did not go well for the home team in the early going as back-to-back scores by sophomore forward Azaria Reed along with a drive into the lane and finish off the glass by junior guard Arianna Jones at the 14:26 and a jumper from the right wing by fellow junior guard Kiara Russell had Osseo up 8-4 by the 13:32 mark and Park Center Head Coach Chris VanderHyde did not waste any time in calling a timeout to talk to his squad. Despite a "3" from the left wing by Pirate senior point guard Hannah Schaub at the 12:57 mark and a steal and lay-up the other way by her younger sister and sophomore guard Danielle Schaub at the 11:21 mark, the Orioles still had the upper hand with a 12-9 lead. A "3" from Jones from the right wing area at the 10:23 mark and a Russell free throw with 9:47 left built the Osseo lead to 16-11 and, worse from a Park Center perspective, the Pirates were getting a healthy dose of their own medicine as the Orioles were applying pressure defense and creating an uncharacteristically high amount of Park Center turnovers.
After struggling to find themselves for a good chunk of the first half, the Pirates finally shook off the cobwebs and strung an 11-2 run. One score in the paint by lanky sophomore post Mikayla Hayes with 9:36 left and a lay-up in transition by sophomore reserve forward Fey Ayobamidele cut the Osseo lead down to a scant point at 16-15. Then it was the Schaub Sister Act that provided some much needed spark. Hannah drained a trey from the left corner with 8:57 left that tied the score at 18 a piece and a lay-up in transition by little sis Danielle with 8:30 left put Park Center out in front 20-18. Hannah followed that up with a lay-up in transition of her own with 8:01 left for a 22-18 advantage with 8:01 left. Oriole Head Coach John Rieser; not liking the developments, called a thirty-second timeout to get his squad calmed down but the Pirates were able to expand their lead to as much as seven points at 29-22 with 6:27 left thank to a score in the paint by Hayes that got her fouled and allowed her to sink the obligatory freebie. Osseo would go back to work and whittle the deficit back to a more manageable three points with 4:27 left but a "3" from the left wing by Hannah Schaub with 4:09 left and a "3" from the top of the key off the glass by senior reserve forward Camille McCoy with 3:41 left gave Park Center a 35-27 lead. The Pirates would maintain that eight-point advantage when Danielle Schaub connected with a lay-up with :29 left for a 37-29 lead but it appeared as if the Orioles would have the last laugh before the half when Reed snared an offensive rebound for a putback with :06 left. Danielle Schaub had other ideas, however, and with just tenths of a second left, she managed to get free in the left corner on Park Center's last possession of the first half and uncorked a "3" to give the Pirates their biggest lead yet at 40-31 when the buzzer sounded ending the first half. Little did anyone know at the time that that same left corner spot would be the focus spot when the game was on the line.
Despite the rough finish in the first half, the Orioles came out with a renewed determination in the second half and set out to get themselves back into the thick of things. Reed connected with a turnaround jumper at the 17:26 mark and followed that up less than a minute later with a score in the paint at the 16:53 mark that cut the Park Center lead down to 40-35. A Reed lay-up at the 16:04 mark and a "3" from the right wing by sophomore guard Mikayla Homola got Osseo to within four trailing 44-40. Another score in the paint by Reed at the 14:35 mark and a lay-up by Russell at the 13:40 mark tied the issue at 44-all. That Oriole push finally got the Pirates' attention as Park Center managed to lay the foundation for another cushion. A "3" by flashy sophomore reserve forward Fey Ayobamidele at the 12:46 mark and free throws by both senior guard McKenna DuBois and Hayes had the Pirates up 50-46 at the 10:50 mark. A Hayes lay-up at the 10:12 mark along with free throws by sophomore guard Ann Simonet and one freebie by both Hannah Schaub and Hayes seemingly had Park Center in full control again up 56-48 and, presumably anyway, ready to close the deal.
But no one in the Park Center gym this night; much less the Pirates themselves, could have forseen the impending doom that awaited them. Even worse for Park Center, the Orioles applied some of the same tactics on defense that the Pirates thrive on to help them win games and another taste of their own medicine was not what Park Center had expected. Applying a healthy dose of pressure defense, Osseo was able to quickly get their way right back into the thick of things on a plethora of Pirate turnovers. One steal led to a Homola lay-up with 6:37 and then Russell snared a steal like a thief in the night and dashed the other way for a score with 6:21 left that got the Orioles to within four trailing 56-52. With 6:05 left, Homola stole the rock like a purse-snatcher and whizzed down the court for a lay-up that cut the Park Center lead to 56-54 and, knowing that his squad was clearly shaken by this point, VanderHyde had no choice but to call a halt to the action. The Pirates did manage to get the lead back to four on two freebies by Hayes that also had Park Center in the bonus but a score in the paint by junior forward Lemia Ntor-Ue with 4:53 left had it down to a one possession game again and then Russell, with consecutive steals and lay-ups, gave Osseo its first lead since early in the first half at 60-58 with 4:26 left. The Pirates managed to knot the issue at 60 on an offensive rebound and putback by Hayes with 3:38 left but the Orioles would grab the lead again at 62-60 on a score in the paint by Reed with 3:26 left. Park Center would get things tied up again at 62-all on two DuBois freebies with 2:28 left that set the stage for the frantic final two minutes. Neither team could get any of their early possessions to pay off but Osseo had one chance left with under a minute to play. The Orioles were trying desperately to get the ball to either Reed or Russell so that they might draw a foul but with :25.3 left, Homola got nabbed for traveling which then gave the Pirates their chance. VanderHyde called one timeout left with :19.5 left to try and set a play up but Park Center still was unable to cash in. With :05.8 left and with the ball, VanderHyde called another timeout in hopes of setting up a last-second play. Danielle Schaub attempted a running jumper with :02 left that bounced off the rim and Hayes' last-gasp offensive rebound and putback attempt with :00.3 left missed its mark as well so off we went to overtime tied at 62.
The Pirates appeared fully-recovered from their initial shock as they were able to build a four-point 66-62 advantage in the overtime period on one lay-up by Ayobamidele with 3:58 left and a steal and lay-up the other way by Danielle Schaub with 2:42 left and Park Center again looked to be in position to close out the deal; albeit the hard way. But this Osseo squad simply would not go away. A floater in the lane by Russell with 2:24 left trimmed the Pirate lead to 66-64 and although a McCoy jumper from the left elbow with 2:00 left gave the Pirates a four-point lead again at 68-64, a Homola "3" from the right corner with :37 left got the Orioles to within one trailing 68-67. After an Osseo timeout, Park Center got the ball back with that tenuous one-point advantage. Ayobamidele was fouled with :18.2 left and was able to knock down the front-end for a 69-67 advantage but the back-end attempt missed its mark and the Orioles were able to snare the defensive rebound and dashed their way down the court. With Park Center desperately trying to cling to the lead - and every Oriole player on defense, Jones managed to get free into the left corner and got the ball and launched a three-point attempt that made the cotton sing as the Osseo contingent erupted with a 70-69 lead. Still, one desperate last-chance attempt for Park Center. With the Orioles all over the Pirates best ball handlers, Hayes took the inbounds pass and dribbled up towards the half-court line and launched a bomb to try and win it. The shot attempt was surprisingly close but it banged off the right side of the rim and Osseo claimed a thrilling 70-69 overtime victory over the defending Class AAA state champs.
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