The setting on this second day of the 2015 Minnesota Girls State Tournament changed from Target Center to the University of Minnesota's Mariucci Arena and the first game on tap at 10:00 A.M. featured the defending champ from Class AAA - Park Center out of the Northwest Suburban Conference and the champ once again in Section 3AAA going up against Richfield out of the Metro West Conference and the Section 6AAA champ. Obviously, from following Park Center the last few seasons I'm very familiar with them and I was able to catch Richfield early in the season so at least I wasn't coming in totally cold like I was with some of the teams yesterday.
Pirate sophomore guard Danielle Schaub had the hot hand early in this contest as her short jumper off the glass at the 16:47 mark and her steal and lay-up the other way at the 15:11 mark got Park Center out to a 6-2 lead. The Spartans would close the gap to one; trailing 8-7 when senior post Delilah Taylor banged home a "3" from the top of the key off the glass but the Pirates would then respond with a flurry of treys - one from sophomore guard Ann Simonet from the left corner at the 13:12 mark, another from senior guard Hannah Schaub from the right wing at the 12:00 mark and another from fellow senior guard McKenna DuBois from the left wing at the 11:33 mark - to give Park Center a 17-7 lead. That ten-point advantage would grow to as much as thirteen when freshman reserve guard Jada Buford drained a "3" from the left corner with 7:14 left for a 26-13 advantage and a score in the paint by senior reserve forward Camille McCoy with 3:31 left made it 35-19. Richfield was having considerable difficulty keeping up with the fast-paced transition game that the Pirates thrive on and had to work hard to get the ball inside. Pairs of free throws by Taylor with 1:07 left and with :15.3 left trimmed the deficit to eleven trailing 37-26 but Simonet added two free throws herself for the Pirates with just :10 left to give Park Center a 39-26 halftime lead. Although Richfield had the edge on the boards at 23-17, they shot a dismal 8-27 from the floor for 29.6% and were only 2-9 from three-point land. Simonet's nine points led a relatively balanced Park Center scoring attack while Taylor's 12 points led Richfield.
Two scores by lanky Pirate sophomore post Mikayla Hayes - one at the 17:28 mark and another one at the 16:35 mark - built Park Center's lead to 17 at 43-26 and matters looked even more dire for Richfield when senior forward Kyla Adams got nabbed for her third foul at the 15:46 mark. The Spartans, however, were able to catch a bit of a second wind and chipped some of the fat off the deficit and a jumper from the right wing by junior guard Tenzin Tsega at the 11:31 mark reduced Park Center's lead to 50-38. Some teams may have had an inclination to panic right then and there but this Pirate squad, who has virtually seen it all after last year's title game experience, responded with the calmness and coolness that you would expect from a veteran squad. Sophomore reserve forware Fey Ayobamadele connected with one lay-up at the 11:13 mark and then knocked down a short jumper with 9:09 left that increased the Pirate lead to 57-40 and Park Center was back in control. The Pirates maintained that 15-16-point cushion down the stretch and insurance freebies by Hayes with 3:25 and 2:27 left let Park Center get back into the semifinals with a 72-56 victory.
I asked Park Center Head Coach Chris VanderHyde afterward if there was any concern at all with the early 10:00 A.M. start. "Not at all" he replied. "We have a lot of 8:00 A.M. practices on Saturday morning so it didn't bother us at all. We were sharp." As far as handling the Adams sisters of Richfield down low, he talked about how important it was to mix it up a little and put different defenders on them at different times. I also asked Vander Hyde about what it was like coming into this state tournament as the defending champion. "We have to treat it new" he replied, adding that "With a different group and having it be a new experience for us." DuBois said it was no concern at all with the early start and that this win today gives them a huge head of steam going forward. Hannah Schaub talked about how incredibly happy she was to playing this year after having to sit out last year with the ACL injury. Certainly with the way they looked today, the Pirates have a shot at repeating.
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