And somehow, you just knew it had to come down to these two again - Marshall and Park Center for all the marbles in the Class AAA final on a Saturday night at Williams Arena. While I wasn't counting on another three-overtime thriller like last year, I knew this one certainly had the potential to be very, very good.
The Tigers bolted out to a 5-0 lead on a lay-up in transition by senior guard Sarah Buysse at the 17:07 mark and a "3" from the left corner by fellow senior forward Callie Graff at the 15:20 mark. Park Center would cut Marshall's lead to one at 5-4 on two but two freebies by senior forward Morgan Saugstad at the 14:19 mark gave Marshall a 7-4 lead. Then the Pirate offense; which struggled a bit in the early going, started to find its groove. A "3" from the right corner by senior point guard Hannah Schaub at the 13:41 mark tied the issue at 7-all and a Hannah Schaub lay-up at the 13:02 mark kept the score knotted at 9 a piece. It was here, though, that Park Center was able to establish a bit of a cushion with a 5-0 run thanks to a one-handed lay-up by lanky sophomore post Mikayla Hayes at the 12:06 mark and a "3" from flashy sophomore reserve forward Fey Ayobamadele at the 11:17 mark that gave the Pirates a 14-9 advantage. One charity stripe shot by Hayes with 8:17 left and a drive and one-handed finish by Hannah Schaub wowed the crowd at Williams and had Park Center up 17-11. Then it was younger sister Danielle Schaub's turn to get into the act as she launched a three-point bomb from the left corner with 5:45 left and a "3" from the left corner by senior guard McKenna DuBois with 3:59 left stretched the lead out to 23-15 and the Tigers; struggling with turnovers and miscues thanks to a pesky Pirate defense, was in a bit of a bind. However, a late 6-0 Marshall run tightened things up before the half. A score in the paint by Morgan Saugstad with 2:01 left and another one by Graff with 1:25 left trimmed the Park Center lead down to 25-21 and two Buysse freebies with :50.2 left now made it a one-possession game with the Pirates up only 25-23. Senior reserve post Camille McCoy's score in the paint with :34 left made the halftime score 27-23 in favor of Park Center. Arguably, things could have been a lot worse for the Tigers at this point with 11 first half turnovers although Marshall did own a decisive 22-8 advantage on the boards. Both Hannah Schaub and Hayes paced the Pirates with their seven points with Marshall was led by both Buysse and Morgan Saugstad with their six points.
The Tigers sought to right some of their first half wrongs once the second half got underway and a score in the paint by junior forward Marah Mulso at the 17:44 mark and another one by Morgan Saugstad at the 16:02 mark knotted the issue at 27-all. Marshall was able to forge a two-point advantage at 29-27 and a Mulso lay-up at the 14:23 mark maintained the two-point edge at 31-29. The Pirates would come right back, though, as a short jumper by Ayobamadele at the 11:18 mark and a steal and lay-up the other way by sophomore guard Ann Simonet at the 11:05 mark gave the Pirates the lead at 33-31 and Park Center would expand that lead to five points on a score in the paint by Hayes with 8:23 left and two Ayobamadele free throws with 7:06 left for a 39-34 advantage. Marshall would close the gap to single possession, though, as Buysse's drive along the right baseline for a finish that got her fouled and allowed her to sink the obligatory free throw with 6:35 left and a "3" from the left wing by junior forward Lexi Saugstad with 4:44 left now had Park Center up only by a 41-39 count and the issue was very much in doubt by this point. But, just when it seemed like the Tigers might be on the verge of finally stopping the Pirate machine, a stingy Park Center defense and timely "3's" saved the day for the green and gold faithful. Simonet; who struggled for a good portion of the game with her three-point touch, finally found the groove with 4:20 left when she got open in the left corner and drained one from there that pushed the lead back to five at 44-39. A Hayes lay-up with 2:30 left and another Simonet "3" - this one from the left corner again with 1:46 left - pushed the lead to six at 49-43 and now it was desperation time for Marshall as, down two possessions with time dwindling, they had no choice but to foul in order to preserve what little time was left. Hannah Schaub, who did a masterful job of running the offense and preserving the victory in those last few minutes, knocked down two freebies with :44.7 left and Simonet added one more with :15 left gave the Pirates a second state Class AAA title - this time in somewhat less dramatic fashion - with a 52-45 victory.
A happy and ecstatic Park Center Head Coach Chris VanderHyde admitted afterward that he felt the squad "came out a little sluggish in the second half" but noted that the team's defensive efforts really saved the day in the crucial situations. "We didn't rebound so well" he said "but our defense was phenomenal." I asked VanderHyde what the identity of this program is now with two state championships under their belt. "We play fast and up-tempo; gritty and with confidence." Certainly those aspects were on full display tonight. I also spoke with a number of players afterward. Danielle Schaub: "Defense wins championships" she said and although she didn't have a great night shooting the ball, she's all over the court with her defense and tonight was no different. She plays smart with the ball and sees the whole court and knows how to get her teammates involved as well. Her big sister Hannah Schaub was full of smiles afterward as you can imagine. I asked her about what it was like running the half-court offensive sets when there wasn't a lot of cushion in the score and simply ran the whole show with an air of confidence and ability. "It's the flow of the game" she said "and you play with it". She also spoke about the great chemistry of this team over the last few years and she's really been the glue that has helped get this team to where it is right now. She also talked about the team's defensive efforts on this night; getting steals and creating turnovers at seemingly some of the most crucial junctures of this contest. "The steals gave us energy" she admitted. On getting this state championship in her senior year when she was forced to watch last year's thriller on the sidelines with that ACL injury: "It's one of the best feelings" she said smiling and the joy and happiness about having this chance and making the most of it was evident. Simonet talked about some of her early shooting struggles in this game and how making that first trey in the second half helped. "The first one (I made) really helped a lot" she said. Both she Danielle Schaub admitted it was a "HUGE relief" not to have to do the three-overtime thing again and finish up the deal in regulation. DuBois was of the same mindset afterward as she said the team "wanted to get it over and get it done with" and they did just that. She admitted that "It took a little bit to get untracked" but also said that it "definitely feels good to go out with a win." Ayobamedele, the flashy sophomore reserve who really provides a spark on both ends of the floor for the Pirates, talked about her team's defensive efforts and how they focus heavily on it as it creates their offensive opportunities. "We worked hard on (it) in every single practice" she said. Hayes, who led the Pirates in scoring with her 13 points, admitted that she got a little frustrated when she picked up her third foul early in the second half, said it was definitely a relief to finish this one up in regulation unlike last year; echoing the sentiments of Simonet and Danielle Schaub. "Definitely a relief!" she said smiling. I also asked her about how she's been able to expand her game and abilities as she's been willing to take three-pointers when left out on the arc. "I'm not just an inside player" she said and it's definitely been fun to watch her grow and develop her abilities and you can bet that she'll only be better in the years to come. On the flip side, Marshall was led by Mulso's 15 points while Buysse and Morgan Saugstad both added ten points a piece. The Tigers owned a decisive 45-22 advantage on the boards in this contest but were also guilty of 21 turnovers as well and that was what likely cost them in this contest. Marshall also shot only 15-46 for 32.6% from FG range and was a paltry 2-12 from behind the arc for only 16.7% and those numbers will not offset all those turnovers.
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