Made my way over to Hopkins High School for the Annual Breakdown Tip-Off Classic that features a host of top teams. I took in the 12:45 P.M. game featuring the reigning Class AAA Champ Park Center going up against STMA out of the Mississippi 8 Conference.
Trailing 1-0, the Pirates took a 3-1 lead a a pretty three-pointer from junior guard Ann Simonet from the left corner at the 16:50 mark which broke the early scoring drought in this contest. Park Center sophomore guard Sommer Blakemore, however, picked up two early fouls which forced Head Coach Chris VanderHyde to sit her for a spell. As a result, the two sides traded one-point leads in the early going. Trailing 5-2 after Pirate junior forward Mikayla Hayes' score in the paint at the 15:47 mark, Knight junior guard Rae Johnson knocked down a "3" from the right wing area at the 15:10 mark that knotted the score at 5-all and a Johnson jumper from near the right elbow area at the 13:52 mark gave STMA a slim 7-6 advantage. It was here, though, that the Pirates went on a 9-1 burst. Hayes connected with a turnaround jumper at the 13:33 mark and two free throws by sophomore reserve post Azsha Michael had Park Center up 10-7. Michael was also able to snare an offensive rebound for a putback at the 12:38 mark and then Simonet uncorked her second trey of the first half; this one coming from the right wing area that gave the Pirates a 15-8 lead.
STMA would close the gap to 15-12 on consecutive scores by lanky senior guard Sydney Tracy with 9:13 left before Park Center once again expanded their lead to seven. Hayes connected on a tough, running one-handed jumper in the lane with 8:58 left and a lay-up by junior guard Danielle Schaub with 8:26 left made it a 19-12 ballgame but the Knights would again battle their way back. Johnson would unleash another "3"; this one from the left top area with 8:07 left and Tracy made a drive into the lane for a finish with 7:36 left that cut the Pirates lead to 19-17. A short jumper by Schaub off the glass with 7:18 left gave Park Center a bit more breathing room at 21-17 but then STMA senior guard Kitri Zezza got an inbounds pass and knocked down a short jumper off the glass that once again had the Knights back to a single possession trailing 21-19 with 6:10 left. The alarm bells likely went off for Park Center as they again stepped on the gas pedal as they went on an 8-0 burst. Junior forward Fey Ayobamidele knocked down a short jumper off the glass with 5:47 left and Hayes got into the paint for a score with 5:29 left that upped the lead to 25-19. Sophomore reserve Jada Buford got a short jumper to go down in the lane in a transition opportunity with 5:01 left and then Ayobamidele capped the run when she got a lay-up after an STMA turnover with 4:50 left for a ten-point 29-19 lead. The Knights, however, would tighten things up before the half. Johnson let loose with her third trey of the first half from the right top area with 4:03 left and with a little more than three minutes left, sophomore reserve guard Riley Carlson was fouled and sent to the line. Carlson's first freebie found its mark but her second attempt missed. The Pirates neglected to box out like they should have and that allowed Tracy to use her 6'1" from to snare the offensive rebound for a putback that reduced Park Center's lead to 30-25. Schaub was able to extend the Pirate lead back to seven on her jumper from the left elbow area with 2:15 left at 32-25 but a 5-0 push by STMA right before the half made this one close again. Tracy drained a "3" from the left corner with :34 left and then junior guard Lizzy Heil got a lay-up after a Park Center turnover with :21 left that gave the Pirates a tenuous 32-30 lead at the halftime break.
The Knights came out on fire out of the locker room to start the second half. Zezza drilled a "3" from the left wing area at the 17:13 mark that gave STMA their first lead since the early moments of the game at 33-32 and that lead was extended to 35-32 when Zezza knocked down two freebies after being fouled at the 16:23 mark. A Simonet "3" from the right wing area at the 16:02 mark evened things up at 35-all but the Knights would manage to keep their nose poked out in front by a small margin for the next three minutes. Tracy connected with a lay-up at the 15:49 mark and then it was Zezza again from three-point land; this one from the left corner at the 14:53 mark that gave STMA a 40-37 advantage. A Johnson lay-up at the 12:49 mark had the Knights up 42-40 and you couldn't help but begin to wonder if STMA's size was beginning to wear down the Pirates.
But Park Center had a quick answer for that question as they turned up their intensity on defense that usually causes a multitude of problems for the opposition. A 9-0 burst midway through the second half helped turned the tide. Hayes connected with a short shot off the glass at the 12:26 mark that tied things up at 42-all and two Ayobamidele freebies at the 12:09 mark had the green and gold up 44-42. Then it was the ever-improving and confident Buford; nailing a "3" from the left corner at the 10:34 mark that suddenly made it a five-point game at 47-42. With 9:55 left, the diminutive Schaub snuck into the paint for a score to make it 49-42 that effectively turned the tables in this one. The Knights would try to bring this one back but they could never quite find that one extended run that would steal the momentum. A Johnson drive into the lane with 9:28 left and a Tracy "3" from the right corner had STMA within four trailing 51-47 and a score in the paint by lanky 8th grader Vanessa Alexander at the 7:18 mark kept the deficit at four at 53-49. But a 6-0 Park Center run pretty much ended any wisp of hope the Knights may have had. One free throw by Ayobamidele with 6:58 left not only extended the lead to 54-49 but the Pirates were also now in the double-bonus as well. Simonet unleashed another back-breaking "3"; this one from the right corner with 5:53 left that extended the Park Center lead at 57-49 and a short jumper by Buford with 4:34 left now made it 59-49. The Knights were not yet ready to call it a day just yet as they made one more valiant push. One Alexander free throw with 4:13 left and a running one-handed jumper in the lane by Johnson trimmed the Pirate lead to 59-52 and a Zezza lay-up with 3:47 left helped STMA draw closer trailing 59-54. A Tracy jumper from the left corner just inside the arc with 3:16 left coupled with a short jumper by Zezza with 2:42 left now cut Park Center's lead down to a single solitary point at 59-58. But the Pirates refused to let this 9-0 Knight run faze them and they calmly responded under pressure. A score in the paint by Hayes with 1:39 left and two Blakemore freebies with 1:00 left extended the lead to 63-58. Schaub dropped two more from the charity stripe with :34.4 left and got one more to drop with :09.6 left to give Park Center a tough 66-60 victory.
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