The first stop of this busy Saturday afternoon was over at nearby Park Center High School where the host Pirates would take on Northwest Suburban Conference rival Osseo in the Class AAAA semifinal game. The two teams split the series during the regular season so it was somewhat fitting that this game would be not only the rubber match but would also give the winner the right to advance to the Section Championship Game up at Anoka next Thursday night.
The opening minutes of the first half would be tight as expected between these two bitter conference rivals. After lanky junior post Mikayla Hayes got into the paint for Park Center to draw first blood, the Orioles came right back and grabbed a 4-2 lead as flashy senior guard Kiara Russell connected with a lay-up at the 15:32 mark and fellow senior post Lemia Ntor-ue knocked down a jumper from the free throw line at the 15:01 mark. The Pirates would reclaim the lead on one free throw by junior guard Ann Simonet at the 14:16 mark and a "3" from the right top area by sophomore guard Sommer Blakemore. Another Simonet freebie pushed Park Center's lead to 7-4 before the Orioles closed the gap to one point on two free throws by junior forward Azaria Reed at the 12:58 mark. The Pirates, though, would manage to build a bit of a cushion right before the midway point of the first half. One Hayes free throw at the 12:35 mark and another score in the paint by the future Florida Gator got the lead to 10-6 and then Hayes struck again at the 11:09 mark with a lay-up that gave Park Center its largest lead of the game so far at 12-6. Osseo would trim the deficit back to four points on a jumper along the left baseline by Russell at the 10:49 mark but when junior point guard Danielle Schaub dropped a jumper from the left baseline area at the 10:21 mark and sophomore reserve forward Charo Nickens snared an offensive rebound for a putback at the 9:59 mark, the Orioles now found themselves down 16-8 and Osseo Head Coach Jen Moen; not liking this development at all, called a timeout to get her troops reorganized.
To their credit, Osseo managed to battle and get right back in the thick of things. One Reed free throw at the 9:23 mark and a lay-up in transition by junior guard Mikayla Homola with 8:14 left trimmed the Pirate lead down to 16-11 and two free throws by senior guard Ari Jones with 7:04 left had the Orioles back to within a single possession trailing 16-13. Jones would strike again for Osseo with 5:40 left on a lay-up in transition and when Homola did the same with 4:54 left the game was now tied at 17-all. Simonet would get Park Center back out by three points at 20-17 with her first three-point bomb of the day that came from the left wing area with 4:45 left. But junior reserve guard Mina Porte was able to knock down a trey of her own from the right top area with 3:55 left that knotted the issue at 20-all. Neither side would give an inch down the final minutes of the first half with defense taking center stage and when the buzzer sounded ending the first half, things looked very uncertain for the defending AAA champion Pirates.
Successive lay-ups in transition by Osseo's Homola at the 17:34 and 16:36 marks of the second half not only had the Orioles in front 24-20 but cast an even bigger shadow of doubt on the Pirates chances of defending their home floor and moving on to the section finals. Then things really got crazy over the next several minutes as both sides traded heavy artillery in the form of three-point bombs. Simonet fired one from the right corner area at the 16:23 mark and one by Schaub from the same right corner area at the 16:20 mark after a steal put Park Center back out in front 26-24. Jones answered for Osseo with her "3" from the right top area at the 16:01 mark but then it was Simonet again at the 15:48 mark that gave the Pirates a tenuous one-point advantage at 28-27. Then it was Osseo's Russell snaring an offensive rebound of her own miss for a putback right at the 15:00 mark that put the Orioles back out in front 29-28. Jones added to Osseo's lead with a "3" from the left top area at the 14:09 mark to make it 32-28. Then Park Center was able to finally restore a bit of order to this wild affair as they managed to re-establish their lead and build a bit of a cushion heading into the midway point of the second half. A tough jumper along the right baseline by Simonet at the 13:45 mark cut the Oriole lead down to two at 32-30 and then athletic junior forward Fey Ayobamidele let loose with a "3" from the left corner at the 13:03 mark that had the Pirates back out in front 33-32. Another Simonet three-point bomb; this one from the right corner at the 12:36 mark made it 36-34 and lay-ups in transition by sophomore reserve guard Meghan DuBois at the 12:14 mark and by Schaub at the 11:45 mark - both the result of turnovers created by that pesky Pirate defense - had Park Center up 40-34 and, although not necessarily an insurmountable lead by any stretch, maybe now the Pirates could restore some calm and order to the chaos that ensued.
But Osseo had other ideas and the Orioles slyly battled their way right back to create more turmoil into this hotly contested section semifinal. Homola, enroute to a stellar afternoon, unleashed a "3" from the right corner at the 11:10 mark that sliced Park Center's lead down to three at 40-37 and with 7:35 left, the Pirates made the mistake of allowing her to set up shop in the same spot where she made Park Center pay again with another three-point bomb. With 5:42 left, Homola connected with a jumper that had the Orioles trailing by just two at 44-42 and a Homola drive and finish kept Osseo within a single possession trailing 47-44. A 5-0 Pirate spurt fueled by two Simonet treys with 5:27 and 4:05 left could have easily finished off this gamey Osseo team but the Orioles still refused to buckle, down 52-44. Giving the Pirates a taste of their own medicine with pressure defense, Park Center began making uncharacteristic errors that their opponents usually make and Osseo was more than willing to pounce on the opportunities given to them. One Homala freebie with 3:20 left and two more by Russell with 3:06 left along with a steal and lay-up the other way by Jones with 2:38 left had the Orioles back to within a single possession trailing 52-49. With Osseo banging the boards hard on missed shots, Notr-ue was sent to the charity stripe with 1:44 left where she promptly knocked down two free throws and on the next Osseo possession, Russell would get fouled and her two free throws with 1:17 left now had the Orioles up 53-52 and Park Center Head Coach Chris VanderHyde; sensing that everything could go kablooey for his squad right then and there, called a timeout to get his squad calmed down and refocused.
With the Pirates in an incredibly dangerous spot, the stoppage in play paid off. Park Center got a stop on the ensuing Oriole possession and were able to get the ball downcourt to set up their offense. With the Pirates moving the ball around on the perimeter and working the clock skillfully, Ayobamidele got a look from the left corner area and, with total disregard to nervousness or tightness, she let loose with a "3" that found its mark with :33 left that put Park Center back up 55-53. The Orioles still had a chance however but on the ensuing Osseo possession, an unforgiving Pirate defense managed to get a stop and Hayes; grabbing the all important defensive rebound, was fouled in the process with :18.3 left. A pair of free throws right then and there would have iced the game for Park Center but on the 1-and-1 situation, Hayes' front-end attempt missed its mark and the Orioles grabbed the rebound; hell-bent on getting one last shot attempt. What they couldn't have counted on, however, was having this last opportunity foiled by that darned Park Center defense which stripped the ball with :12 left and got the rock to their most reliable free throw shooter, Schaub, who was fouled with :08.7 left. Schaub; with older sister and former Pirate standout (and current UW-Stout player) Nicole cheering her on, calmy sank two free throws that made it a 57-53 game and all the Orioles could do now was to heave a desperation trey attempt and hope for a foul in the process. The vain attempt failed and Park Center claimed a thrilling 57-53 victory to advance into Thursday night's Section 5AAAA Championship Game against another conference rival just up the road, Champlin Park.
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