Eden Prairie vs Park Center Recap 12-1-16

The high school season began this season where it always seems to for me - over at Park Center High School where on this Thursday evening the defending Northwest Suburban Conference champs were hosting Eden Prairie out of the Lake Conference - something of an unusual matchup right out of the gate.  The visiting Eagles under the tutelage of Head Coach Faith Johnson Patterson in her second season at the helm were hoping to get off to a good start in the season opener and perhaps make a name for themselves in the early part of the season while the Pirates are looking to consolidate their recent good results over the last three seasons which includes two state titles in the AAA field and an appearance last year in the AAAA field.

Eden Prairie came out in a 2-3 zone defense and, with the size that they have, it effectively clogged up the middle and slowed the usually frenetic-paced Pirate offense - at least in the early going anyway.  The problem was that as much as Park Center was slow getting into its flow in the early moments of the contest, the Eagles looked totally inept on offense as my UCLA Bruins did this fall (as much as that pains me to say as a die-hard UCLA guy).  With the Pirates holding a 1-0 lead on a free throw by junior guard Sommer Blakemore at the 17:48 mark, Park Center exploded with a 9-0 run.  Senior point guard Danielle Schaub drained a "3" from the left wing in transition at the 14:41 mark and slender junior guard Meghan DuBois drilled one "3" from the right corner at the 13:54 mark and then promptly dropped another three-point bomb from the top of the key at the 13:24 mark for a 10-0 Pirate lead and Johnson Patterson wasted no time in calling a timeout in an effort to stop the hemorrhaging.  A Schaub drive and lay-up at the 12:54 mark stretched the lead to 12-0 before the Eagles finally got on the board at the 12:32 mark and they at least managed to stay in the ten-point range for a bit.  Senior guard Jordan Schinas connected with a jumper from the left wing at the 12:05 mark and a score in the paint with 11:06 left by junior forward Kira Mosley along with a jumper in the lane by senior forward Sophia Hughes at least gave Eden Prairie a bit of hope trailing 18-8.  The Eagles briefly got back to within single digits when sophomore reserve forward Kemara Watson slithered into the paint for a score with 8:39 left for an 18-10 game but that flicker of hope was quickly doused when the Pirates embarked on a 10-0 burst.  Two scores in the paint by junior reserve forward Charo Nickens and two freebies by Blakemore made it 24-10 with 3:54 left.  Senior post Mikayla Hayes knocked down two free throws as well and added a jumper in the lane that made it a 28-10 game with 2:49 left and there was no looking back.  Turnovers galore and missed free throws along with an incredibly pesky Park Center defense simply stymied any Eden Prairie threat and the Eagles were incredibly fortunate to be down only 30-13 at the half.

Things only went from bad to worse for Eden Prairie once the second half got underway as the Pirates went on yet another 10-0 blitz.  Blakemore connected on a lay-up in transition at the 16:57 mark as did Hayes after a steal at the 16:41 mark.  Du Bois banged home a "3" from the left wing area at the 16:19 mark and then it was Blakemore unleashing a "3" from the left wing area that made it 40-13 and Johnson Patterson once again was clamoring for a timeout to try and save this quickly sinking ship.  Alas, the Eagles continued to flounder as the Pirates kept expanding their advantage. Two Schaub free throws at the 14:47 mark and a Hayes jumper from the right elbow area at the 13:40 mark made it 44-15 and a Blakemore "3" from the left corner at the 13:00 mark ballooned the lead to 47-17.  A Schaub steal and lay-up the other way at the 12:52 mark and a Charo Nickens lay-up in transition with 9:59 left helped make it a 53-19 game and, with running time looming the rest of the way, Johnson-Patterson called a timeout to get her troops reorganized.  Still, Charo Nickens added a lay-up in transition with 9:31 left and DuBois was able to wiggle inside for a score that drew a foul and sent her to the line for the obligatory free throw that made it 58-20 with 6:48 left.  Park Center Head Coach Chris VanderHyde was able to gradually insert his younger reserves into the game to give them some valuable in-game experience that they normally wouldn't get.  Freshman reserve guard Aaliyah Ragulen was able to knock down two freebies with 4:12 left and sophomore reserve forward Trinidi Prochaska was able to get into the paint for a score with :18 left as the Pirates cruised in the season opener by a score of 62-23.