Park Center vs Hopkins 12-20-16

Made my way over to Hopkins High School's Lindbergh Center on this Tuesday evening to take in a much-anticipated non-conference clash between powerhouse programs of two different conferences - visiting Park Center of the Northwest Suburban Conference and host Hopkins of the Lake Conference.  The Royals feature a significantly different line-up than last year's team that made it all the way to the State Championship Game before falling to Minnetonka with several young players carving an identity for themselves but they've shown - so far anyway - that they've got the goods to win the whole ball of wax this year and their number one ranking is no fluke.  With a good crowd on hand on this night that included a handful of former Park Center players and the Hopkins band, the atmosphere was electric.

It took a bit for either side to find any rhythm in the opening minutes as they felt each other out.  The Pirates finally grabbed a 3-0 lead on a lay-up in transition by junior guard Sommer Blakemore that drew a foul and resulted in the obligatory free throw at the 15:53 mark.  Hopkins went on a 6-0 burst as senior guard Dee Dee Winston knocked down a jumper from the right wing at the 14:42 mark and a short jumper by sophomore guard Diayla Chakolis at the 14:22 mark had Hopkins up 4-2.  Junior guard Raena Suggs' lay-up in transition at the 13:57 mark upped the lead to 6-3 before Park Center could answer again on a jumper from the free throw line by senior point guard Danielle Schaub at the 13:41 mark that trimmed the Royal lead to 6-5.  At that point, things looked pretty even but it was here that Hopkins was able to establish some separation.  A score in the paint by Chakolis at the 13:28 mark and a "3" from the left corner by Suggs at the 13:07 mark suddenly increased the lead to 11-5 and a concerned Pirate Head Coach Chris VanderHyde called a timeout to try and make some quick adjustments on defense.  Park Center momentarily regained a bit of control and a "3" from the right top area by senior sharp-shooting guard Ann Simonet at the 9:10 mark had the Pirates right in the thick of things trailing 12-8.  However, a score in the paint off of an inbounds pass by lanky junior forward Angie Hammond with 8:28 left ignited a 10-0 Hopkins run.  Hammond would follow-up this score with a lay-up with 7:58 left and a short jumper by Winston with 6:59 left gave the Royals a ten-point 18-8 lead.  Suggs would connect with a lay-ups in transition with 6:40 and 6:18 left that made it 22-8 before the shocked Pirates could respond.  A Schaub drive and finish with 6:01 left and a Blakemore "3" from the left corner with 5:27 left had Park Center back in single-digit range trailing 22-13 but the Royals would explode again - this time with an 11-0 burst.  Suggs would connect with a lay-up in transition with 4:40 left and then Chakolis connected with a lay-up after a backcourt steal and got fouled in the process and her free throw with 4:25 left expanded Hopkins' lead to 27-13.  Two Hammond scores in the paint - one with 3:00 left and another one with 2:03 left off of an inbounds pass - made it 31-13 and a Winston lay-up in transition with 1:25 left gave the Royals a 33-13 lead before Park Center reserve junior guard Azsha Michael finally stopped the bleeding with her "3" from the left corner with 1:11 left but trailing 33-16 going into the locker room at the half, the Pirates VanderHyde knew he had to make adjustments on defense to limit the easy transition opportunities that Hopkins was getting in the first half.

Park Center definitely looked like they were beyond the point of no return once the second half got underway but the Pirates shocked everybody inside Lindbergh Center on this night and slyly battled their way back.  Blakemore connected with a lay-up in transition at the 17:26 mark and Schaub was able to knock down a jumper from the left wing in transition as well at the 16:10 mark that slimmed the deficit down to fifteen points at 35-20.  One Schaub freebie at the 15:40 mark and a Simonet jumper from the left corner just inside the arc at the 14:56 allowed the Pirates to creep closer trailing 37-23 and a score in the paint by senior post Mikayla Hayes at the 14:04 mark trimmed the Hopkins lead down to 37-25.  A Hayes lay-up at the 13:27 mark that drew a foul and sent the future Florida Gator to the charity stripe for the ensuing freebie suddenly had Park Center back to within single digits again trailing 37-28.  The Royals quickly looked to restore order as a Suggs lay-up in transition at the 12:47 mark and a Suggs drive and finish at the 12:11 mark got the lead back up to thirteen at 41-28.  Suggs capped her own 6-0 push with a pretty one-handed shot at the 11:45 mark that made it 43-28 and, presumably anyway, the Park Center threat had been contained.

But the Pirates refused to be silenced in a venue that, over the last few years anyway, hasn't always been friendly to them.  A short jumper by Schaub at the 11:30 mark seemed to help get Park Center's offense clicking again and it ignited a 7-0 run.  At the 11:11 mark, the future Concordia St. Paul Golden Beat found a crack in the vaunted Royal defense and drained a "3" from the left wing area at the 11:11 mark that trimmed the Hopkins lead down to ten points at 43-33 and then junior reserve forward Charo Nickens found a seam going down the floor in transition and connected with a lay-up at the 10:42 mark and now the Pirates cut the deficit down to eight points at 43-35 and an alarmed Royals Head Coach Brian Cosgriff called a timeout to halt this unexpected charge by the visitors from the Northwest Suburban Conference.  That stoppage in play paid big dividends for Hopkins down the stretch.  Although a Hayes' short turnaround jumper with 7:57 left kept Park Center in the hunt trailing 45-37, they just couldn't seem to find that one big shot that would have helped them draw closer and, at the very least, change the complexion of the game.  As such, pairs of free throws by Chakolis with 7:37 left and by Suggs with 7:19 left got the lead back up to double-digits again at 49-37.  Even worse for the Pirates was the fact that fouls were beginning to catch up with them.  Blakemore collected her fourth foul with 6:38 left and although Park Center would make one last meaningful charge to get back to within single-digit range, it just wasn't quite enough on this night.  Hayes got a score in the paint with 5:55 left and a Simonet three-point bomb from the left corner with 5:24 left cut the Royals lead down to 51-42 and one Hayes charity stripe shot with 2:56 left got it back to that eight-point margin again at 51-43.  It was here that Hopkins finally closed the door on the Pirates hopes.  Chakolis grabbed an offensive rebound of her own miss for a putback with 2:40 left and one Winston freebie with 1:31 left pushed the lead to 54-43.  Simonet was gone with five fouls with 1:09 left; taking away Park Center's primary perimeter threat.  Pairs of free throws by Suggs with :56.1 left, freshman guard Jaide Pressley with :43.4 left and by Winston with :27.9 left helped Hopkins take a 60-47 win.