Champlin Park vs Park Center 1-24-17

Made the short run over to Park Center High School on this Tuesday evening to take in this incredibly huge Northwest Suburban Conference showdown between visiting Champlin Park which made its way down Zane Avenue to take on host Park Center.  The Rebels gave second-ranked Elk River all they could handle and then some a week ago in an overtime loss and the Pirates were coming off a split from late last week; losing to Wayzata on Thursday night and then trouncing Irondale on Friday night.  Moreover, the dreaded flu bug had been making its rounds on the Park Center squad as of late that forced a few players to lay low over the weekend so you had to wonder if the Pirates would be at full-strength for this important contest.

Things would be tight as expected in the early going.  Park Center senior sharp-shooting guard Ann Simonet's "3" from the right corner at the 16:55 mark gave the Pirates a 3-2 advantage and one free throw by lanky senior post Mikayla Hayes at the 16:37 mark pushed the lead to 4-2.  Champlin Park came right back on a pretty one-handed jumper in the lane by junior forward Gabby Mocchi at the 16:20 mark that tied the score but speedy junior guard Sommer Blakemore helped Park Center re-establish a two-point advantage with her lay-up at the 15:01 mark.  The Rebels would come right back again and tie the score at 6 a piece on free throws by 6'2" sophomore post Makayla Johnson at the 14:38 mark and another one at the 13:58 mark.  The back-end attempt that missed its mark, however, fell into the hands of Mocchi who avoided the box-out and her subsequent lay-up at the 13:55 mark not only gave Champlin Park the lead at 8-6 but also seemed to fuel a bit of energy into the upset-minded Rebels.  Johnson; who would be fouled in a transition opportunity at the 13:08 mark, sank two free throws to maintain the two-point edge at 10-8.  Junior guard Erica Hicks; who had a fantastic night against Elk River a week ago, connected on a lay-up in transition at the 12:48 mark that got the lead to 12-8.  Park Center momentarily stalled this drive on another Simonet three-point bomb from the right corner at the 12:09 mark that cut the Rebel lead down to a point at 12-11 and a score in the paint by freshman reserve forward Charo Nickens kept the Pirates in that scant point range trailing 14-13.  Champlin Park, however, was able to make another push as senior forward Allison Gerads connected with a lay-up at the 11:19 mark that also drew a foul and the ensuing "and one" got the lead to 17-13.  Mocchi's lay-up in transition at the 10:50 mark now made it a 19-13 game and Pirate Head Coach Chris VanderHyde; concerned about how things were going, decided to take a time-out to discuss things with his squad.

Park Center seemed to come out of that short stoppage in play with a renewed effort as they narrowed the gap to a single possession.  Senior point guard Danielle Schaub knocked down a short jumper at the 10:32 mark and Charo Nickens was able to sneak into the paint for another score at the 9:35 mark that cut the Rebel lead down to two points at 19-17.  But the Pirates were still having problems trying to figure out exactly how to attack that long Champlin Park 2-3 match-up zone they were employing and the Rebels were able to mount another march.  Gerads was able to drain a "3" from the top of the key at the 9:20 mark and two Hicks freebies with 7:55 mark gave Champlin Park their biggest lead of the evening at seven at 24-17.  The Pirates could have arguably been in a lot of trouble right then and there but this experienced squad hunkered down and embarked on a 10-0 run that really swung a lot of momentum back towards Park Center.  Two Schaub free throws with 7:20 left cut the deficit to five points and then the trademark pressure defense that the Pirates are so famous for kicked in. Simonet snared a steal in the backcourt and got a lay-up out of it with 6:30 left and then Schaub drilled a "3" from the left corner with 4:58 left that knotted things up at 24-all.  A "3" from the left corner by Blakemore with 3:06 left capped this run before a somewhat shell-shocked Champlin Park team could recover to grab a one-point lead.  Johnson connected with a lay-up with 2:52 left and a short shot by junior guard Amanda Pollard with 1:58 lead had the Rebels up 28-27.  Park Center would come right back and reclaim the lead as a score in the paint by Hayes with 1:41 left and a "3" from the left wing area by Schaub with 1:15 left gave the Pirates a four-point edge at 32-28.  Two Schaub free throws with :18.1 left maintained that four-point cushion at 34-30 and it looked as if Park Center had some real momentum going into the locker room at the half.  But there was an air of uncertaintly right before the halftime buzzer as the Rebels' Johnson connected with a lay-up with :05.8 left that also drew a foul and the obligatory free throw had Champlin Park down only by one at 34-33 as both teams trotted into the locker room for the halftime break.

Whatever uncertainty or lack of energy the Pirates lacked in the first half, they more than made up for that in the second half.  Right off the bat, Park Center came out swinging.  Slender sophomore guard Meghan DuBois snared a steal and dashed the other way for a lay-up at the 17:39 mark and a Blakemore "3" from the left corner at the 16:51 mark suddenly pushed the Pirate lead to 39-33 and Champlin Park Head Coach Josh Steck wasted no time in calling a halt to the action to get his squad calmed down.  The Rebels momentarily slowed the tide against them as Hicks buried a "3" from the left top area at the 15:01 mark that had Champlin Park back to within a single possession trailing 39-36.  The Pirates slowly increased their lead back up to five points as a score in the paint by Hayes at the 14:40 mark and one DuBois freebie at the 14:02 mark made it a 42-37 game and a short jumper in the lane off the glass by Hayes at the 13:22 mark pushed the lead to seven at 44-37.  The Rebels would still hang around, however, thanks to Hicks.  She connected with a short running jumper at the 13:00 mark and dropped two free throws after getting fouled at the 12:38 mark that again had Champlin Park back in striking distance range trailing 44-41.  The Pirates slowly rebuilt the cushion as two charity stripe shots by Simonet at the 12:25 mark and one by junior reserve guard Azsha Michael at the 10:20 mark made it a 47-41 game and a Schaub score in the paint at the 9:45 mark maintained that six-point edge at 49-43.

Park Center would increase the lead to nine when Simonet connected with a short jumper off of a drive and drew a foul in the process and the future Minnesota-Duluth Bulldog's ensuing free throw made it a 52-43 ballgame but the Rebels would go on a 5-0 push that allowed them to dangerously hang around again.  Two Hicks free throws at the 9:00 mark and a pretty score in the paint off of an inbounds pass by Gerads with 8:27 left cut the deficit down to five at 52-47.  Hicks followed that up with one free throw with 7:49 left that had Champlin Park right in the thick of things trailing 52-48. But when the Rebels needed to make that next move, missed free throws and other little mistakes did them in on this night.  Pollard missed a free throw attempt with 7:15 left and Johnson missed two free throws with 6:32 left that, at the very least, could have changed the complexion of things.  As such, Park Center gradually began to pull away.  One Simonet free throw with 7:07 left and two more by Blakemore who was fouled in a transition opportunity with 6:49 left made it a 55-48 game and a Schaub lay-up in transition with 6:25 left increased the lead to 57-48.  The Pirates grabbed their first double-digit lead of the evening on a lay-up in transition by Blakemore with 5:41 left and a score in the paint by Hayes with 4:27 left got the lead to twelve at 61-49.  Hicks tried to bring her Champlin Park team back into the fray with her drive and finish that also drew a foul and, along with the "and one", briefly had the Rebels back within single digit range trailing 61-52.  But Park Center shut the door for good on any comeback attempt by their visitors up the road as they got into the double-bonus with 3:58 left.  Hayes knocked down one free throw attempt at that point and a Simonet lay-up with 3:32 left had the lead back up to double-digits for good at 64-52.  Hayes would also knock down a short shot off the glass with 3:10 left and connect with a lay-up with 1:29 left for a 68-52 Pirate lead.  Both VanderHyde and Steck sent in their reserves for mop-up duty and Park Center was able to get an important 69-56 win under their belt to move to 12-5 on the year.

Both VanderHyde and Assistant Coach Luke Swedberg agreed that this was a big win for the squad; especially considering how a good chunk of the team had gone down with the flu bug over the last few days.  VanderHyde admitted that the Pirates didn't show the energy and intensity they needed to in the first half but they more than made up for that in the second half.  And it was a solid night indeed for the senior trio of Schaub, Simonet and Hayes with 16, 16 and 12 points, respectively.  I think VanderHyde has to be encouraged, too, by the quality minutes he's getting from his bench players such as the Nickens sisters (Charo and Chyanne) and freshmen Kayla Cox and Lauren Frost. Meanwhile, another good effort but disappointing finish for Steck's Rebels as they play tough but can't seem to find a way to finish out things sometimes.  This is a relatively young team that is dominated by juniors and sophomores and Hicks; who finished with 21 points on this night to lead all scorers, is definitely the go-to player on this team.  Still, this is the one team that you probably won't want to face come Sectional play and if they can shore up a few of their inefficiencies on offense, this team will definitely be tough to beat.