Park Center vs Totino-Grace 1-12-17

Made the short run over to Fridley on this frigid Thursday night to take in an interesting Northwest Suburban Conference battle between visiting Park Center and host Totino-Grace.  This would be my first look at the Eagles since an early season contest at a Thanksgiving-weekend tournament over at UST.  The Pirates meanwhile were coming off an exhilarating win over Centennial just two nights before so I was curious how well they had recovered from that both physically and mentally and if there was any chance of a letdown at all.

Park Center certainly didn't show any signs of any letdown as they got off to a 5-0 lead.  Junior forward Charo Nickens connected with a lay-up in transition and senior sharp-shooting guard Ann Simonet drained a "3" from the left wing area at the 16:12 mark.  The Eagles got on the board when senior forward Alex Gannaway dropped a three-point bomb from the left corner at the 14:58 mark and despite an offensive rebound and putback by Simonet at the 14:37 mark, Totino-Grace managed to stay within a single possession for the time being as lanky 6'2" senior post Sydney Weierke knocked down a jumper from the top of the key just inside the arc that cut Park Center's lead down to 7-5 at the 14:03 mark.  The Eagles momentarily slowed the usually fast-paced Park Center attack with its 2-3 zone defense and it took a bit of time but the Pirates began to find cracks they could attack.  Simonet was able to maneuver inside for one score at the 12:07 mark and a "3" from the left wing area by senior point guard Danielle Schaub at the 11:43 mark pushed Park Center's lead to 12-5. Schaub struck again less than a minute later when she connected on a drive and finish at the 11:08 mark that also drew a foul and sent the future Concordia St. Paul Golden Bear to the charity stripe for the ensuing freebie and a 14-5 game.  Junior reserve forward/post Chyanne Nickens knocked down a jumper from the right corner just inside the arc at the 10:50 mark to complete this 10-0 push for a 17-5 Pirate lead and Totino-Grace Head Coach Jessica Priest saw things slowly but surely falling apart and called a timeout to get her squad reorganized.

Junior reserve guard Maddie Doran temporarily stopped some of the bleeding for the Eagles with her lay-up in transition at the 9:55 mark but then Park Center began another back-breaking 8-0 run. Schaub connected with a lay-up in transition at the 9:44 mark and Simonet was able to connect with a lay-up at the 9:13 mark for a 21-7 Pirate advantage.  Schaub connected with a short jumper in the lane with 8:38 left that made it 23-7 and the Eagles' Priest was again clamoring for a timeout in hopes of turning the tide.  Still, the Nickens sisters - Charo and Chyanne - teamed up to complete this 8-0 push as Chyanne snared a steal near mid-court and got the ball to Charo who connected with a lay-up in transition with 8:14 left and a 25-7 Park Center lead.  The Eagles finally fixed up the holes in their plumbing as they were able to initiate a 6-0 push.  Two scores by sophomore forward Bree Glynn - one in the paint with 7:21 left and two free throws with 6:30 left - narrowed the deficit down to 14 at 25-11 and a Weierke jumper from near the free throw line with 5:38 left drew Totino-Grace closer trailing 25-13.  But just when you thought that the Eagles were on the verge of getting things back into single-digit range, Park Center embarked on a 9-0 run.  Two scores by Schaub - one in the paint with 5:24 mark and a "3" from the left corner with 2:59 left - built the cushion to seventeen points at 30-13 and a Mikayla Hayes score in the paint with 2:29 left made it a 32-13 ballgame.  Chyanne Nickens' jumper from the left wing area with 2:23 left gave the Pirates their first twenty-plus point lead at 34-13 before Totino-Grace could chip away at the large cushion in front of them.  A Gannaway lay-up with 1:35 left and two Glynn freebies with :58.7 left cut the deficit down to seventeen at 34-17 and a coast-to-coast lay-up by Doran in the closing seconds kept the deficit at seventeen at 36-19 but it's unlikely that Priest and her staff envisioned being down by this much at home.

The Eagles had the unenviable task of trying to not only chip away at the sizable deficit facing them but also finding a way to at least slow down the high-octane Park Center offense and, needless to say, it was a slow process.  Trailing 38-19 after two Hayes free throws at the 16:57 mark, Glynn connected with a lay-up at the 16:30 mark and two Brunn charity stripe shots at the 15:23 mark got the deficit down to fifteen at 38-23.  Doran was able to sneak into the paint for one score at the 14:53 mark and a Gannaway lay-up at the 14:35 mark whittled the nice Pirate cushion down to thirteen points at 40-27.  A short jumper by Gannaway at the 13:44 mark and a Weierke score in the paint off of an inbounds pass at the 12:59 mark got Totino-Grace even closer trailing now by eleven at 42-31. But the Pirates were able to firmly close the door on any comeback attempt by the home team. Chyanne Nickens got into the paint for a score at the 11:49 mark and two free throws by freshman reserve guard Kayla Cox at the 10:56 mark got the lead back to fifteen at 46-31.  A Charo Nickens "3" from the right corner with 8:58 left pushed the lead back up to sixteen points at 49-33 and, just like that, the Eagles were right back where they started from.

The home stretch was pretty much routine for Park Center down the home stretch.  Simonet connected on a pretty jumper in the lane in transition with 5:49 left and a Hayes offensive rebound and nifty reverse lay-up with 4:58 left helped maintain a safe cushion.  Slender sophomore guard Meghan DuBois; who struggled with her shooting touch for a good chunk of the game, finally got into a groove as she connected with a lay-up with 4:20 left and then casually dropped a three-point bomb from the left corner with 2:23 left.  Two Schaub lay-ups in transition with 2:07 and 1:32 left and a Hayes score in the paint with 1:05 left helped Park Center claim an important 64-47 road win.

This has been a tough and challenging week for the Pirates but a successful one thus far with a big win at home over Centennial on Tuesday night and this victory on the road at Totino-Grace.  Another big test awaits Park Center as they face Woodbury in the Hopkins showcase in prime time on Saturday night at 7:00 P.M.  The Royals; out of the equally-tough Suburban East Conference, are no slouch and the Pirates will have to bring their "A" game with them for this Saturday night tilt.