Section 5AAAA Semifinal Game - Roseville vs Park Center 3-4-17

The first stop on this busy Saturday was Anoka High School for the two Section 5AAAA semifinal games that afternoon; the first featuring fourth-seeded Roseville taking on number-one seed Park Center.  I got up to Anoka High School early; armed with a Subway lunch and God's nectar (aka Pepsi) to get fueled for the day and to get a good seat as well.  This would be a true test for the Pirates as they were taking on a quality Raider team that had performed very well during the regular season; winding up in a four-way tie in the incredibly tough Suburban East Conference with an 11-5 conference record and 20-6 overall; very similar to Park Center's 21-5 overall record which played in an equally tough Northwest Suburban Conference so you knew this one had the potential to be a great battle for the right to move on to the section championship game on Thursday night.

This would also be a game of contrasts as Roseville prefers a slower, half-court game with its size while a smaller Park Center team likes to go up-tempo with an aggressive, opportunistic defense that can swarm all over you.  The Raiders established an early 4-3 lead on the strength of scores in paint by freshman forward Jayda Johnston at the 12:34 mark and by senior post Meleah Hansen at the 15:51 mark.  But the Pirates would respond with an 8-0 push that quickly had Roseville on its heels. Two lay-ups by slender junior guard Meghan DuBois - one at the 14:56 mark and another at the 13:48 mark - pushed Park Center ahead 7-4.  Two free throws by freshman reserve Kayla Cox at the 12:06 mark and a steal and lay-up the other way by DuBois at the 11:57 mark capped the run for an 11-4 Pirate lead.  Roseville would cut the gap to six points on a score in the paint by senior guard Kaia Porter at the 11:32 mark and a short shot by Hansen at the 10:31 mark but two free throws by senior point guard Danielle Schaub at the 10:25 mark and a lay-up by the future Concordia St. Paul Golden Bear at the 9:10 mark got the Park Center lead out to ten points at 18-8.

The Raiders would again close the gap to six points as a jumper from the right elbow area by Porter with 8:52 left and a lay-up in transition by senior reserve guard Molly Ryan with 8:12 left trimmed the Pirate lead down to 18-12 but you could tell that Roseville was having a tough time keeping up with the up-tempo, fast pace that the Pirates like to play.  A score in the paint by lanky senior post Mikayla Hayes with 7:59 left and a drive and finish by DuBois who was having an excellent first half pushed the lead back up to ten points at 22-12 and a steal and lay-up the other way by DuBois with 5:16 left maintained the ten-point edge at 24-14.  Park Center kept the Raiders off the scoreboard for the next two minutes and then two Schaub freebies with 3:06 left and a lay-up in transition by DuBois with 2:22 left extended the lead to 28-14.  Roseville finally dusted the cobwebs off of its basket as senior point guard Jolisa Ross connected on a lay-up in transition with 1:39 left and, despite a lay-up by Pirate junior guard Sommer Blakemore with 1:39 left, senior guard Erin Hill drained a "3" from the left top area with :10 left in the first half as Park Center's lead was trimmed down to 30-19 at the half.

Raider Head Coach Jeff Crosby knew he had to make some changes at the half to try and counter the speed that Park Center was using to fuel its transition game and it looked as if in the first part of the second half that those adjustments might pay dividends.  One free throw by Ross at the 17:30 mark and a short jumper by Porter at the 14:04 mark got the deficit down to ten points at 32-22 and two more Ross freebies at the 12:25 mark got Roseville back to within single digits trailing 32-24.  Ross would strike again for the Raiders a minute later at the 11:23 mark with a lay-up in transition that pulled Roseville even closer trailing 32-26.  Pirate senior sharp-shooting guard Ann Simonet's two free throws at the 10:37 mark briefly extended Park Center's lead back to eight points at 34-26 but another Ross free throw at the 10:23 mark and an offensive rebound and putback by Porter at the 9:59 mark suddenly cut the deficit down to five points for the Raiders at 34-29 and also had some of the Park Center contingent squirming in their seats.

But just when the Pirates looked like they could be vulnerable, they pulled themselves together and slowly righted the ship.  Hayes, who had been quiet for most of the first half, suddenly came alive down the stretch when Park Center needed her.  She got into the paint for one score at the 9:13 mark and after a Simonet "3" from the left wing area with 8:53 mark got the lead back to ten points at 39-29, another Hayes score in the paint with 8:33 left maintained that ten-point edge at 41-31 and then the future Florida Gator connected with a short, turnaround jumper with 7:48 left that made it a twelve-point game at 43-31.  The Raiders tried to counter as an offensive rebound and putback of a missed Hansen free throw with 7:19 left got the deficit back down to ten points at 43-33 but a quick 4-0 Park Center push extinguished any hopes of a real comeback that Roseville may have had. Freshman reserve guard Lauren Frost connected with a lay-up with 6:53 left and then Simonet snared a steal and whizzed the other way for a lay-up with 6:01 left that made it a fourteen-point game at 47-33.  Blakemore, who struggled with her three-point shooting for a good stretch of the game, increased the Pirates' safety net with a bomb from left top area with 5:28 left that made it a 50-35 game and two Blakemore freebies with 5:00 left stretched the lead to 52-35.  From then on, Roseville could only make dents and scratches in the deficit as the Pirates seized full control.  Junior reserve forward Charo Nickens connected with a lay-up in transition with 4:13 left and a DuBois lay-up with 3:37 left along with two Schaub charity stripe shots with 2:46 left surged the lead to 58-39.  Pairs of free throws by Blakemore with 2:25 left and by Hayes with 2:14 left made it a 62-41 game and insurance free throws by Schaub, DuBois and junior reserve guard Azsha Michael down the home stretch helped propel Park Center into Thursday night's championship game with a resounding 66-47 victory.

I asked Park Center Head Coach Chris VanderHyde afterward about the apparent offensive adjustments that the Raiders made at halftime but VanderHyde really thought the changes came defensively and how they were rotating.  But he pointed out that, once Hayes started becoming a factor down low again at about the midway point of the second half, that really tipped the balance in favor of the Pirates.  An incredibly balanced scoring attack by Park Center on this day definitely helped their cause.  Simply a great day by DuBois as she paced the Pirate attack with 15 points while Simonet and Blakemore each chipped in with 12 points.  Schaub and Hayes each had 10 points a piece.  Meanwhile, Roseville, which ended a fine season at 20-7 overall was paced by Ross' 11 points while Porter had 10 points.