Park Center Holiday Showcase - Cretin-Derham Hall vs Park Center 12-28-17

The nightcap at Park Center Gymnasium on this Thursday night at the Park Center Holiday Showcase featured fourth-ranked Cretin-Derham Hall out of the equally-competitive Suburban East Conference and host Park Center of the Northwest Suburban Conference.  This would be my first look at the Raiders in the 2017-18 season and I knew after seeing them last year that they were on the cusp of doing some big things so it wasn't surprising to see them ranked in the number four spot at all.  Now was a big test for them on the road in a potentially hostile environment against a quality opponent.  Meanwhile, Park Center had been doing reasonably well up to this point but was still in the process of trying to figure a few things out and tonight would prove to be a stern test and an opportunity to wipe the bad taste out of their mouths of the loss to Hopkins right before Christmas.

Cretin-Derham Hall would have a slight edge after the opening tip-off as senior guard Chan'el Anderson-Manning got into the paint for a score at the 17:48 mark and a jumper in the paint by fellow senior guard Haley Moore at the 16:49 mark had the Raiders up 4-2.  Junior forward Frannie Hottinger's lay-up at the 15:52 mark helped Cretin-Derham Hall maintain that two-point edge at 6-4 before the Pirates could usurp the momentum.  Lanky freshman guard T'Naye Griffin connected with a short jumper off the glass at the 14:37 mark to tie the game and a lay-up by fellow freshman guard/forward Adalia McKenzie at the 14:05 mark propelled Park Center into the lead at 8-6.  A lay-up by slender senior guard Meghan DuBois at the 13:28 mark increased the lead to four points at 10-6 and then the Pirates got a boost with back-to-back three-point bombs:  One by Griffin from the left top area at the 12:58 mark and another by sophomore guard Lauren Frost from the left corner at the 12:16 mark and suddenly the Pirates had a double-digit cushion at 16-6.  Cretin-Derham Hall would get the deficit back down to six points as senior forward Autam Mendez got into the paint for a score at the 12:06 mark as did Hottinger at the 10:31 mark but Park Center managed to pick up the tempo and increase its cushion.  Senior point guard Sommer Blakemore uncorked one of her patented NBA-range three-point bombs from the left wing area at the 10:10 mark and two free throws by DuBois at the 9:33 mark had the Pirates up 21-12.  When DuBois connected with a lay-up in transition with 8:42 left in the first half and drew a foul in the process that resulted in an ensuing "and one", things did indeed look rosy for Park Center as they held a 24-12 lead.

But this senior-laden Raider team was not about to let this game get away from them and their experience likely kept them from panicking and they were able to slowly right the ship.  Anderson-Manning drained a "3" from the left top area with 8:01 left that got Cretin-Derham Hall back into single-digit range trailing 24-15 and one Mendez free throw with 7:32 left and two more by senior forward Haley Moore with 6:42 left had the deficit down to eight at 26-18.  The Pirates would temporarily slow this drive when sophomore reserve guard Kayla Cox uncorked a "3" from the top of the key with 6:33 left but Cretin-Derham Hall managed to steady the course.  Mendez snared an offensive rebound for a putback with 6:20 left as did Hottinger a bit later with 5:55 left that cut the deficit down to seven points at 29-22.  Senior reserve guard Justyna Butler made a hard drive for a finish with 4:40 left and one free throw by junior reserve forward Paige Goaley with 4:02 left along with a jumper from the free throw line by Moore with 3:34 left suddenly had the deficit down to two points at 29-27.  A lay-up by Mendez with 2:07 left now had the deficit down to a scant single point at 30-29 and one freebie by Moore with 1:50 left brought this one back at 30-all.  The Raiders finally took the lead on a lay-up in transition by Mendez with 1:17 left at 32-30 and although Park Center managed to tie the contest on two free throws by sophomore reserve guard Aaliyah Ragulen with :58.2 left, Cretin-Derham Hall's Hottinger would give her team the lead back with another offensive rebound and putback with :41.2 left as the teams headed for the locker room at intermission with the Raiders holding a 34-32 advantage.  While certainly not an insurmountable deficit for Park Center, Head Coach Barb Metcalf and her staff had to be a bit unnerved as some of the problems from the previous game with Hopkins; i.e., boxing out and rebounding along with missed free throws were starting to rear their ugly heads again.  Worse yet, Cretin-Derham Hall did a good job of getting the tempo of the game back to their liking in a half-court style as opposed to the up-tempo style that the Pirates prefer.

The Raiders upped the ante in the early moments of the second half as senior forward Lizzie Edinger drained a "3" from the left wing area at the 17:36 mark and two Hottinger charity stripe shots at the 16:31 mark increased Cretin-Derham Hall's lead to seven at 39-32.  The Pirates' woes worsened at the 16:00 mark when Frost was slapped with her third foul and although DuBois' offensive rebound for a putback in transition at the 15:39 mark reduced the deficit to five points at 39-34, Park Center seemed to be wading in deeper and deeper doo-doo.  One Mendez free throw at the 15:09 mark and two more by Anderson-Manning at the 14:46 mark got Cretin-Derham Hall's lead up to eight points at 42-34 and then the Raiders were able to build a double-digit cushion.  Hottinger connected with a lay-up at the 14:11 mark and two Mendez free throws at the 13:40 mark had the Raiders up ten at 46-36.  Two Hottinger charity stripe shots at the 12:57 mark and an offensive rebound and putback by Hottinger at the 11:15 mark increased the lead to twelve at 50-38 and when Hottinger sank two more free throws with 8:57 left for a 52-40 Cretin-Derham Hall lead, the Pirates' fortunes indeed looked grim.

But if there's one thing we've learned about Park Center over the last few seasons is that they have one incredible knack for coming back under some of the most dire conditions and circumstances possible.  An unlikely 14-4 Pirate run over the course of four minutes changed things drastically and it started with a Griffin lay-up with 8:36 left in regulation that cut the deficit down to ten points at 52-42.  Two free throws by McKenzie with 8:19 left and one more by Griffin with 7:59 left had Park Center back in single-digit range trailing 54-45.  Then it was the three-point bomber; Blakemore, dropping one of her bombs from the left wing area with 6:39 left that now cut the deficit down to six points at 54-48 and the energy on the Pirate team was brimming.  McKenzie was sent to the charity stripe after she was fouled in a transition and although she was unable to connect on her free throw attempts, Frost was able to sneak in around her defender to grab the offensive rebound and get a putback out of it with 6:21 left that now cut the Cretin-Derham Hall lead down to four points at 54-50.  Hottinger came to the rescue to give her Raider teammates a bit more breathing room with two free throws with 4:58 left but Park Center was far from finished.  Blakemore dropped two free throws after getting fouled with 4:49 left and when McKenzie was able to snare a steal near mid-court and race the other way for a lay-up with 4:33 left, her ensuing "and one" now had the deficit down to a single scant point at 56-55 and there were few inside Park Center Gymnasium who doubted that the Pirates could bring this one back with this much time left.  Cretin-Derham Hall Head Coach Joe Lynch was probably one of those and he called a thirty-second timeout in an effort to try and get his squad calmed down.  That thirty-second pause in the action seemed to give the Raiders new life and a renewed determination to close this one out although Park Center definitely had their chances down the home stretch.  With Cretin-Derham Hall clinging to that one-point edge, Anderson-Manning managed to gracefully slither through traffic and get a one-handed finish with 3:33 left and one Mendez freebie with 3:07 left gave the Raiders a bit more breathing space up 59-55.  Still, there was plenty of time left for the Pirates but they never could quite get that one big shot to fall when they needed it.  Perhaps the real killer for Park Center's hopes came with 2:24 left when they failed to box out Hottinger when she zoomed into the lane to grab the back end of two missed free throws by Mendez for a putback and was fouled in the process.  Hottinger did her duty on the ensuing "and one" and now the Raiders lead was back up to seven points at 62-55 which effectively put Park Center back at Square One.  The Pirates did not abandon their comeback bid as a drive along the right baseline and finish by McKenzie with 1:52 left and two Blakemore free throws with 1:17 left at least had Park Center back in single-possession range trailing trailing 62-59.  But getting that one big stop to try and bring it all the way back proved to be a bridge too far for the Pirates on this night.  Moore dropped a big jumper for Cretin-Derham Hall  from the left wing area with 1:10 left that made it a two-possession game at 64-59 and although Blakemore would cut that lead down to three points again for the Pirates with :53.7 left, it was again a matter of not quite enough.  Edinger came through for the Raiders in the final minute; dropping one free through with :53.2 left and two more with :28.9 left that got Cretin-Derham Hall's lead to six at 67-61.  Frost would try and bring the Pirates closer with her drive and finish with :19 left but one more Edinger free throw with :16.6 left finally sealed the deal for Cretin-Derham Hall.  Frost would give the Pirates one more score on a lay-up with :07 left but it would be the Raiders walking away with a nail-biting 68-65 win.