Blaine vs Park Center 1-23-18

Made the short run over to Park Center High School on the night after Winter Storm Jaxson greeted the Twin Cities area to take in the Northwest Suburban Conference Clash between visiting Blaine and host Park Center.  The Bengals were having a rough go of it again this year; coming into this game with a 5-11 overall record and 1-6 in conference play while the Pirates were sporting a decent 12-6 record that could arguably be better.  Moreover, Park Center was coming off a tough overtime loss to unbeaten and second-ranked Wayzata at home last Thursday night where they led by four points with under a minute left before letting that slip away and losing the contest in the extra session so this would be an opportune time for the Pirates to right the ship against a lesser opponent.

Park Center definitely got off to a fast start in this one as a lay-up after a steal by senior guard Meghan DuBois at the 17:46 mark along with a three-point bomb from the left wing by fellow senior guard Sommer Blakemore at the 17:11 mark had the Pirates up 5-0.  Blaine was also having a devilish time just getting the ball up the court thanks to the full- and half-court pressure that the Pirates were handing out on defense and Bengal Head Coach Chris Brustuen called a thirty-second timeout to try and get his squad calmed down.  Still, a lay-up in transition by sophomore guard Lauren Frost at the 16:08 mark maintained the five-point Pirate edge at 7-2 before Blaine could start to make some inroads.  Sophomore forward Kayla Bohr connected with a lay-up in transition at the 15:58 mark and one free throw by junior Hailey Babcock at the 15:27 mark along with a Babcock lay-up at the 14:44 mark cut the deficit down to two points at 9-7.  It was here, however, where the Pirates made their first decisive move of the evening in the form of a 12-1 run.  Freshman guard/forward Adalia McKenzie snared an offensive rebound for a putback at the 14:21 mark and a McKenzie lay-up in transition at the 13:30 mark stretched Park Center's lead to 13-7.  A Blakemore lay-up at the 12:19 mark and back-to-back three point bombs - one by sophomore reserve guard Aaliyah Ragulen at the 12:04 mark from the right corner off of an inbounds pass and one by Blakemore from that same right corner off of another inbounds pass at the 11:55 mark - now had the Pirates up 21-8 and Blaine's Brustuen had no choice but to take a match to a timeout before this one totally got away from his squad.

Still, the Bengals would have to withstand another three-point barrage from Park Center.  The diminutive Ragulen would uncork two more - one from the left wing at the 11:27 mark and another from the left top at the 10:21 mark - plus one from DuBois from the top of the key at the 9:20 mark that had the Pirates up comfortably at 30-10.  Blaine would stop some of the bleeding as freshman reserve forward Madison Hoehne got into the paint for one score at the 9:05 mark and Bohr was able to make a drive and finish off of an inbounds pass with 8:52 left that slimmed down the deficit a bit at 30-16.  Junior guard Emily Baurr drained a "3" from the left top area with 8:16 left and a score in the paint by Bahr with 7:54 left had the deficit down to thirteen points at 32-19.  The Pirates, however, were able to step on the gas and widen the gap again.  McKenzie connected with a lay-up with 7:32 left and a jumper from the right wing area by Frost with 7:16 left increased the Park Center lead to fifteen at 36-21.  McKenzie would connect with another lay-up after a steal with 6:15 left to make it a 38-21 lead before the Bengals ended their drought with a lay-up in transition by junior guard Phoebe Carson with 4:21 left.  An offensive rebound for a putback by Bohr with 3:51 left had Blaine's deficit down to fifteen points at 40-25 but the Bengals never could string together a stretch run that would put a significant dent into Park Center's cushion.  With the Pirates in the double-bonus, DuBois was sent to the charity stripe with 2:56 left for a two-shot attempt and although she could only sink the front end, Blakemore was able to grab the offensive rebound on the back-end attempt and she got a pretty, one-handed jump shot in the lane to go down with 2:53 left.  Blakemore would connect with a one-handed running jumper with 1:52 left and two Ragulen free throws with :46.9 left had Park Center up comfortably again at 47-28 by the halftime break. 

The Bengals tried desperately to cut into the fat again once the second half got underway as a Bohr drive and finish at the 17:42 mark and a drive along the right baseline and finish by sophomore guard Anna Garfield at the 16:58 mark had the deficit down to eighteen points at 50-32 but again it was a matter of trying to put a significant stretch together and Blaine simply was unable to do so.  Senior forward Charo Nickens snared an offensive rebound for a putback at the 16:33 mark to start a 9-0 Pirate push.  Blakemore uncorked one of her patented NBA-range three-point bombs from the left wing area at the 14:58 mark and a score in the paint by McKenzie at the 14:13 mark had Park Center up 57-32.  A Frost jumper along the left baseline at the 13:46 mark upped the lead to 59-33 and now the Bengals were in the unenviable position of trying to keep the sinking ship afloat.  But the bailing of water process was simply not enough as the Pirates kept adding to their lead.  Blakemore made a hard drive for a finish at the 12:20 mark and two scores by McKenzie - a coast-to-coast lay-up at the 11:53 mark and a tip-in of her own miss at the 11:17 mark - how had Park Center past the thirty-point threshold leading 65-33.  The Bengals tried desperately to keep this one from going into running time as Baurr got into the paint for a score at the 11:02 mark but a 7-1 Park Center push ended those hopes for good.  McKenzie connected with a lay-up in transition at the 10:30 mark as did Nickens did in a transition opportunity at the 10:02 mark for a 69-36 Pirate lead.  Blakemore would then snare a steal and dash the other way for a lay-up at the 9:44 mark and drew a foul in the process and the ensuing "and one" made it a 72-36 ballgame. 

The good thing with the "running time" Mercy Rule that MSHSL has is that it helps speed the game along without letting things get so totally out of hand plus it gives both coaches a chance to unload their benches and give the younger players a chance to get some real-time game experience.  New Park Center Head Coach Barb Metcalf did just that as she gradually inserted her bench players.  Sophomore reserve guard Kayla Cox drained a "3" from the right corner with 7:35 left and Ragulen got another "3" to go down from that same right corner with 6:04 left for a 78-39 Pirate lead.  Metcalf made a wholesale lineup change in the last few minutes as several of the new faces got playing time including newcomer freshman reserve guard Namia Manning who looks to be the next impressive youngster coming up.  Blaine would get the last six points of the game but the Pirates would cruise to an easy 78-45 victory.