Elk River vs Park Center 2-21-18

Made the short drive over to Park Center High School on this Wednesday evening to take in this important Northwest Suburban Conference showdown between visiting Elk River which made its way into town on U.S. Highway 10 and the BNSF's Staples Sub mainline to face host Park Center.  The Elks, of course, were the defending Class AAAA state champs from that marvelous senior-laden team last year that went 32-0 enroute to the state title.  But those seniors have now graduated and moved on to college basketball and now its a host of fresh new faces leading the way for Elk River and with it, the struggles that come for a young team as they came into this contest with a 10-15 record.  Park Center meanwhile came into this game with a 17-9 overall record and was tied with Maple Grove for first place in the Southern Division of the Northwest Suburban Conference so this game would be crucial for the Pirates from not only a conference perspective but also for making a case for a good seed in Section 5AAAA with one more regular season game after this one.  This was also Parent's Night and Senior Night at Park Center as this was the last regular season home game for the Pirates as the parents and players were honored and new Pirate Head Coach Barb Metcalfe gave a nice tribute for the four seniors - Sommer Blakemore, Charo Nickens, Meghan DuBois and Jaelyn Two Hearts. 

And Park Center indeed get off to a good start in this one; bolting out to an 8-2 lead.  Two scores by freshman guard/forward Adalia McKenzie - a short jumper at the 16:55 mark and a steal and lay-up the other way at the 16:01 mark - made it a 4-0 ballgame and a drive and finish by Blakemore at the 13:28 mark maintained the four-point edge at 6-2.  McKenzie's steal and lay-up the other way at the 13:11 mark capped this early run by the Pirates and Elk River Head Coach Jeremy Digiovanni called a timeout to get his young team calmed down and regrouped.  It took a bit but the Elks quietly carved their way back into the thick of things.  Sophomore guard Lydia Haack connected with a lay-up at the 12:41 mark to cut the deficit down to four points and although Elk River sophomore reserve guard Mikayla Kanenwisher had to go out after injuring her hand or writst at the 10:32 mark after a hard fall, this young group was not going away anytime soon.  Freshman guard Ellie Maass drained a "3" from the top of the key at the 10:03 mark to get the Elks back to within a single possession down 10-7 and two free throws by lanky freshman reserve forward Johanna Langbehn at the 9:03 mark cut the Elk River deficit down to a single scant point at 10-9 so that early cushion built up by the Pirates was now virtually next to nothing.

Digiovanni also had his young Elks team in a 2-3 "match-up" zone defense and Elk River did a very good job of slowing down the usually-potent Pirate offense and limiting their transition opportunities and when Park Center did get those opportunities, they weren't always cashing in either.  Both teams went into a bit of a dry spell over the next couple of minutes but a Haack lay-up with 6:40 left in the first half allowed the Elks to poke their nose out in front for the first time in this ballgame by an 11-10 count.  Park Center; perhaps somewhat alarmed by this development, quickly retook the lead as a DuBois jumper from the left wing area with 6:25 left put the Pirates back out in front again and a "3" from the top of the key by freshman reserve forward T'Naye Griffin with 5:22 left gave Park Center a bit of breathing room with a 15-11 advantage.  But the Elks would come right back with a 5-0 push that allowed them to get back out in front again.  Kanenwisher connected with a lay-up with 4:53 left and a lay-up by senior forward Matia Person with 4:07 left had this one knotted at 15 a piece.  One Person free throw with 3:33 left not only got Elk River back out in front again by a 16-15 count, but now the Elks were in the bonus the rest of the way in the first half as well.  Park Center gained the lead back on two McKenzie free throws with 2:32 left but the Elks took the lead right back when sophomore reserve guard Abby Barschdorf was the recipient of a pretty give-and-go pass from Person and her lay-up with 2:22 left pushed Elk River back out in front at 18-17. The Pirates, however, managed a 4-0 push to retake the lead and get a bit of breathing space before the end of the first half.  McKenzie drained a "3" from the left wing area with 2:07 left and a DuBois lay-up in transition with 1:47 left gave Park Center a 22-18 lead as both teams shuffled off to their respective locker rooms for the halftime break.  Up to this point, one could have argued that the Pirates could have been up by more as they left a handful of points on the table with missed free throws and "bunnies" yet this young Elk team did not waver after being down early in this contest. 

Elk River made another expedition to close the gap in the opening minutes of the second half as two free throws by sophomore guard Alexa Engebretson at the 16:25 mark and a Person lay-up at the 15:18 mark helped close the gap to one point with the Elks down 23-22.  Park Center tried to widen the gap again as McKenzie connected with a lay-up and drew a foul in the process and although Elk River's Person was the guilty party and now had two fouls on the night, the Pirates' McKenzie couldn't cash in on the "and one" opportunity.  On the Elks ensuing possession, Barschdorf got an open look in the right corner and she promptly drained a "3" at the 14:40 mark that tied this one up at 25 a piece.  Now it was Park Center's turn to try and get things in their favor.  Blakemore made a hard drive into traffic for a finish that drew a foul as well and her obligatory free throw at the 14:19 mark got the Pirates out in front 28-25.  Then a tough drive along the left baseline and finish by sophomore reserve guard Kayla Cox at the 11:37 mark increased Park Center's lead to four at 30-26.  And when McKenzie connected with a short shot off of an inbounds pass at the 10:29 mark to make it a 32-26 ballgame, it seemed to be a forgone conclusion that the Pirates would start to pull away and take care of business like most expected them to.

But one thing about this young Elk team that must make Digiovanni and his staff proud is the way they continue to keep fighting even when circumstances look dire.  Two Haack freebies at the 10:05 mark and a Haack lay-up at the 9:37 mark cut the deficit down to two points at 32-30.  Haack would get sent to the charity stripe again with 8:35 left after snaring a steal and her two free throws kept Elk River in the hunt down 34-32.  A drive and finish by Kanenwisher with 8:06 left knotted things up at 34 a piece and two Haack free throws with 7:29 left not only kept things tied at 36-all but now the Elks found themselves in the bonus as well.  And when the diminutive Haack made a drive into the lane and got a one-handed finish to go down with 6:38 left that put Elk River out in front 38-36, there definitely seemed to be a lot of uncertainty hanging in the air among the Park Center congtingent.  But this is exactly where the Pirates experience and senior leadership kicked in to regain control of this one for good and they responded with a game-changing 15-0 run.  Two Nickens free throws with 5:51 left tied the contest and one more by DuBois with 5:43 left after an untimely Elk turnover got Park Center back out in front 39-38.  With 4:23 left, DuBois struck again with a lay-up in transition to make it a 41-38 ballgame and with 3:59 left DuBois finished off another transition opportunity that also drew a foul and the future Concordia St. Paul Golden Bear dropped the ensuing "and one" to make it 44-38.  McKenzie dropped one free throw after she was fouled in a transition opportunity with 3:52 left and yet another DuBois lay-up in transition with 3:37 left now had the Pirates up with breathing space by a 47-38 count.  One more Cox free throw with 2:40 left and two more by Blakemore with 1:53 left made it a 50-38 game and Elk River's Digiovanni called a timeout to try and save this sinking ship.  Still, Park Center's McKenzie would drop one more free throw with 1:21 left to cap this game-changing run before the Elks could finally break their ill-timed drought on a lay-up by Maass with 1:05 left.  Elk River would get one more score on a drive and finish by senior guard Madison Leuthold with :30 left but the Pirates would close things out with an insurance lay-up by McKenzie with :09 left as Park Center got an important 53-42 win into the books. 

It was another outstanding night for the Pirates' McKenzie as she finished this game with 21 points and DuBois; in her last regular season home game, finished up with 12 points.  For Elk River, Haack was the only player in double-figures for the Elks with her 14 points.  The Pirates still have one remaining regular season game at Spring Lake Park and it's vitally important that Park Center find some consistency on the road in games where they should win - not only for their confidence but also for seeding purposes in the upcoming Section 5AAAA Tournament.