Breakdown Tip-Off Classic - Prior Lake vs Park Center 12-1-18

After battling some harrowing roads with the afternoon snowfall that hit the Twin Cities on this Saturday afternoon, I managed to fight my way back from UST's Schoenecker Arena back over to Lindbergh Center on the campus of Hopkins High School to take in the late afternoon/early contests of the 2018 Breakdown Tip-Off Classic that featured several of the top teams not only in the metro area but outstate as well.  And one of these evening contests going on was one that I simply could not pass up pitted Prior Lake out of the South Suburban Conference going up against Park Center of the Northwest Suburban Conference.  After an up-and-down season for most of last year, the Lakers shocked everybody to take the Section 2AAAA title that earned them a trip to the state tournament and now this squad was setting out to show the world that last year's trip to the Big Stage was by no means any fluke.  The Pirates meanwhile were looking to re-establish themselves as a powerhouse team that enjoyed a four-year run to the state tournament and two Class AAA titles to go along with that run.  And given the fact that Park Center had stumbled out of the gate against Eden Prairie, this game loomed even larger for them.  And while I expected a very good game to ensue, I'm sure there were few in attendance that night that counted on an absolute display of fireworks and scoring that would take place in this game.

Both teams would trade one-point leads in the first two minutes of the first half.  After Pirate junior guard Kayla Cox put her team ahead with one free throw at the 17:34 mark, Prior Lake would respond when senior sparkplug guard McKenna Hofschild connected with a lay-up at the 17:23 mark.  Park Center standout sophomore guard/forward Adalia McKenzie snared a steal and streaked the other way for a lay-up at the 16:47 mark that had the Pirates up 3-2.  Right back came the Lakers as Hofschild would connect with another lay-up at the 16:30 mark.  It wasn't until the 16:11 mark that Park Center could establish a bit of separation with an 11-3 push.  Two scores by lanky sophomore forward T'Naye Griffin - an offensive rebound for a putback at the 16:11 mark and a drive along the left baseline for a finish at the 15:35 mark - gave the Pirates a 7-4 lead and a lay-up by diminutive junior guard Aaliyah Ragulen at the 14:58 mark got the lead to four points at 9-5.  Hofschild would strike for the Lakers at the 14:22 mark with a lay-up in transition but Park Center would widen the gap as Griffin would also connect with a lay-up in transition at the the 14:16 mark that also drew a foul and the ensuing "and one" got the Pirate lead to 12-7.  McKenzie followed that up with a short shot at the 14:03 mark to get the lead to 14-7.  Lanky 6'1" sophomore post Emily Kulstad attempted to get Prior Lake closer with her score in the paint at the 13:44 mark but the Pirates would embark on a 7-2 push that would give them their first double-digit lead of the evening.  McKenzie connect with a lay-up in transition at the 12:38 mark and a McKenzie jumper from the right corner just inside the arc at the 12:34 mark after an untimely Laker turnover got the lead to nine points at 18-9.  Then Griffin would unleash a "3" from the right wing area at the 11:05 mark to give Park Center a 21-11 advantage before the Lakers could cut into that gap again.  Another Hofschild lay-up at the 10:48 mark and a jumper from the left elbow by junior guard Haidyn Pitsch at the 10:13 mark reduced the deficit to six points at 21-15.  The Pirates would increase the lead to eight when junior guard Lauren Frost connected with a lay-up in transition at the 9:13 mark to make it 23-15 so at least by this point anyway, Park Center had to feel pretty good about itself that it not only had the lead but also had its up-tempo game going and, so far anyway, was absorbing repeated blows by Prior Lake's Hofschild without too much damage.

The Lakers tried to close the gap when Pitsch banged home a "3" from the left corner off of an inbounds pass with 8:55 left but Park Center responded quickly and set to open up some more space.  Eighth-grade reserve guard/forward Aniyah Rueben drained a "3" of her own from the left corner with 8:33 left and two Rueben free throws with 7:26 left had the Pirates up by nine at 28-19.  Prior Lake managed a 9-3 run that got them back in single-possession range.  Hofschild connected with a lay-up with 7:04 left as would senior reserve forward Lexi Hanson with 6:37 left that reduced the deficit to five points at 28-23.  Two Hofschild freebies with 6:17 left now had things down to three points at 28-25.  The Pirates' Griffin would nail a "3" from the right top area with 5:14 left that upped the Park Center lead to six at 31-25 but Prior Lake sophomore guard Kate Trachsel matched that with a "3" of her own from the right wing area with 4:38 left that drew the Lakers back into single-possession range again down 31-28.  This three-point bonanza kept on coming as the Pirates' Griffin unleashed another bomb from the top of the key with 4:24 left which was matched by the Lakers' Hofschild's bomb from the right top area with 4:08 left.  Then Park Center's McKenzie let loose with a "3" from the right wing area with 4:01 left that now had the Pirates up 37-31.  So after five consecutive three-point bombs, things settled down a little bit when Park Center's Griffin got fouled with 3:45 left and one free throw nudged the Pirate lead to 38-31.  A McKenzie offensive rebound for a putback with 3:18 left threatened to put Prior Lake in a big hole again with the Pirates now up 40-31 but the Lakers managed to scratch and claw their way back into the thick of things again.  One Hofschild free throw with 3:01 left and a "3" from the top of the key by senior reserve guard Lexi Wiskow with 2:34 left had the deficit down to five points at 40-35.  A Pitsch lay-up with 1:58 left and one Wiskow free throw with 1:12 left had the deficit down to four points at 42-38 and one Hofschild free throw again had Prior Lake in single-possession range again down 42-39.  The Pirates' Ragulen would get one free throw to go down with just :02.8 to make it a 43-39 game but Park Center could scarcely feel safe as both sides retreated to their locker rooms for the short halftime break.

The Pirates came out cooking in the opening minutes of the second half as a Griffin lay-up in transition at the 17:24 mark got the lead up to five points at 45-39 and one free throw by junior guard Kayla Cox at the 16:32 mark maintained the five-point edge at 46-41.  Then Frost would drain a "3" from the right corner at the 16:04 mark and would follow that up a bit later with a lay-up at the 15:34 mark to get the lead to eight points at 51-43.  Prior Lake tried to counter with a Pitsch "3" from the top of the key at the 15:07 mark but consecutive scores by Park Center's McKenzie - a jumper from the right wing at the 14:47 mark and a lay-up in transition at the 14:29 mark - now had the lead back up to nine points again at 55-46 and Laker Head Coach Mike Gidley; not liking how the Pirates were starting to get their transition game going, took a match to a timeout to discuss things with his squad.  Park Center managed to get its lead into double digit range when Griffin snared a steal and whizzed the other way for a lay-up at the 14:01 mark before Prior Lake could make a dent into the cushion it faced thanks to Hofschild.  She snared a steal of her own and sprinted the other way for a lay-up at the 13:30 mark that also drew a foul and her ensuing "and one" had the Lakers back in single-digit range again down 57-49 and a short jumper from the left side by Hofschild at the 13:07 mark now had the deficit down to six points at 57-51 and Park Center Head Coach Barb Metcalf; now fearing a letdown by her team, decided it was time to call for halt in the action on her side.  That timely stoppage in play seemed to give the Pirates a renewed sense of urgency as they again stepped up their game and their lead as well.  Two Griffin free throws at the 12:22 mark and a "3" from the right wing area by Rueben at the 11:13 mark now had the lead back up to ten points at 62-52.  One Griffin free throw at the 10:19 mark and a lay-up in transition off of a steal by Frost at the 10:02 mark gave Park Center a seemingly comfy thirteen-point cushion at 65-52.  The Lakers would again try to slim down the deficit as Hofschild connected with a lay-up at the 9:49 mark and a Pitsch lay-up off of a steal at the 9:23 mark had Prior Lake back in single-digit range again down 65-56 but when a technical foul was called on the Laker bench at the 9:14 mark after a foul call, that gave Park Center a chance to push its lead back up again.  Griffin would drop two free throws as would Ragulen and with the Pirates up 69-56, Prior Lake's fortunes looked quite dim at best.

But the Lakers' Hofschild was certainly not going to let her team go quietly in the night and what she did coming down the stretch of this contest was simply unforgettable for the fans assembled for this game at Lindbergh Center.  Pairs of Hofschild free throws - with 8:56 and 8:42 left - had Prior Lake back in single-digit range again down 69-60 and a Hofschild "3" from the top of the key with 8:12 left had the deficit reduced to eight points at 71-63.  Hofschild would connect with a lay-up with 7:50 left and drew a foul in the process and although the obligatory free throw was wiped out due to a lane violation by the Lakers, Park Center's Cox had collected her fifth and final foul of the night and headed for the bench.  Prior Lake sophomore reserve guard Tatum Brostrum got one free throw to go down after she was fouled in transition with 7:17 left and a Kulstad lay-up with 7:01 left suddenly had the deficit down to five points at 73-68.  This quickly got the Pirates' attention and they responded with an 8-0 push to build up that safety net again.  A short jumper by McKenzie with 6:52 left and an offensive rebound for a putback by 7th-grade reserve guard Alivia McGill with 6:17 left got the lead up to nine points at 77-68.  Two Frost free throws with 5:47 left along with a Rueben lay-up with 5:28 left now made it a thirteen-point game at 81-68 and by this point it just seemed like way too much for Prior Lake to overcome with the sands of time running out on them.

The only problem was that somebody at Park Center forgot to tell the Lakers' Hofschild about that as the future Seton Hall Pirate single-handedly brought her team back in an amazing display of talent, skill and determination.  Two Hofschild free throws with 5:19 left and one more with 4:50 left had the deficit down to ten points at 81-71 and a Hofschild lay-up after a steal with 4:42 left suddenly had Prior Lake back in single-digit range down 81-73.  The Pirates momentarily got the lead back to ten points on two McKenzie freebies with 4:17 left but Prior Lake's Hofschild refused to be silenced.  She uncorked a "3" from the right top area with 4:11 left and an anxious Park Center crowd and team watched in utter disbelief as Hofschild drained another "3" from the left corner with 3:24 left that cut the Pirate lead down to five points at 84-79.  With 3:04 left, Hofschild struck again for the Lakers with a hard drive and finish and two Hofschild free throws with 2:46 left now had that deficit down to a scant point at 84-83.  Things could have gone totally kablooey for Park Center right then and there but when they needed to dig in; needed to find a way to get a crucial basket, they found a way to get the job done.  Frost unloaded a huge "3" from the right corner area with 2:30 left and a short jumper by sophomore reserve guard Chloe Cink kept Park Center's lead at four points at 89-85.  The Pirates were certainly not out of the woods yet by any means and still had to withstand some last minute heroics by Prior Lake's Hofschild.  Two Hofschild free throws with 1:45 left got the deficit down to two points at 89-87 and although Park Center would make it a two-possession game when McKenzie made a hard drive for a finish that drew a foul and got the obligatory "and one" to go down with 1:42 left, the Lakers were not done yet.  Hofschild added one free throw with 1:38 left and Kulstad would add one more after getting fouled after a steal with 1:22 left that had Prior Lake hanging in there down by three at 92-89 but the Pirates found a way to stretch the lead out again.  Griffin dropped two critical free throws after getting fouled with 1:05 left and Frost would add one freebie of her own with :49 left to get the lead back to six points at 95-89.  Just when Park Center thought that things were finally safe, the Lakers' Hofschild found another way to throw fear into the opponent as she was fouled behind the arc with :45 left and she got all three free throw attempts to go down to again draw Prior Lake to get back into single-possession range down 95-92.  But after an exhausting comeback attempt, the Laker comeback bid finally stalled out.  Park Center's McKenzie would drop two free throws after getting fouled with :38 left and the Pirates thwarted the subsequent Prior Lake possession and Frost would connect with a lay-up in transition with :24 left that virtually iced the contest with a 99-92 lead.  The Lakers' Hofschild, however, would throw one more feather into this outstanding outing for her when she drilled a "3" from the right wing with :09 left but Park Center would escape Lindbergh Center with an absolutely thrilling 99-95 victory.     

There probably aren't enough superlatives out there that you could use to describe this game.  The final score itself was amazing in its own right.  You can say that there wasn't much defense played on this night but I would counter and say that you had players on both sides stepping up big time when their team needed them to step up and make plays.  But I think the big item that was the talk around Lindbergh Center after the final buzzer sounded on this tilt was the magnificent performance and show that Prior Lake's Hofschild put on this Saturday evening in prime time.  Her 63 points on this night shattered the state record and it's easy to see why that now she's certainly one of the top players in the state.  She put the team on her shoulders in a gallant comeback effort and you know she'll gladly do it again and again.  The only other player in double figures for Prior Lake was Kulstad with her 10 points.  And Park Center certainly had their share of heroines on this night as well with McKenzie's 32 points leading the way with Griffin right behind with 28 points.  Frost finished with 18 points and Rueben had 10 points.  All in all, definitely a night to remember!