Made the short trip over to Park Center High School on this Thursday evening to take in a Northwest Suburban Conference Clash between visiting Totino-Grace and host Park Center. The Pirates; coming off a tough road loss to Centennial earlier in the week, were looking to rebound against the Eagles.
Park Center, which has shown some inconsistencies at times this season thus far with their defense and shooting, seemed to put things together on this night as they jumped out to an early 5-0 lead thanks to a "3" from the right wing at the 17:48 mark by sophomore guard Sommer Blakemore. Totino-Grace would cut the Pirates lead to 5-4 thanks to a "3" from the right wing area by junior guard Madison Brunn at the 16:20 mark but here Park Center embarked on a 9-0 run that the Eagles under the gun. Junior forward Fey Ayobamidele started the run with her "3" from the top of the key at the 14:24 mark and scores by junior sharp-shooting guard Ann Simonet, Blakemore, and a lay-up in transition by sophomore reserve guard Meghan DuBois at the 13:08 mark suddenly made it a 14-4 game and Totino-Grace Head Coach Jessica Priest quickly called a time-out to get her squad settled down. The Eagles recovered somewhat as a score in the paint by freshman reserve forward Brianna Glynn at the 12:46 mark and a "3" from the right wing by senior guard Jenna Meyer at the 11:43 mark cut Park Center's lead in half at 14-9. But a "3" by junior guard Danielle Schaub helped the Pirates slowly build their lead back up. A Simonet lay-up in transition at the 10:05 mark and an offensive rebound for a putback by Simonet with 7:56 left stretched the lead to eight at 21-13. Totino-Grace tried to pull closer as junior forward/post Sydney Weierke connected with a jumper in the lane with 6:48 left but then Simonet reeled off her own personal 8-0 run for the Pirates that included two three-point bombs - one from the right wing area with 5:59 left and the other one from the left top area with 5:16 mark - that now had Park Center up 29-15. Sydney Weierke tried to get her Eagle teammates sparked with her score in the paint with 4:00 left but a steal by Schaub in the backcourt and her score in the paint with 2:39 left and a lay-up in transition by sophomore reserve guard Azsha Michael with 2:07 left allowed the Pirates to take a cozy 36-17 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Blakemore started the second half the same way she started the first half - with a "3"; this one coming from the left corner at the 17:38 mark that ballooned Park Center's lead to 39-19. The Eagles would cut into that deficit on one free throw by Brunn at the 16:37 mark and a "3" from senior guard Julia Sullwold from the right corner at the 14:55 mark but Totino-Grace was unable to sustain any prolonged run that might have reduced the deficit to single digits. A Schaub "3" from the right wing at the 13:40 mark and a tip-in shot off of an inbounds pass by junior post Mikayla Hayes made it 46-23. The Eagles tried again to counter as Glynn snared an offensive rebound for a putback at the 12:52 mark and Sydney Weierke connected with a jumper from the right elbow at the 11:55 mark but Hayes struck back for the Pirates as she scored in the paint and drew a foul in the process and sank the obligatory free throw at the 11:43 mark and then another lay-up in transition by DuBois at the 11:27 mark made it a 51-27 ballgame and Totino-Grace's Priest had no choice but to call a time-out as that pesky Park Center defense was causing all sorts of turnover problems for her Eagle squad. But this stoppage in play would not deter the Pirates on their home floor with a sizable cushion already at hand. A short jumper by Simonet at the 11:00 mark and a steal and lay-up the other way by the ever-improving DuBois at the 9:34 mark made it 55-27 and then Simonet drained another "3" from the right corner with 7:48 left for a 60-33 advantage. Hayes was able to snare an offensive rebound for a putback with 6:38 left and scores by Blakemore - two free throws with 3:50 left and a "3" from the left top area with 3:23 left - sealed an almost certain deal for Park Center on this night as the Pirates cruised to a 73-45 victory.
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