Section 5AAAA Semifinal Game - Park Center vs Centennial 3-3-18

Made my seemingly annual trek up to Anoka High School on this sunny and pleasant early March day to take in the two Section 5AAAA semifinal Games - the first one featuring Park Center vs Centennial.  The Pirates won the West Division of the Northwest Suburban Conference but were largely inconsistent all year long as their 17-9 overall record suggested.  The Cougars meanwhile were 23-3 overall, ranked third in the state and won the North Division of the Northwest Suburban Conference.  When these two teams met up during the regular season, Centennial easily handled Park Center on their home floor in Circle Pines and there was every reason to think that this section semifinal game today would likely be the end of the line on this season for the Pirates.

Early on, in fact, it looked like we would indeed have a repeat of what happened in the regular season as the Cougars bolted out to to an early 9-0 lead.  6'3" junior post Sara Stapleton snared an offensive rebound for a putback at the 17:44 mark to get things going and senior guard and big sis Sydney Stapleton followed that up with a "3" from the right wing area at the 17:06 mark to get Centennial's lead out to 5-0.  Junior guard Taylor McAulay connected with a lay-up at the 16:15 mark and two free throws by senior guard Claire Orth after she was fouled in a transition opportunity at the 15:58 mark capped this early run that had things looking very good for the Cougars.  And it probably would have been easy for Park Center to fold right then and there with things looking so bleak so early.  Instead, this young Pirate team hunkered down and dug deep and with steely resolve fought their way back into this contest.  Freshman guard/forward Adalia McKenzie connected with a lay-up at the 15:24 mark and a "3" from the right wing area by senior guard Sommer Blakemore at the 14:42 mark had the deficit down to four points at 9-5.  Promising sophomore guard Lauren Frost then promptly drained a "3" of her own from the right top area at the 14:10 mark to cut the deficit down to a scant point at 9-8.  An alarmed Centennial team tried to stretch its safety net as two lay-ups in transition by freshman reserve guard Jodi Anderson - one at the 11:20 mark and another one at the 10:31 mark - had the Cougars lead back up to three points at 13-10.  A score in the paint by Sara Stapleton at the 9:06 mark maintained Centennial's three-point advantage at 15-12 but that big start and momentum they had early on had seemingly flown out the window by now.

The Pirates finally tied the game at 15 a piece when freshman reserve forward T'Naye Griffin nailed her first "3" of the afternoon from the left wing area with 8:53 left in the first half and after Centennial junior reserve forward Sarah Lavell dropped one free throw after getting fouled with 8:40 left, Park Center was then able to grab its first lead of the afternoon at 17-16 on a jumper from the right elbow area with 7:58 left.  The Cougars would retake the lead on a lay-up after a steal by Orth with 6:54 left but the Pirates would take it right back on one Griffin freebie with 6:45 left and two more by sophomore reserve guard Kayla Cox with 6:28 left to make it 20-18.  Centennial was unable to cash in when Sydney Stapleton and Orth were sent to the charity stripe over the next couple of minutes but McAulay tried to make up for those missed free throws when she uncorked a "3" from the left corner with 4:15 left to pushed the Cougars back out in front by a 21-20 count.  Now it was Park Center's turn to retake the lead thanks to Blakemore as she snared a steal and dashed the other way for a lay-up with 3:37 left and two Blakemore free throws with 3:12 left had the Pirates up 24-21.  Right back came Centennial as a McAulay drive and finish with 2:59 left and two McAulay free throws with 2:41 left now had the Cougars enjoying the lead at 25-24.  Park Center's Griffin drained her second trey of the afternoon from the left top area with 2:30 left to push the Pirates back out in front 27-25 but a 4-0 Centennial push turned the tables once more.  Sara Stapleton snared an offensive rebound for a putback with 1:48 left and a McAulay lay-up with :52 gave the Cougars the edge with a 29-27 advantage.  Fittingly, Park Center's Frost would get this game tied at 29 with her offensive rebound and pretty reverse lay-up with :34 left as the teams headed to the locker room.  So while Centennial certainly set the pace early on, this young and sometimes unpredictable Park Center team refused to cave and they were able to get many things going their way with their up-and-down the floor transition game instead of being forced to play a slower, half-court game that the Cougars preferred with their "bigs". 

Centennial hoped to replicate some of its early-game magic in the opening moments of the second half and a quick 4-0 Cougar push suggested that they just might thanks to the Stapleton Sister Show.  Sara grabbed yet another offensive rebound for a putback at the 17:36 mark and a pull-up jumper in transition by Sydney at the 17:12 mark had things rolling Centennial's way with a 33-29 advantage.  What the Cougar contingent likely couldn't have counted on, however, was Park Center's equally-swift answer to all this.  Blakemore unleashed one of her patented NBA-range treys from the left wing area at the 16:45 mark and then Blakemore connected with a pull-up jumper at the 16:13 mark to allow the Pirates to poke their nose out in front again by a 34-33 count.  Both sides would trade one-point leads over the next minute and with Centennial clinging to a 37-36 advantage, Park Center's Blakemore struck again with another three-point bomb - this one coming from the right wing area at the 14:55 mark to push the Pirates out in front by a 39-37 score.  The Cougars would answer right back as McAulay connected with a lay-up at the 14:48 mark but then Park Center unleashed a 5-0 push.  Frost drained a "3" from near the top of the key at the 14:36 mark and a jumper from the right elbow area by McKenzie at the 14:10 mark suddenly had the Pirates up by four at 43-39.  A McKenzie offensive rebound for a putback in transition at the 12:08 mark maintained the four-point edge at 45-41 as did a Blakemore lay-up at the 11:49 mark that made it 47-43.  Sydney Stapleton tried to bring her Centennial team closer with a score in the paint at the 11:35 mark but a Blakmore drive and finish on the ensuing Pirate possession kept Park Center up two possessions at 49-45 and now this Cougar team; with its lofty state tournament hopes on the line, now had an uphill battle ahead of them if they wanted to keep the dream alive. 

Centennial, even with plenty of time left, still needed to some things to happen for them to at least grab the momentum back in their favor and a "3" from the right corner by the lefty, McAulay, at the 10:33 mark went a long way towards doing just that as the Cougars cut the deficit down to one point a 49-48.  A Sara Stapleton score in the paint at the 10:00 mark kept Centennial in that one-point range down 51-50 and a Sydney Stapleton "3" from the right wing area at the 9:33 mark tied the score at 53 a piece and perhaps now the Cougars were ready to grab this one by the throat finally.  Once again, Park Center had vastly different ideas and they embarked on an 8-2 run.  Griffin unleashed her third trey of the day from the right corner with 8:24 left to get the Pirates out to a 56-53 lead and then McKenzie; who had been battling all afternoon long with the Cougar "bigs", snared an offensive rebound of her own miss for a putback and drew a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" with 7:03 left not only had Park Center up by six at 59-53 but now Centennial's Sara Stapleton had collected her fourth foul of the day.  Cougar Head Coach Jill Becken decided to roll the dice a little and kept Sara Stapleton out on the floor and she responded on the ensuing Centennial possession with an offensive rebound for a putback with 6:35 left but Pirate senior guard Meghan DuBois connected with a lay-up in transition with 5:57 left to re-establish Park Center's six-point edge at 61-55 and now Centennial's Becken had no choice but to call for a timeout.  The Pirates managed to push their lead to eight points when McKenzie knocked down two free throws with 5:19 left for a 63-55 advantage but the Cougars, perhaps now with their backs to the wall and their lifelines running out, dug in and unleashed an unlikely 10-0 run to retake the lead.  Senior post/forward Lexi Matthews uncorked a "3" from the right top area with 5:05 left and one McAulay freebie with 4:24 left had the deficit down to four points at 63-59.  After a foiled Park Center possession, Centennial's Orth connect with a jumper along the right baseline with 3:36 left that now had the Cougars back within a single possession down 63-61.  A stunned Park Center team promptly turned the ball over on its next possession when Centennial applied pressure defense and Sara Stapleton got an easy lay-up out of it with 3:30 left that suddenly had this one tied up at 63 a piece.  With 3:03 left, two Sydney Stapleton free throws pushed the Cougars back out in front again at 65-63 and many inside of Anoka Gymnasium likely figured that Park Center would finally collapse under the pressure.  Instead, the Pirates stuck together like glue.  With 1:15 left, Cox calmly drained a "3" from the left top area to push Park Center back out in front 66-65.  Not to be outdone in all this craziness, Centennial's McAulay drained a "3" from the right corner with :53 left that sent the Cougar contingent into a frenzy as they now led 68-66.  The Pirates appeared to be foiled on their ensuing possession but somehow got a steal and DuBois connected with a short jumper off the glass with :35 left that had this one tied at 68 a piece.  New Park Center Head Coach Barb Metcalf called an immediate timeout to set up strategy and the Pirates were able to foil Centennial's ensuing possession and Blakemore would be fouled with :07 left.  Blakemore would drop both free throw attempts for a 70-68 Park Center lead but the Cougars had one more chance.  They quickly brought the ball upcourt and with just one tick on the clock, Orth was able to slither through a maze of Pirate defenders for a lay-up to knot things up at 70 a piece so off to overtime we went. 

It would have been natural to assume that this experienced and senior-laden Centennial team; now that they had been able to stave off likely defeat in overtime, probably had the edge and would wear down this younger and less-experienced Park Center team.  But one thing we've learned about the Pirates this season is their ability to surprise even in the most dire of circumstances.  Park Center would take a one-point lead on a Griffin free throw with 3:45 left in the extra session and when the Pirates got a stop on the other end, DuBois was able to connect with a lay-up in transition with 3:31 left to get Park Center's lead to 73-70.  The Cougars were able to slim things down to one point when Sara Stapleton got into the paint for a score with 3:10 left but Centennial's fortunes started crumbling for good when, on the ensuing Park Center possession, Griffin unleashed her fourth - and perhaps most important - trey of the game; this one coming from the left wing area with 2:40 left that now pushed the Pirate lead to four points at 76-72.  The Cougars managed to climb back to within a single possession when Matthews connected with a lay-up with 2:11 left but Park Center now zeroed in for the kill.  McKenzie connected with a lay-up with 1:55 left to get the lead back to four points at 78-74 and after Centennial came up empty on their ensuing possession, Blakemore would be fouled with 1:29 left and she got one free throw to go down to up the Pirate lead to 79-74.  Park Center's Metcalf called another timeout to set up defensive strategy but that still didn't stop the Cougars' Sydney Stapleton from getting to the charity stripe with 1:00 left where she brought her team back to within a single possession with two free throws down 79-76.  But Centennial also needed a stop of some sort as well and they could never quite get that.  Park Center's Cox was able to drop one free throw after getting fouled with :53.6 left to make it an 80-76 game.  Now the Cougars had no room for error on their ensuing possession and with :14 left, Centennial's last hope went down the drain for good when Sydney Stapleton, hoping to create some contact with a drive, got called for a charging foul instead.  The Pirates' Griffin would get sent to the line with :03.7 left and she got one insurance free throw down as Park Center took down top-seeded Centennial in a massive upset by an 81-76 count.

For a team that has been up-and-down with some head-scratching losses on its resume, the Pirates sure have a knack for turning up the heat in big situations and today was one of those situations.  Considering that many, including your's truly, had pretty much expected that things would come to an end on this day, it was indeed a shock to see how things turned out.  Park Center's Metcalf, jubilant after her team's win, thinks that her young core of players really matured in the last few weeks and I think we saw players like McKenzie, Griffin, Frost and Cox take their games to a new level on this afternoon that helped lessen the burden on seniors Blakemore, DuBois and Charo Nickens.  To be sure, they still have more wood to chop in the Section 5AAAA Championship Game on Thursday night if they want to return to the Promised Land but given what they did on this day, you can't blame them if they have Target Center in their sights.  Meanwhile for Centennial, it's an absolutely devastating loss and a cruel end to a fantastic season where many had them pegged to make some noise in the state tournament with their size and experience.  I thought last season when they lost to Park Center in the Section Championship Game that they were on the verge and that 2017-18 would be their year to re-establish themselves as the kingpin in Section 5AAAA.  And to be sure, this isn't the first time that the Cougars have experienced major heartbreak on this stage and there was a part of me that couldn't help but flash back to ten years ago when a great Centennial team led by Megan Nipe easily marched into the Section 5AAAA Championship Game with an unblemished record only to have things come to a shocking and crashing halt when Osseo derailed the Cougar joyride train.  So I can't help but feel badly for players like Orth, Emily Mulberry, Sydney Allen, Natalie Danzl, Matthews and Sydney Stapleton to have it all come to an end for them on this day.  It was simply a fantastic day for Park Center's McKenzie who led all scorers with 25 points and was a force on the boards against a bigger Centennial team all day.  Blakemore finished with 19 points and Griffin was right behind with 18 points.  Centennial was paced by McAulay's 22 points while Sara Stapleton added 18 points and Sydney Stapleton had 14 points and Orth tallied 10 points.