Centennial vs Park Center Synopsis 1-4-19

Made the short run over to Park Center High School on this unusually mild early January Friday evening to take in this important Northwest Suburban Conference clash between visiting Centennial and host Park Center.  Undoubtedly both the Cougars and the Pirates wanted to start 2019 off right and solidify their standing in their respective divisions of the conference as well.  Naturally I expected a very tough, tightly contested game.

One thing I did not count on - at least from a Centennial standpoint anyway - was a big piece of the puzzle missing for the Cougars in senior post Sara Stapleton who is currently out with an injury.  Her presence down low is an important part for the Centennial attack but this didn't seem to bother the Cougars too much; at least in the early going anyway.  Senior forward/post Sarah Lavell got things going for Centennial as she snared an offensive rebound of her own miss for a putback at the 17:24 mark of the first half and one free throw by senior guard Mady Sanders at the 16:50 mark had Centennial up 3-0.  The Pirates would tie the game on a "3" from the left corner by diminutive junior guard Aaliyah Ragulen from the left corner at the 16:45 mark and would take a 5-3 lead when flashy sophomore guard/forward Adalia McKenzie connected with a lay-up at the 15:40 mark.  The Cougars would tie the game at 5-all on a Lavell score in the paint at the 15:21 mark and a Lavell offensive rebound and putback in transition at the 14:11 mark had things knotted at 7-all.  Park Center would snare the lead back when McKenzie got a lay-up in transition after a steal at the 13:26 mark but the Cougars would not be fazed and responded with a 6-0 push.  Two Lavell lay-ups - one at the 12:38 mark and another at the 12:06 mark - put Centennial back in front 11-9 and a score in the paint by senior reserve forward/post Cate Flynn at the 11:43 mark gave the Cougars a 13-9 lead.  Park Center would get things tied at 13 on two McKenzie free throws at the 11:21 mark and a jumper from the right wing by McKenzie at the 11:01 mark but Centennial pushed in front again as junior guard Grace Johnson unleashed a "3" from the right wing area at the 10:44 mark to make it 16-13 and a Flynn lay-up at the 9:31 mark maintained the three-point edge at 18-15.  A Sanders score in the paint with 8:35 left now had the Cougars up 20-15 and sophomore guard/forward Jodi Anderson had a chance to further that lead when she was sent to the charity stripe with 8:08 left but she couldn't cash in on either free throw attempt.  Whether this took some of the wind out of the Centennial sail is up for debate but the Pirates certainly saw an opening and they quickly closed in on the gap.  Ragulen connected with a jumper from the left elbow area with 7:46 left and a short running jumper off the glass by junior guard Kayla Cox with 7:14 left had the deficit down to one point at 20-19.  Park Center reclaimed the lead on a short running jumper by Cox with 6:01 left at 21-20 but the Cougars would take it back when Lavell got into the paint for a score with 5:38 left.  Then a flurry of three-pointers ensued.  The Pirates' McKenzie would drain one from the right wing with 5:30 left and then Centennial senior guard Taylor McAulay got one to go down from the right wing area with 5:04 left.  Park Center's Cox was next with her bomb from the left wing area with 4:40 left that gave the home team a 26-25 lead but the Cougars would take it right back on two McAulay freebies with 4:30 left.  Park Center junior guard Lauren Frost would be sent to the charity stripe with 4:24 left where she dropped to free throws to put the Pirates back out in front 28-27 and another Cox "3" - this one from the right top area with 3:54 left - now had Park Center up 31-27.  That lead expanded to seven points when sophomore reserve guard/forward Chloe Cink connected with a jumper from the left wing area with 3:27 left to make it 34-27 and a "3" from the left corner by lanky sophomore forward T'Naye Griffin with 2:29 left maintained the seven-point edge at 36-29.  A McKenzie lay-up with 2:03 left did the same to make it 38-31 and a Griffin lay-up with 1:32 left grew the lead to nine points at 40-31.  The Cougars' McAulay would drop two free throws after getting fouled with 1:18 left but Park Center's McKenzie would add one of her own with :17.5 left as the Pirates took a 41-33 lead into the locker room at the half.

Centennial managed to close the gap to five points when McAulay drained one of her patented lefty three-point bombs from the left corner at the 17:12 mark of the second half and a short jumper by Sanders at the 16:12 mark kept the Cougars in that five-point range down 43-38.  But things quickly started falling apart for Centennial over the next three and a half minutes.  The Pirates' McKenzie would connect with a lay-up in transition at the 15:33 mark as would Griffin at the 15:06 mark to make it a 47-38 game.  A Frost lay-up at the 13:24 mark maintained the nine-point edge at 49-40 and then Griffin drained a dagger "3" from the right wing area at the 12:56 mark to complete this key 9-2 run for a 52-40 lead and Cougar Head Coach Jill Becken felt compelled to take a timeout now down by double digits.  The stoppage in play got Centennial calmed down a bit and they managed to take a bite out of the deficit.  Sanders would uncork a "3" from the left wing area at the 12:01 mark and a Sanders lay-up at the 11:43 mark gave the Cougars a bit of hope again down seven at 52-45.  But those renewed hopes quickly faded when Park Center mounted another offensive.  Griffin would make a drive and finish at the 11:33 mark and a Griffin lay-up in transition at the 10:38 mark got the Pirate safety net back to double-digit range at 57-45.  McKenzie would strike off of an inbounds pass with a drive into the lane and finish with 8:38 left and a Griffin lay-up with 8:04 left maintained the twelve-point edge at 61-49.  Then Frost was able to race down the court in transition with 7:51 left for a lay-up and a drive and finish by Griffin with 7:23 left now had the lead at sixteen points at 65-49.  The Cougars attempted to cut into this deficit again as a Lavell lay-up with 6:58 left and a short shot off the glass by Lavell with 6:00 left had the deficit down to 13 points at 66-53 but the idea of a full-fledged comeback at this point was synonymous with trying to bail a sinking boat on an angry Lake Superior.  For good measure, Park Center's Frost would drill a "3" from the left top area with 5:29 left to make it a 69-53 game and McKenzie would knock down two free throws after getting fouled with 4:45 left for a 71-55 lead.  A short jumper by McKenzie with 4:25 left and a drive and finish by Frost with 3:09 left made it 75-56 and everything after that was pretty much academic.  Centennial would get three late scores after Pirate Head Coach Barb Metcalf emptied her bench.  Senior reserve forward Annika Holmstrom got a lay-up in transition with 2:32 left and Flynn would add one free throw with 1:01 left along with a lay-up with :33 left but Park Center still scored a solid 75-61 win. 

While I have no idea how long Stapleton will be out of action, there's no question that they miss her presence down low.  Fortunately for Becken and her staff, Lavell has certainly stepped up to the plate and has shown her willingness to shoulder the load down in the paint.  For Park Center, I think this was an important win over a quality opponent and while they still have issues with defense in the half court and boxing out, I do think they are taking significant steps forward and there's absolutely no question that their speed and sheer athleticism that allows them to play an up-tempo game make them an unusually tough match-up for most opponents.  How much that means in terms of Northwest Suburban Conference title hopes and Section 5AAAA play/state tournament hopes remains to be seen.  Speaking of Centennial's Lavell, she led the way for the Cougars on this night with her 24 points while Johnson added 11 points and Sanders had 10 points.  Park Center's McKenzie led all scorers with her 26 points while Frost had 13 points and Cox had 10.