Section 5AAAA Quarterfinal Game - Irondale vs Park Center 2-27-19

Made the short hop over to Park Center High School on this cold late February evening to take in this Section 5AAAA Quarterfinal Game between visiting Irondale and host Park Center.  The Knights were coming into this contest as the number eight seed in Section 5AAAA while the Pirates grabbed the number one seed so, on paper anyway, Park Center appeared to be a prohibitive favorite in this contest.  However, the last thing you want to do at this time of the year is take ANYONE lightly as it can cost you your season as other teams have had to find out the hard way over the years.

In fact, Irondale came out from the opening tip and seemed to take the initiative.  Senior point guard Izzy Herlofsky uncorked two three-point bombs in the opening minutes - one from the top of the key at the 17:21 mark and another one from the right top area at the 15:05 mark - that gave the Knights a 6-4 advantage.  That lead grew to 8-4 when freshman reserve post Pam Chapman got into the paint for a score at the 13:21 mark before a slightly shocked Park Center team was able to regain its footing.  Flashy sophomore guard Adalia McKenzie first soared over everyone to grab an offensive rebound for a putback at the 13:06 mark and followed that up a bit later with a steal and lay-up the other way at the 12:55 mark to tie the game at 8.  Then McKenzie was able to grab a defensive rebound and race coast-to-coast for a lay-up that drew a foul and her ensuing "and one" at the 12:17 mark had the Pirates up 11-8.  Fellow sophomore guard/forward T'Naye Griffin's lay-up at the 12:01 mark capped this early 9-0 push for a 13-8 Park Center lead before the Knights could cut into this five-point deficit on a Chapman lay-up at the 11:53 mark.  The Pirates got the lead to four points on one McKenzie free throw at the 11:39 mark but Irondale stayed right in the thick of things when Chapman connected with a lay-up in transition at the 10:26 mark that kept the Knights close down only 14-12 and, for the time being anyway, there was a bit of an unsettling feeling within Park Center Gymnasium that maybe the Pirates had taken this Irondale team lightly.

But those fears were soon put to rest as Park Center exploded on a 16-0 run that finally gave them the separation they had been seeking from the outset.  Two free throws by Griffin at the 9:34 mark started this run and another blazing coast-to-coast lay-up by McKenzie at the 9:07 mark got the lead to six points at 18-12.  An offensive rebound for a putback by McKenzie with 8:03 left got the lead to 20-12 and then sophomore reserve guard/forward Chloe Cink connected with a short shot with 7:10 left to get the lead to double digits at 22-12.  Sharp-shooting junior guard Lauren Frost knocked down a jumper from the free throw line with 6:41 left and diminutive junior guard Aliyah Ragulen made a tough drive for a finish with 6:14 left to grow the lead to 26-12.  Frost would follow with a drive and finish of her own with 5:46 left and would also connect with a lay-up in transition with 5:34 left to complete this run before the Knights could finally end their extended drought on a three-point bomb from the left wing area by senior forward Kahlan Jester with 5:23 left.  Junior post Sarah Bickford knocked down a jumper from the left corner just inside the arc with 4:25 left and would also get one free throw to go down with 3:19 left after getting fouled but Irondale was going to need a lot more of this down 32-18.  The Knights would add one free throw by Herlofsky with 3:01 left but Park Center would tack on a 6-0 push that only widened the gap already established.  One free throw by Frost with 2:41 left and a "3" by Ragulen from the right corner with 2:08 left got the Pirate lead to nineteen at 38-19 and then junior guard Kayla Cox played the thief in the night by snaring a steal and racing away to the other end for an easy lay-up to make it 40-19 and Irondale Head Coach Nicole Bullock called for a thirty-second timeout in hopes of stalling the Pirate offensive.  The Knights managed to add a Bickford freebie after she was fouled with 1:08 left but Park Center's Ragulen would add two free throws of her own with just :05.9 left the Pirates took a sizable 42-20 lead into the locker room at the halftime break.

It definitely seemed like Irondale was facing an impossible situation once the second half got started but, to the Knights credit, they managed a 6-2 push to start things off.  After Park Center's Frost snared an offensive rebound for a putback at the 17:43 mark, the Knights reeled off the next three scores.  Sophomore post Dora Okpara got two scores in the paint - one at the 17:20 mark and another at the 16:53 mark - and a short shot from the left side by Bickford at the 15:53 mark had Irondale back within twenty down 44-26 but reality would soon set in for the Knights as Park Center responded with a 9-2 push.  McKenzie snared an offensive rebound for a putback at the 15:38 mark and a lay-up in transition by Ragulen at the 15:18 mark got the lead past the twenty-point range at 48-26.  Frost added a score in the paint at the 14:56 mark and then Griffin drained one of her trademark three-point bombs at the 14:32 mark from the left corner that now had the Pirates up 53-28.  Irondale tried to counter as Okpara snagged an offensive rebound for a putback at the 14:13 mark but the roof soon started caving in on the overmatched Knights as Park Center put this one to bed for good with a 19-0 onslaught.  Ragulen uncorked a "3" from the left corner at the 13:44 mark to get this run going and a coast-to-coast lay-up by the athletically-gifted McKenzie at the 13:04 mark made it 58-30.  Two Frost free throws at the 12:18 mark and a routine offensive rebound for a putback after a steal by McKenzie at the 12:14 mark now had the Pirates beyond that magical thirty-point threshold with a 62-30 advantage.  Ragulen would snare a steal and whiz the other way for a lay-up at the 11:13 mark and then McKenzie proved that lightning can indeed strike twice with back-to-back steals and lay-ups the other way - once at the 10:29 mark and again at the 10:15 mark - that ballooned the lead to 68-30.  Irondale's Bullock called a full timeout at this juncture but there was nothing that could be done to save the Titanic on this night.  Frost would add to Park Center's sizable advantage with a short jumper in transition at the 9:17 mark and then McKenzie would get a score in the paint with 8:41 left that also drew a foul and her ensuing "and one" with 8:41 left now made it 73-30. 

By now things had transitioned into the MSHSL's "Mercy Rule" with running time with the outcome already determined.  The Knights would get a Bickford "3" from the right wing area at the 7:48 mark and a lay-up by senior forward Annalise Scamehorn at the 6:53 mark.  Park Center would get three more scores from their main chain gang as McKenzie snared a steal and raced the other way for a lay-up with 6:15 left as did Cox with 2:10 left.  Then Cox would bang home a "3" from the left top area with 1:22 left as the Pirates got their lead to 82-35.  Park Center Head Coach Barb Metcalf emptied her bench as did Irondale's Bullock and with :02 left in the contest, Pirate eighth-grade reserve guard/forward Aniyah Reuben was able to snare an offensive rebound of a missed free throw by junior reserve guard Jasmine Davis with :37 left as Park Center advanced to the Section 5AAAA semifinals with a resounding 84-35 victory. 

A check of the scoring shows that McKenzie indeed had yet another spectacular outing as she easily led all scorers with her 28 points to help lead the Pirates to the easy win on this night.  Ragulen finished with 18 points while Frost was right behind with 17 points.  No one from Irondale was in double figures but Bickford's nine points led the way for the Knights.