Section 5AAAA Semifinal Game - Spring Lake Park vs Park Center 3-2-19

Ventured up to Blaine High School on this sunny but cold Saturday with the roads in the area in much better condition after our latest round of snow to take in the two Section 5AAAA semifinal games; the first one featuring upstart and fourth-seeded Spring Lake Park taking on first-seeded and heavily-favored Park Center.  I had been able to attend Park Center's regular season finale the Friday before where the Pirates won handily against this same Panther squad and while I reasoned that this game would likely be closer this time around, there was certainly every reason to expect the Pirates to hold serve to move into the Section Championship Game.  But, as we've seen in years past, that's why you play the game and this time of year, it's about surviving and advancing.

And Spring Lake Park certainly got off to a good start in this one as a lay-up by junior guard Joelle Talso at the 16:03 mark coupled with a jumper from the free throw line area by sophomore forward Madi Ngene at the 13:35 mark had the Panthers up 4-2 and that lead expanded to 6-2 when senior guard Jocelyn Talso dropped two free throws after getting fouled in a transition opportunity at the 13:12 mark.  Park Center cut the deficit to one point when sophomore guard/forward T'Naye Griffin nailed a "3" from the right corner at the 13:00 mark but the Panthers would respond as a drive and finish by freshman guard Averi Dunbar had Spring Lake Park up 8-5.  The Pirates would start picking things up offensively as flashy sophomore guard/forward Adalia McKenzie connected with a lay-up at the 12:35 mark and drew a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" tied the game at 8-all and McKenzie would put Park Center ahead with her short jumper from the left side at the 12:13 mark.  The Panthers would tie the game when junior reserve forward Julia Levahn snared a steal in the backcourt and got a lay-up out of it at the 11:53 mark but then it looked like Park Center had finally settled down and started taking control of things - as expected.  Griffin would drain her second trey of the game at the 11:22 mark from the left wing area to put the Pirates back up 13-10 and then McKenzie was able to maneuver into the paint for a score and drew a foul in the process and her ensuing and one grew Park Center's lead to 16-10

Surprisingly, however, when most thought that the Panthers might wilt right then and there, they stood up to the challenge and battled right back.  Junior forward Taryn Richard buried a "3" from the right top area at the 9:01 mark and a lay-up by sophomore reserve guard Taylor Falvey with 8:36 left closed the gap to one point and a concerned Park Center Head Coach Barb Metcalf called a timeout to discuss her team's defensive shortcomings.  What seemed to be working for Spring Lake Park on the defensive end thus far anyway was that Head Coach Randy Eatherton was employing a 2-1-2 zone defense in hopes of somehow neutralizing the Pirates' McKenzie down low and forcing them to shoot over the top.  And the Panthers were certainly not intimidated to take the initiative as Richard would strike again from behind the arc from the right wing area with 8:04 left to propel Spring Lake Park back out in front by an 18-16 count.  The Pirates would tie the game at 18 when Griffin connected with a jumper from the right top area just inside the arc and the momentum needle seemed to swing Park Center's way as Griffin would strike again from behind the arc with a bomb from the top of the key with 6:40 left to nudge the Pirates back out in front at 21-20 and two free throws by McKenzie with 4:39 left increased that lead to 23-20.  Junior guard Kayla Cox then got in on the act for Park Center by dropping a pair of free throws with 3:53 left and a Cox jumper from the left elbow area with 3:09 left gave the Pirates their biggest lead thus far at 27-20.  Spring Lake Park still did not shy away at this point and they crawled back to within a single possession as Joelle Talso made a drive into the lane for a finish with 2:25 left and a Levahn lay-up in transition with 2:11 left cut the deficit to three points at 27-24.  The Pirates managed to give themselves a bit more breathing room before the halftime break as two free throws by junior guard Lauren Frost with 1:29 left and a drive and finish by Cox with :34 left allowed Park Center to take a 31-26 lead with them into the locker room at the halftime break but, at the same time, nothing seemed quite right for the number one seeded Pirates and there was certainly some uncertainty swirling around Blaine High School Gymnasium during the intermission.

Despite the Panthers' Jocelyn Talso draining a three-point bomb from the right corner at the 17:19 mark of the second half, Park Center looked like they were going to regain control of things as one free throw by Griffin who was fouled in a transition opportunity at the 16:13 mark and two more by Frost at the 15:29 mark seemed to restore a bit of order with the Pirates up by five at 34-29.  But just wishing that their opponent would meekly go away on this early March afternoon simply wasn't happening and Spring Lake Park quickly battled their way back.  Richard unleashed a "3" from the left top area at the 15:03 mark to cut the deficit down to two points at 34-32 and Ngene finished a lay-up in transition at the 14:18 mark that had this one deadlocked at 34-all.  McKenzie would come to the Pirates' rescue as she was able to score in the paint and draw a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" had Park Center up 37-34 but right back came this pesky Panther team as Jocelyn Talso connected with a pretty reverse lay-up at the 13:44 mark and then Dunbar; who collected her third foul of the afternoon at the 12:43 mark, more than made up for that as she unleashed a three-point bomb from the right top area at the 12:28 mark that now had Spring Lake Park up 39-37.  An alarmed Pirate team regained the lead when diminutive junior point guard Aaliyah Ragulen swished a "3" from the right wing area at the 11:28 mark and a McKenzie lay-up at the 10:58 mark now had Park Center in front 42-39.  Right back came the Panthers as junior reserve forward Ashlea Nienow got into the paint for a score at the 10:20 mark and then a Joelle Talso jumper from the right wing area at the 9:34 mark again pushed Spring Lake Park back out in front 43-42.  The Pirates' Griffin would snare an offensive rebound for a putback with 8:59 left to push Park Center back out in front 44-43 but now there was genuine concern among the Park Center faithful in attendance as no one expected their seemingly overmatched opponent to put up such a battle and have this much uncertainty going into the home stretch.

Both teams would trade one-point leads over the next minute and with Park Center clinging desperately to a one-point 46-45 lead, the Pirates suddenly saw things go south for them past the seven minute mark.  Spring Lake Park's Joelle Talso made a daring drive into traffic for a finish with 6:40 left that drew a foul in the process and although she couldn't cash in on the obligatory free throw, the Panthers seemed to get a lot of new energy from it with a 47-46 lead.  That thought was reinforced when Joelle Talso followed that up a bit later after a foiled Pirate possession with a score in the paint to increase Spring Lake Park's lead to 49-46 and Park Center's Metcalf; now with genuine concern about the direction this game was taking, called a timeout in hopes of re-energizing her squad.  Strangely, that stoppage in play did not have the desired effect for the Pirates and Spring Lake Park now smelled blood with this huge opportunity.  And the Pirates' foul situation was becoming something a concern now as well as Cox collected her fourth foul with 5:53 left and Griffin; another three-point threat for Park Center, was slapped with her third foul with 5:28 left.  And, in the most unlikeliest set of circumstances, the Panthers now moved in for the kill on the top-seeded Pirates.  Joelle Talso unleashed another back-breaking "3" - this one from the right corner with 5:15 left that now had Spring Lake Park up by six at 52-46 and one Joelle Talso freebie with 4:47 left stretched the lead to seven at 53-46.  The Pirates tried to counter on a Frost drive and finish with 4:30 left but then Spring Lake Park's Joelle Talso would then unleash another killer three-point bomb - this one from that right corner again with 3:53 left - that now had the Panthers up eight at 56-48 and Park Center was now in a heap of trouble with the sands of time starting to run out on them.  And the Pirates' situation only grew more dire when Spring Lake's Ngene knocked down a pair of free throws after getting fouled with 2:52 left and Joelle Talso added one of her own with 2:28 left to make it a nine-point game at 59-48.  Park Center's Griffin would narrow that deficit down a bit with her score in the paint with 1:58 left and the Pirates' Metcalf would call a timeout to discuss things shortly thereafter but another dagger "3" from the Panthers' Jocelyn Talso - again from that right corner with 1:40 left - sealed the Pirates fate with Spring Lake Park up 62-50.  Richard would add to that with her free throw with 1:29 left.  To their credit, Park Center would make one last push in a vain effort to try and bring this one back.  McKenzie would snare an offensive rebound for a putback with 1:18 left and Frost would connect with a lay-up with 1:10 left that got the Pirates back within single digits again down 63-54.  The deficit was further reduced when McKenzie snared yet another offensive rebound for a putback with :50 left that made it 63-56 and Metcalf would subsequently call another timeout that only delayed the inevitable.  Spring Lake Park's Jocelyn Talso dropped two insurance free throws after getting fouled with :43.4 left and although the Pirates' Frost would finally get one of her three-point bomb attempts to fall - this one coming from the left wing area with :21 left - it was way too little, too late.  The Panthers' Jocelyn Talso would add two more insurance free throws for good measure after she was fouled with :18.8 left and Spring Lake Park had pulled off the unthinkable by downing top-seeded Park Center 67-59 to advance to the Section 5AAAA Championship Game. 

While the frowns and tears were noticeably visible on the Park Center side afterward, the Spring Lake Park contingent celebrated wildly (and rightfully so) after perhaps the biggest win in this program's history - certainly in recent years anyway.  When I look back on this game; at least from a Park Center perspective anyway, I suppose there's a number of things you can point the finger at in blame (or just plain agony).  Did the Pirates take this team - a team they had beaten rather comfortably at home at Park Center just a mere week ago - lightly?  Maybe.  Was it just simply the fact that the Pirates didn't show the sense of urgency they so desperately needed in that second half?  I think that's quite possibly one thing.  In retrospect, I now tend to believe that, quite possibly, the Pirates may have had a false sense of security coming into the Section 5AAAA tournament as the number-one seed.  Maybe this young group simply wasn't prepared to respond to the challenges it was bound to face at one point or another.  Park Center's Metcalf offered up another angle, too, when I caught up with her in the post-game melee.  "We panicked" she said when I asked her what happened to her squad coming down the stretch.  She mentioned that they didn't close out on the Panthers' three-point shooters and had defensive lapses elsewhere.  I do think that, since the Pirates really weren't involved in that many close games this year (save for that unforgettable game with Prior Lake back in early December) this may have indeed been a factor.  And let's be honest here as well:  The Pirates simply did not get the job done on defense on this day - particularly with getting someone on the Panthers' Joelle Talso when she was lighting up Park Center in that second half.  At the same time, I think you'd be amiss to not give credit where credit was due on this day and not tip your hat to this gamey Spring Lake Park team.  They came into this game loose and relaxed as they had absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain.  They came into this game and slayed the dragon and you have to admire how they did it.  Joelle Talso made a name for herself on this day and the Panthers have a nice supporting cast as well and you can bet that Spring Lake Park's Eatherton was proud of his group afterward.  Indeed, the final box score shows that the Talso sister duo - Jocelyn and Joelle - led the way with their 18 and 14 points, respectively and Richard added ten points.  For Park Center, McKenzie's 23 points led all scorers and Griffin would add 16 points while Frost tallied 11 points.