Wayzata vs Park Center 12-18-19

Made the short hop over to Park Center High School on this Wednesday night for the highly-anticipated non-conference matchup between visiting Wayzata and host Park Center.  The Trojans; coached by Mike Schumacher, certainly didn't need any introductions coming into this game out of the incredibly tough Lake Conference undefeated at 8-0 while the Pirates out of the equally tough Northwest Suburban Conference were coming into this contest with an unblemished record as well so it was no surprise that Park Center Gymnasium had an electric atmosphere on this night.

Much to the delight of the home crowd, Park Center certainly got off to the start it had hoped for as they jumped out to an early 8-2 lead.  Junior guard/forward Adalia McKenzie got things started with a three-point bomb from the top of the key at the 17:46 mark of the first half and another "3" added by senior guard Kayla Cox from the left wing area at the 16:57 mark had the Pirates up 6-2.  An  Adalia McKenzie lay-up a bit later at the 16:38 mark capped this early run before Wayzata reduced the deficit to four on a score in the paint by lanky junior forward Jenna Johnson at the 16:14 mark.  Still, Park Center would stretch its lead to seven on another three-point bomb - this one unleashed by diminutive senior point guard Aaliyah Ragulen from the left top area at the 15:39 mark to make it a 11-4 ballgame before the Trojans could make their first meaningful run of this contest.  Senior forward Annika Stewart was able to get into the paint for a score off of an inbounds pass at the 15:22 mark and a jumper from the left wing by fellow senior guard Lydia Hay at the 14:48 mark had Wayzata back within a single possession down 11-8.  A Johnson lay-up at the 14:24 mark reduced the deficit to a scant point and the Trojans would assume their first lead of this game at the 13:27 mark when senior reserve guard Alivia Arnebeck was able to snare an offensive rebound for a putback.  But Wayzata's lead didn't last long as the Pirates got their high-octane offense clicking again.  Cox drained her second trey of this game - this one from the left top area - at the 13:08 mark to put Park Center back out in front 14-12 and a lay-up in transition by Adalia McKenzie at the 12:41 mark gave the Pirates a 16-12 lead.  Wayzata, however, was not fazed one bit as they came right back in this back-and-forth affair.  Johnson got into the paint for another score at the 12:33 mark and a lay-up in transition by freshman guard Abby Krzewinski at the 11:01 mark had this game knotted at 16 a piece.  The Trojans would poke their nose out in front when Johnson connected with a lay-up at the 10:28 mark but the two teams would trade small leads over the next two minutes or so.  A "3" by Park Center junior forward T'Naye Griffin from the right wing area put the Pirates back out in front 19-18 but then Wayzata answered on a Johnson lay-up at the 9:23 mark.  The Pirates' Adalia McKenzie would put her team back out in front 21-20 with a routine lay-up in transition at the 9:02 mark but then the Trojans would match that on a pretty back-door lay-up by sophomore guard Mara Braun with 8:46 left and take a 22-21 advantage.  The first serious sign of trouble for Park Center would come with 7:55 left when Adalia McKenzie; a bit too aggressive on the defensive end, was slapped with her third foul of the ballgame and Head Coach Barb Metcalfe took no chances and had to yank her primary scoring threat off the floor for preservation purposes.

Wayzata appeared prime to take advantage at this juncture and they were able to establish some breathing room.  Stewart would connect with a short jumper with 6:07 left and would follow that up with 3:53 left when she was able to use her 6'4" frame to snare an offensive rebound for a putback that put the Trojans up 26-21 and seemingly in good shape.  But right back came this Park Center team with a nice response in the form of a 7-2 push.  Griffin slithered into the paint for a score with 3:53 left and a short, pull-up jumper by eighth-grade reserve guard Alivia McGill with 2:57 left had the deficit reduced to a scant point at 26-25.  Wayzata's Krzewinski would get her team's safety net back up to three points with her short shot with 2:39 left but then Pirate senior sharp-shooting guard Lauren Frost, who had thus far struggled with her shooting touch, finally found her groove from the right corner with 2:22 left with a bomb that found nothing but cotton that had this game deadlocked at 28.  The Trojans took the lead back on two free throws by Braun with 2:09 left but Park Center would snatch the lead right back when freshman reserve guard/forward Aniyah Reuben drained a "3" from the right top area with 1:57 left to make it 31-30.  That took care of the scoring for the first half anyway in this rather wild back-and-forth battle as both teams headed to the locker room for the halftime break. 

Wayzata went on the offensive again in the early moments of the second half with a 6-0 push.  Stewart first scored in the paint at the 17:48 mark and two lay-ups by Johnson - one at the 16:40 mark and another at the 15:59 mark - had the Trojans up 36-31.  But Park Center quickly responded with a 9-0 run of their own.  Ragulen drained a "3" from the left corner at the 15:38 mark to start this push and then Griffin connected with a lay-up in transition at the 14:36 mark to get things even again at 36 a piece.  Adalia McKenzie connected on a short, turnaround jumper at the 14:00 mark and followed that up a minute later with a pretty lay-up in transition at the 13:02 mark to put the Pirates up 40-36.  Right back came Wayzata with a 6-0 push.  Johnson was able to grab the offensive rebound of her own miss for a putback at the 12:28 mark and a lay-up by Braun at the 12:03 mark had this game tied again at 40-all.  The Trojans would poke their nose out in front on a Johnson lay-up in transition at the 11:24 mark to make it a 42-40 game but here Wayzata was not so willing to give up its lead.  A Johnson score in the paint at the 10:09 mark had the lead at 44-41 and a long offensive rebound by Braun followed by a short jumper by the up-and-coming sophomore maintained the three point edge at 46-43 at the 9:31 mark.  Two free throws by Krzewinski with 8:33 left kept the lead at 48-45. 

The Pirates would close the gap to two point when Griffin grabbed an offensive rebound for a putback with 8:13 left but then Wayzata went on a 5-0 push that seemed to have the needle in their favor the rest of the way.  One Johnson freebie with 7:37 left after she was fouled in a transition opportunity and a jumper from the right elbow area by Stewart with 7:26 left gave the Trojans a 51-47 advantage.  That lead would grow to six when Braun connected with a lay-up with 6:52 left and by this point there was genuine concern amongst the Park Center faithful if this might be too much of a hurdle to overcome.  But it was perhaps here that this sometimes inconsistent Pirate team responded to the challenge and took the bull by the horns to take control of this game for good.  And, somewhat fittingly, it would be Adalia McKenzie leading the way.  She first knocked down two free throws after getting fouled with 6:25 left and followed that up with a lay-up in transition with 6:04 left that cut the deficit to two points at 53-51.  With 5:37 left, Frost practically brought the house down when she uncorked one of her trademark three-point bombs - this one coming from the right wing area - that suddenly pushed Park Center back into the lead at 54-53 and the Trojans' Schumacher; genuinely concerned that this latest development, called a timeout to try and get his squad settled down.  But the Pirates now felt the fire and had their game going again.  Adalia McKenzie snared a steal and dashed the other way for a lay-up with 5:05 left and one free throw by Griffin with 4:42 left capped this key 10-0 run that now had Wayzata on their collective heels.  The Trojans temporarily reduced the deficit to two points when Stewart connected with a short, turnaround jumper with 4:27 left but Park Center's Cox was left alone at the left top area a bit later with 3:55 left and she made the Trojans pay with a three-point dagger to grow the Pirate lead to 60-55.  Wayzata would try and counter again as an offensive rebound and putback by Stewart with 3:05 left and one Arnebeck charity stripe shot with 2:25 left had the Trojans back within a single possession down 60-58 but it was here that Park Center slowly but surely closed the door for good.  Another Adalia McKenzie lay-up with 2:13 left and one Griffin free throw with 1:33 left had the lead back at five points at 63-58 and Adalia McKenzie would drop two big free throws after getting fouled with 1:32 left to increase the lead to seven at 65-58.  Ragulen would drop pairs of insurance freebies - with 1:15 and :36.3 left - and Cox would knock down two more with :19.7 left for good measure as the Pirates scored a huge home non-conference win by a final score of 71-62.   

A check of the final box score of this game shows that it was indeed another fabulous outing for Park Center's Adalia McKenzie as she led all scorers with her 27 points.  Griffin finished with 11 points and both Cox and Ragulen tallied 10 points.  Frost may have finished with "only" six points on this night but that three-point bomb she drained with 5:37 left in the game was huge.  Wayzata, meanwhile, leaned heavily on Johnson as she led the way for the Trojans with her 23 points and Stewart added 18 points while Braun tallied 10 points in the losing effort.