Winning a section semifinal game is nothing new for Park Center. After all, four members of the team's starting lineup already have two Class 3A state tournament titles under their belts.

But the fact that Saturday's 57-53 Class 4A, Section 5 semifinal win came against Northwest Suburban Conference and city rival Osseo, a post-game hogpile on the court was justified.

"(The rivalry) made it that more fun," Pirates junior guard Ann Simonet said. "(Osseo) is our arch enemy, and they'll always be our arch enemy, especially in the playoffs."

The section semifinal was a back-and-forth battle between veteran cores, with the Orioles starting four experienced seniors and Park Center rolling out four two-time champion juniors.

With just over a minute left in the game, junior forward Feyisayo Ayobamidele drained a three-pointer to put the Pirates up 55-53 and seal the victory.

Park Center coach Chris VanderHyde said his team is no stranger to intense situations. 

"I think every kid on the floor would've taken that shot, because we've been there before," VanderHyde said. "There are no nerves."

Ayobamidele confirmed her coach's confidence, saying she knew the game-clinching shot was going in.

For the Pirates, Thursday's matchup with either Champlin Park or Roseville will be the first section final in Class 4A after moving up from Class 3A after last season. 

VanderHyde said he was excited when he head the team was jumping up a class, and Ayobamidele and Simonet took the move as just another challenge to overcome.

"It's more competition for us," Ayobamidele said. "A lot of people had doubt in us, but we did not doubt ourselves at all. We knew we could do it."

Despite having a lot of experience, VanderHyde said there is still a lot of room for his young team to grow. 

"(Our experience) almost didn't work to our advantage tonight, as we started to turn the ball over," VanderHyde said. "We still have a long way to go."

The Pirates don't have a single senior on the roster, and so he growth of the team is on the shoulders of the junior class.

"As juniors there's nobody above us, and it's on us to pick the team up," Simonet said. "We can't get down on ourselves and (have to) have that mentality to keep going."

Simonet leads the Pirates with 318 points scored this season, and finished with a game-high 22 points in the semifinal victory.

Now Park Center turns its focus to the road ahead, just a few wins away for a chance at three straight titles.

"Winning that first state championship was pretty big for us," Simonet said. "But for our class to get there by ourselves (and win in 2016), it's pretty big."

Junior guard Ann Simonet scored five three-pointers in the second half and led Park Center with a game-high 22 points as the Pirates beat Osseo 57-53 in the Class 4A, Section 5 semifinals at Park Center High School on Saturday.

Mikayla Hayes, a junior Florida commit, provided offense on the inside, finishing with nine points for top-seeded Park Center (21-7), ranked No. 9 in Class 4A by Minnesota Basketball News.

Junior guard Mikayla Homola led the fourth-seeded Orioles (20-8) with 19 points, and leading scorer and Arizona State commit Kiara Russell was held to just 10 points.

After a 20-20 tie at halftime, Osseo jumped out to a four-point lead to start the second half, but after Russell put the Orioles ahead 29-28, a pair of Simonet three-pointers sparked a 10-point Park Center run. 

Russell would give Osseo a 53-52 lead on a pair of free throws with 1:17 left in the game, but Pirates junior forward Feyisayo Ayobamidele nailed a three-pointer to give Park Center a 55-53 lead.

Hayes made a late stop defensively to seal the game, and send the Pirates to the Section 5 championship against either Champlin Park or Roseville at Anoka on Thursday.

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