For Park Center girls’ basketball coach Barb Metcalf, there are certain games she considers measuring sticks as she goes through her first season leading the Pirates.

Tuesday’s road game against Northwest Suburban foe Maple Grove was one of them. The Crimson came into the game ranked No. 7 in Class 4A by Minnesota Basketball News.

Following the game, Metcalf admitted to feeling happy after seeing how her team measured up. After falling behind by as many as 11 in the first half, Park Center slowly chipped away at the deficit and controlled the second half as the Pirates defeated Maple Grove 60-53.

For Metcalf, taking over for Chris Vanderhyde at Park Center was a unique situation. The Pirates (5-1, 1-0) have made the state tournament each of the past four seasons and returned senior guard Sommer Blakemore, who averaged double figures a season ago.

While Metcalf came in with her own ideas about the offense, the new Pirates coach continued the team’s philosophy of high-pressure defense. This has helped the team’s coaching change.

“Our girls love being aggressive and playing defense,” Metcalf said. “It’s been a smooth transition so far.”

Good defense was necessary Tuesday. Park Center struggled to get to the rim as Maple Grove (5-2, 0-1) packed the paint. The Crimson brings a frontline of three players that stand at least five feet, 10 inches tall.

Matters worsened when 5-foot-10 freshman Adalia McKenzie spent most of the first half on the bench with three fouls.

Thankfully for McKenzie and the Pirates, the rest of the team held up -- trailing by just three points at the break.

Once the second half began, it took less than a minute for Park Center to take its first lead of the game. From there, the Pirates lost their lead just once.

McKenzie picked up just one foul in the second half -- her fourth. Meanwhile, she was breaking down the Maple Grove post defense. She tallied 15 of her team-high 17 points in the second half. It was key to the Pirates putting up 60 points in the win, which is the most the Crimson have allowed this season.

“Defensively, I think we just let down,” Maple Grove coach Mark Cook said. “They’re tough to defend, but we gave them too many second-chance efforts and let them attack off the dribble.”

Offensively, the Crimson couldn’t keep up. Senior guard Autumn Mlinar continued leading the way for the Maple Grove offense with a team-high 17 points but Park Center held her to just five points in the second half.

With Mlinar struggling to score, the Crimson looked to freshman forward Katrina Theis. She was able to get past McKenzie and put up 12 points.

“We worked five-on-six all week to try and prepare,” Cook said. “The pressure makes you make mistakes. They have continued to keep that system and mentality through the coaching change.”

Though Theis and Mlinar worked to keep Maple Grove in the game, Park Center stayed poised down the stretch. The Pirates continued to attack the basket and extended their lead to as much as seven in the final two minutes.

Senior guard Meghan DuBois led the way. She had 14 points in the win and her 6 of 8 from the free-throw line helped lead the Pirates down the stretch.

“It was nice to see that even at the end of the game, we still executed,” Metcalf said. “We’ve been battling the cold and flu like other schools but we continued through.”

The next measuring stick is right around the corner. Park Center hosts top-ranked Hopkins on Thursday.

“I think we’re really maturing,” Metcalf said. “The kids are starting to own their team. Now, we as coaches can be the sage on the stage. Now, we’re just hoping to the next thing on our list. It’s exciting to be hosting a team like Hopkins.”

After falling behind early in Tuesday’s game, Park Center came rolling back in the second half to defeat Maple Grove 60-53 at Maple Grove High School.

The Crimson, ranked No. 7 in Class 4A by Minnesota Basketball News, came out strong thanks to senior guard Autumn Mlinar. Mlinar had 12 of her team-leading 17 points in the first half, including a pair of three-pointers.

In the second half, the Pirates (5-1, 1-0) erased the halftime deficit by taking their first lead less than a minute into the second half. Freshman Adalia McKenzie, who missed most of the first half after picking up three quick fouls, found herself scoring 15 of a team-high 17 points in the second half.

When McKenzie wasn’t scoring, senior guard Meghan DuBois picked up the slack. She had 14 points in the win including shooting 6 of 8 from the free-throw line in the game’s final minutes.

Maple Grove (5-2, 0-1) attempted to slow down McKenzie but was unable to throughout Tuesday’s game. Senior forward Katrina Theis had 12 points while going up against McKenzie in the post.

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