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Park Center outlasts Centennial in overtime to advance to Class 4A, Section 5 final

By Trevor Squire, SportsEngine, 03/03/18, 10:00AM CST

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Adalia McKenzie posted a 25-point, 14-rebound double-double.

Park Center guard Sommer Blakemore (4) takes a shot from the outside. Blakemore led her team through overtime as the Pirates knocked off the number one seed 81-76 in semifinal action. Photo by Cheryl Myers, SportsEngine

Park Center guard Sommer Blakemore (4) takes a shot from the outside. Blakemore led her team through overtime as the Pirates knocked off the number one seed 81-76 in semifinal action. Photo by Cheryl Myers, SportsEngine

Click photos to view the entire gallery from the game

Park Center, which reached its section final seven straight years and the state tournament the past four, lost a trio of seniors last year that earned all-state accolades, leading the Pirates to state titles in 2014 and 2015.

Add in a coaching change in the offseason and this year’s team bares little resemblance to years past.

New lineup. New coach. Same Park Center.

The fourth-seeded Pirates (19-9) prevailed in an overtime scrap with top-seeded Centennial (24-4), ousting the Cougars 81-76 Saturday afternoon at Anoka High School in a Class 4A, Section 5 semifinal.

“We’ve been down this road,” coach Barb Metcalf said. “We’ve been in overtimes and lost them. (With) the experience this young group had — we didn't like that taste and we didn’t let it happen today.”

Park Center, ranked No. 15 in Class 4A by Minnesota Basketball News, outscored No. 3-4A Centennial 11-6 in the extra session to advance to its eighth consecutive section title game after a heart-wrenching 18 lead changes.

Freshman Adalia McKenzie posted a 25-point, 14-rebound double-double, and added four steals as the game’s lead scorer. With the game tied at 29 after the first half, McKenzie and senior guard Sommer Blakemore combined for 17 of the Pirates' first 19 points in a torrid second half. Blakemore finished the game with 19 points.

“Adalia steps up every game. She had a really tough matchup today,” Blakemore said, referring to Centennial’s 6-foot-3 center, Sara Stapleton, who finished the game with 18 points and 12 rebounds. “She did her job and that’s what she always does.”

Centennial crawled back late in the final half with a 10-point run by converting after a pair of Park Center turnovers. Blakemore sank two free throws with 7.7 seconds left on the clock, but the Cougars’ Claire Orth managed to force overtime, sinking a floater along the baseline as time expired.

Blakemore gave the Pirates an early lead in overtime after stealing the ball at midcourt and finding fellow senior Meghan DuBois for a transition layup. Freshman T’Naye Griffin knocked down a three midway through the extra session to give Park Center a two-possession lead that Centennial couldn’t cut into.

The Pirates fell twice in overtime earlier in this season to No. 5-4A St. Michael-Albertville (63-60 on Dec. 7) and No. 6-4A Wayzata (64-58 on Jan. 18). Blakemore, set to play in her fourth section final, said that all the underclassmen stepped up after suffering from some shakiness in the clutch earlier in the season.

Metcalf echoed her senior captain's remark.

“That’s youth — when you don’t get the job done,” she said. “This was maturity.”


Taylor McAulay (3) dives for a loose ball late in the second half for the Cougars. Centennial fell to Park Center 81-76 in an overtime battle at Anoka High School on Saturday afternoon. Photo by Cheryl Myers, SportsEngine

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