Park Center girls basketball got a dominant 67-42 victory over Robbinsdale Armstrong on Feb. 21 at Park Center High School.
The Pirates led 35-19 at halftime after a physical contest with the Falcons. Park Center led on fouls in both halves.
The second half played out in a similar vein as Park Center built on its lead. It was senior night for Park Center girls basketball and the team’s four seniors, Atlantis Brown, Mariam Alowonle, Tiana Loyd, and Morgan Sanders, were at the forefront of the performance.
As the game progressed, both teams gave minutes to players still working their way into varsity basketball, including Demi Holman, Amari Johnson, and Harmony Mayberry for Park Center along with Brianna Dumas and Anna Sheppard for Armstrong.
Armstrong did improve on the score deficit in the second half, scoring 23 points to 32 from Park Center. The Falcons could not undo the gap and Park Center secured their latest win amid an impressive season.
Going 8-45 over the last two years, Park Center was able to collect more wins this season than their last two combined.
Park Center acknowledged its seniors with a full substitution of all four during a timeout with two minutes to play. The moment was met by applause from the crowd and an emotional gathering at the Park Center bench.
Loyd led Park Center’s scoring with 15 points, while Briana Foster scored 12, Jaliyah Diggs scored 11, and Alowonle added 10.
Marin Wilson was Armstrong’s top scorer with 15 points of her own, while Jade Peterson added eight and Anna Smelser scored six.
Park Center girls basketball head coach Tylor Coley explained after the win that honoring and fighting for a great end to the high school careers of the team’s seniors has been a key initiative for the Pirates this season.
“We’ve been very intentional this year in making sure this was a good season for our seniors. It’s been said to the group verbally, this is for them,” Coley said. “A lot of our players are young, eighth graders, seventh graders, ninth graders, sophomores, no juniors. This is for the seniors. We’re playing for them. ... At the end of the day, this program was 8-45 in the last two years.”
The Pirates head coach also noted that the team has plenty to look forward to in the section tournament, noting they will earn a positive seeding that could see the Pirates battle their way to a rematch with the likes of Maple Grove in the final. The Crimson won both matchups with Park Center this season, but the Pirates did show some promise in the second half of an 83-56 loss on Jan. 23. Since that game, Park Center has won seven of its eight final games.
“The last half we played Maple Grove, we beat them 33-31,” Coley said. “The players are confident about that fact. Is that going to be a tough game? Yes. But making the section championship game would be a huge turnaround. It would make all our seniors’ day if they can make that championship game.”
Coley added that he’s enjoyed helping develop a new culture around the team this season. The growth of the team as a group was on full display during the substitution dedicated to the seniors, at which point multiple younger players, including some who have not played this season, became overwhelmed with emotion.
“It’s been a great experience and a cultural building experience. I had heard the culture was a little off last year. I feel these girls are connected,” he said. “I’ve got a freshman crying for the seniors tonight. She hasn’t played varsity minutes, but she does play because she practices hard and iron sharpens iron. She’s getting better and she’s helping the group. ... All the girls know they’re valued.”
Coley also noted that the program had dedicated people in and around it already, explaining the dedication parents, including those whose children play minimal varsity minutes, have shown to support the team financially and emotionally.
Other results
Park Center concluded its regular season with another win, beating Anoka 70-68 on Feb. 22 to end the regular season with a 10-8 conference record, 14-12 overall. This marked the Pirates’ best regular season record since the 2019-20 season. Alowonle was the top scorer with 18 points. Singleton and Briana Foster both scored 16 against Anoka.
Armstrong also concluded their regular season later last week, ending it on the highest of notes with a 48-41 win over Osseo to earn their first conference win of the season and adjust their overall record to 7-19. The win provided the Falcons’ with a result that reflected the work the team has put in despite a difficult run in conference play this season.
Park Center will take part in the Section 5AAAA tournament as the second seed the following week, hosting seventh seed Irondale on Feb. 28.
Armstrong will take part in the Section 6AAAA tournament as the sixth seed the following week, taking on third seed Minneapolis Southwest on Feb. 28.
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