Park Center concluded its 2023/24 season last week, losing 69-67 to Mounds View on Mar. 1 in overtime at home in the Section 5AAAA semifinals.
The game followed a dominant 72-18 win for Park Center over seventh-seed Irondale in the quarterfinals. Jaliyah Diggs led with 17 points against Irondale, followed by 12 from Mariam Alowonle. Ten Pirates scored on Irondale in total, including middle schoolers Briana Foster, Amari Johnson, and Demi Holman.
Third seed Mounds View entered the post-season in competitive form, having earned a 10-8 Suburban East Conference record, 14-12 overall.
Both teams exchanged the lead in the first half on multiple occasions in an even 18 minutes between the Pirates and Mustangs. Both Park Center’s Lyric Singleton and Mounds View’s Bria Stenstrom had to exit the court during the first half following a collision, but both players eventually returned.
Mounds View led 31-27 at halftime, following plenty of big moments from Alowonle, Diggs, Briana Foster, Anaya Shaffa, Tiana Loyd, and Singleton, but also a string of missed free throws.
A series of layups from Diggs, Singleton, and Alowonle saw Park Center notch its first lead of the second half early on. The two teams were consistently split by no more than one or two points for the final eight minutes of the game. For every moment Mounds View unlocked something special, Park Center did the same, including a set of three-pointers from Singleton.
As the clock closed down the scores remained narrowly close until a two-point shot from Mounds View locked the teams in a tie at 61-61.
With two seconds left, Mounds View went for a layup that should have won the game. The ball rose up over the rim, landing on the rim itself and resting for a brief moment against the backboard. With the visiting Mustangs already preparing to celebrate the ball trickling through the net, it suddenly rolled off the other direction, falling to the floor and keeping Park Center in the game. The game was going to overtime.
Overtime, as designed, proved to be a quick and intense chapter in the story of this game. Park Center started well with five points by Diggs from free throws and a two-pointer to take a small lead. Mounds View got back into it and took the lead with a three-pointer.
With 20 seconds to survive. Mounds View held on, despite remarkable effort through the entirety of overtime from the likes of Diggs, Singleton, Alowonle, and Atlantis Brown, and won. Park Center’s season ended its season with a 15-13 overall record, the team’s first positive overall record since the 2019-20 season.
Park Center girls basketball will graduate four players this summer, including Brown, Alowonle, Loyd and Morgan Sanders. On the other side of the spectrum, the team had four sophomores and six freshmen rostered, as well as five middle schoolers this season.
Park Center head coach Tylor Cooley noted after the game that there were both bright moments and hard lessons to take from the loss to Mounds View, following a season of major growth for the Pirates.
“Everybody had their moments where they could have did something better to get us over the top. But, the things we did from the beginning to the end of the season, leaps and bounds above what our expectations were,” Cooley said. “To walk into the locker room knowing that [a championship game against Maple Grove] won’t happen is thoroughly disappointing.”
Cooley noted that after the loss against Mounds View, everyone had something to take responsibility for, including himself.
“I blame myself for not being a better coach at times, but then we’ve all got to take ownership for the stuff we’ve got to do. We missed 18 free throws today,” he said. “What do we do about that? We get to the off-season and we do the work. It’s easy for me because I get to come back, I’m going to be here for a minute, but that’s no consolation for the seniors.”
While discussing the excitement for the future, Cooley noted how important it will be for his players to stay committed to basketball at every opportunity. Park Center’s head coach is also director of AAU team Finest Basketball Club the North and noted that he hopes players stay active in the AAU, whether or not it is with his team.
“They realize that I’m basketball year around because the girls that want to play basketball at the next level have to do that. ... I’m excited and I’ve got positive expectations, visions of what the future can be here. I walked in the gym earlier today and was just like, all the times I’ve come here and played, I never thought I’d get to be a coach here. I’m excited about what we’re going to do in the future.”
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