Girls’ basketball victorious on opponent’s court during conference game
Park beats Bloomington-Kennedy 62-59 with game-winning three-point shot
Sophomore Reagan Alexander prepares to shoot a lay up while being closely guarded. Park won 62-59 with a three point shot made by Shayla Miller in the last five seconds of their game against Bloomington Kennedy.
January 9, 2019
After a victory over Bloomington-Kennedy, Park felt resolute with their performance, according to coach Arsenio Richardson.
“We have a talented team, we have a strong opportunity to contest — to be conference champs,” Richardson said.
After previous games, Park focused on their weaknesses, something that paid off during this game, according to Richardson.
“We definitely didn’t turn the ball over as much,” Richardson said. “We made shots when we need to.”
Senior Lindsey Olson said she was pleased with the conclusion of the game after seeing junior Shayla Miller score the game-winning shot.
“My favorite part of the game was the end because it gets really exciting and then — obviously — a shot at the end to win it is always fun,” Olson said.
Park played differently and more cohesively than in the past, according to Olson.
“As a team I think we did good,” Olson said. “But the second half we usually kind of fall apart and slow down.”
As the play clock drained with both teams tied at 59, Park called a timeout to plan the last few seconds of the game. According to junior Shayla Miller, it was important that Park retained possession and execute their plan flawlessly.
“We just did not want to turn the ball over and make sure we were strong with our passes,” Miller said.
After playing the ball inbounds, Park had less than 15 seconds to score. According to Miller, before she scored the game-winning shot with half of a second on the play clock, she recalled a similar situation from earlier in the season.
“I really want to make this,” Miller said. “Last week when we played Cooper, I had kind of the same situation and it just hit the rim and bounced out.”
Park had prepared for these situations during practices, and had a clear plan to close out the game, according to Richardson.
“That’s one of our inbounds plays and we work on it every day,” Richardson said. “So it was good to see it executed.”
Throughout the game, Park felt that composure played a key role in their success against Bloomington-Kennedy, according to Miller.
“We have been having problems getting flustered so we just wanted to stay calm and keep playing our game,” Miller said.
According to Richardson, Park already has its sights set on their next difficult matchup.
“We’ll watch film tomorrow, lift weights and then we’ll prepare for Chanhassen,” Richardson said.
Park will face Chanhassen at 7 p.m. Jan. 11, at home, according to MN Girls’ Basketball Hub.
