Senior night showdown
Park falls short with a 61-58 loss
Junior Ruby Massie protects the ball from Jefferson defender Feb. 24. Jefferson won 61-58.
February 27, 2023
Park girls’ basketball suffered their final conference loss against Jefferson with a final score of 61-58, on Feb. 24. Head coach Arsenio Richardson said that even though the score did not show a victory, the team’s ability to make adjustments and keep up with the game’s relentless pace is a win.
“The main focus going into this game was to get locked in. Because of the storm, we didn’t have practice, which at times showed, but we made those in-game adjustments and responses, which are good to see and an important part of our performance. The last time we played Jefferson, they beat us by a lot and we didn’t play well. Tonight, we came out and fought. We looked like an actual, solid basketball team.” Richardson said
According to junior Evie Schmitz, the team remained connected and supportive of each other on the court, and because it was senior night, fought for a win for the seniors.
“What we really wanted to do was compete for the seniors and win,” Schmitz said. “We put our best effort forward in that aspect of the game, which showed that as a team, we can show up and compete. We love them, and their leadership and presence on our team will be missed.
For sophomore Bella Miller, the teamwork and motivated attitude that transpired from the game was what propelled the team to keep up with the intensity.
“We fought hard,” Miller said. “We just really worked as a team tonight, even though we didn’t come out with the win. It was one of our better games. We’ve been struggling this season for sure, especially with all of the injuries that have happened, so this performance was definitely uplifting.”
According to Richardson, the team is not done yet and they have more to bring to the next game.
“The next game is a playoff game,” Richardson said. “I am hoping the same hunger is there. Senior night was a lot of high energy, we had a good crowd. I hope that the energy we had tonight will carry through practice and into Wednesday.”
Park girls’ basketball will take on Robinsdale Cooper at 7 p.m. March 1 at Robbinsdale Cooper High School.
