Park girls basketball played against Jefferson Jan. 7 in Park’s home gym. Park and Jefferson went back and forth with the score and the game ultimately ended with a 52-44 win over the Jaguars.
Head coach John Hayes said this was their most impressive game of the season. He said he’s happy with the way Park played and specifically liked their defense.
“This was our best game of the season. I was super proud of the girls’ efforts and the way they played together today, and it was all started on the defensive end,” Hayes said. “Our girls played amazing defense tonight, and just super proud of the way the girls played as a team.”
Freshman Lauryn Pohlman said their teamwork is what made Park get to the finish line. She said taking good shots is what allowed them to score.
“The teamwork (was) really good, because we got a lot of good looks and that’s what got us most of our buckets,” Pohlman said.
Senior Amara Schroeder said as the game went on, she played better. She said the game started slow, but started picking up as she continued.
“I played good. I kind of started a little slow, but as the game went on, adrenaline and everything picked up,” Shroeder said.
According to Hayes, Park worked collectively and didn’t keep the ball for themselves. He said the players did a good job of taking open shots and playing as a team.
“They worked so well together. We’ve been preaching to share the ball, move the ball, and they did a great job of driving, kicking, finding the open girl and taking open shots,” Hayes said. “We didn’t always knock them down, but I will always applaud great shots, and we took a lot of great shots today.”
According to Shroeder, the team played well with actions and good attitudes. She said they are communicating well on defense.
“It went really good,” Schroeder said. “We have really good body language, good attitude, we move the ball well on offense and we communicate. We’re communicating on defense.”
Middle school students that are in the district are allowed to play sports at Park. Pohlman said she wanted to shout out a specific player for working hard and still going even when it was hard.
“I’d like to shout out (seventh-grader) Kailoni (Johnson) because even though she was getting pulled (from the game) a lot, she still tried her best and kept going with the game,” Pohlman said.
According to Hayes, he wants to give credit to everyone but specifically (to) the seniors who keep showing up even if they don’t start the game. He said today they brought strength on the defensive end and showed leadership throughout.
“(I give credit to) everyone. I’d especially like to shout out our seniors, continuing to show up, regardless of starting or what kind of minutes (they) get in, but just showing up for their teammates,” Hayes said. “They brought the leadership and brought the defensive intensity tonight.”
Shroeder said she is feeling ready going into the next game. She said the game shows that the team can play well and gives them a boost in confidence.
“I feel good. This (win) is a good confidence boost,” Shroeder said. “It shows that we’re capable of being a better team, even better than that, so it feels good.”
Park’s girl’s basketball team’s next game is against Orono 7 p.m. Jan. 10 at Orono High School.