The feeling of finally being able to have senior night was one she had been waiting for, according to senior and captain Jordyn Turek.

“It was special for me because I’ve been playing in high school programs since seventh grade and on varsity since eighth grade and so the feeling of, ‘I made it and this is my night as a senior night’ was great,” Turek said.

Coach Arsenio Richardson said although the win wasn’t unusual, the team fought hard and didn’t play down. 

“We haven’t lost to Benilde since I’ve been coaching. We won by 38 points tonight,” Richardson said. “We played really tough, we played really physically, we played within ourselves, and we played unselfish.”

According to Turek, Park got off to a slow start but kept fighting for the win.

“In the beginning it took us a few positions to get ready, but once we got it down we ended up getting a lot of steals,” Turek said.

Richardson recognized junior Reagan Alexander for scoring her 1,000th point only moments after the game started.  

“Reagan scored her 1,000th point on the first basket of the game,” Richardson said. “She’s not really a three-point shooter, but they ran the play for her and she shot a three-pointer to start the game, and then we got to see the seniors get a standing ovation and a win on their senior night.”

Alexander said getting her 1,000th point was a memorable team moment.

“What made it special was that my teammates set up a play for me to run. It felt really good that they went out of their way to set up a play to make sure I got it,” Alexander said.

Turek is glad she has gotten the chance to play with Alexander and can see how much she has grown in the past seasons.

“She had an amazing game,” Turek said. “I’m really proud of her these past few seasons. She’s an asset to the team and I really enjoy playing with her.”

Alexander said playing with Turek and senior and captain Shayla Miller for three years has been rewarding.   

“When I was a freshman, they were super accepting, and just knowing they had a lot of experience definitely helped me fall into my place on the team,” Alexander said.

According to Richardson, Park’s next game is going to be more of a challenge. 

“Chaska is number five in the state right now and they’re undefeated in conference. We have to be a lot more disciplined, we have to be able to execute and we have to be able to make shots,” Richardson said.

Park’s next game will be against Chaska 7 p.m. Feb. 21 at Chaska High School.