Girls’ basketball contending in pre-conference game
Park achieves fourth win of season
Sophomore Faith Johnson leaps to the basket attempting to make a layup. Johnson scored 6 points against Fridley.
December 20, 2018
Park showed endless energy and effort throughout their 73-38 victory against Fridley on Dec. 18, according to sophomore Faith Johnson.
“I thought we did pretty good,” Johnson said. “I thought that we had a lot of effort in the first half and the second half.”
No game so far has matched the rigor and intensity brought by Fridley, but Park feels comfortable at that pace, according to assistant coach Kaiya Sygulla.
“It was probably the toughest, most physical game that we’ve had yet this season,” Sygulla said. “(It) was really, really good for us, we are not typically the most physical and aggressive team.”
According to Johnson, the players contribute to the game even when they aren’t on the court.“I think a lot of it is from the bench,” Johnson said. “Because the bench brings a lot of energy to everyone on the court.”
The team has been attempting new plays and sequences in practice, according to senior Jamelia Abdison.
“We have been doing shell drills,” Abdison said. “Basically we are tucking on defense and then we do layup drills where we do outward passes.”
The team has seen improvement in many facets of their play, according to Johnson.
“I think it’s going pretty well, definitely better than last year,” Johnson said. “We are more focused, we are all locked in.”
In last year’s season, Park had little success against Fridley, according to Abdison, but this game showed a unique approach.
“I feel like the game went really well,” Abdison said. “Last year they swept us, but this year we did something different.”
Park’s schedule has made for a difficult, but welcome, challenge, according to Abdison.
“So far I think we are doing pretty good,” Abdison said. “We are playing a lot of harder teams, so it has been fun.”
Overall, the team worked synergistically and proficiently, Sygulla said.
“I just loved our intensity, our aggression and the way that our team really pulled together and played as a team,” Sygulla said.
Park will be hosting a doubleheader matchup against Minnetonka at 6 p.m. Fri. Dec. 21, at St. Louis Park High School Gym.
