I just really want to get better every game.”

Veteran Park coach Stephanie Tolkinen

Veteran Park coach Stephanie Tolkinen has a game plan in place for the 2024-25 season.

More fast-paced and less set offenses, more tenacious defense, excellent team chemistry and a willingness to improve each night out.

“I just really want to get better every game,” said Tolkinen, now in her 26th season of coaching Park girls basketball, 21 years as head coach and five years before that as an assistant. “And if we can just stay in the moment, and one thing I’ve been telling the kids is that you can play as fast as your skills allow you and we have to just get to the basics and be disciplined with our skills.

“These kids come in with a totally different mindset than I’ve had in the past few years,” Tolkien added. “They’re here to really get after it and they’re listening and they’re trying to do what we’re asking them to do. … We’re going to get better and we’re going to be our best late February. When we need to be our best. Everything else is a practice game.”

Park struggled sometimes to get wins last season, going 10-17 overall and finishing just 5-13 and ninth in the 10-team Suburban East Conference. The Wolfpack were swept by rivals Woodbury and especially by a talented East Ridge team. The season ended in a 58-42 loss at Hastings in the Class 4A, Section 3 quarterfinals.

Then ninth grade forward Mesa Jameson (11.9 ppg) and junior guard Graycie Smith (11.0 ppg) led the Wolfpack in scoring last winter, backed by senior guard Hailey Kieffer (8.8 ppg) and sophomore guard/forward Olivia Czarnota (6.9 ppg).

Smith – the team’s only senior -- has committed to play basketball at St. Olaf and will obviously be looked at for her offense. Czarnota is another returning starter. “Olivia is really strong. She’s not going to back down to anybody,” said Tolkinen.

The Wolfpack lost just two seniors off last year’s team, guards Tenley Nelson and Kieffer, but also Jameson who transferred to Eagan before the start of the school year and is concentrating now on a taking her considerable volleyball skills even higher.

Veterans back include guards Smith, Malaya Ramirez, Olivia Czarnota, Tea Alvarenga and forwards Pajyeeb Kong and Raimee Ashfaq. Alvarenga was a force on defense last season. “She’s one of our biggest defensive threats for us,” said Tolkinen. She’ll join with Ramirez to form a dynamic defensive duo. “Those two can create a lot of problems for ball handlers and for offense,” said Tolkinen.

Others who should mark a mark on the varsity this season include junior forward Raimee Ashfaq and guards Bella Walker, Mariah Nasby and Ramsey Nelson.

“The kids that we have back are, there’s quickness, there’s athleticism, there’s a desire to play a little fast,” said Tolkinen. “What we’re trying to work on is the skills that can accompany that type of play, that can go with that type of play. They have a lot of energy and they right now are doing some really good things and so we’re hoping that we can play a little more up tempo, not so much sets but more of drive in space type.

“Just giving the kids multiple opportunities to score, either from the inside or from the outside and then just try to get more of an up tempo, try to get more things out of our defense,” Tolkinen continued. “Just getting these kids to play harder on defense. If we can get them to play harder and buy in the defensive style which is different than what we’ve done in the past, hopefully our defense will create some more offense for us.”

Park opens the season Tuesday with a non-conference game at Simley. The home opener for the Wolfpack is the following Tuesday, Dec. 2, hosting Cretin-Derham Hall.