Our defense, I thought we did a good job early on in the game, keeping them out of the paint. … and we kept them off the boards – one and done and that was very helpful early on.”

Park head coach Stephanie Tolkinen

Up next:

The Wolfpack play in the Hastings Holiday Tournament Friday, Dec. 27 and Saturday, Dec. 28. First up for the Wolfpack is a rematch with Hastings Friday at 5:15 p.m. Farmington and New Prague play in the other first-round matchup. Game times both days are 1:45 and 5:15 starts.

What a difference a year has made for the Park High girls basketball team.
A year ago.
This season, the Wolfpack are not only winning, they’re dominating. Park rolled visiting Apple Valley Friday, winning 69-38, to improve to 6-2 on the season.
A year ago, at this stage of the season, Park was just 2-6 and had lost games by 27, 31 and 40 points.
So far this season, Park has a 35-point win over Simley, a 14-poitn win at Bloomington Jefferson, a 15-point win at Irondale and now this 31-point victory over Apple Valley.
“It feels good,” said Park head coach Stephanie Tolkinen. “We had to work against that zone. We’ve seen some zone defenses the last few games, so the kids are having to learn how to move the ball and move and find open spots and at times I thought the passing was really good. I thought we shoot pretty decently early in the game. Our defense, I thought we did a good job early on in the game, keeping them out of the paint. … and we kept them off the boards – one and done and that was very helpful early on. The was probably the best part of it – the good start we had.”
Friday’s game was over early as the Wolfpack grabbed a 30-15 halftime lead and then continued apace in the second half, outscoring the Eagles 39-23.
Park got almost everybody involved in the fun Friday and 10 different players scored, led by freshman forward Mesa Jameson’s 16 points. Sophomore Olivia Czarnota and junior Gracie Smith added 10 points each, while freshman guard Ella Salmon announced her presence with a nine point game.
“We’ve got a couple of freshmen who are coming along,” Tolkinen added. “Malaya Ramirez and Ella Salmon, that’s her second varsity game with us now. Nine points tonight, getting some offense for us. Tenley’s made a couple of threes, it’s nice to see that. We’ve got Hailey (Kieffer) who’s much more healthy now and she’s going to be able to get in a little bit better shape now and give us some better minutes. All in all, they’re learning how to play with each other still. But I think the skill is improving and we’re helping them try to be better IQ wise – basketball and being able to make better decisions.”
Park stands 3-2 in the Suburban East Conference and 6-2 on the season. The Wolfpack play in the Hastings Holiday Tournament Friday, Dec. 27 and Saturday, Dec. 28. First up for the Wolfpack is a rematch with Hastings Friday at 5:15 p.m. Farmington and New Prague play in the other first-round matchup. Game times both days are 1:45 and 5:15 starts.