Playing together and just having a sense of urgency that we can do this and that we could get the win. It feels really good.”

Tenley Nelson

Park was stuck on 36 points for what seemed an eternity Thursday night, all the while clinging to a tenuous three-point lead over visiting Bloomington Jefferson.

Then Park eighth grade forward Mesa Jamison decided enough was enough and took over the game late to lead the host Wolfpack to a satisfying 42-38 victory.

Jamison muscled her way inside to score three straight huge baskets down the stretch as part of her season-high 28 points. That lifted the Wolfpack to the victory. Park outscored Jefferson 6-2 in the final 2:51 to earn the win.

“She gets in a zone and decides to -- when she sees things,” said Park head coach Stephanie Tolkinen. “She just plays. She’s got an instinct to just play and that’s just not coachable. I mean you can’t coach that. And she was really just into it tonight. She wasn’t worrying about all the other stuff like in the game the night before, ref calls and missing shots and stuff. .. She can be a game changer for us.”

It was Park’s second straight win after starting the season 0-6.

“I think we kept our composure and we played as a team and I think we moved the ball well up and down and we definitely were locked down on defense,” said ninth grade guard Tea Alvarenga.

Park trailed 33-26 with 12:31 to play, then outscored Jefferson 10-0 over the next five minutes.

“I think for the most part our rebounding was pretty solid, just not giving second chances for the most part and I think our defense energy leads to our offense energy,” Tolkinen added. “And then the kids handled the pressure and the press well. … I’m just really proud of our kids.”

Junior guard Hailey Kieffer added eight points and senior Tori Henderson six for the Wolfpack.

“Tonight we really did well on our defense,” said Kieffer. “Especially the last few minutes of the first half we locked them down. We made them use all the shot clock and made them chuck up uneasy shots. I definitely think we’re learning to become a team and we’re gaining our team chemistry.”

Park 50, Irondale 28

It took getting past a bit of a slow start, but it included a wow finish as the Park Wolfpack won their first game of the 2023-24 season Tuesday, a convincing 50-28 victory over visiting Irondale.

Both teams came into the contest winless in six games, but Park dominated the action after a sluggish opening. The game was tied at 8-all with 7:29 to play in the first half, but the Wolfpack went on a 14-6 run to close out the first half and take a 22-14 halftime lead.

Park led by double digits most of the second half and won going away.

Senior Tori Henderson led the Wolfpack with 20 points. Tenley Nelson added nine, Tea Alvarenga seven and Hailey Kieffer six.

“Everybody shot the ball very well and we executed very well on offense,” said Henderson, whose four 3-point field goals really sparked the Park offense. “We held them to 20 points the whole game so that’s pretty good defense. We started off a little rough but then we came together. Halfway through the first half.”

“Playing together and just having a sense of urgency that we can do this and that we could get the win,” said Park’s Tenley Nelson when asked what the Wolfpack did well. “It feels really good.”

Like Henderson, Nelson helped the Park offense by nailing three shots from beyond the three-point line.

“Make sure you put TNT, Tori and Tenley spoke, in there.” added Henderson with a big smile. “It has to be TNT, like dynamite. That’s me and her.”