They played hard, they gave, they worked super hard and they competed against a really good team. We held their two best shooters to nine points total. And their best, No. 1, she had a night in the paint on us. We’ll probably have to have a little bit different strategy against that next time.”

Stephanie Tolkinen, Head Coach

Coming up:

Park plays at Forest Lake Friday, Jan. 19, starting at 7 p.m.

A strong Roseville team used a tenacious full-court defense and consistent in-the-paint shooting to down host Park 60-35 in Suburban East Conference girls basketball Friday.

Roseville muscled its way to a 36-15 lead at the half. The second half was much more even but Park could never come close to cutting into the 20-point deficit.

The Wolfpack slipped to 1-7 in the SEC and 2-12 on the season. Roseville went to 6-2 in the conference and 10-2 overall.

Park got good shots but had trouble getting the ball to go through the hoop Friday. Ninth-grade forward Raimee Ashfaq had 10 points to pace Park. Tori Henderson and Mesa Jameson scored 9 each.

White Bear Lake 52, Park 32

Park’s road woes continued Wednesday in a 52-32 loss at White Bear Lake in Suburban East Conference girls' basketball.

The Wolfpack fell to 0-8 in road games so far this season, and to 2-11 overall.

White Bear Lake led 27-16 at the half and the second half was mostly a matter of lather, rinse and repeat.

“I was proud of their effort,” said head coach Stephanie Tolkinen. “They played hard, they gave, they worked super hard and they competed against a really good team. We held their two best shooters to nine points total. And their best, No. 1, she had a night in the paint on us. We’ll probably have to have a little bit different strategy against that next time. And then one of their players just really lit it up that scouting report was that we could play off of her and so she had a big night tonight.

“Other than that, our kids played hard we struggled a little bit to get into our offense after we broke the press and we ‘ve just got to keep working on handling pressure and being able to have some structure on the offensive end,” Tolkinen added. “We’ve just got to be able to execute more on the offensive end.”

Tori Henderson broke out of a mini slump with 13 points to lead the Wolfpack in scoring. Hailey Kieffer had eight points and Mesa Jameson seven.

Asked if there was a solution for Park’s offensive struggles, junior guard Tenley Nelson said “You just have to hope it doesn’t go in on the other end so then you have a chance again to get it in. We’re really focusing on defense in practice most of the time, so, really, players have to get their own shots up at their own time. And just the players that want to do it, do it.”

Park plays at Forest Lake Friday, Jan. 19, starting at 7 p.m.