Long Prairie-Grey Eagle stayed close in the first half, but the Park Rapids girls basketball team controlled the second half to open the Section 8AA playoffs with a 72-50 victory at the Area High School gym on Feb. 28.
Park Rapids, the No. 1 seed in the North, held a 34-29 lead at the half and led 40-36 with 14:55 to play before taking charge with 22-4 run to advance against the No. 8-seeded Thunder.
Two layups by Rilee Michaelson, a layup off a steal by Paige Johnson, a layup by Kendra Coborn, and a 3-pointer and jumper by Whitney Steffel gave the Panthers a 13-7 lead with 11:52 to play in the first half.
After a 3-pointer by Itzel Salazar Cervantes tied the game at 13-13 at the 9:58 mark, the Panthers used a pair of jumpers and a 3-pointer by Coborn, two layups by Michaelson and a layup by Julia Johnson to build a 28-17 lead with 5:27 left in the first half. A 3-pointer by Kaitlin Welters helped the Thunder close the gap to 28-24 at the 2:26 mark before Michaelson scored off a rebound and Coborn and Julia Johnson turned steals into layups for a 34-24 advantage with 1:01 remaining. A 3-pointer by Diana Salazar Cervantes made it 34-29 at the half.
Three inside baskets by Michaelson offset a 3-pointer by Welters as the Panthers clung to a 40-36 lead. Park Rapids then took control as a layup by Paige Johnson, a layup and a 3-pointer by Kendra Coborn, baskets off rebounds by Steffel and Michaelson, and a layup by Kaisa Coborn provided a 55-40 lead with 10:12 to play. A 3-pointer by Kasia Coborn and a layup off a steal by Kendra Coborn pushed the margin to 62-40 with 6:50 to go.
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Hannah Middendorf's 3-pointer ended that spurt, but the Panthers put the game away behind a jumper and layup off a steal by Kendra Coborn and two jumpers and a layup off a steal by Kaisa Coborn for a 72-45 advantage.
Kaisa Coborn's 25 points, Michaelson's double-double of 19 points and 18 rebounds, and Kendra Coborn's 11 points, nine assists and seven steals led the Panthers, who had 22 steals and forced 27 turnovers in the game. Michaelson and Kaisa Coborn had four steals each for the Panthers, who defeated LP-GE 65-29 on Dec. 14. Park Rapids improved to 14-10 on the season.
MIddendorf and Diana Salazar Cervantes scored 15 points each as the Thunder ended the season with a 4-20 record.
LONG PRAIRIE-GREY EAGLE: Middendorf 5 3-4 15, Wolbeck 1 0-0 2, Liebsch 2 0-0 4, D. Salazar Cervantes 6 2-4 15, Welters 3 0-0 9, I. Salazar Cervantes 1 0-0 3, Montanez 1 0-0 2. Totals: 19 for 52 (FG), 5 for 8 (FT).
PARK RAPIDS: Steffel 3 0-0 7, Ka. Coborn 11 1-2 25, Ke. Coborn 5 0-0 11, Michaelson 9 1-2 19, J. Johnson 2 0-0 4, Kinkel 0 0-0 0, Morris 0 0-0 0, P. Johnson 2 2-2 6, Morgan 0 0-0 0, H. Johnson 0 0-0 0, Knutson 0 0-0 0, Burlingame 0 0-0 0. Totals: 32 for 70 (FG), 4 for 6 (FT).
Halftime: Park Rapids 34, LP-GE 29. Three-pointers: Middendorf 2, D. Salazar Cervantes 1, Welters 3, I. Salazar Cervantes 1, Steffel 1, Ka. Coborn 2, Ke. Coborn 1. Team fouls: LP-GE 10, Park Rapids 12. Rebounds: Park Rapids 35 (Michaelson 18, Ke. Coborn 5, P. Johnson 4, Steffel 3, J. Johnson 2, Morgan 1, Ka. Coborn 1, Burlingame 1). Assists: Park Rapids 19 (Ke. Coborn 9, Kinkel 3, Michaelson 3, Ka. Coborn 3, Steffel 1). Steals: Park Rapids 22 (Ke. Coborn 7, Michaelson 4, Ka. Coborn 4, P. Johnson 3, Kinkel 2, J. Johnson 2). Blocked shots: Park Rapids 2 (Steffel 1, Michaelson 1). Turnovers: LP-GE 27, Park Rapids 20.
