Defense steps up
Parkland advances with win over defending state champs
“We saw the tape of what they did and basically said, ‘Here’s what we have to do to defend them.’ That’s the thing we were most worried about. We switched a little bit more tonight than we normally do but other than that we didn’t really change anything.”
In the final four games of the regular season, Parkland’s defense gave up an average of 48.3 points per game.
In the nine playoff games since, the Trojans have allowed just 32.6 points per game and no more than 37 in a game.
This defensive brilliance was on full display once again as the Trojans took down Archbishop Carroll, the defending state champions, 48-37 in a PIAA 6A girls basketball quarterfinal matchup at Pottstown High School on Friday night.
Parkland moves on to play Cardinal O’Hara on Monday at a site and time to be determined. Cardinal O’Hara defeated Perkiomen Valley 49-35 in another quarterfinal game.
“We saw the tape of what they did and basically said, ‘Here’s what we have to do to defend them.’ That’s the thing we were most worried about,” Parkland coach Ed Ohlson said. “We switched a little bit more tonight than we normally do but other than that we didn’t really change anything.”
Why would they? Defense is what got the Trojans here and it’s what is sending them to the state semifinals for the first time since 2006. That plus the leadership and exceptional play from standout seniors Talia Zurinskas and Madi Siggins.
Zurinskas led the way with 23 points and Siggins added 16.
Zurinskas has faced every type of defense imaginable throughout the season, which makes big scoring nights come few and far between.
Friday night was one of those nights.
After Parkland turned the ball over on its first three possessions, Zurinskas had seen enough and pulled up for a 3-pointer to get the scoring started for the Trojans. With another triple later in the quarter and a pair of free throws in the final minute, Parkland took a 12-9 lead into the second quarter.
“After the first three possessions, she was
— Ed Ohlson, Parkland girls basketball coach
awesome,” Ohlson said with a chuckle when asked about Zurinskas’ play. “I could tell when we were doing our walkthrough that she was so dialed in. I was not worried about her at all.”
Siggins took the baton at the start of the second quarter with two great finishes underneath the basket just before Zurinskas made her presence felt again by jumping a passing lane and cruising to an easy layup in transition to give the Trojans an 18-11 lead late in the first half.
However inadvertently, the pair took turns throughout the night providing scoring sparks at just the right time to cushion Parkland’s lead and prevent Archbishop Carroll from ever jumping in front.
“I definitely think our chemistry has built over time – I don’t think it happened overnight – but finally seeing it this year finally blossom is crazy,” Siggins said. “I’m so happy for her. I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else.”
Archbishop Carroll started to fight back at the end of the first half and into the second, cutting the lead to 22-20 in the first few minutes of the third quarter. Alexis Eberz and Brooke Wilson were the leaders of this charge with Eberz scoring a team-high 13 points and Wilson adding 11.
Siggins scored four quick points in response but it was Zurinskas who made the two biggest plays of the night – in ridiculous fashion – to complete a 10-2 run that gave Parkland a 10-point lead with under 10 minutes remaining.
The first came on an aggressive drive from the left wing that resulted in a Patriot defender pushing Zurinskas away from the basket on the opposite side, picking up a foul in the process as Zurinskas threw up a fadeaway layup off the glass.
Zurinskas somehow got it to fall and one possession after that 3-point play that ignited the Parkland crowd, the senior drilled a contested 25-footer to give the Trojans a 32-22 lead.
“Coach [Ohlson] told everyone to clear out, he didn’t say pull Steph, but just said to do what I’ve got to do,” Zurinskas said.
Whenever she’s having a night like this, with shots rippling through the net, Ohlson will yell “Steph” to his star guard, a reference to NBA great Steph Curry, and let her know that whatever shot she wants to take is acceptable in his eyes. Even without hearing the exact phrase from her coach, Zurinskas knew the game was in her hands.
And, boy, did she deliver. Archbishop Carroll implemented a furious fullcourt press for the rest of the game but Parkland handled it well enough to preserve at least a seven-point lead for the entire quarter and close out a win that ensured a new state champion will be crowned in 2024.
Zurinskas and Siggins closed out the game at the foul line, making 16 of their 17 attempts at the charity stripe, to send the Trojans to the final four in the area’s highest classification. Siggins didn’t even hit the rim on her six makes.
“I shoot at least 100 before I leave [practice],” Siggins said. “I’ll stay after with Talia and we do it all the time so she’s always telling me ‘you shoot these all the time, you’ve got this.’ All that work pays off.”