Park girls basketball: Lurken becomes all-time leading scorer in win over Hastings

Larissa Lurken earned a place in Park High School history on Friday as the senior guard became the school’s all-time leading scorer in the Wolfpack’s 66-23 Suburban East Conference win over Hastings on Friday night at Park High School.

Lurken nearly outscored the Raiders on her own in the win, netting a game-high 22 points, surpassing the 1,533 point-mark held by Park 2002 graduate Ashley Smith.

Lurken, a 5-foot, 10-inch guard who has signed to play Division 1 basketball for Kent State University in Ohio next fall, has been a varsity starter for the basketball team since her freshman year.

She’s currently second on the team in scoring at 17.8 points per game. Junior Sydney Lamberty, who is right behind Lurken in all-time scoring, is averaging a team-high 18.2 points per game.

In the win over Hastings, Park (16-5; 10-3 SEC) went up 50-13 at the half and cruised to the victory. Nine different players scored for the Wolfpack in the win over the Raiders (3-16; 0-13 SEC). In addition to Lurken, who also had a team-high five assists in the game, Lamberty added 16 points, 11 rebounds and three assists for Park, while junior Temi Ogunrinde scored five points, six rebounds and two assists.

“Against Hastings they came out in a triangle and two,” Park head coach Stephanie Tolkinen said. “We figured they would and we were prepared for it. We recognized it and we had three different girls score early in the game. The girls executed very well and it forced Hastings out of that defense.”

Park followed up the lopsided win with a big 65-47 victory over section foe Eagan the next night, Saturday, Feb. 2, at Park High School.

Up 33-26 at the half, the Wolfpack outscored Eagan 32-21 in the second half to seal the win.

Lamberty had a game-high 27 points in the victory — and became Park’s all-time assist leader, passing Sarah Nohrenberg’s record of 297 assists. Lamberty has started for Park since she was in eighth grade.

In addition, Lurken netted 19 points and sophomore Annie Williams had a team-best six rebounds against Eagan (12-8).

“Eagan was a different game than what we have played lately. We have been playing more half-court offense lately, but we knew Eagan would come out and press the whole game,” Tolkinen said. “The girls were ready for the press and I thought they did a pretty good job of attacking it. Our kids did a great job and played a complete game. I am very happy with the progress our girls are making.”

Park also beat Stillwater 59-26 last Tuesday in Cottage Grove.

In the victory over the Ponies (4-16; 1-12 SEC), Lurken had a team-high 18 points and nine rebounds and Lamberty scored 16 points and dished out nine assists. Also, junior Mikayla Jones chipped in seven points. Eight different players scored for Park in the victory.

“I was very pleased with the effort in each of the games this week,” Tolkinen said. “The girls are really coming together and are playing pretty good basketball. We are getting other kids involved in the scoring and it allows Larissa and Syd to play more freely. The other girls are looking for their shots and taking them. It is great to have the team effort on both ends of the court. Our defense seems to get a little better each game.”

Next, Park is at Forest Lake (16-5; 8-5 SEC) on Friday, Feb. 8. Tip-off is set for 7:15 p.m.

Tags: sports, basketball, park, wolfpack, prep, updates