Athletes of the week: Scoring record snuck up on Park's Lurken

A four-year starter and three-time All-Suburban East Conference selection, the senior guard/forward has accomplished much in her high school basketball career.

Now, she can say she's scored more than anyone else in team history.

A deadeye shooter with a gym bag full of court savvy, Lurken became the leading scorer in Wolfpack history Friday with a 22-point effort in a 66-23 rout of Hastings. She followed that with 19 points in Saturday's 65-47 victory over Eagan, giving her 1,562 points for her career.

"I had no idea I was even close to the record," she said. "It was a complete surprise. The whole audience stood up and cheered. It was pretty cool."

A Division I basketball future awaits for Lurken, who signed with Kent State in November. Until that time, however, Lurken plans to focus her energy on one thing that has eluded Park so far: helping the Wolfpack land their first state tournament berth.

"That's been my goal since I've been here," she said. "To do it this year would be amazing."

The feisty junior forward had three goals and an assist in an 8-3 victory over Centennial. Two days earlier, he scored twice in an 8-2 rout of Anoka. Cline leads the Bengals with 21 goals and 38 points.

The high-scoring junior forward scored seven goals in two victories last week, giving her hat tricks in three consecutive games. Schammel leads the state in scoring with 61 goals and 104 points in 25 games.

The senior captain leads a defense that has given up only 16 goals all season. She's added offensive punch this season with a defense-leading nine goals and had seven points in three games last week.

The Lions (16-4-2) are in the midst of the best season in team history. Thompson, a junior forward, was the offensive catalyst in three victories last week, scoring six goals and adding two assists.

The senior is peaking at the right time. She won the all-around in a dual-meet victory over Mounds View with a season-high score of 38.075 points, highlighted by a personal best 9.75 on the balance beam.

JIM PAULSEN