A busy night Wednesday evening at the Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League with a ton of good games to take in:
6:15 PM Games
Beavs - 65
Hammies - 61
Blue Devils - 56
GAC Alumni - 55
GAC Black - 58
Alumni - 49
Auggies - 57
Washed-Up Warriors - 50
7:10 PM Games
Swish - 53
Wash-Ups - 49
Arden Hills - 46
Rusty Buckets - 42
Beavs - 80
GAC Gold - 63
St. Olaf - 58
She Got Game - 56
8:05 PM Games
Sara's Shooters - 77
Anoka-Ramsey - 44
CSB - 49
MN-NYCE - 42
Curry Crew - 82
Scrubs - 66
St. Kate's - 59
Baddies Elite - 51
Over on Court 1 in the 6:15 PM slot, the Hammies team was taking on the Beavs team in something of a MIAC/NSIC clash. The Beavs team would get a 7-3 lead by the 6:00 mark of the opening period but that lead would soon be down to a scant point at 7-6 near the midway point. Things would stay tight down the stretch and by the end of the first period, the Beavs team was holding onto a 17-15 advantage. The Beavs team would manage to open up a bit more breathing room once the second period got underway and by the midway point, they had established a 24-19 lead. But a stubborn Hammies team was not going away anytime soon and by the halftime break, they had closed to within a single possession down 29-27. Once the third period got underway, the Beavs team shifted gears and got on a key 12-2 run to open up a 41-29 lead by the 6:10 mark and by the end of the third period, the Beavs team had an even bigger cushion up 53-38. The Hammies team would try and erase some of this cushion once the fourth period got underway as they cut the deficit to twelve at 56-44 by the 6:05 mark but things still looked dim with the Beavs team holding a 61-48 advantage near the midway point. Coming down the stretch, the Hammies team found one last run in them and they were able to cut the deficit down to four at 65-61 with under a minute left but could not get any closer as the Beavs team held on for the narrow victory.........One of the more exciting games of this night took place over on Court 2 in this time slot that saw the Blue Devils team taking on the GAC Alumni team although you wouldn't have guessed it at the beginning as the Blue Devils team sprinted out to a 6-1 lead by the 6:20 mark of the opening period and grew that lead to 12-1 with 3:50 left. The GAC Alumni team finally found some semblance of offense down the stretch but were still on the wrong end of a 21-7 score at the end of the first period. But the GAC Alumni team quickly made up for earlier transgressions once the second period got underway as they slyly cut into the Blue Devils team advantage and by the midway point, they had cut the deficit down to five at 25-20. With 3:15 left, the Blue Devils team saw their lead shrink to four at 27-23 and they would at least maintain this four-point edge down the stretch to hold a 30-26 advantage by the halftime break. But the GAC Alumni team was riding on newfound momentum once the third period was underway and by the 8:15 mark, they had cut the deficit down to a scant point at 32-31 and near the midway point, the GAC Alumni team finally got this game leveled at 36 a piece. With 1:20 left in the third period, the GAC Alumni team forged ahead at 42-40 thanks to a three-point bomb by Anna Sanders (GAC '23) but the Blue Devils team would at least get this game tied up again at 42 a piece by the end of the third period. The GAC Alumni team appeared to have a head of steam as they built a 49-44 lead by the 7:25 mark of the fourth period but a resourceful Blue Devils team would come right back and retake the lead at 51-49 near the midway point. Nip and tuck and back and forth could best describe things coming down the stretch in regulation with the Blue Devils team nursing a 53-52 advantage 2:25 left. With 1:15 left, the GAC Alumni team got this game knotted again at 55 a piece. Then, with :09 left in regulation, a foul would be called on the GAC Alumni team and the Blue Devils team got the front-end of the "one and one" to go down to inch ahead 56-55 and although the back-end attempt was errant, the Blue Devils team secured the offensive rebound to secure the narrow victory in a very exciting and fun game.........Another good game was ensuing over on Court 3 during this timeslot between the GAC Black team and the Alumni team. The GAC Black team would jump out in front by a 6-2 count at the 7:05 mark of the opening period but the Alumni team would come back strong and grab a 12-9 lead with 3:25 left. That was quickly answered by the GAC Black team as they would finish off this first period with a 7-0 run to hold a 16-12 lead by the end of the first period. Not to be outdone, the Alumni team would come back to take a 19-18 lead by the 6:40 mark of the second period and they would establish a bit more breathing room with a 26-21 advantage with 1:50 left. A 4-0 push in the final stages of the second period had the Alumni team in good shape with a 30-21 lead by the halftime break. However, a 5-0 burst by the GAC Black team at the beginning of the third period cut the Alumni team's lead down to 30-26 by the 9:05 mark and the GAC Black team would follow that up with a 12-6 run that had them up 38-36 with 3:38 left. By the end of the third period, the GAC Black team had a bit more breathing room with a 44-40 advantage. The GAC Black team would expand its lead to 49-42 by the 8:50 mark of the fourth period but they would have to withstand a comeback attempt by the Alumni team as they managed to crawl back to within a single possession down 50-47 with 4:30 left in regulation. However, the GAC Black team held firm when they had to as they would be up 52-47 with 1:45 left and they got out of Dodge with the dub..........Meanwhile, an interesting clash was ensuing over on Court 4 between the Auggies team and the Washed-Up Warriors team. This contest would be leveled at three a piece at the 8:25 mark of the first period and things would stay close as the Washed-Up Warriors team would hold a slim 11-10 advantage with 3:30 left but the Auggies team would come back and find themselves up 15-14 by the end of the first period. The Auggies team then started taking control of this game as they would build a 25-16 lead by the 6:20 mark of the second period and would still be in control of things with 1:35 left with a 27-20 lead. By the halftime break, the Auggies team was holding a somewhat surprising 29-20 advantage. The Auggies team would proceed to put more separation between themselves and their opponent as their lead would grow to 42-29 with 2:55 left in the third period and they would be enjoying a nice cushion with a 48-34 lead by the end of the third period. The Washed-Up Warriors team would make a valiant comeback attempt once the fourth period got underway and with 2:55 left, they managed to cut the deficit to seven down 55-48 but could not get any closer than that as the Auggies team pulled out a good win for them.
Games in the 7:10 PM slot certainly didn't disappoint either. Over on Court 1, a pair of alumni/mixed teams were going at it as the Wash-Ups team took on the Swish team. The Swish team would grab the upper hand in this contest early on; building a 14-9 lead by the midway point of the opening period and growing that lead to 17-9 with 4:20 left. By the end of the first period, the Swish team already had a double-digit cushion with a 28-13 advantage. Not much would change once the second period got underway as the Swish team would be up 37-24 with 4:00 left and by the halftime break, the Swish team appeared to be cruising with a 42-26 advantage. And the Swish team still appeared to be in full control of things near the midway point of the third period with a 44-31 lead but the Wash-Ups team would slyly start picking away at this cushion and by the end of the third period, the Swish team's lead had been cut to eleven at 47-36. With newfound momentum, the Wash-Ups team started to make significant inroads on this deficit once the fourth period got underway and by the 6:55 mark, the Swish team's lead had been cut to five at 49-44 and they would be clinging to this same lead near the midway point. With 2:20 left in regulation, the Wash-Ups team cut the deficit to four down 53-49 but they could never get closer than that as the Swish team held on for dear life and the narrow victory...........Yet another tight affair was ensuing over on Court 2 between the Rusty Buckets team and the Arden Hills team. The Rusty Buckets team would be clinging to a 5-3 advantage near the midway point of the first period and they would still be up a possession at 8-6 with 1:30 left and they would be holding this same 8-6 lead by the end of the first period. Both teams started opening up on offense once the second period got underway and that allowed the Arden Hills team to grab a 14-12 lead by the 8:20 mark. Undeterred, the Rusty Buckets team would flip the script and grab a 21-19 lead near the midway point and they would get a bit more breathing room with a 25-21 lead with 1:20 left. But that lead would be short-lived as the Arden Hills team found new life and was able to forge a 25-25 tie by the halftime break. Defense would center stage once the third period got underway as the Arden Hills team would own a a slim 27-25 advantage at the 6:05 mark and that score would stand at the midway point. The Rusty Buckets team would find a spark and retake the lead at 29-27 with 3:05 left but once again the Arden Hills team would come back and grab the upper hand and a 33-31 lead by the end of the third period. Somewhat fittingly, this contest would be leveled at 35 a piece at the 6:50 mark of the fourth period and with things hanging in the balance coming down the stretch of regulation, the Arden Hills team would again find a way to grab the upper hand as they would hold a 39-36 lead with 3:30 left and although the Rusty Buckets team had a glimmer of hope down just 43-42 with 1:05 left in regulation, they were unable to stem the tide as the Arden Hills team earned the tough win...........Over on Court 3 in the 7:10 PM slot, the Beavs team; doing double-duty on this night, took on the GAC Gold team. This one initially looked like it could be a nail-biter as well as the contest would be knotted at six a piece at the 7:05 mark of the opening period and near the midway point, this game would still be tied at 13-all. The GAC Gold team would get a spark and grab a 17-13 advantage with 1:10 left but the Beavs team would close this first period out very strong with a 7-2 run to own a 20-19 lead. The Beavs team slowly but surely started taking over this game once the second period got underway as they would hold a 28-23 advantage near the midway point and they would up that lead to 30-23 with 3:10 left. The Beavs team was able to maintain this cushion down the stretch as they would own a 36-29 lead by the halftime break. The Beavs team would build a double-digit cushion once the third period was underway as they would enjoy a 48-36 advantage at the 7:05 mark and they would still have a ten-point cushion up 50-40 near the midway point. The Beavs team would increase its lead to 55-41 with 1:45 left and still enjoyed a 57-46 lead by the end of the third period. The Beavs team would maintain this cushion once the fourth period got underway as they would hold a 62-51 lead at the 6:20 mark and had things in cruise control the rest of the way for a relatively easy win.........Still another wild affair was going on over on Court 4 in this time slot as the She Got Game team was taking on the St. Olaf team. The St. Olaf team couldn't have asked for a better start in this one as they would find themselves up 7-0 at the 7:05 mark of the opening period. But that was quickly wiped away by the She Got game team as they would launch an 11-3 burst to hold an 11-10 lead with 1:40 left and they would up that lead to 13-10 by the end of the first period. The She Got Game team would increase its lead to 19-14 by the 6:10 mark of the second period but just when they appeared to be taking control of things, the St. Olaf team would get on a burst and cut the deficit down to a single possession at 25-23 with 1:40 left. The St. Olaf team would then consolidate this run and find themselves up 26-25 by the halftime break. The St. Olaf team would still hold the upper hand with a 31-28 lead at the 8:15 mark of the third period and it would still be a one-possession game with the St. Olaf team up 35-33 near the midway point. The She Got Game team would finally forge a 38-38 tie with 2:25 left but the St. Olaf team would find another gear with a 6-3 push that had them up 44-41 by the end of the third period. Undeterred, the She Got Game team would launch another bid to try and take control of things as they would get a 52-49 lead near the midway point of the fourth period but somehow, you knew that wouldn't last long and sure enough, the St. Olaf team got this contest leveled again at 54 a piece with 3:20 left in regulation. With both sides refusing to concede an inch, the St. Olaf team was able to grab a 58-56 lead with exactly 1:00 left in regulation and although the She Got Game team had chances in the final minute, the St. Olaf team managed to hold on for a thrilling win.
Inevitably, you do get some blowout games from time to time and such was the case in the 8:05 PM slot over on Court 1 that had the Anoka-Ramsey team taking on the Sara's Shooters team. The Sara's Shooters team would get a 5-2 advantage by the 7:25 mark of the opening period and would get that lead to 17-8 with 2:50 left. Still, the Anoka-Ramsey team was able to trim the deficit down to six at 20-14 by the end of the first period. From there on, however, things quickly went to hell in a handbasket for the Anoka-Ramsey team as the Sara's Shooters team started getting more separation once the second was underway. By the midway point, the Sara's Shooters team was enjoying a 33-18 lead and they would up that lead to 44-23 by the halftime break. The Sara's Shooters team would continue to grow its lead once the third period was underway as they would be up 49-25 at the 7:25 mark and with 3:20 left, the Sara's Shooters team's lead ballooned to 55-28 and by the end of the third period, the Sara's Shooters team was enjoying a cozy 59-32 advantage. The writing had long since been on the wall with 3:10 left in regulation with the Sara's Shooters team having things in cruise control with a 70-41 lead as they romped to an easy win.........A much tighter contest was taking place over on Court 2 in the 8:05 PM slot with the MN-NYCE team taking on the CSB team. The CSB team would get off to a solid start in this one; getting a 4-1 lead by the 6:30 mark of the opening period and padding that lead a bit at 10-6 with 3:15 left. By the end of the first period, the CSB team had established a six-point cushion at 14-8. The CSB team was able to maintain this cushion as the second period got underway as they would be up 23-17 near the midway point and they would enjoy a 28-22 advantage by the halftime break. The CSB team still had things going their way once the third period was underway as they would enjoy a 31-24 advantage at the 6:50 mark but it was here where the MN-NYCE team finally was able to make a move as they were able to reduce the deficit down to four near the midway point and with 4:10 left, the CSB team saw their lead cut to a scant point at 31-30. The CSB team, however, did not falter and re-established some breathing room with a 36-30 lead with 1:45 left and they were able to maintain this six-point edge with a 38-32 lead by the end of the third period. The CSB team was able to get things in gear again once the fourth period got underway as they got their lead to 42-33 by the 8:15 mark and although the MN-NYCE team made one last bid and cut the deficit to six at 44-38 with 4:35 left in regulation, they could never get any closer as the CSB team got the dub on this night.......Over on Court 3, an interesting match-up was taking place between the Scrubs team with a former standout from my alma mater, Iowa, in Monika Czinano (Iowa '23) and the Curry Crew team. The Scrubs team would get off to a good start in this one; getting a 9-5 lead by the midway point of the opening period but the Curry Crew team would get this game leveled at 11 a piece with 3:55 left. The Curry Crew team would then forge ahead at 21-15 with 1:10 left and they were able to maintain this six-point edge at 23-17 by the end of the first period. The Curry Crew team would increase its lead to 31-23 by the 6:10 mark of the second period and they would maintain this eight-point edge at 34-26 near the midway point. The Curry Crew team would then up its lead to double-digits at 40-28 with 2:50 left and by the halftime break, the Curry Crew team was enjoying a 47-31 advantage. The Scrubs team would manage to get the deficit reduced to ten at 49-39 by the 6:40 mark of the third period but they were unable to sustain this momentum as the Curry Crew team got their lead to 53-41 near the midway point and the Curry Crew team was able to stretch their lead to 62-46 with 1:40 left. By the end of the third period, the Curry Crew team was sitting on a comfortable 66-50 advantage. The Curry Crew team would be in firm control once the fourth period was underway with a 72-53 lead at the 7:55 mark and they would still enjoy a 74-60 advantage near the midway point. The Scrubs team would make one last-ditch effort down the stretch of regulation and would briefly get the deficit down to single-digits at 74-65 with 2:05 left but ran out of gas after that as the Curry Crew rolled to an easy win.........Another interesting contest was going down over on Court 4 between the Baddies Elite team and the St. Kate's team. The Baddies Elite team got off to a great start in this one; bolting out to an 11-2 lead by the midway point of the opening period and still enjoying an 11-5 advantage with 1:10 left. However, the St. Kate's team awoke from its prolonged slumber and ripped off a 5-0 spurt to close the gap to just one at 11-10 by the end of the first period. Once the second period got underway, the St. Kate's team clearly had momentum on its side as they forged a 17-14 lead by the 7:10 mark. Things would continue to stay tight, however, with the St. Kate's team holding onto a 26-24 lead with 2:10 left. However, the St. Kate's team would make the most of the last two minutes as they launched an 8-2 burst that had them up 34-26 by the halftime break. The St. Kate's team would maintain this eight-point edge at 38-30 near the midway point of the third period but then the St. Kate's team would find another gear and go on an 11-2 tear that had them up 49-32 by the end of the third period. The Baddies Elite team would desperately try to get back into this game once the fourth period was underway as they got the deficit down to twelve at 52-40 by the 6:20 mark and with 3:55 left in regulation, the Baddies Elite team had the deficit down to eleven at 55-44. The Baddies Elite team would finally get into single-digit range in the waning moments but bringing this one back would be a bridge too far for them as the St. Kate's team got a good win on this night.
Another big week of games coming up this next Wednesday evening so make sure you get down to the Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League to catch all the action!