Was at the Butler Center last night to take in the MIAC opener between perennial powerhouse St. Ben's and host St. Kate's. Going in, I felt that St. Kate's could hang tough with CSB IF they did some things right and keep the turnovers to a minimum but also felt that CSB could waltz in this one if the 'Cats got down early. What a game I was in store for!
CSB admittedly looked rather flat and out of sorts at the beginning as the 'Cats were able to build a 12-4 lead by the 13:04 mark thanks to some smart plays by PG Quinn Halverson and shooting guard Megan Zillmer. Cold-shooting from the perimeter continued to plague the Blazers as things progressed and after Laura Kalbfell (who has adjusted nicely to her present post position) finished with a putback to push the 'Cats lead to 14-5 CSB Head Coach Mike Durbin had seen enough and called time-out to admonish his Blazers.
The "wood-shedding" seemed to have some effect as the Blazers responded with a 7-1 run that cut St. Kate's lead to 15-12 at the 6:58 mark with Amy Stifter and Heather Gillund doing most of the damage. But the 'Cats would respond with a 7-0 run of their own that got them back up to 19-12 thanks to Kalbfell's aggressiveness on both offense and defense. Not to be upstaged, the defending regular-season co-champ Blazers then responded with an 13-5 run down the home-stretch of the first half which was highlighted by sophomore Whitney Canton's (younger sister of senior Laura Canton) coast to coast trek that was punctuated with a buzzer-beating lay-up to give CSB a 25-24 lead at the half. Given the fact that St. Kate's had squandered several opportunities to expand on the leads they had earlier in the half, they let the Blazers methodically claw their way back in despite the fact they looked downright ragged at times.
The first five minutes of the second half saw both sides trading leads. At the 18:20 mark Zillmer broke inside with a pretty move and finished that put the 'Cats back out in front but then the Blazers got on a little mini-run of their own to reclaim the edge at 29-26. Both teams would trade punches over the next few minutes as things stayed close. Then, at the 12:38 mark with the 'Cats clinging to a 31-30 lead, Kalbfell made a great move inside on Gillund and finished off the glass that would start the 'Cats on an 8-2 run of sorts that found them up 39-32 at the 9:23 mark. CSB would then cut that deficit to a mere two points in just a little over a minute that made me think that the Blazers were ready to seize control as I anticipated.
But the 'Cats took the audience by surprise as they made a mighty push beginning at the 7:21 mark with freshman Kristen Lee's "3" from the top of the key. At the 6:26 mark another freshman, Cristin Haase got into the act with a "3" of her own. At 6:17 Zillmer was fouled and calmly drained two free throws and suddenly St. Kate's looked to have CSB in a very, very tough spot leading 47-37. But just when you thought that maybe, MAYBE the 'Cats might have it in them to pull off a huge upset at home things began to slowly unravel and the senior-laden and experienced Blazers would pounce on the opportunity.
CSB was able to cut the 'Cats lead to 47-42 on Gillund's nice move and finish inside. But perhaps the critical point of the game came at the 4:20 mark when, trying to recover a loose ball on the floor, 'Cat senior Sonja Ellingson was surrounded by a host of Blazers and, instead of calling a quick time-out tried desperately to hang on to the ball and get it to a teammate. Unfortunately for her and the 'Cats, she lost control and the Blazers quickly got downcourt and converted to cut St. Kate's lead to a tenuous 47-44 advantage. At the 3:24 mark, Stifter, showing why she is a valid MVP candidate, made a sweet drive inside to score and was fouled in the process. Her charity-strip finish knotted things up at 47-all. Zillmer would respond for St. Kate's on a nice drive and finish that gave her team their last lead at 49-47 at the 2:56 mark. Just a little more than a minute later, Stifter again made her move inside to score that knotted the issue at 49. At exactly the 1:00 mark sophomore Morgan Dale stuck a dagger in St. Kate's back with a "3" of her own to give the Blazers a 52-49 lead. Still, the 'Cats wouldn't quit. Ellingson's heroics knotted the game at 52-all with :35.8 seconds left. Then, at the :19.7 mark and CSB in possession of the ball the referees made a VERY strange reversal of a call that was originally whistled against CSB and was later changed to go against St. Kate's (I STILL have not received ANY clarification of this one and how/why this was done). The subsequent free throws by senior Laura Canton put CSB back up 54-52 and the Blazers would be able to ice the game from the charity strip to come out on top of this one 57-52.
I thought CSB did a great job of keeping their composure when St. Kate's had them in seemingly dire straits. When I chatted with Mike Durbin afterward, he admitted his team did not bring their "A" game into this one and seemed to lack that "sense of urgency" at times. In short - quite ragged. But again, the Blazers showed what they're made of when it counted and FOUND ways to win which is exactly what championship teams do. You had to feel badly for the 'Cats afterward as they seemingly were in position to steal this one at home. I sensed the disappointment from Head Coach Gary Rufsvold whose team AGAIN put up a great effort against CSB for the third time in a row but came up just a bit short. While I still feel they can compete for that sixth playoff spot, the 'Cats have GOT to find ways to close things out against the top teams if they want to make that move into the upper echelon.
Not entirely sure how this coming weekend is going to work out for sure. I WAS planning to go to the scheduled Finlandia - Northwestern game tomorrow night but the impending winter storm approaching could easily scuttle those plans. Am still planning to be at Hopkins H.S. Saturday for the Breakdown Event there as several top teams will be there. Of course, for me anyway, the REALLY big event this weekend is Saturday night at the Rose Bowl when my UCLA Bruins host those rotten classless Trojan scumbags from South Central. UCLA Fight Fight Fight!!!!!!
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