Took in the contest over at the Leonard Center in St. Paul between host Macalester and visiting St. Kate's last night. While not one of the marquee match-ups in the MIAC on this night, it was still very much worth the watch and a reminder that even the lower-tier teams can be very, very dangerous on any given night.
The 'Cats would get off to a fairly fast start in this game; getting a 5-0 lead early on that was punctuated by promising FY player Kristen Lee's trey. Though always-dangerous Jessica Rene would sink a "3" of her own, St. Kate's would race to a 13-3 lead at the 16:08 mark before Macalester was able to slow the tide somewhat. Majra Mucic's layup cut St. Kate's lead to 13-7 at the 15:03 mark and a couple of minutes later Holly Schiedermayer made a couple of baskets that sandwiched the 'Cats Andrea Gould's bucket to cut St. Kate's lead to 15-13.
The 'Cats would then embark on another mini-run of their own; a nice 6-0 sprint that Gould finished for St. Kate's. But just when the 'Cats were feeling good about themselves again Jessica Rene stuck another dagger in the 'Cats heart with her long "3". Still, the Cats would recover enough to step on the gas again; this time with senior Sonja Ellingson doing a lot of damage with a "3" at the 7:43 mark that was followed shortly thereafter with a nice move along the baseline and a finish. Fellow senior Laura Kalbfell would soon score and be fouled as well. Although she couldn't convert from the charity stripe, the 'Cats had stretched the lead to a more comfortable 28-20 margin. St. Kate's would hold that advantage at the 2:59 mark thanks to Ellingson (again) and junior shooting guard Megan Zillmer. Coming down the stretch, Kalbfell's power move inside got St. Kate's its biggest lead of the night at 36-24 before the Scots Audrey Mills' basket would trim the 'Cats lead to 36-26 which is how things stood at the half. I thought Mac was somewhat fortunate to be down by only 10 at the half as it seemed as if St. Kate's didn't cash in on all the opportunities they had to expand their lead in that first half. The Rene Sisters were doing most of the damage for Macalester and they needed Mucic, Mills, and Kyanna Jones to step up for them. Obviously, Head Coach Ellen Thompson had to make some adjustments at the half.
Thompson and her Macalester squad would respond in the second half. Mucic and Jessica Rene both scored early and then at the 16:34 mark Mills' 10 footer cut the 'Cats lead to 37-32. You could just tell that Macalester suddenly looked energized and St. Kate's had that collective worried look on their faces. Their somewhat marginal shooting in the 1st half turned ice-cold in the second half from the perimeter. Perhaps even more important, they started looking VERY sloppy with taking care of the ball and committing turnovers. Sensing the 'Cats tentativeness, Macalester turned up the heat on defense bringing some half-court pressure that caused all sorts of problems for St. Kate's.
The 'Cats would manage to hold a 44-38 lead but at the 9:36 mark the Scots would make their charge. Shannon Rene's "3" from the left corner cut the 'Cats margin to 44-41 and 20 seconds later Holly Schidermayer would sink one free throw to cut it to 2 points. Then, at the 8:27 mark Mucic's rebound and putback would tie things up at 44 and it was all downhill for St. Kate's from that point on. Schiedermayer would put Mac ahead for good at the 7:41 mark and Mucic would continue her second-half tear with a "3" that got Macalester a 53-48 lead. Ellingson would manage to hit a late "3" for the Cats in a vain comeback attempt but the Scots were able to ice things away at the charity stripe and they closed the issue with a 58-51 win.
St. Kate's Head Coach Gary Rufsvold was obviously disappointed afterward with his team's performance; particularly in the second half. While the 'Cats shot a decent 45.7% in the first half, it was a dismal 20% in the second half and 3-point shooting was worse as the 'Cats were 4-19 from behind the arc. I thought Thompson made some very good adjustments at halftime and, just as important, Mac got a huge lift from Mucic who would finish with a career-high 22 points.
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