After going over a week without taking in any action (mainly thanks to Tsnownami 2010 the previous weekend) I headed over to the Butler Center on the campus of St. Kate's as the Wildcats prepared to host Valley City State; an interesting match-up between the MIAC and Dakota Athletic Conference (NAIA). Upon watching the teams warm-up prior to the tip-off, I noticed that the 'Cats were without three players for one reason or another; notably both starter Kristen Lee (ankle) and back-up post Andrea Gould (Nichole Kesgard was also MIA).
Perhaps the very beginning of this game should have been a clear indicator that this was not to be St. Kate's day; a snafu with the national anthem, a botched tip-off by both teams, and the referees stopping the game twice within the first 30 seconds of the contest due to troubles with the shot clock were a foreboding sign for the 'Cats. Still, sophomore Adele Simerson-Wallfred, starting in place of the injured Lee, got the Cats off to a 2-0 start. But VCSU's Kristin Bearstail, coming off an explosive 37-point performance against UM-Morris the night before in a thrilling double OT win, canned a "3" to put the Vikings up 3-2. But the 'Cats senior star Laura Kalbfell would quickly respond with a "3" of her own to put the home team back up 5-3. Fellow senior Quin Halverson would follow suit at the 16:34 mark and the 'Cats looked like they were in good shape in the early stages.
After both teams traded baskets, junior shooting guard Megan Zillmer was on the receiving end of a fast break pass and got the lay-up for a 12-7 St. Kate's lead. A bit later, Simerson-Wallfred scored off of an offensive rebound and was fouled but couldn't convert from the charity stripe, but did give St. Kate's a 14-7 lead at the 14:18 mark. But VCSU would start to climb back into things from that point. After freshman Brittany Lehner's short jumper, 5'9" senior Mandy Johnson's short shot pulled the Vikings to within 3 at the 14:02 mark. Junior Mandi Bindas' two free throws pulled VCSU to within 1 before Kalbfell was able to stem the tide with her jumper for a 16-13 'Cat lead. Zillmer would can two freebies of her own at the 11:09 mark that pushed St. Kate's lead back up to 5 points at 18-13. But just when the 'Cats LOOKED like they might be in good shape VCSU methodically went to work and tied things up at 18-all at about the midway point of the first half. VCSU took a brief 20-18 lead on senior Jacklyn Mitchell's shot before the 'Cats were able to muster one more push that allowed them to get a 23-20 lead.
But the wheels were slowly falling off for St. Kate's as this first half progressed; particularly in the form of missed EASY short shots and layups; simply NOT finishing. What little fire the 'Cats may have had early on slowly faded and, once again, VCSU was able to claw back; tying things up at 23-all at the 4:52 mark and then proceeded to go on a 8-2 run in the closing minutes of the first half giving the Vikings not only a 31-25 halftime lead but a shot of confidence after going through an exhaustive game the night before - both mentally and physically.
Things would only get worse for St. Kate's in the second half. Johnson got the show started off for VCSU as she cooly canned two freebies from the charity stripe. Despite senior Sonja Ellingson's "3" at the 15:04 mark, the 'Cats were simply colder than a rock from any and all points on the floor. Even more discouraging for Head Coach Gary Rufsvold, the plethora of missed free throws, short shots and lay-ups; i.e. NOT FINISHING, would continue to rear their ugly head. But perhaps the moment that would extinguish any wisp of hope for St. Kate's would come at the 13:17 mark when Kalbfell made a strong move inside and scored and was fouled - or at least pretty much everyone inside the Butler Center (including me) thought so. The officials, however, had different ideas and instead called Kalbfell for charging. A horrible call, IMHO, but the Vikings took full advantage of the Metrodome-like deflating effect it had on the 'Cats. Bindas' layup got VCSU to 39-30 and senior Caitlyn Wojahn's "3" from the right wing pushed the Vikings advantage to 42-30. Lehner followed with a short shot soon after and suddenly St. Kate's found itself down by 14.
Predicatably, a downtrodden 'Cat team would not be able to fight back in this one. VCSU pushed their advantage to 20 points on Lehner's two freebies at the 6:42 mark and they would maintain that cushion enroute to a seemingly easy 71-49 win at the bell. You have to be impressed with this VCSU squad that not only knocked off UM-M the night before but also has an earlier win under their belts against St. Cloud State. Mitchell, Bearstail, Johnson, and Wojahn are all very good players and VCSU could be in store for some very good things after the first of the year. St. Kate's, meanwhile, not only has to get healthy again but has to be clicking on all cylinders and taking full advantage when opportunities present themselves. They CANNOT afford to not being able to FINISH on easy shots if they want to snare that sixth MIAC playoff spot. The conference is simply too competitive and close this year.
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