Started off this Saturday over at Macalester's Leonard Center to catch the clash between suddenly slumping Bethel and suddenly rising Macalester. This obviously looked to be a relatively even match-up but as this game progressed, the chinks in the Bethel armor became glaringly apparent.
Despite blowing a couple of scoring opportunities early on, Bethel did get off to a decent start. Sophomore post Scottie Moats scored inside at the 16:45 mark and cashed in on the free throw after being fouled. Shortly afterwards, junior Taylor Sheley knocked down a pair of freebies after being fouled and Bethel had a 7-2 lead. Unfortunately for the Royals, the good times didn't last. Junior Maggie Wood drove inside and finished at the 14:25 mark. Then, at the 13:10 mark, it was time for the Rene Sisters show as junior Shannon canned a "3" for a 9-all game. Moats would put Bethel back up briefly after she scored and was fouled but then steadily improving junior post Holly Schiedermayer put Mac back in front at 13-12 at the 10:34 mark.
After Mac had gone ahead 17-14, Sheley knocked down a "3" that once again tied things up. However, just when head coach John Herbrechtsmeyer may have thought he had things going again, Sheley went out with an ankle injury and although she returned in the second half she was clearly not the same. The game would bobble back and forth between the two teams for the next few minutes. Bethel held the lead at 28-27 when Shannon's twin sister Jessica canned a "3" from the left corner - and was fouled by Bethel senior Shana Grejtak in the process; a rare bad mistake by the senior. The resulting 4-point play put Mac in front 31-28 and although sophomore Kelly Swenson would cut the margin back to one point again before the half, the Scots clearly had momentum going their way.
The Royals would enjoy one last lead in the early going of the second half when Moats made two free throws at the 19:15 mark. But from thereout, Macalester would be in control. Bethel went into a 2-3 zone in the hope of choking off the middle but the Scots made easy work of it. The turning point seemed to have come at the 14:48 mark when Wood put down a pretty shot to give Macalester a 40-36 lead that she quickly followed up with another short shot that pushed the lead to 42-36. At the 12:01 mark, speedy sophomore Kyanna Jones out of Osseo High School manuevered on the baseline and finished for a 47-41 Scot lead. Schiedermayer finished down low a few moments later and then freshman Taylor Pike nailed a "3" from the left wing for a 52-41 Macalester lead at the 10:55 mark and Coach Herbie quickly called a timeout to try and get his team settled down.
Bethel would make one last run coming down the stretch when a dinged-up Sheley knocked down a "3" from the right corner that cut the Scots lead down to 6 points at the 1:35 mark. Swenson would also get a late "3" as well but Macalester was already in the process of icing this game away from the charity stripe which they did by a final count of 69-61. After a very good start to the new year by the Royals, they have suddenly fallen on tough times and injuries and other owwies have caught up with them. Besides Sheley's ankle, Swenson is also doing her best Jack Youngblood imitation by fighting through shin splints or a badly bruised leg bone. Grejtak was gracious enough to talk to me afterward and she admitted that this team needs to find a way to get its swagger back; that confidence back when they were in the midst of that 7-game winning streak that suddenly seems like a distant memory.
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