Was over at Bethel's Robertson Center to watch host Bethel take on visiting Carleton on this Wednesday night. Bethel was not only in the midst of a nice winning streak but they were starting to play very well. I also wanted to catch a glimpse of this young Carleton team now under the reigns of first-year head coach Cassie Kosiba who was a player on the Carleton squad nearly 10 years ago when they were just beginning to make a name for themselves.
Scottie Moats is developing into one of the better post players in the conference and she got things started off for the Royals when she finished inside off the glass for a quick 2-0 lead for the home team. Then, senior Shana Grejtak got it going as she made a nice move under the basket and finished with a reverse layup. Grejtak would do more damage inside and at the charity stripe and by the 17:07 mark Bethel was up 9-2. But the pesky Knights would soon cut into that lead. Freshman Emma Purfeerst sank one from the free throw line and fellow freshman Jenny Ramey finished a drive on the left side. Then, at the 15:23 mark sophomore Akemi Arzouman put in a layup and the Royals lead was now only 9-7. But the mini-run by Carleton would not prove to be daunting for the home team. Sophomore Alicia Montbriand sank a turnaround jumper at the 14:53 mark and just a bit later freshman reserve PG Michaela Petrich sank a "3" from the top which was then followed by a Montbriand "3" from the right corner at the 12:50 mark and the lead was now double digits for the Royals. While Grejtak continued to slash inside, sophomore Kelly Swenson took her cue at the 7:36 mark when she was fouled after a hard drive to the rack that allowed her to cash in with 2 shots from the charity stripe. The lead would then expand to 15 points when junior Taylor Sheley canned a "3" and a Grejtak drive inside a little over a minute later made it 30-13 Bethel. By this time, Kosiba had seen enough and had her Knights in a 2-3 zone to try and pack in the middle but even that didn't stop Grejtak from going inside or Sheley from slaying the visitors with her 3-point shooting.
Holding a 40-21 halftime lead, the Royals didn't let up. Moats scored inside off the glass at the 18:56 mark and Grejtak again flashed her speed and athleticism when she was fouled on the next Royal possession that allowed her to sink two freebies. Though Moats did pick up her third foul at the 17:24 mark, the Royals continued to pour it on as Sheley canned a "3" from the right corner that bloated the Bethel lead to 49-26. Holding a 55-35 lead at the 10:14 mark, Sheley again went to work as she canned yet another "3" from the exact same spot and then stole the ball a few seconds later from an unsuspecting Knight and was quickly fouled. Sheley made good on the obligatory free throws and Bethel was now up 62-35. Perhaps the only downer on this night for the Royals was Moats fouling out at the 4:15 mark. As good a player as she is, I think sometimes she lets her emotions get away from her and commits not so smart fouls. But with Bethel already up 72-39 by this point, the resulting damage was barely noticeable. Reserve senior Danielle Ruberg was able to fill in nicely down the stretch and the Royals would wind up winning big by a final count of 75-43.
It will be interesting to watch both teams as this season progresses. Bethel is slowly becoming a factor in the conference race and, if they can keep everyone healthy they can be very scary come mid/late-February. Kosiba obviously has a huge task ahead of her in rebuilding this once-proud program that was seemingly a fixture in the MIAC Championship game from 2001 to 2006. This is a very young team with really only one bona fide very good player in senior PG Ally Weaver from Iowa City West High. Can Kosiba recruit like her predecessor Tammy Metcalf-Filzen did? Certainly she has paid her dues as an assistant (unlike some head coaches I know) and she seems like a good fit for this program. She was there as a player when Carleton made its first runs back in '01 and '02 so she knows what it takes to win and she'll have the support of the many great fellow alums who have played there over the last decade. Time will tell.
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