After Concordia's rout over host Augsburg I got back on the road and headed up to Arden Hills to catch what I could get of the Hamline vs Bethel game at Bethel's Robertson Center. I actually made pretty good time as I got there at the 4:47 mark of the first half and the host Royals holding a 25-19 lead.
Coming down the stretch before halftime, Bethel's willowy athletic sophomore Kelly Swenson threatened to steal the spotlight as she put on a pretty move at the 3:32 mark and finished and was fouled but couldn't knock down the charity stripe shot that held the Bethel lead to 28-21. Then, almost two minutes later Swenson countered a Hamline run that included a Kara Poirer jumper and a Nikki Klinck free throw with her own sweet turnaround jumper for a 30-24 Royal lead. Then Swenson herself would go to the charity stripe to knock down two freebies that effectively answered another Poirer/Klinck combo for Hamline and gave Bethel a 34-31 advantage going into the locker room.
It didn't take long after the intermission for Hamline to get their mojo back as senior post Mary Wilkowski put in a lay-up at 19:43 to trim the Bethel lead to a scant point. Then, at 17:47 junior guard Stephanie Robinson took a nice pass down low from Wilkowski and scored that put the Pipers in front 35-34. Despite Klinck picking up her 3rd foul at the 17:08 mark, the Pipers were neck and neck with the host team and Wilkowski would add to her totals at the 14:58 mark when she took a pass from Klinck and scored that put the tally in favor of the visitors 37-36.
Both teams would be in something of a drought the next four minutes until Bethel junior Taylor Sheley was finally able to take the lid off the Bethel basket with her lay-up that put the home team back up 38-37 but the lead didn't last long as Wilkowski again worked her magic off an inbounds pass and scored to put the Pipers back up 39-38. Although Swenson would go down briefly with what appeared to be a slight ankle tweak, she wasn't out long and both she and Wilkowski would put on a show over the next few possessions as the issue stayed tight. With Bethel holding a slim 47-45 lead, Robinson showed her prowess for a guard as she took an offensive rebound and followed with a putback that tied the game at 47 at the 3:20 mark.
But the beginning of the end for Hamline came just under the 2:00 mark when Klinck, trying to thwart a Bethel fast break, fouled Sheley in the process and picked up number 5 doing so which sent her to the pine. Though Wilkowski was able to score at the 1:36 mark that narrowed the Bethel lead to 52-51, Sheley on the following Bethel possession drove hard on the right side and scored that upped the Royal lead to 54-51. With a bit under a minute remaining, freshman Brianna Blackhawk was unable to finish a drive and fouled Swenson as she rebounded and was able to knock down two free throws. Sheley would get one free throw of her own that upped the Bethel lead to 57-53 and shortly after senior Shana Grejtak would get a steal and get fouled and put down two more freebies that would give Bethel a 59-53 lead. Still, Hamline refused to go away quietly as freshman Je'Naya Brown nailed a three from the top after she had made a lay-up that narrowed the Bethel lead to 60-58. But only precious few seconds remained and Hamline's only hope was to foul. They did and Sheley was able to knock down two more free throws that enabled Bethel to come out on top by a score on 62-58.
From looking at the stats, it appeared as if Bethel had to pick their poison, so to speak, when it came down to trying to stop one element of the Hamline offense. Although Wilkowski had another huge night from a scoring standpoint with 24 points, Jackie Kelly, who single-handedly torched that "mighty" Gustie "D" two nights before was strangely silent this night; finishing with only five points. This was my first look at Bethel this year and I'm not entirely sure what to think. No doubt Kelly Swenson, who may be one of the top two or three pure athletes in the MIAC, has taken her game to the next level. Still, this is a team that has a small margin for error and it's a little early yet, I think, to get an accurate read on them.
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