Made the trip down U.S. Highway 169 and UP's "Omaha Route" mainline to St. Peter to take in the UST - Gustavus on this Saturday. This was a huge game for both squads; particularly for GAC which was playing well at the moment and had a huge opportunity to make an upward move in the MIAC and a statement as well with the playoffs looming around the corner. Unfortunately for the Gusties, it was the visiting Tommies who did most of the talking - and pushing around as well.
The beginning of this game was particularly ominious for GAC as the Tommies quickly got out of the gate and opened up a 7-0 lead before the Gusties knew what hit them. UST senior post Rachel Booth knocked down a "3" from the top of the key to get things going and freshman sensation Taylor Young did damage down low early on as well (a sign of things to come). Eventually, the Gusties would awaken and make things interesting. Sophomore post Abby Rothenbuehler got the Gusties on the board at the 16:06 mark and slowly cut their way into the Tommie advantage. After Booth's power move and finish inside had the purple-clad Tommies up 12-4 at the 12:41 mark, the Gusties went to work. Sophomore Kelsey Florian hit two freebies after being fouled then senior post Molly Mathiowetz got a layup at the 11:32 mark. Then junior guard Ava Perry knocked down a jumper that got the home team to within two points trailing just 12-10. The Tommies would hold that slight advantage over the next few minutes but Gustavus would even things up at 17 a piece on Rothenbuehler's layup at the 6:44 mark. The game would be tied again at 21 on another score by Rothenbuehler at the 4:47 mark. The Gusties finally took their first (and only) lead of the contest when junior Molly Geske drained a "3" from the right wing at the 4:20 mark and it looked like - at that point anyway - that the Gusties were ready to seize the moment.
But, as Lee Corso from ESPN's College Gameday would say, "Not so fast my friend." Freshman Maggie Weiers got the Tommies to within one when she scored off the glass at the 4:02 mark and junior forward Sarah Smith was able to score inside at the 3:37 mark to help UST regain the lead. Smith then scored again at the 2:59 mark and was fouled in the process that, with the obligatory FT shot, put the Tommies back up by four at 28-24. Despite Perry's second three-pointer at the 2:08 mark, the real telling point in this game came right before the buzzer when junior PG Carolyn Dienhart stole the ball from the Gusties and went coast to coast for the finish with just :02 left on the clock before the intermission and a 32-27 UST lead that really gave the Tommies a breath of fresh air going into the locker room and quite likely burst whatever momentum GAC THOUGHT they had.
Still, early on in the second half the Gusties would remain right in the thick of things. Despite senior post Rachel Booth's finish inside to start things and up the Tommie ante to 34-27, Mathiowetz got two scores inside then Florian hit a "3" from the left wing to cut the Tommie advantage to 36-34. But from that point on the Tommies would grab on to the momentum and simply not let go. Young, who would go on a TEAR in the second half, finished inside at the 15:07 mark and also sank a free throw a bit later. Then Smith (perhaps one of the more underrated and under-appreciated players in the MIAC) piled through the porous Gustie "D" twice in a one minute span to finish inside to bulge the UST lead back up to nine points that really set the tone for the rest of the game. The Gusties would whittle down the UST lead to four points twice and got it down to three points at the 5:07 mark when Rothenbuehler hit a "3" to make the score 51-48 in favor of the purple. But each time the Gusties threatened, UST responded. Senior forward Jazmin Townsend, who has had a marvelous career as a Tommie, nailed a "3" from the left corner (eerily similar to the one she sank in the playoff semifinal last year that did in the Gusties) and sophomore guard Kellie Ring sank two pairs of charity stripe shots that once again pushed the lead back up to nine and gave UST the cushion it needed to close things out 65-58.
There was no doubt in my mind after this one that UST had clearly established itself as the best team in the conference. Although there obviously were games left on the schedule plus the playoffs as well UST made a statement that they would be very, very tough to beat and had the ability to get physical and overpower opponents in order to do so. And Young showed why she's probably the Freshman of the Year as she had a monster second half. The one thing that really left me scratching my head from a GAC standpoint is why in the HELL did the Gusties seem so hell-bent on trying to work it inside against a bigger, stronger team. It didn't work and, worse yet, they didn't seem to be able to kick it out to the open shooters on the perimeter when the Tommies sagged down low on them. Then, when they did - late in the game - it was too late.
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