I found myself on this championship Saturday (not unexpectedly) back at Schoenecker Arena at the Anderson Athletic Complex on the campus of St. Thomas for the 2011 MIAC Championship Game between the host Tommies of UST ( the #1 seed) and the visiting Cobbers from Concordia (the #2 seed). Both squads had survived tough semi-final matchups at home against GAC and CSB, respectively, so the seedings had worked themselves out again. And even though the Tommies had home-court advantage in this clash, I just liked how this Concordia team had been playing since the first of the year and how they seemed to play together so well. Remember, Concordia had come down to St. Paul almost a month ago and knocked off the Tommies so that had to give them a shot of confidence coming into this game.
If so, it certainly showed early. Lanky 6'4" freshman post Alexandra Lippert, who has slowly been working out the chinks in her game, made her presence known early on as she not only scored inside at the 19:37 mark to get the Corn on the board first but also thwarted two Tommie possesions early on as she swatted away two shots early on as well. Then senior PG Erica Nord, one of the unquestioned leaders on the team, knocked down a "3" from the top of the key at the 17:36 mark and then a bit later senior wing Brittany Jossart swished a "3" from the left corner and quickly the maroon-clad Cobbers had laid a 8-0 hurt on the host Tommies that forced UST coach Ruth Sinn to burn a timeout in an effort to calm her team down and get the ship righted. But Concordia, as experienced as they are, refused to let go of the choke-hold they had on the Tommies and were able to build a ten point lead at the 13:20 mark after another Lippert score. Slowly, the Tommies were able to work themselves back into the game. Senior forward Jazmin Townsend who can put the fear of God into opponents with her defensive prowess scored at the 13:05 mark and then freshman sensation Taylor Young connected with a short jumper at the 12:25 mark to cut the Concordia lead to 14-8.
But the Cobbers would not break or bend and quickly built the lead back up to double digits. Nord canned two shots from the charity stripe at the 11:10 mark and then finished a transition opportunity with a lay-up at the 10:56 mark for a 20-8 Concordia lead. The Tommies would make a small push again that got a quick response from the determined Cobbers. Nord, playing perhaps one of the best games of her college career, snared the ball away from a Tommie and finished in transition at the 6:33 mark and Lippert scored inside again against a suddenly porous Tommie defense that got the lead back up to double digits. The Cobbers would enjoy this advantage and control the tempo as well coming down the stretch of the first half. The Cobber lead bulged to as many as 15 points when senior guard Lindsey Schultz canned one free throw at the 1:20 mark. UST would be able to make another mini-run very late thanks to Young's "3" from the top of the key and Townsend's short jumper to at least get the deficit back a somewhat more manageable 33-25 count at intermission but clearly Concordia was in control of this game and the Tommies would have to come out early in the second half to make a statement if they wanted to hang around in this one.
Lippert got the Cobber lead back up to ten points at the 18:55 mark when she scored off the glass but the Tommies finally were able to kick it into gear somewhat after they almost certainly got a dose of head coach Ruth Sinn's displeasure in the locker room during halftime. Young connected with a "3" at the 18:39 mark and then the MIAC's three-point Queen, Ali Johnson, did what she does best as she swished a "3" from the top of the key at the 17:46 mark and suddenly UST had cut the Concordia lead down to a scant four points at 35-31 and had grabbed some much-needed momentum - and new life - as well. Shortly afterward, junior PG Carolyn Dienhart scored on a lay-up and then Young hit a lay-up and was fouled as well by Cobber senior Maggie Bauernfeind. Young's subsequent free throw cut the Cobber lead down to 37-36 at the 16:00 mark. Is this where the Cobbers would finally wilt under pressure?
Uh uh. Reserve guard Emily Thesing calmly nailed a "3" of her own at the 15:22 mark to push the lead back up to four and despite UST hanging tough behind Young and senior post Rachel Booth scores, Concordia would slowly and surely regain control of this one. After Schultz made two charity stripe shots at the 11:42 mark, both Jossart and Bauernfeind would cash in from the same spot as well that got the Cobber lead back to 47-40. After UST was able to cut into that margin a bit, it was time for Jossart to stick a dagger in the hopes of Tommie fans as she scored inside at the 9:26 mark and repeated that same feat at the 8:43 mark tht pushed the lead to 51-43 in favor of the Corn. Then Nord hit one of her patented three-pointers at the 8:21 mark that got the lead to 54-43 and UST quickly found themselves back in the same hole they had been in for most of the first half.
The Cobbers, smelling blood, added to the carnage they were wreaking on the wilting Tommies. Nord connected with a "3" from the left corner at the 3:53 mark and then Schultz (who doesn't hardly even jump when she shoots) connected with a jumper at the 3:13 mark and, just like that, the Cobbers were up 61-48 and had the host Tommies on the ropes. From that point on, UST knew they had to foul to get the ball back and Concordia made them pay from the charity stripe. Both Townsend and Johnson hit meaningless "3's" in the waning seconds but Concordia had come out on top in this one, 71-61 and claimed their first MIAC Championship game in five years.
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