Was at Hamline's Hutton Arena for last night's 5:45 P.M. clash between the host Pipers and the visiting Cobbers from Concordia-Moorhead. I'm not sure but it felt like the Cobbers brought down the latest cold wave with them so it felt good to be in (very) warm Hutton last night.
Things would be close early on in this game. Hamline freshman sensation Jordan Sammons showed why she is likely the MIAC's FOY award-winner as she snared a rebound off of an errant Concordia shot and raced downcourt all the way; blazing past Concordia players for an easy lay-up and a quick 2-0 lead. The Pipers held a 4-2 lead after senior power forward Stephanie Rice nailed a jumper from the left wing at the 17:21 mark but Concordia junior guard Emily Thesing gave the crowd a preview of things to come later on as she nailed a "3" from the right wing at the 17:04 mark for a 5-4 Cobber lead. The lead would bob back and forth for a bit before the Cobbers went on their first mini-run starting at the 14:56 mark when freshman Alley Fisher drained a "3" from the top for a 10-8 Concordia lead. Fisher did an encore performance at the 13:09 mark from the same spot that pushed Concordia's lead to 13-8. The Cobbers were able to get their advantage to 16-10 by the 11:02 mark when lanky sophomore post Alexandra Lippert scored inside at the 11:02 mark but the Pipers came right back and were able to tie things at 16-all by the 8:57 mark.
Concordia began its second mini-run right afterwards as Thesing drained another "3" (still, just a preview of things to come later on) at the 7:56 mark and junior Tricia Sorenson did likewise from the left corner at the 7:07 mark. Hamline three-point specialist junior, Stephanie Pilgrim, momentarily stopped the Cobber push with her own "3" from the right corner at the 6:02 mark but Concordia was able to build their biggest lead of the game (so far) at the 2:47 mark when Lippert snared a rebound and got a putback and was fouled in the process. Her ensuing freebie put Concordia up 27-19 but again the Pipers responded just before the break. Rice drained a "3" from the right wing at the 2:20 mark and then Sammons showed her all-around versatility by doing the same from the top of the key at the 1:45 mark. Thesing drained yet another "3" from the left top with just :31 left but with :15 left Sammons again drained a "3" that trimmed the Concordia advantage to a scant two points at 30-28 going into the locker room at intermission and had the Pipers feeling good about themselves again.
But as Concordia Head Coach Jessica Rahman would explain to me afterward, she had to emphasize to her team at halftime that they needed to show that they wanted it more; that they needed to show that sense of urgency and that they were way too lethargic in the first half. Her squad responded - big time. After Sorenson hit two freebies at the 19:31 mark, Thesing drained ANOTHER "3" from the left top at the 18:48 mark. After inside buckets by both sophomore Erika Jossart and senior reserve post Andrea Benjamin, Sorenson and senior Mary-Michael Vance both drained "3's and by the 15:08 mark Concordia suddenly had a 45-30 lead that, for all intents and purposes, was the difference maker in this contest. But the Cobbers were far from finished in this one. Freshman Katelyn Holland knocked down a pair of "3's" at both the 14:41 and 11:58 mark that gave the Cobbers their biggest lead at 53-35.
Hamline, however, would ever so slowly began to try and creep back into this game. Pilgrim, who arguably had an off-night, was able to drain "3's" at the 13:04 and 9:09 marks and freshman Rachel Usgaard had a key rebound and putback that cut the Concordia advantage to 57-44 by the 6:46 mark. Rice connected with a jumper from the right top at the 5:01 mark and sophomore Je'Naya Brown knocked down a "3" from the left corner at the 3:55 mark that brought the Pipers to within ten at 59-49. By this time, Hamline was also employing a full-court press that was giving the Cobbers some problems but the leftovers from last year's MIAC Championship winners knew how to respond. Thesing drained a cold-blooded "3" from the top at the 3:00 mark that gave the Cobbers a 62-49 lead but Hamline would respond with one more push; thanks to the heroics of Sammons. She scored at the 2:42 mark and then got a steal and layup with 1:30 left on the clock. Another rare Concordia turnover saw Sammons race the other way for an uncontested lay-up that cut the Cobber advantage to a mere seven points at 62-55 but Concordia was already in the bonus by this time and knew the Pipers would have to foul to get the ball back. The Cobbers would be able to ice this thing away from the charity stripe when it counted and would be able to make the long bus ride back to Moorhead for the team (and Rahman) a lot more enjoyable as they took home a 67-59 win.
No comments:
Post a Comment