Took a rare Friday night off from tennis practice and working out as (1) it was my birthday and (2) the Dragons from Moorhead State were in the Cities to take on the Concordia St. Paul Golden Bears which is always a good NSIC match-up despite the fact that both teams uncharacteristically were experiencing losing seasons and both on the lower-end of the totem pole in the NSIC.
In this game, it was the visiting Dragons that set the tone early and put the host Golden Bears behind the 8-ball from the get-go. Sophomore forward Morgan Zabel started things off with a lay-up at the 18:45 mark and the red-clad Dragons extended that lead to 5-0 by the 17:41 mark after a free throw by lanky senior post Angie Jetvig and two more by junior guard Kaycee Charette. Concordia St. Paul was simply colder than a rock from the perimeter early on and sophomore Haley Thomforde out of Eastview H.S. added to the Golden Bears woes when she made her presence known. A "3" at the "15:54 mark and then a drive and finish at the 14:06 mark plus a rebound and putback at the 13:39 mark had Moorhead State up 12-5. Freshman forward Anika Whiting temporarily stopped the bleeding for the Golden Bears at the 13:11 mark with a "3" from the right corner but another Moorhead State push fueled by tough work inside from strong sophomore forward Megan Strese and senior guard Brittany Mayclin upped the Dragon advantage to 23-10 by the 9:53 mark. Concordia St. Paul looked like they might cut into that advantage when freshman Tierra Bender cut the lead down to 23-13 but Thomforde and Mayclin continued their assault from the perimeter and upped the lead to 30-18 by the 5:58 mark. Coming down the stretch, Concordia St. Paul looked strangely out of synch; displaying no energy or intensity or willpower as the Moorhead State lead ballooned to 29-22 at the halftime break. Even Concordia St. Paul Head Coach Paul Fessler, well-known for his outbursts of temper that have resulted in numerous technical fouls in the past, was curiously quiet on the bench in this one.
In the second half, not a lot changed. Bender tried to get it going for the Bears as she nailed a "3" from the right top at the 18:52 mark but Strese quickly answered for the Dragons as they were dominant in the paint with a rebound and putback. Junior guard Marisa Yernatich got in on the act in the paint area as well as she scored inside at the 17:31 mark. Golden Bear sophomore sensation Rachel Hansen did nail a "3" at the 16:52 mark but again the Dragons would quickly respond. Jetvig connected with a turnaround jumper at the 15:47 mark and then scored inside and was fouled and made the obligatory freebie at the 14:43 mark. Another drive and finish by Jetvig at the 13:15 mark plus a drive and finish by Yernatich at the 12:39 mark helped the Dragons maintain a 20-point cushion. Moorhead State would maintain this comfortable cushion until late in the game when the Golden Bears would make a tardy push that would close the gap some. Senior forward Tori Lythjohan was the unexpected factor for the Bears in their late quest for an unexpected run. She connected from behind the arc at the top at the 3:57 mark and again at the 2:44 mark. Freshman Taylor Atkinson also unexpectedly contributed to this comeback attempt as well. She finished in transition at the 3:17 mark and also got a lay-up and was fouled in the process. Her free throw helped the Golden Bears slice the big Moorhead State advantage down to 74-63 by the 1:42 mark but it would not be nearly enough to come all the way back. The Dragons would milk the clock and clutch free throw shooting by Thomforde would help Moorhead State win this one by a final count of 77-65.
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