Was courtside at UST on this early Friday evening for the NCAA Tournament first round clashes; the 5:30 P.M. tilt featuring UW-River Falls out of the WIAC with an at-large bid and IIAC Championship Game winner Coe which had a magical run to the Elite 8 a mere year ago. This contest had the makings of a fun one to watch and it turned out to be just that - a fun one to watch.
The Kohawks got off to a good start in this one; building a 7-3 lead early on thanks to senior Kayla Waskow and her work inside but were unable to keep the Falcons at bay. Senior Tiffany Gregorich knocked down a jumper at the 16:42 mark to trim Coe's lead to 7-5 and the Falcons eventually knotted things up at 9-all by the 14:43 mark. UW-River Falls took its first lead of the game at the 14:17 mark when Tiffany Gregorich knocked down tow freebies after being fouled. Junior Lindsey Buckles connected with a short jumper at the 13:54 mark that enabled Coe to knot things up again at 11-all but the other half of Gregorich Sisters act, junior Brittany, went underneath the basket for a sweet reverse lay-up that again gave the Falcons a brief lead. But, just as before, that lead quickly went up in smoke as Kohawk junior Megan Hayes scored inside at the 9:47 and 8:13 marks that allowed Coe to not only regain the lead but to gain a bit of momentum coming down the stretch as the Kohawks gradually built up a slight cushion. After Falcon senior Alise Holst muscled her way inside for a score at the 4:09 mark that cut the Coe lead to 20-18, sophomore Mackenzie Reed knocked down two freebies at the 3:58 mark then Hayes was able to get inside for another score at the 3:08 mark. Two more baskets by Reed - a jumper at the 2:27 mark and another one in the lane with just under a minute left - sandwiched a jumper by senior Leslie Ware at the 1:46 mark that gave Coe a 30-20 lead and Waskow helped build the Coe lead to 32-20 with her score inside with just :13 left in the first half.
Coe looked to keep that momentum as the second half began but you knew the Falcons were not going to go quietly into the night. UW-River Falls struck quickly; going on a 12-4 run in the first 5 minutes of the second half punctuated by strong senior post Maranda Dohrn's work inside and Tiffany Gregorich's three-point prowess as the Kohawk lead was suddenly cut to a much more manageable 36-32 advantage. But this is an experienced Coe squad that has been in the pressure-cooker of NCAA Tournament games before and they responded calmly. Waskow manuevered her way inside to score at the 15:07 mark and then Reed again made her presence felt as she connected on a pretty turnaround jumper in the lane at the 14:00 minute mark and then scored inside at the 13:19 mark. Reed showed how versatile she really is as she drove along the baseline and finished at the 12:25 mark that built the Kohawk lead back up to nine points at 44-35. After Holst's two freebies at the 11:14 mark cut the Coe lead to 44-38, sophomore Hannah Breitbach's (younger sister of former Kohawk star and now assistant coach Kaitlin) "3" from the left wing once again built the Coe lead to nine at 47-38 with 10:55 left.
But, just as in the first half, UW-River Falls refused to fold as they slowly fought their way back. Tiffany Gregorich buried a "3" from the right top with 10:35 left. Two pairs of charity stripe shots - one from Holst and the other from Tiffany Gregorich - quickly cut the Coe lead to just 47-45 with 9:45 left - a mountain of time left. However, as they did earlier in this second half, the Kohawks kept their nerve and responded just when it looked as if they could be in real trouble. Waskow knocked down charity stripe shots at the 7:49 and 7:14 marks and Buckles did the same at the 6:49 mark. Then it was that young gal from Iowa City West; Reed, who again made a big splash. She made a strong drive inside and finish at the 6:21 mark and then connected with a short jumper at the 5:12 mark as the shot clock was winding down to give the Kohawks a ten-point cushion at 58-48. And this time, the Kohawks kept the choke hold on; not letting the Falcons get closer than seven coming down the home stretch. Both Waskow and Reed would finish this contest with 21 points a piece that enabled Coe to claim a tough 72-61 win; keeping their NCAA Tournament drive alive and ending the college careers of five fabulous UW-River Falls seniors: Tiffany Gregorich, Dohrn, Holst, Taylor House, Lauren Pellowski.
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