Made the trek over to the St. Paul side of town after I got home from work to catch my first scrimmage of the year between Anoka-Ramsey and Hamline; always interesting as it's not a match-up you would see on a regular basis and it's just the beginning of the 2012-13 season and it's exciting to get things going again. In any event, I got into Hutton Arena and got settled in right around the 17:20 mark of the 1st half with Hamline holding a 6-2 lead.
Hamline's lead didn't last long as sophomore Tacita Gonzalez made a drive and finish at the 16:34 mark and new freshman sharpshooter Nicole Schaub drained a "3" from the left wing at the 14:48 mark to give Anoka-Ramsey a 7-6 lead. At the same time, though, Anoka-Ramsey was looking quite out of synch on offense making several errors (and in turn making Head Coach David DeWitt's blood pressure rise even more) allowing the host Pipers to come right back and build a small lead. Junior Je'Naya Brown made a steal and finished with a lay-up the other way at the 14:17 mark and senior Cassidy Vogt scored inside at the 10:16 mark. But Anoka-Ramsey would counter with a jumper by sophomore Kelli Schramm from the left baseline at the 9:51 mark and fellow sophomore Erica Parker sank two free throws at the 7:50 mark which helped fuel a 6-0 run as Anoka-Ramsey found themselves with an 18-13 lead. The Golden Rams then would control things down the stretch before the break as Schaub buried another "3" from the left wing at the 2:35 mark. Vogt and sophomore Mackenzie Lee tried to cut the deficit with their buckets but another "3" by the Golden Rams with just :00.5 left on the clock allowed Anoka-Ramsey to hold a 30-22 lead by the break.
Anoka-Ramsey seemed to pick up right where they left off as the second half got underway. Schaub buried another "3" from the right wing this time as the Golden Rams enjoyed their biggest lead of the contest at 33-22 at the 18:40 mark. But just as things appeared to be rosy for the junior college visitors, Hamline made their decisive move to get themselves right back in the thick of things. A "3" at the 18:13 mark (not sure whom) and an unlikely "3" from Vogt from the left wing suddenly cut the Anoka-Ramsey lead to just 33-30 by the 16:59 mark. Then it was sophomore Jordan Sammons, on her first day back from soccer; looking like she was picking right up from where she left off last season who made lightning strike for the Pipers. She made a hard drive and finish at the 14:35 mark to cut the Anoka-Ramsey lead to 35-33 and after a "3" by one of the new Hamline players wearing #5 that gave the Pipers the lead back at 36-35 at the 13:14 mark, Sammons then knocked down two freebies after being fouled and then made another hard drive and finish at the 10:01 mark to help the Pipers reclaim the lead in this suddenly see-saw affair at 40-39. Schaub did bang home another one of her patented "3s" from the left wing at the 5:48 mark that did once again knot things up at 42-all but Hamline was in control from then on. Steph Pilgrim (a former Anoka-Ramsey great herself) may have had an off-day from a scoring standpoint but she still would play a pivotal role coming down the stretch to help seal the deal for the Pipers as she scored inside and was fouled in the process which, along with the obligatory freebie helped push the Hamline advantage to 46-42 by the 4:36 mark. A rebound and putback by Pilgrim at the 3:46 mark kept the lead at four by the 3:46 mark and Vogt was able to do the same with just under a minute left that pushed the lead to 50-44. A lay-up in transition by Vogt with just :20 left was the final nail in the coffin as Hamline prevailed 52-44 in the regular two 20 minute session.
The Pipers and Golden Rams did play an extra 20 minute continuous clock session as well which was controlled by Hamline. After Schaub knocked down two freebies after being fouled early on and an inside basket by Schramm Hamline was in control. Sammons snared a rebound and got a putback with 15:04 left and then Sammons did the same off a missed Hamline free throw that ballooned the Piper lead to 9-4 which did not sit well with Anoka-Ramsey's DeWitt who continually chastised his team for not being active on the boards the way they should be. Lee knocked down a "3" from the right wing for a 12-5 Hamline lead with 7:14 left and withstood a "3" from Anoka-Ramsey sophomore Cami Bauer with 4:19 left that narrowed Hamline's lead to 14-8. Bauer did make two free throws with scant seconds remaining but Hamline prevailed 14-10.
Afterward, Hamline Head Coach Kerri Stockwell admitted that there's still a lot of work to be done in terms of greasing the parts so to speak to help make this offense run more smoothly. Still she sees potential with this squad and it's easy to tell how much better Hamline can be with Sammons back in the mix. It had to be frustrating for DeWitt and assistant coach David Alto that the Golden Rams just did not appear to be all on the same page with the ball as turnovers and decision-making with the ball all plauged this team on this particular day. Still, I would not hit the panic button if I were DeWitt as his squads always find a way to have the engine fine-tuned once December rolls around. The Golden Rams will get their chance to get their house in order as they depart for Arizona on Wednesday to take on both Western Arizona and Mesa Community College so while the team may pack the sunblock you can be sure they'll be working hard once they land in the desert.
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