The 2012-13 season started for me as I was over at the Gangelhoff Center on the campus of Concordia St. Paul to catch this Thursday night clash between visiting Bethel and host Concordia St. Paul in this rare non-conference match-up. This game was originally scheduled for Saturday (11-17) but had to be moved due to the volleyball tournament there this weekend (and possibly also because I'm going to be heading out to Los Angeles tonight to attend tomorrow's UCLA-USC game as well; well, maybe anyway!).
The host Golden Bears quickly got on the board first as sophomore post Anika Whiting took a quick pass from junior teammate Rachel Hansen and then Hansen connected with a jumper along the left baseline at the 19:04 mark for a 4-0 lead. After Bethel senior point guard Kristi Nye-Studanski made a drive and finish at the 18:27 mark, the Golden Bears proceeded to go on a 9-0 run over the next four minutes before the bleeding was finally stopped by junior reserve guard Katelyn Vavra's two free throws at the 14:59 mark. Still the Golden Bears would take advantage of Bethel miscues and poor shooting as they opened up a seemingly prohibitve and safe lead at 21-6 by the 8:25 mark.
Somewhat ironically, though, BOTH teams went into a scoring funk over the next four minutes as neither side could capitalize on any opportunities. Finally, sophomore forward Amanda Barton took the cobwebs off the rims when she connected with a short jumper at the 4:36 mark to up the lead to 23-6. Bethel would score twice coming down the stretch: a transition finish by freshman forward Megan Brodeur and two more freebies by Vavra. Concordia St. Paul was able to get one more basket at the 1:33 mark when junior guard Carissa Wolyniec made a nice drive and finish for a 25-10 lead that the Golden Bears would take into the locker room at halftime. However, the stat sheet for both sides was on the Roseann Barr side - uh, rather U-G-L-Y. Bethel's FG percentage was an icy 11.1% including going 0-7 from three point range. For Concordia St. Paul, they shot only 36.4% from FG range and went 0-7 as well from behind the arc. You had to figure that Head Coach Paul Fessler gave his Golden Bears a good talking-to at the half.
The Golden Bears would get untracked somewhat in the opening minutes of the second half. After Nye-Studanski's bucket at the 19:42 mark cut the lead to 25-12, the Golden Bears utilized scores from both Whiting and Hansen over a three minute period to up the lead to 34-12 and it looked like Concordia St. Paul could put things in cruise control. However, I had the sensation throughout most of the second half that Bethel, if they just could have capitalized on opportunites they had, could have easily whittled the margin down to single points which would have dramatically changed the complexion of the game. In any event, with the Golden Bears up 38-15 at the 13:35 mark after a drive and finish by sophomore reserve guard Kika Greenlee, the Royals made a 5-0 push when junior forward Nicole Berscheid connected with a jumper at the 13:06 mark and Nye-Studanski banged home a "3" from the left top at the 12:12 mark and then Brodeur manuevered inside and finished at the 11:18 mark that whittled the Concordia St. Paul advantage down to 38-22.
But again, each time Bethel made a little push, they never could quite consolidate on opportunites given to them that allowed the Golden Bears to keep their MIAC opponents at bay. Whiting finished in transition at the 10:44 mark for a 40-22 lead and then Hansen connected with a short jumper in the lane at the 9:35 mark. Bethel senior forward Kelly Swenson, hounded by Hansen all night, had a rough night from a scoring standpoint but did get inside at the 7:10 mark for a score. Interestingly enough, it was Vavra who provided much of the offensive spark for Bethel in the second half as she nailed a "3" from the top of the key at the 5:53 mark and then connected with a jumper off the glass at the 4:35 mark. Vavra left her mark on this game with a steal and shot the other way with just twelve ticks on the clock but the Golden Bears would protect their home court on this night winning by a final score of 55-37.
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