Made the trip up to Fargo-Moorhead on Friday night after work to take in yesterday's MIAC Championship Game between UST and host Concordia. Although I've been to the area several times, this was my very first visit to Concordia's Memorial Auditorium and it's quite a place. I got myself settled in almost an hour before tipoff that gave me a chance to chat with a few of the coaches and parents of both teams beforehand which was pretty cool.
I have to admit that I was really looking forward to this titanic matchup simply because both teams appeared to be peaking at just the right time. UST, which had been riddled with injuries back in January and lost up here the last time they came up, now was healthy and rolling right along. The Cobbers were doing the same and have historically been so incredibly tough to beat at home. So it was tough for me to get a real "feel" for this game one way or the other. I knew it would be close (it was) and would probably come down to defense and taking care of the rock in the critical home stretch (it did) but you could easily make an argument for either team asserting its strengths to come out on top at the end.
Things were tight as expected in the opening minutes with neither side being able to gain a noticeable advantage. Concordia got a 4-0 lead early on thanks to senior Tricia Sorensen's jumper from the right baseline at the 18:29 mark and sophomore Alley Fisher's two free throws at the 18:03 mark. Senior guard Emily Thesing, who had a monster first half, would push that lead to 6-2 with her jumper just inside the arc from the right top area at the 17:16 mark but Tommie senior point guard Kellie Ring would pull her team to withing one with her "3" from the left top area at the 16:56 mark. Ring would connect with yet another "3" at the 14:54 mark from the right wing that gave UST a 10-8 lead but then Thesing made good on a lay-up cutting through considerable traffic on the way to knot the issue at 10-all. UST would then gain a slight edge over the next few minutes. Withstanding a three point bomb by Thesing at the 13:21 mark, sophomore guard Jen Dockter scored on a lay-up and was fouled in the process. She missed the obligatory freebie but junior teammate Kelly Brandenburg got herself positioned just right for an offensive rebound and putback for a 16-13 UST lead. Dockter would be fouled during another transition opportunity for the Tommies and made good on one of the ensuing charity stripe shots to get the Tommies up 17-15 by the 11:39 mark.
But now it would be the Cobbers turn to gain a slight edge. Reserve freshman guard Hannah Jeske baned home a "3" from the left wing at the 8:57 mark to reclaim the lead for Concordia. Then Sorensen was able to connect with a jumper in the lane as the shot clock expired for a 20-17 Concordia lead. A lay-up by Ring in transition with 7:14 left would knot things again at 20-all but then Thesing uncorked another three point bomb from way downtown in the right wing area for a 23-20 Concordia lead with 5:03 left. Another Cobber possession where they milked the shot clock for all it was worth happened with 3:13 left when lanky 6'4" junior post Alexandra Lippert hauled in a pass from reserve sophomore Erin Januschka and then connected with a shot off the glass for a 25-20 Cobber lead. Junior Erika Jossart also used the shot clock to her advantage as well when she was fouled going in for a shot as it was expiring and made good on two free throws for a 27-23 Cobber lead. UST junior Taylor Young would drain a "3" from the left wing with 1:26 left but then Jossart did the same for the Cobbers from the right wing area with just over a minute left. Fisher was also able to manuever inside for a score with :33 left and that gave the Cobbers a 33-27 lead going into the break at halftime.
The Cobbers made a push as the second half began that threatened to put the Tommies behind the 8-ball early on. Again, milking that shot clock, Thesing made a drive in the lane and finished at the 19:32 mark to up the Concordia lead to 35-27. Lippert would help the Cobbers keep that eight point advantage with one free throw at the 18:37 mark and then grabbing an offensive rebound for a putback at the 16:59 mark for a 37-29 ballgame. The Tommies would cut into that cushion with "3's" from both sophomore reserve Elaine Warner and Ring but then Thesing made another tough drive into traffic for a finish and was fouled in the process for a 39-35 Cobber lead. Then Sorensen made her presence felt as she hauled in an inbounds pass and promptly went in for a lay-up at the 14:59 mark and then the senior from Bismarck, North Dakota who can also juggle as well connected with a long jumper from the left corner just inside the arc to give Concordia a 43-37 lead at the 14:14 mark. You had to think, at this point anyway, that the Cobbers being in the friendly confines of Memorial Auditorium were going to start pulling away just as they had against CSB on Thursday night.
But this Tommie squad has been through so many tough battles and, having that remarkable run to the the Final 4 last year, this is a group that is incredibly resilient and cool as a cucumber under pressure and in a hostile environment. I sometimes think that they thrive on these situations. In any event, with the Cobbers still semingly in control you could just detect a subtle change in how things were going to go the rest of the way. Lippert's two free throws at the 11:48 mark made it a 45-41 game in favor of Concordia but it was here that the Tommies changed the game for good as they embarked on a stunning 12-0 run that turned things completely around. A freebie by Ring after she was fouled at the 11:35 mark and then an offensive rebound by Warner for a putback at the 10:37 mark cut the Concordia lead to one. Sophomore forward/post Anna Smith, who struggled somewhat in the first half, shined in the second half and she gave the Tommies the lead for good with her "3" from the top with 8:28 left. Brandenburg was fouled as the Tommies were in transition and made good on the ensuing freebies and Concordia Head Coach Jessica Rahman knew she had to call a timeout to try and put a halt to all this.
Concordia went into a 2-3 zone on defense but even this didn't seem to stifle the Tommie assault. Brandenburg went right into the heart of it with a drive and finish with 4:13 left and then Smith connected with a jumper from the right wing to complete the 12-0 run with 3:42 left for a 53-45 UST lead. But Concordia would not let UST escape Moorhead without throwing one more scare at them. Thesing connected with a jumper with 3:21 left and then Fisher was able to defy that tough Tommie "D" as she connected with a "3" from the top of the key (off the glass no less) that pulled the Cobbers to within three at 53-50. The critical moment for the Cobbers came when a three-point attempt by UST's Smith missed its mark and gave the Cobbers the chance they wanted with roughly two minutes left. The Cobbers were working the ball around the perimeter; desperately hoping to find an open shooter behind the arc but the UST defensive effort was so suffocating that this pivotal possession for the Cobbers was never as smooth as it should be and it just had disaster written all over it. An errant pass by Sorensen was stolen away by Smith of UST and that effectively ended any hope Concordia had for a late rally. Ring was fouled with :21.2 left and made good on two shots from the charity stripe and then a last gasp hope for Concordia was extinguished on another turnover with just :19.7 left and Smith made good on two freebies after she was fouled and then one more with just :06.2 left as UST claimed an incredibly tough 58-50 win to repeat as MIAC Playoff Champions and claim the MIAC's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
A jubilant UST squad celebrated afterward and Head Coach Ruth Sinn shared with me her thoughts at halftime when the team was down. She challenged her team to show the confidence that they know that they have. "Don't have confidence with taking just one shot, be confident enough to do it again even if you miss. Be daring!" And they were. Sinn also emphasized her team's defensive efforts as the real key as it is the real trademark of this UST team. Rebounds, especially offensive rebounds, were huge in the second half for the Tommies as they registered an 8-4 advantage and a 21-15 advantage overall. Meanwhile, an emotionally reserved Concordia squad pondered their fate afterward although it would seem as if they're pretty much a lock for the NCAA Tournament as well given their #4 ranking in the West Region. Rahman confided to me afterward that UST's incredibly tough defense wore them down in the second half and played a big part in the Cobbers shooting a rather frigid 30.4% from the field in the second half not to mention the turnovers that plagued them as well. Rahman said that she just hopes her team gets another chance to prove themselves after Monday and I think they will.
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