Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League Playoff Semifinals - Wednesday 8-7-13

Only two games to report on for this night but one of them was a REAL doozy of a game. In one semifinal matchup, The Graduates; who pulled off an unlikely upset in the late game last Wednesday against the Golden Eagle Alumni took on powerful Team Sorella led by former Minnesota Golden Gopher Ashley Ellis-Milan. In this one, The Graduates got off to a good start grabbing an early 8-2 lead thanks to "3's" from both former Hamline standout Steph Rice and former Bethel and MIAC POY Taylor Sheley. Team Sorella, however, clearly had the advantage in the paint on both ends of the floor and they wasted little time in pounding the ball inside to Ellis-Milan who was unstoppable down low as they slowly but efficiently cut into the slim advantage The Graduates had. After another Sheley "3" at the 13:19 mark and a sweet drive and finish by former Hamline player Jackie Kelly, Team Sorella tied things up at 14-all and they took the lead for good with 9:37 left in the first half at 16-14. Still, The Graduates managed to hang in there as timely "3's" by former Hamline standout Cassidy "Lightning" Vogt - one at the 5:50 mark and another with just :22 left on the clock - enabled The Graduates to stay close at the half; trailing only 31-26 when it arguably could have been a lot worse. But Team Sorella went on a quick 7-0 spurt at the beginning of the second half that, for all intents and purposes, was the game. A "3" by one of the Team Sorella players made it 43-27 as numerous turnovers were now plaguing The Graduates squad. Team Sorella would cruise to an easy 74-44 win to put them into Thursday's championship game. Their opponent would come from the other semifinal game that was going on at the same time that pitted the UST Grey team led by current Tommies Anna Smith and Kelly Brandenburg against Concordia St. Paul which was led by current Golden Bears Rachel Hansen and Carissa Wolyniec. This one was an extremely close affair throughout with neither side being able to claim a decisive advantage. Coming down the home stretch, however, is when things REALLY got interesting. Concordia St. Paul had grabbed a 50-45 lead and looked like it finally had some control of things but the UST Grey squad was far from finished. Smith, the former Bloomington Jefferson product, knocked down a "3" with 2:39 left to pull the UST Grey squad to within two and, after foiling a Concordia St. Paul possession, it was then Brandenburg's time to grab the spotlight for the UST Grey team as she calmly drove into the paint and connected with a sweet turnaround jumper that knotted the issue at 50-all with just :35 left. Concordia St. Paul, however, would answer as they were able to score inside with just :15 left to grab a tenuous 52-50 advantage. But, even in the most dire straits, you should never count out this resilient UST Grey squad as even the new young ones are anxious to get in on the action. Former Maple Grove standout Madison Ordner got her chance with just :03.5 left on the clock as she made a hard drive into the paint and got fouled on her shot attempt that sent her to the charity stripe. Ordner made the first one to draw the UST Grey team to within one but missed the second as a host of players from both teams made a mad chase for the ball which went out of bounds - off of Concordia St. Paul with just a little over one second left giving the UST Grey squad one last prayer. Laura Margarit took the inbounds pass and quickly put up an errant shot that caromed off the rim but Brandenburg was right there to make an acrobatic offensive rebound and last-gasp putback attempt that JUST barely missed its mark as Concordia St. Paul escaped with a thrilling 52-51 victory to put them in Thursday's champsionship game.

Midtown YCWA Women's College Summer League Playoff Results For Wednesday 7-31-13

Here are the results of the playoff games I was able to catch last night at the Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League: 5:00 P.M. Games St. Cloud State - 80 Royals - 33 UST Grey - 52 NSU/SDSMT - 23 5:55 P.M. Games SMU - 43 The Misfits - 37 Concordia St. Paul - 50 Old Tymers - 49 2 OT 6:50 P.M. Games Winona State - 50 ARCC Alumni - 43 Team Sorella - 60 UST Purple - 56 7:45 P.M. Games Golden Eagle Alumni - 48 Mayville - 37 The Graduates - 50 Macalester Basketball - 47 OT The two 5:00 P.M. games weren't much as the UST Grey team doughpopped the NSU/SDSMT squad and St. Cloud State hammered a Bethel team with only four players but the games in the 5:55 P.M. slot easily made up for the two early blowouts. The St. Mary's squad pulled off a surprise by knocking off The Misfits which is a very talented squad in a close game but the real barnburner of the whole night easily was the tilt between the Old Tymers; a squad of former Minnesota State-Mankato players and the Concordia St. Paul team - a rekindling of sorts of a great NSIC rivalry. The Concordia St. Paul squad appeared to be in firm control of this one by the midway point of the second half; up double digits a couple of times but the savvy and experienced Old Tymers team mustered a spirited comeback that enabled them to knot things up at 47-all at the end of regulation. After a scoreless first overtime period, both teams traded baskets but a late free throw by senior-to-be Rachel Hansen of Concordia St. Paul proved to be the difference. The Old Tymers had one last chance with plenty of time left; opting to work for the last shot but a last-second jumper by Andrea Walsh went awry allowing the Golden Bears to escape with the "W". In the 6:50 P.M. slot, the Winona State squad topped the Anoka-Ramsey Alumni team in a physical, hard-fought contest but the real shocker was the Team Sorella squad which knocked off the #1 seeded UST Purple team 60-56. Team Sorella was up double digits in the second half and had to withstand a furious UST Purple rally to hold on for the win. A couple of good ones took place in the 7:45 P.M. slot as well as the Golden Eagle Alumni team methodically beat the gamey Mayville squad and in the other game The Graduates, after appearing to be doomed a couple of times against the Macalester Basketball squad in the second half conjured up an unlikely comeback thanks to a late "3" in regulation by Steph Rice plus a key score in the paint by another former Hamline standout Cassidy Vogt forced overtime. The Graduates were able to take a 50-47 win in this one and had to hold off a desperation three-point attempt that just missed its mark by the Macalester team to claim the nail-biting victory. I had to leave at the midway point of the 8:40 P.M. games that saw the Concordia St. Paul team up handily on St. Mary's while the St. Cloud State team had a slight edge over the UST Grey team. Next week are two games at 6:00 P.M. with the winners meeting the next night at Target Center for the big enchilada.