Was over at Anoka-Ramsey on this Saturday afternoon to
catch the much-anticipated match-up between host Anoka-Ramsey and visiting
Madison Area College in Day 2 of the "Border Battle Classic". The Wolfpack have lofty expectations this
year as they were picked to finish third in District B behind perennial powers
Rock Valley College and DuPage College. And, just judging from the roster and the look
of their team, it certainly looks like they have the personnel to be in the
mix.
Anoka-Ramsey, coming off the win on Friday night against
Milwaukee Area Technical College, hoped to clean up some of the things that
plagued them on offense and they certainly looked like they were up to the
task. Still, it would be the Wolfpack
which controlled the tempo of the game for a good chunk of the first half. With the game tied at 2-all, reserve freshman
guard Nicole Hoffman made good on a lay-up in transition at the 16:52 mark and
then fellow freshman guard Gabrielle Hood maneuvered into the paint for a score
and got fouled in the process and the obligatory charity stripe shot had
Madison Area College up 7-2 at the 16:24 mark.
Freshman forward Sara Vande Wetering had the Wolfpack up 9-4 at the
15:01 mark with a score down low before the Golden Rams finally began to find
their touch. Strong freshman reserve
forward Ashley Carter got the Golden Rams going by snaring an offensive rebound
for a putback at the 14:37 mark and fellow freshman Olivia Antilla asserted
herself in the paint for a score at the 13:39 mark that whittled the deficit
down to a single point at 9-8. Madison
Area College would attempt to snatch the momentum back behind freshman reserve
guard Brittany Kaltenburg as she connected with a lay-up in transition at the
12:49 mark and then made good on two free throws after being fouled a bit later
at the 12:22 mark that had the Wolfpack out in front by a score of 13-10. Up to this point anyway, Madison Area College
was doing a good job of getting into transition and making the most out of
those opportunities.
But the Wolfpack never could find that one big
"push" that might have had the Golden Rams in a hole early on and
Anoka-Ramsey steadied itself as the two squad were neck and neck over the
course of the next eight minutes.
Sophomore do-it-all guard Maria Loughlin, fellow sophomore guard/forward
Nicole Schaub did damage out on the perimeter by draining "3's" while
Kaltenburg and fellow freshman Kelly Calhoun were connecting on some more
transition opportunities. After Loughlin
knocked down two freebies after being fouled at the 4:28 mark that knotted
things up at 25-all, freshman Mattie Racek helped propel the Rams into the
lead. She connected with a jumper from
the right wing with 3:46 left and then again with 2:44 left from the left elbow
area with 2:44 left that had Anoka-Ramsey up 29-25 and Antilla upped the lead
to 31-25 with 2:08 left after being fouled and knocking down two freebies. Racek then bombed home a "3" from
the left wing with 1:03 left and sophomore reserve post Paris Finklea connected
with a short jumper with just :31 left that helped Anoka-Ramsey take a 38-32
advantage into the locker room at the half.
Madison Area College, however, came out in the second
half with seemingly an axe to grind as they went on an 10-2 run. Freshman guard Nicole Hoffman connected with
a lay-up in transition at the 19:39 mark and then it was Calhoun knocking down
a "3" from the right corner at the 19:05 mark and then both Calhoun
and Hood would get lay-ups in transition that had the Wolfpack back up 41-40 by
the 16:06 mark. But it did not take long
for the Golden Rams to re-assert themselves back into the lead - this time for
good. Sophomore forward Nicole Howard
drained a "3" from the right top at the 15:49 mark and then Antilla
finished with a lay-up in transition at the 15:19 mark. A score by Loughlin at the 14:44 mark and a
running jumper in transition by Schaub at the 13:47 mark had Anoka-Ramsey back
up by six at 49-43. Freshman Megan Mazur
did connect on another transition opportunity for the Wolfpack at the 13:04
mark and Kaltenburg connected with a "3" from the right corner at the
10:40 mark that kept the Wolfpack close; trailing only 52-48 but they never
could get their nose out in front again.
Carter, who fouled out the night before against Milwaukee
Area Technical College, would make amends on this day as she connected with a
jumper in the lane with 9:59 left and then a strong drive along the right
baseline and finish by the freshman out of Shoreview had Anoka-Ramsey back up
by eight at 56-48 at the 8:41 mark. The
Wolfpack would make stabs here and there to try and forge a run but could never
quite find that same spark they had at the beginning of the second half. Nursing a six-point 58-52 lead, Loughlin hit
a beautiful "3" point shot that found absolutely nothing but net from
the top of the key with 3:44 left that made it a 61-52 ballgame. Free throws by Schaub with 2:19 left and a
Carter offensive rebound and putback with :52.3 left had the Golden Rams up by
double-digits at 65-52. Schaub and
Antilla would ice things away with pairs of freebies although Kaltenburg would
bury a "3" with just 11.6 left for a final Wolfpack jab but it would
be way too little too late as the Golden Rams claimed a 70-55 victory.
Afterward, Head Coach David DeWitt seemed pleased with
the victory although he cautioned that this was only their second game and
there is still a ton of room for improvement by his squad. "We played in control today" said
DeWitt and I would agree with that assessment.
Just as important, the Golden Rams took care of a quality opponent that
was close with them for much of the game and then took control when they had to
coming down the home stretch.
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