Was over at the Gangelhoff Center on the Concordia St.
Paul campus on this Halloween night with all the ghosts and goblins out and
about in the Twin Cities. In town on
this night as well were the visiting Yellowjackets of UW-Superior under Head
Coach Don Mulhern and they had to figure that the host Golden Bears would have
plenty of tricks - but no treats - for their visitors.
The Yellowjackets and Golden Bears were pretty much even
steven in the game's first four minutes with the issue tied at 6-all before
UW-Superior made its first real move of the game; opening up a 12-8 lead by the
14:47 mark thanks to a score in the paint by preseason All-American junior
Sally Linzmeier; the Yellowjackets do-everything player. But also, by this point as well, it was clear
to see that the Yellowjackets were clearly outhustling, outworking and
outplaying their bigger, stronger Division II opponent on their own home
floor. Senior guard Britnee Blake
knocked down a "3" from the left top area that extended UW-Superior's
lead to 15-9 at the 13:22 mark. Then, it
was Yellowjacket junior Deandra Vavra's time to shine as she banged home a
"3" at the 12:57 mark and then went coast-to-coast after grabbing a
defensive rebound for a lay-up that made it a 20-11 game before a stunned home
crowd. Linzmeier would drain a
"3" from the left top area at the 11:06 mark and then connect with a
short jumper at the 10:38 mark to make it a 25-11 Yellowjacket lead that had
mercurial Concordia St. Paul Head Coach Paul Fessler calling a timeout to get
his troops reorganized.
But the Yellowjackets; an incredibly smart and
disciplined team under Mulhern, would not let up with their onslaught as the
Golden Bears struggled mightily from the perimeter and looked out of sorts in
their offensive sets and, even more glaring, were getting beat on the
rebounding front. Sophomore reserve
forward Allyssa Lindberg banged home a "3" from the left wing area at
the 9:18 mark to make it a 28-12 game.
Senior Rachel Hansen seemed to be the only Golden Bear playing with any
kind of fire for much of the first half as two charity stripe shots at the 8:20
mark and an offensive rebound and putback a bit later kept the deficit halfway
manageable. But a lay-up by Vavra at the
6:46 mark followed by a "3" by reserve sophomore guard Allie Nelson
with 6:11 left upped UW-Superior's advantage to 35-18. A drive into the paint and finish by Vavra
followed by a jumper by Linzmeier in the paint had UW-Superior up by nineteen
with 3:44 left at 40-21 The Golden Bears would make a bit of a dent into this
gap as speedy sophomore guard Jasmine Haynes snared a steal and went the other
way for a lay-up with 2:38 left and senior guard Carissa Wolyniec made good on
a sweet reverse lay-up under the basket with a minute and a half left before
the intermission that got Concordia St. Paul closer but, up 43-31 at the break,
the Yellowjackets clearly had the momentum.
The Golden Bears obviously hoped to make serious inroads
on the UW-Superior advantage in the opening minutes of the second half and a
Hansen fast-break lay-up that cut the Yellowjacket lead down to 43-33 at the
19:32 mark initially made it look like they might. But UW-Superior seemed to pick up right where
they left off in the first half; attacking and pressing on defense; something
that Concordia St. Paul seemed VERY uncomfortable with. A score in the paint by junior forward
Vanessa Lebens at the 19:01 mark and then an offensive rebound and putback by
the lanky forward from Roseville at the 17:38 mark seemed to give the
Yellowjackets yet another spark.
Linzmeier, like a thief in the night, snared a steal and went the other
way for a lay-up to extend UW-Superior's lead back to sixteen at 49-33 at the
17:09 mark.
UW-Superior would maintain their advantage over the next
five to seven minutes and still owned a double-digit lead near the halfway mark
of the second half when Vavra made good on a lay-up to make it a 55-38
game. But the Yellowjackets seemed to be
slowing down just a hair and it was this window of opportunity that the host
Golden Bears saw and they did not hesitate to seize the moment. On the next possession, junior forward/post
Anika Whiting finally began to assert herself in the paint as she snared an
offensive rebound for a putback at the 10:20 mark. Then it was Haynes with a steal and lay-up
the other way just seconds later that cut the deficit to 55-42. Reserve junior guard Ameshia Kearney got into
the paint for a score for the Golden Bears at the 9:26 mark and strong
sophomore forward Kionda Nicks connected with a lay-up with 8:39 left that got
Concordia St. Paul within single-digits for the first time since the opening
minutes of the first half; trailing 55-46.
Vavra did hit another "3" for the Yellowjackets that got their
lead back up to 58-46 with 8:08 left but the Golden Bears would embark on a 6-0
run in the course of a little over a minute to slice UW-Superior's lead down to
58-52 and Mulhern wasted no time in halting the action with a timeout with 6:47
left.
Linzmeier threatened to put the Golden Bears away
single-handedly herself with a drive in the lane and finish with 5:22 left and
a jumper and trip to the charity stripe after being fouled along with a foray
into the paint and finish with 4:03 left that pushed the Yellowjacket lead back
to nine at 65-56. But the Golden Bears
would not be denied coming down the home stretch. Two shots at the charity stripe by Hansen
with 3:50 left and a rebound and putback by Haynes of her own missed shot with
2;33 left cut the UW-Superior lead down to 65-60. Both squads had opportunities in the next
minute but were unable to cash in on them.
Still trailing by five with under a minute left and with things looking
bleak, Haynes finally drained her first "3" of the night with :39
left to make it a one possession game trailing 65-63. Linzmeier would commit a rare mistake;
turning the ball over that allowed Hansen to steal the ball and quickly get the
ball to Haynes. Blake would foul Haynes
with :25.7 left and Haynes connected with two freebies that finally tied things
at 65-all. Mulhern called a timeout to
plan one last attack to try and win it in regulation and, it almost
worked. With scant seconds left on the
clock, the Yellowjackets got the ball to Linzmeier who made a strong move into
the paint for an attempted lay-up that drew a host of Golden Bear defenders to
thwart the attempt. There appeared to be
contact at the critical moment but the officials did not whistle a foul; much
to the chagrin of the UW-Superior coaching staff and fans in the stands. Still, the Yellowjackets retained possession
and with just :01.9 left, Linzmeier took the inbounds pass and got an open look
for a jumper. The ball appeared to
agonizingly flirt with the cylinder before harmlessly dropping off to the side
into gravity's power that sent the game into overtime, tied at 65-all.
The Golden Bears wasted no time in the extra session to
seize the advantage and extinguish the upset bid by the Yellowjackets. Two scores by Nicks within the first minute
of overtime and a strong move and finish by Whiting down low with 2:48 left and
then a "3" by the 6'2" junior from Ashland, Wisconsin made it a
75-67 game with 2:00 left that extinguished any hopes UW-Superior may have
had. Another score by Whiting inside
with 1:28 left and two free throws by Hansen with 1:11 left were academic as
Concordia St. Paul escaped with a 79-71 victory. Later, a disappointed but upbeat Mulhern
thought his team played exceptionally well but lamented on the missed
opportunities they had in the second half that may have closed the door for
good on their hosts. Missed free throws
cost the Yellowjackets; particularly in the second half that, at the very
least, could have changed the complexion of the game and would have made the
Golden Bears task that much more difficult.
Still, you have to think that UW-Superior, IF they play up to their
potential, would have a chance at stealing the WIAC out from under the noses of
favorites UW-Whitewater and UW-Stevens Point.
Fessler, meanwhile, seemed relieved at the outcome and couldn't help but
heap praises on the UW-Superior team.
Even Fessler admitted that the Yellowjackets were "kicking our
butts" for a good chunk of the game.
But, the important thing was that his squad found a way to win when the
odds were stacked against them. And,
even for an exhibition game, this could prove important for the sixth-ranked
team in DII and the favorites in the NSIC.
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