Battled those God-forsaken St. Paul streets on this
Wednesday night to get over to the Butler Center on the campus of St. Kate’s to
catch this clash between the host Wildcats and the visiting St. Olaf Oles. Both teams had suffered home losses just two
nights before – the ‘Cats dropping an 80-53 decision to Carleton while the Oles
came up short against SMU by a score of 68-57.
Somebody was going to have to bounce back on this night but neither team
could afford to just show up and hope for the “W”. It would have to be earned.
In the opening minutes, it looked as if St. Olaf was
primed to get things rolling as the Oles Front Range bomber, sophomore guard
Kim Cerjan, got free on a nice screen set for her and let loose with a “3” from
the left top area at the 19:51 mark.
Sophomore point guard Lauren Gutierrez; another member of the Ole
Colorado Connection, knocked down a “3” from the right corner at the 16:22 mark
for a 6-3 St. Olaf lead. But the
Wildcats sought to make amends for their disappointing Monday night outing as
they embarked on an 11-1 run over the next three minutes; highlighted by senior
Kristen Lee’s “3” from the right top at the 15:39 mark and a “3” from strong
sophomore guard Gabby Zehrer from the right wing at the 14:01 mark. Speedy freshman guard Abby Torgerson made her
presence felt as the former Anoka Tornado got a lay-up in transition and then
completed the run at the 13:32 mark with a “3” from the left top area. The Oles would strike back behind a “3” by
reserve sophomore guard Afton Wolter from the left corner at the 12:25 mark and
charity stripe shots by Cerjan freshman reserve guard Betsey Daly that enabled
St. Olaf to draw to within one at 14-13 by the 11:44 mark.
St. Kate’s Head Coach Sean Pinkerton was certainly ready
for the battle on this night as he shed his sport coat with 10:26 left. Maybe his squad took that as a cue to kick
things into second gear; at least defensively anyway as the ‘Cats shut down the
vaunted 1-2 punch down low of senior Elise Raney and sophomore partner Emily
Wahlberg as neither of the Twin Towers could get much going offensively. The Wildcats, on the other hand, looked quite
comfortable wheeling and dealing from the perimeter and in the paint as
well. Freshman phenom Kennedy Jennings was
able to maneuver inside for a score with 9:18 left that helped up the St.
Kate’s lead to 17-13. St. Olaf would
keep things close but they had to rely on their perimeter shooting to do so. Perhaps just as disconcerting to St. Olaf
Head Coach Dave Stromme was that he was substituting liberally in this first
half; trying to find the right “mix” to counter the lack of scoring down
low. A Cerjan “3” from the right wing
with 6:57 left tied things up at 17-all but that would be countered by a “3”
from Zehrer from the left corner just seconds later. Zehrer would also connect with a lay-up with
5:25 left and, despite another push from the Oles, St. Kate’s would manage to
keep a hold of the tempo and the lead coming down the stretch of the first
half. A “3” by Torgerson from the top of
the key with 2:53 left and a drive and finish by the fearless freshman had the
‘Cats back up by four at 27-23 with 2:06 left.
Then Kristen Lee knocked down a “3” from the left corner with 1:22 left
for a 30-23 St. Kate’s lead. St. Olaf
would get some reprieve when Cerjan drained a “3” from the right wing area with
:26 left before halftime but Stromme – and the Oles – clearly had to make some
adjustments for the second half.
It was relatively easy to see what one of the adjustments
was that Stromme and his assistant Mike Ludwig had to have talked about at
halftime and that was taking the ball strong to the hole and utilizing the height
advantage that the Oles had. Raney must
have taken that advice to heart as she used her lanky 6’3” frame to score a
lay-up at the 18:37 mark that cut the St. Kate’s lead down to 30-28 but that
was quickly answered by a “3” from the left top by the ‘Cats Kristen Lee that had
St. Kate’s up by five by the 18:18 mark.
That was followed by a lay-up from junior forward Sarah Manning at the
17:36 mark along with a shot off the glass by Kristen Lee’s younger sister Mari
at the 16:49 mark that suddenly made it an eight-point game at 37-29 and had
Stromme clamoring for a timeout. Luckily
for the Oles, they found their way back into things when they were on the brink
of being in a big hole on the road.
Cerjan made good on a drive and finish down the lane at the 16:17 mark and
then Wahlberg snared an offensive rebound for a putback at the 15:27 mark. The unheralded Gutierrez then knocked down a “3”
from the top of the key at the 14:46 mark that sliced that eight-point Wildcat
lead down to a scant point at 37-36 and had the Oles back on even terms with
their hosts.
And things would then stay close over the next six
minutes with each side trading blows. A
Torgerson “3” for St. Kate’s at the 14:15 mark was countered by a three-point
bomb by Wolter at the 12:35 mark.
Another one of those Colorado Oles; sophomore reserve guard Woo Bandel,
slyly stole a Wildcat inbounds pass and got fouled in transition and the
ensuing freebie at the 10:35 mark tied the issue at 40-all. St. Kate’s would grab the lead at the 8:43
mark when freshman phenom LaShay Holt, who had been making life miserable for
the Oles all game long with her great defense, sunk one free throw to make it a
41-40 game. But it was at this point
when St. Olaf finally made it’s decisive move to not only regain the lead but take
control of things. Another one of those
Colorado Oles; strong junior reserve forward Sheridan Blanford, was the one who
stole the spotlight at this critical moment.
Her drive and finish with 8:29 left drew a foul as well and made it a
42-41 game in favor of the Black and Old Gold.
Blanford’s ensuing freebie missed its mark but Raney with her long reach
snared the errant free throw and put it back in the hole for a 44-41 Ole
lead. Then it was Blanford again with
7:48 left with a one-handed shot off the glass that now had St. Olaf up 46-41
and quickly had Pinkerton up off the bench calling a timeout in hopes of
slowing down this suddenly rejuvenated Ole team.
Blanford, who missed all of last season with an ACL
injury, showed how hungry she was to make an impact for this Ole team. She drilled a “3” from the top of the key
with 7:05 left to push the lead to eight at 49-41. The Wildcats tried desperately to cut into
this lead but every time they were able to do something offensively St. Olaf
was ready and willing to meet the challenge.
A “3” from Cerjan from the top of the key with 4:00 left made it a 55-45
game and an offensive rebound and putback by Wahlberg kept the margin at ten at
57-47 with 3:03 left. It wasn’t until
there was just over a minute left to play that the Wildcats were able to make
things a little nervous for the Oles.
Sophomore reserve guard Shauna Horsch; not necessarily known for her
three-point prowess, drained one from the left corner with 1:18 left that cut
the Ole lead to 57-50 and then uncorked another one from the right wing area
with :43.9 left that sliced the Ole advantage down to four points at
57-53. But the last gasp push by the ‘Cats
would not be enough as the Oles held on for a precious road win by a final
count of 59-53.
Ole Assistant Mike Ludwig admitted afterward that the
team was not doing a very good job of moving on offense or setting screens to
get their three-point game going in the first half. Being aggressive and taking it to the hole
more often was also key in his mind as well.
A disappointed Pinkerton and his assistant Tim Kjar noted that it was
another step forward for the Wildcats but stressed the need for the young squad
to put together a complete 40-minutes. Both
squads are now off for the rest of the year for finals and the holidays to lick
their wounds, rest and re-charge for January 2014. Certainly for the Oles anyway, 2013 is ending
a lot better than 2012 did.
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