Made my way over to venerable Hutton Arena on this first
Saturday of the new year to take in this early afternoon clash between two old
Snelling Avenue foes – host Hamline and visiting Macalester. This has always been an interesting series
with a lot of great games being played between the two; notably the one back in
’03 in this very building when Hamline’s Carolyn Korchik launched her
desperation Hail Mary shot that swished the net at the buzzer to beat the Scots. With both squads currently winless in MIAC
play so far and both only having one win each as well, it would be crucial for
both team to come out firing on all cylinders to get 2014 going on the right
note.
Hamline would have the better of it in the early going in
the first half. With the score tied at
2-all, junior guard Jordan “Flash” Sammons uncorked a “3” from the right top
area at the 18:16 mark and followed that up less than a minute later with a
jumper in the lane for a 7-2 Hamline lead.
Junior forward Rachel Usgaard; not necessarily known for her prowess
from behind the arc, nonetheless knocked one down from the left wing area at
the 16:27 mark that expanded the Piper lead to 10-4. A lay-up by Sammons at the 14:59 mark plus
one charity stripe shot by Usgaard had Hamline up 13-7 by the 13:28 mark and
the Pipers were controlling the tempo up to this point.
But this Macalester squad is a resourceful group and,
while not the most athletic or biggest team out there, they never beat
themselves and almost always find a way to get themselves out of a bad
situation. Sophomores Abby Purfeerst and
Erin Murray had already snared crafty steals from the Pipers that they were
able to convert into points that allowed that Scots to hang around and, just
before the midway point of the first half, they slowly usurped control of this
one from the Pipers. A “3” from the left
wing by reserve senior guard Erika Weimann at the 12:14 mark helped spark a Macalester
push. Senior post Veronika Jakubovie; who
started her college career at Hamline before transferring over to Macalester,
got one score down low with 9:34 left and then followed that up with a short
jumper on the ensuing Scot possession with 8:53 left that trimmed the Hamline
lead down to 15-14. Less than a minute
later, Jakubovie’s jumper in the lane gave Macalester its first lead of the day
at 16-15. Hamline, meanwhile, went into
a Dust Bowl-like shooting drought; with their last bucket coming from reserve
freshman post Mattie Shelton back at the 10:42 mark. Macalester wasn’t exactly setting the world
on fire with their shooting either during this time although Murray did extend
the Scot lead to 18-15 with 2:51 left with two freebies. Finally, with 2:37 left, freshman guard Chloe
Graves out of Denver, Colorado was able to shake the cobwebs off the Hamline
basket with her “3” from the right top area that tied the issue at 18-all. A lay-up by Graves with 1:50 left allowed
Hamline to reclaim the lead at 20-18 but a score in the paint by Scot freshman
reserve post Park Masterson knotted things up at 20 with 1:27 left. Hamline freshman reserve guard Erika Moede
then drilled a “3” from the right wing with 1:10 left that put the Pipers back
in the lead at 23-20 but a free throw by senior guard Emma Leyden with :52.6
left and then a crafty steal of an inbounds pass by Murray who dashed the other
way for an easy lay-up with :31 left sent both teams into the locker room at
the half tied at 23-all.
Macalester looked to get off and running once the second
half got underway. A running jumper
along the left baseline by Murray at the 19:09 mark broke the tie and two
scores down low by Jakubovie who had a decided advantage in the paint plus a
free throw from Murray had the Scots up 30-25 by the 15:19 mark. Hamline would scratch and claw to get to
within one thanks to a lay-up in the lane in transition by Sammons at the 13:51
mark and a short jumper by freshman reserve guard Chelsea Bonsante at the 13:16
mark but a drive and finish along the left baseline by Murray at the 12:05 mark
and a short turnaround jumper by Jakubovie had the Scots back up by five and,
for the moment anyway, Macalester Head Coach Ellen Thompson had her team
playing the way she wanted them to.
Alas, just as they had back in November against
Northwestern, the Scots started to slow down offensively and suddenly had
trouble finding the range on the perimeter.
Even more problematic for Macalester was that Hamline Head Coach Kerri
Stockwell was having her team up the ante on defense with trapping and some
full- and half-court pressing that really left the Scots discombobulated at
times. Usgaard nailed a “3” from the
right wing area at the 10:19 mark that drew the Pipers to within two and then a
lay-up by Graves tied the issue once again at 34-all with 9:11 left. Hamline would retake the lead for good on two
free throws by Usgaard at the 8:39 mark and then Bonsante connected with an incredibly
tough one-handed shot off the glass with 7:50 left to make it a 38-34
ballgame. Despite two minor pushes by
the Scots, Hamline would maintain this advantage over the next four minutes;
leading 44-39 after two charity stripe shots by Graves with 3:10 left. Knowing that the sands of time were quickly
running out on this one, Thompson had to burn a timeout to try and get her
forces re-organized for one last storming of the hill.
In the last couple of minutes, Hamline appeared to have
all but locked up the game when Graves knocked down one charity stripe shot
with 1:46 left and then snared a steal for a lay-up to make it a 47-39 game
with 1:39 left. Macalester, though,
uncannily brought itself back from the brink to put one last scare into the
Pipers before the dust settled. A free throw
from reserve sophomore guard Katelyn Kack with 1:19 left and then two more by
Jakubovie fourteen seconds later trimmed the Hamline lead to 47-42. Two more free throws by Murray with with
:43.6 left reduced the deficit to four points.
Hamline’s Moede was able to sink one free throw some two seconds later
after getting fouled that made it a 49-44 ballgame but then Murray; perhaps one
of the more underrated players in the conference, made a foray into the paint
for a lay-up that got her fouled in the process had the Macalester contingent
jumping and yelling for joy and she sunk the obligatory freebie that suddenly
cut the deficit down to a scant two points.
Macalester immediately fouled Usgaard but she was only able to get the
back end of the one-and-one and now the Scots had new life. Jakubovie was able to snare an offensive rebound
on the ensuing possession for a putback with :19.8 left that once again had Macalester
to within one at 50-49. Once again,
Macalester immediately fouled; this time hacking the Hamline freshman Graves in
what they thought would be their best shot at getting one last chance for an
improbable win. But Graves stepped to
the line and calmly knocked down both free throws that made it a 52-49
game. Macalester had one last chance to
try and at least tie things up. But
rather than go for a “3”, the Scots opted to dish the ball off to Murray for a
lay-up attempt in the hopes that she would get fouled as well. But Murray’s attempt with just :04 left
missed its mark and Graves got the rebound for the Pipers and was quickly
fouled. The Denver product knocked down
two more freebies and Hamline was able to book a 54-49 win.
It may have only been their first conference victory but
it was definitely a good feeling for the coaching staff and players who had
been taking their share of lumps so far.
Assistant Coach Dean Stambaugh felt that staying focused in this one was
a critical element to the win. “We had
to have our players keep moving on offense and keep the spacing to make things
work” he added. Stockwell, though
obviously pleased with the win, acknowledged that her team still has a lot of
work to do. “Too many turnovers and silly
fouls” she lamented. Still, I’m sure she
and her team will take the “W” knowing that this is a positive step; albeit a
small one, in the right direction.
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