Had to fight a few traffic problems on I-94 on the way over but got into UST's Anderson Athletic Center on this cold Saturday afternoon to take in the 1:00 P.M. clash between visiting St. Kate's which made the short hop over to host UST. The Tommies were in the beginning stages of making amends for that upset loss at home last weekend to Concordia while the Wildcats were attempting to do the near-impossible - steal a victory at nationally-ranked UST.
The odds were stacked against St. Kate's in this one and it became apparent early on that this simply was not to be the Wildcats day. After 2 free throws be senior forward Taylor Young at the 19:50 mark, junior post Maggie Weiers muscled into the paint for an easy score at the 17:09 mark. Then, sophomore guard Katie Stone canned a "3" from the right corner at the 16:00 mark for a 7-0 Tommie advantage. A short jumper by senior guard Kelly Brandenburg at the 15:30 mark had St. Kate's Head Coach Sean Pinkerton looking for a way to stop the bleeding with a thirty-second timeout but it was to no avail. Weiers made good on a lay-up in transition at the 12:53 mark and then it was Young drilling a "3" from the right corner at the 12:00 mark that had UST up two touchdowns on the Wildcats. The 'Cats finally got on the scoreboard less than two minutes later when junior reserve guard Jenna Mistler was able to connect on a lay-up with 9:11 left but the Tommies had set the tone in this one from the get-go.
And the Tommies had no intentions of letting go of the vice-grip hold they had on this one anytime soon. Wildcat score by freshman reserve forward Kennedy Jennings and fellow freshman reserve guard Liz Ellens made a bit of a snippit on the Tommie advantage but UST would respond with another run. Leading 18-6 with 6:58 left, a score in the paint by Weiers with 6:40 left coupled with a steal by freshman reserve guard Paige Gernes who dashed the other way for an easy lay-up with 6:21 left made it a 22-6 game. Then it was Stone unleashing a "3" from the right wing area with 4:06 left that gave the Tommies a commanding 27-8 lead with 4:06 left. The lead ballooned to 30-8 with 1:43 left after another score in the paint by Weiers and a free throw from junior reserve forward Elaine Warner before St. Kate's made a bit of a flurry late: A jumper from senior guard/forward Kristen Lee from the right top area with :48.3 left and a pretty drive along the left baseline for a finish by junior forward Sarah Manning with just :12 left. But Young put the exclamation point on this grand first half for the Tommies by nailing a "3" from the left wing with just :01.9 left that gave UST an insurmountable 36-12 halftime lead.
A "3" from Stone from the left top area at the 19:36 mark bulged the Tommie lead to 39-12 and St. Kate's Pinkerton shed the sport coat again but nothing was going to derail the Tommie Express on this day. A Weiers score in the paint at the 18:00 mark and a lay-up in transition by Stone at the 17;23 mark upped the lead to 43-12. Then Brandenburg decided it was time to get in on the act as she drained a "3" from the right top area at the 15:29 mark and then connected on a lay-up in transition at the 11:52 mark that made it a 48-15 game. Another foray into the paint and finish by Weiers with 9:32 left made it 50-18 in favor of the Tommies. The Wildcats also had to pay dearly for leaving Young out all alone by her lonesome at the right top area where she banged home a "3" with 8:07 left that kept the margin at thirty at 53-23. Another brief flurry by St. Kate's - an offensive rebound and putback by freshman LaShay Holt with 7:32 left and a jumper from the left elbow a minute later plus two treys from sohpmore reserve guard/forward Shauna Horsch helped keep things respectable but UST Head Coach Ruth Sinn had already begin to clear her bench for the final few minutes that allowed freshman reserve Kelsey Frey to record a couple of scores as did fellow freshman reserve guard Shaylan Reardon. The final result was a resounding 61-32 Tommie victory when the final buzzer sounded.
A seemingly satisfied Sinn talked candidly about what her squad has been doing to keep things positive after the shocking loss to Concordia last weekend. "Tightening up our defense has been key.....We're getting better at that but we gave up way too many easy points last weekend. It's a learning process." Given that the Tommies are still very much in play for another MIAC regular season title, I couldn't resist in asking Sinn about the big picture; even though the team and coaches are taking things one game at a time. "We've been there before; we know what it takes" Sinn said. At the same time, she's keenly aware about how not having either Jenn Dockter or Anna Smith available due to injuries factors in to the whole equation. "Our margin for error is smaller without those two" she added. This win today; coupled with the road win at Augsburg on Wednesday, is definitely what the doctor ordered from a Tommie perspective. They needed two convincing wins to get their mojo back and it would look to me as if they definitely have their mojo back after a hiccup last weekend.
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