After leaving UST's Schoenecker Arena, I was able to make the short hop down to nearby St. Kate's and get myself settled into the Butler Center with 6:45 left in the first half with visiting Concordia holding a 28-14 advantage.
The Wildcats were trying desperately keep things close with the Cobbers but those hopes soon dimmed as Concordia unleashed a 9-0 outburst that had St. Kate's reeling. Lanky junior forward Erin Januschka connected with a lay-up with 5:53 left and then made good on a drive and finish just twenty seconds later on the ensuing Cobber possession. Senior guard Erika Jossart got an open look from the left top area and she calmly drilled a "3" that gave Concordia a three-touchdown advantage at 35-14 (the same score that UCLA beat USC by back in late November :) ). Jossart had to go to the bench shortly afterward with an apparent ankle injury that was a cause for some concern from the Concordia contingent but a score in the paint by reserve senior post Kelsey Walloch eased some of those concerns and upped the lead to 37-14. St. Kate's would counter with a "3' from senior guard/forward Kristen Lee from the left wing area with 2:18 left and then it was freshman phenom guard/forward LaShay Holt; just getting warmed up, as she knocked down a jumper from the left top area just inside the arc with 1:24 left that cut the Concordia advantage down to 37-21. Concordia senior post Alexandra Lippert was able to snare an offensive rebound and get a pretty one-handed putback to go down with :28.6 left and that was countered by Wildcat freshman forward Mari Lee's jumper from the right top area with just :08 left. Concordia freshman point guard Greta Walsh, though, had the last laugh of the first half as she connected with a pull-up jumper in transition from the free throw line just before the buzzer sounded as the Cobbers took a seemingly comfortable 42-23 lead into the locker room at the half.
The second half was easily one of the most entertaining halves I've seen this year - and certainly a night and day difference in terms of effort and hustle and desire by the Wildcats from a mere weekend ago in their loss to Augsburg. St. Kate's was never going to catch the Cobbers on this day, and they were only able to trade jabs with Concordia but the performance by Holt and her seeming willingness to put the team on her shoulders was something to watch for sure. She started off things in the second half with a "3' from the left top area at the 19:42 mark but Concordia junior guard Alley Fisher made the 'Cats pay for leaving her open in the left wing area and she was also putting the cotton on fire on this day; swishing a "3" at the 19:27 mark. Things went back and forth over the next three minutes and the 'Cats were able to trim the deficit down to sixteen thanks to a "3" from willowy freshman reserve forward Kennedy Jennings from the right top area at the 17:13 mark and a jumper by Holt from the free throw line at the 16:00 mark. Holt; seemingly all over the place in the second half, snared a steal and streaked the other way for a lay-up at the 15:14 mark that got Concordia Head Coach Jessica Rahman's attention and she called a timeout to get her team's attention - and maybe to try and cool off the red-hot Holt.
Holt gave the home crowd another reason to get excited as she scored on a lay-up at the 13:12 mark but, unfortunately for the 'Cats, those jabs were met by a steady diet of Concordia scores from a variety of contributors. Walloch connected with a lay-up at the 13:43 mark and then Fisher drained another routine "3" from the top of the key at the 12:55 mark upping the lead to 56-38. Lippert, who seemingly towered over every Wildcat defender easily scored inside at the 11:53 mark. Erin Januschka connected with a lay-up with 9:21 left and then it was Fisher making the cotton sing a pretty tune again as she drilled one from the right wing area with 9:03 left. Reserve sophomore guard Hannah Jeske also drained a "3" from the left wing area with 8:27 left to keep the margin at a safe 22-point advantage at 69-47.
But the Wildcats still had a lot of fight left in them down the stretch. Sophomore guard/forward Shauna Horsch connected with one of her patented high-arcing "3's" from the left wing area with 8:12 left and then it was junior reserve guard Jenna Mistler knocking down a "3" from the top of the key with 7:36 left. But again, the Wildcats could only make incremental dents into the Concordia advantage and the Cobbers responded with their usual coldly efficient counter-offensive. Walsh snared a defensive rebound and promptly dashed coast to coast for a lay-up with 6:54 left and then it was (guess who?) Fisher putting the cotton on fire again with a "3" from the right corner with 6:22 left for a 74-53 Concordia advantage. Then it was Walsh; the Litchfield native, knocking down her own "3" from the right wing with 5:43 left to balloon the advantage to 77-53.
Still, despite the deficit they were facing the 'Cats refused to go quietly into the night and Holt was causing all sorts of headaches for Rahman and the Cobbers despite their big lead. She connected with a "3" from the left wing with 4:41 left and then made a hard drive into the paint for a finish with 3:40 left. Kristen Lee also connected with a short turnaround jumper along the right baseline with 2:58 left. But again, they were only incremental dents at best and the Cobbers closed the door with a "3" from the left corner by sophomore reserve forward Olivia Johnson with 2:36 left and a short shot along the right baseline by freshman reserve forward Megan Forness with just :01.6 left on the clock to take an 87-68 triumph back to Moorhead.
A relaxed (and perhaps relieved) Rahman was quick to praise the effort St. Kate's gave on this day but also careful to not look too far forward into the future wrt next week Saturday's game with visiting UST. "We've got Carleton on Wednesday night and that's what we've got to focus on next"; stressing a one-game at a time mentality. I also asked Rahman if she felt her team was where it should be from a defensive standpoint. Rahman said that they've added some wrinkles and have tweaked a few things here and there but also stated that, at this point in the season, it's really difficult to make any wholesale changes in their overall defensive schemes. Looking at what they've done so far I don't think they have to and they appear to be in excellent shape and position; even if they get "locked in" to the third spot. This is a squad that seemingly year in and year out is right in the thick of things and this season is no different and a lot of the credit has to go to Rahman for that. And even if they don't get one of the two top seeds in the MIAC playoffs, this is still a team that has an excellent shot of winning it all - again. And that home loss to UST in the MIAC Championship Game a year ago may provide some extra motivation for them as well. For St. Kate's; while enduring yet another "L" in a long season, they certainly showed how exciting they can be to watch and, more importantly, how bright the future is for this program. Head Coach Sean Pinkerton, while disappointed with the loss, was certainly much more upbeat about things than he was a week ago. He admitted that he and Assistant Coach Tim Kjar had to make some changes after last Saturday's loss to Augsburg to provide some more spark on offense and one of those changes was moving Holt to the point guard spot. While perhaps not a "natural" at the all important point guard position, she was able to wheel and deal more freely on this day and it arguably created a host of problems for the Cobbers on this day from a match-up perspective. And Holt, who easily led all scorers on this day by tallying 26 points, has the speed to get into the lane and the ability to hit the open shot from the perimeter. With her being just a freshman, she's going to be making many more MIAC coaches breaking out the Excedrin over the next few years with the match-up problems she brings to the table.
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