Made the short drive on this Wednesday night over to Robertson Center on the Bethel University campus to take in this clash between host Bethel and visiting St. Kate's. The Royals were looking to build momentum going into the MIAC playoffs the next week while the Wildcats were coming off of their second conference win of the season this last Saturday at Macalester. It was a special evening as former Royal standout Kelly Swenson was in attendance to watch not only her former teammates but also her high school teammate, St. Kate's senior guard/forward Kristen Lee as both hail from Dawson-Boyd High School.
Despite the Wildcats jumping out to a quick 2-0 lead after freshman phenom guard/forward LaShay Holt connected with a short jumper at the 19:31 mark, Bethel would respond behind sophomore post Rachel Parupsky and freshman forward Kalli Zimmerman getting points in the paint even with St. Kate's employing a 2-3 zone defense to grab an 8-4 lead by the 16:16 mark. To their credit, though, the 'Cats would forge a 9-all tie behind a jumper from Kristen Lee from the free throw line at the 13:30 mark and a patented rainbow "3" by sophomore guard/forward Shauna Horsch from the left wing at the 12:23 mark. St. Kate's would enjoy a brief 10-9 lead at the 10:23 mark after a Horsch free throw but the Royals would regain the advantage behind a jumper from the free throw line by junior reserve forward Lindy Parker at the 10:04 mark and a short jumper off an inbounds pass by sophomore guard Lexi Friesen that had Bethel up 13-10.
The Royals had been in a man-to-man defense early on in this contest but Bethel Head Coach Jon Herbrechtsmeyer changed things up by switching to a 2-3 zone for the remainder of the first half and it reaped dividends as the Wildcats had a multitude of problems trying to make ill-advised forays into the paint. It also provided something of a kick-start to the Royals offense as they began to open things up. Parupsky was able to score in the paint off of an inbounds pass at the 7:25 mark and then senior guard Katelyn Vavra heated up. She snared a steal and dashed the other way for an easy lay-up in transition at the 7:09 mark and then uncorked back-to-back treys - one at the 6:43 mark from the left wing and another at the 5:16 mark from the left corner - to complete this 10-0 spurt that now had Bethel up 23-10 and had St. Kate's Head Coach Sean Pinkerton calling for a timeout to try and stop this Bethel blitz. Another "3" from Horsch from the left wing that found nothing but cotton got the Wildcats back to within ten with 4:01 left but late scores by both Parker and Parupsky allowed Bethel to go into the locker room at the half with a 27-15 lead. Not an insurmountable lead from a St. Kate's standpoint but they were going to have to get some stops on defense and make the most of their opportunities in the second half if they were going to stay close.
The Royals, however, had no interest in letting St. Kate's hang around indefinitely and they set out in the second half to put distance between themselves and their opponent by embarking on a 10-2 run in the first four minutes. Three scores by Parupsky along with a jumper off the glass after a steal by sophomore Hannah Niewald and a jumper from the left wing by Friesen now made it a 37-17 ballgame by the 16:49 mark and things got progressively worse for the Wildcats after that. A Friesen "3" from the top of the key at the 16:05 mark had St. Kate's Pinkerton calling another timeout to no avail. Sophomore reserve guard Sydney "Bam Bam" Schultz decided it was time for her to get in on the act as the Dalton product first was fouled from behind the arc at the 12:52 mark that allowed her to sink three freebies and then uncorked one of her patented three-point bombs from the top of the key at the 12:20 mark that ballooned the Bethel advantage to 50-19.
St. Kate's could only make intermittent jabs and stabs from the canyon they now found themselves in and the Royals were able to maintain the big cushion down the stretch. Both Holt and freshman reserve guard Abby Torgerson kept things respectable with scores and junior reserve guard Jenna Mistler connected on a sweet reverse lay-up with 5:20 left but the 'Cats could never get on a sustained run that might have whittled the deficit down by a considerable margin. With the outcome well in hand, Herbrechtsmeyer began emptying his bench which gave his reserves a chance to shine. Freshman reserve guard Kaela Huber got whoops and cheers from her Bethel teammates and the home crowd as the Washburn, Wisconsin product banged home a "3" from the right wing with 3:07 left and then sophomore reserve forward Megan Brodeur and freshman reserve forward got similar results with their scores in the waning moments. Pinkerton was able to do the same for the Wildcats as freshman reserve post Katelyn Byers-Carter snared an offensive rebound for a putback with just :00.7 left that made a small dent on the Bethel bandwagon as the Royal cruised to a 70-37 romp.
The Royals; now at 16-5 in the conference and 18-6 overall have that fourth spot all to themselves and will host their first-ever MIAC playoff home game this next Tuesday night. But what's interesting here is that their opponent for that game will most likely be the same opponent they play at home in the regular season finale on Saturday - St. Olaf. Assistant Coach Steve Reiter wouldn't give away the candy store when I asked him about the prospect of having to face the Oles on Saturday in the regular season finale and then turn around and have to host them again next week Tuesday in the MIAC playoffs. Certainly its something of a conundrum for the Royals as you obviously want to be playing your best but, at the same time, you don't want to show all your cards, either. The Royals will be favorites in both match-ups but you can't take anything for granted either. Perhaps the biggest challenge from a Bethel standpoint will be to keep your starting players fresh and healthy - while finding a way to win both games at the same time. It's certainly unchartered waters for this very young squad as they not only look to get to that magical 20-win plateau but also hope to have a chance to roll the dice and put everything on the line in the MIAC playoff semifinals as well.
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