Hard to believe that this Wednesday night was my first trip over to Robertson Center on the campus of Bethel University during this 2013-14 season but I wanted a chance to catch this up and coming Bethel team in action; especially on this night as powerhouse UST was paying a visit to the Royals. The Tommies were in sole possession of second place and were looking to keep a firm grip to have the chance to set up the big showdown on Saturday with arch-enemy SMU while the Royals, all alone in fourth place and seemingly assured of a MIAC playoff spot, were hoping to spring a huge upset and perhaps move a notch up in the standings.
A score in the paint by super sophomore post Rachel Parupsky at the 19:46 mark and a sweet spin move and drive by sophomore guard Lexi Friesen offset a "3" from the left wing by UST sophomore guard Katie Stone and gave the Royals a 4-3 lead by the 18:26 mark. Another foray into the paint and finish by Parupsky at the 17:41 mark and a "3" by Friesen from the left corner upped the Bethel advantage to 9-5 by the 17:04 mark and the Royals were able to maintain a small lead over the next six minutes. A drive and lay-up by the exceptionally quick freshman forward Kalli Zimmerman out of Champlin Park at the 11:28 mark had Bethel up 17-14 before the Tommies finally found their groove. And it would be Stone; the Eau Claire, Wisconsin native who would spark the Tommies as she drained back-to-back treys from the right top area at the 11:09 and 10:40 marks to put UST back out in front 20-17. Free throws by All-American senior forward Taylor Young and fellow senior post Maggie Weiers gave the Tommies a seven-point advantage and completed a quick 10-burst for a 24-17 lead.
Bethel's 2-3 zone defense didn't stop UST from making hard drives into the paint either as Young was able to maneuver into the lane for a finish with 9:04 left and two charity stripe shots less than a minute later by the Edina native had the Tommies up 28-19 and Bethel Head Coach Jon Herbrechtsmeyer; starting to sense things slipping away, immediately called a halt to the action. A score inside by freshman reserve post Kaitlin Langer maintained the nine-point Tommie advantage at 30-21 with 6:30 left before the Royals could cut into the UST lead. Friesen nailed a "3" from the left corner again with 5:40 left and a drive and lay-up by Zimmerman narrowed UST's lead to 30-26 with 4:59 left. UST junior reserve forward Elaine Warner countered with a lay-up with 4:41 left but Parupsky completed a lay-up in transition with 4:12 left that once again brought Bethel to within four at 32-28 and UST Head Coach Ruth Sinn was forced to burn a timeout to implore her squad to step things up. The Tommies seemed to respond as Weiers connected with a turnaround jumper in the lane just as the shot clock was set to expire with 2:13 left. Junior reserve guard Hannah Hughes' free throws with :41.8 left had UST up 36-28 but a steal of a loose ball by Bethel's Zimmerman for a putback with just :10 left allowed the Royals to creep a bit closer by haltime trailing 36-30.
Bethel needed a spark of their own to recapture the momentum they had early on in the first half and it looked for a bit as if they just might get it. Zimmerman seemingly came out of nowhere to snare a steal an errant pass by the Tommies and dashed the other way for an easy lay-up to start the second half off at the 19:50 mark. Weiers got tagged with her third foul at the 18:59 mark trying to stop a Bethel offensive possession and a score in the paint by Parupsky at the 18:20 mark pulled the Royals to within two at 36-34. Young connected with a short jumper in the paint for the Tommies at the 17:58 mark but a Zimmerman lay-up in the paint got her fouled by Warner and the ensuing freebie by the Champlin native drew Bethel to within a scant point at 38-37 by the 16:29 mark.
Bethel may very well have been in position to steal the spotlight right then and there but a missed lay-up by sophomore guard Hannah Niewald at the 16:04 mark and one by Parupsky at the 15:32 mark seemed to somehow take the wind out of the Royals' sail and UST was quick to pounce on the opportunity it was given. A "3" by Young at the 15:43 mark padded the Tommie advantage a bit at 41-37 by the 15:43 mark and two Young free throws at the 15:20 mark had UST back up by six at 43-37. Herbrechtsmeyer called a quick timeout to try and somehow get his Bethel squad a second wind but this time the Royals could never cut it down to a single possession as they had earlier. Zimmerman was able to connect with a lay-up at the 15:10 mark for Bethel but UST's senior guard Kelly Brandenburg; perhaps the MIAC's unsung heroine, got an open look from the left corner from behind the arc and promptly drilled a "3" to give the purple-clad Tommies a seven-point 46-39 cushion at the 15:10 mark
The Tommies maintained this cushion as each Bethel jab was met by a Tommie answer over the next seven minutes. Back-to-back scores by Friesen and freshman guard Shanni Moorse gave the Royals some hope as they got UST's lead down to 56-50 with 8:24 left but Young and Brandenburg came to the rescue for the Tommies like they almost always do and quickly poured water on any fires that the Royals were trying to start. Young knocked down a pretty turnaround jumper in the lane with 8:02 left and then Brandenburg did the same with 7:06 left that had UST back up by ten at 60-50. A Parupsky score in the paint with 6:07 left and another steal and lay-up the other way by Zimmerman with 5:29 left allowed Bethel to cling to a lifeline but they could never find that one sustained game changing run that could have changed the complexion of things again as they had early on in the second half. A "3" by Hughes from the right corner with 4:10 left and two Brandenburg free throws after she was fouled in transition extinguished any last real hope Bethel had and UST was able to salt this one away from the free throw line in the final minutes as they took home a key nine-point 72-63 victory to set up the showdown with first place SMU at home in Schoenecker Arena on Saturday.
A disappointed Herbrechtsmeyer lamented about the missed opportunities early on in the second half when the Royals got to within one of the Tommies and how, if they had cashed in on those, might have changed the complexion of the game. Still, he remained upbeat and had a positive outlook on his team and the rest of this season. "We fought hard and did the things we wanted to do and, even though we lost, we're not defeated." And for this incredibly young squad dominated by freshmen and sophomores that finds itself still firmly entrenched in fourth place in an incredibly competitive conference like the MIAC speaks volumes about how far these young players have come in a very short time. Sinn, meanwhile, was quick to point out how her team was able to step up defensively every time Bethel tried to make a move but was also quick to point out how incredibly good this young Bethel team really is. Asked how she and her staff were going to prepare for the big showdown with SMU on Saturday, Sinn was her usual calm, humble self. "We're just going to focus on ourselves" she said and that approach has arguably worked pretty well up to this point. "We've been there before and know what we have to do" she added. You can bet that I'm going to be over at Anderson Athletic Complex on Saturday afternoon - early - to get a good seat and watch this marquee match-up that will most certainly decide the regular season champion and who gets that number one seed as well.
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