The nightcap at Schoenecker Arena on this NCAA first-round Friday night would be the clash between Loras out of the IIAC and host UST; winners of the MIAC Championship Game. The Duhawks got the IIAC's automatic bid by virtue of their win over Coe in the IIAC Championship in Dubuque last weekend. The Tommies; sporting a sparking 24-4 overall record would be heavy favorites on their home floor but as we all know (and as UST would soon find out), some strange things can happen once you're in the NCAA Tournament and you'd better come out and bring it every time unless you want to be watching from the sidelines.
Things would be tight in the opening minutes of this contest with neither side being able to gain a decided advantage. UST senior guard Kelly Brandenburg got things started off with a strong drive and finish at the 19:45 mark for a 2-0 Tommie lead but Loras' sophomore guard Kaitlin Phillips answered with a "3" from the top of the key for a 3-2 Duhawk advantage at the 18:30 mark. UST's All-American forward Taylor Young put the Tommies back out in front 5-3 with her own "3" from the top of the key at the 18:10 mark but things would be tied up at 5-all when lanky senior forward/post Katie Langmeier slithered into the paint for a score at the 17:47 mark. Both sides would trade one-point leads over the next minute before UST embarked on their first decisive push of the first half. Young got into the paint for a score at the 16:54 mark and then Brandenburg upped the Tommie lead to 11-8 with two free throws at the 16:22 mark. Junior reserve forward Elaine Warner; arguably an "X-factor" for this UST squad, made it a 14-8 game when she got into the paint for a score after a Loras turnover and got fouled in the process and put down the obligatory freebie. Loras Head Coach Justin Heinzen; not liking the prospect of being down early to UST on the Tommies home floor in an NCAA Tournament game, called a timeout in hopes of stopping any early hemorrhaging.
The break in the action seemed to do the trick for the Duhawks as they were not only able to right the ship but did it in a timely and efficient manner as well. Lanky 6'2" reserve freshman post Lori Obendorf got into the paint for a score at the 15:19 mark and willowy senior forward Katie Wheeler connected with a lay-up at the 13:38 mark. Obendorf was able to use her long reach to snare an offensive rebound for a putback at the 12:45 mark and a "3" by sophomore reserve guard Maddie Bare from the right top area at the 12:08 mark completed an impressive 9-2 run and suddenly had Loras on top 17-16. Now it was UST Head Coach Ruth Sinn's turn to call a halt to the action to try and get her squad to adjust defensively but it would not stop the Duhawks from adding four more points to this startling turn of events. Freshman guard Kathleen Cabrera knocked down a pretty jumper from the free throw line as the shot clock was getting ready to expire at the 10:14 mark and then junior forward Victoria May snared an offensive rebound after a miss and got a putback with 9:24 left for a 21-16 Loras lead. The Tommies finally responded as senior post Maggie Weiers muscled into the paint for a score with 9:06 left and a Warner drive and finish with 7:35 left cut the Duhawk lead down to 21-20. A repeat performance by Warner with 6:11 left put the Tommies back out in front and another score by Weiers in the paint made it a 24-21 game for UST with 4:50 left. Weiers was also able to score off of an inbounds pass with 3:57 left and got fouled in the process but missed on the obligatory free throw. Then junior reserve guard Jen Dockter; out most of the season with that injured knee from this last summer, padded the Tommie advantage with one charity stripe shot with 1:16 left and with :35 left, the former Eastview standout made a pretty spin move and finished with a lay-up that gave UST a 29-21 lead going into the locker room at the half. Maybe not the big comfortable lead that most were expecting by this point, but a lead nonetheless.
UST looked to be on their way early on in the second half as they built their advantage to double digits in the opening minutes of the second half. A Brandenburg drive and finish at the 18:35 mark and a score in the paint by Weiers now had the Tommies up 33-22 by the 16:48 mark and by this point there was certainly every reason for Loras to be looking for that proverbial panic button that so many other teams desperately search for when playing the Tommies in the confines of Schoenecker Arena; particularly when the Tommies hit you with that 1-2 punch of Brandenburg/Young and Weiers. But to their credit, the Duhawks, really coming into this contest with little to lose, fought back. A lay-up by Wheeler who got fouled in the process and made the ensuing free throw, shaved some of the fat off the deficit to make it 33-25 ballgame. An offensive rebound and putback by Langmeier at the 15:27 mark drew Loras to within six points at 33-27 and a lay-up in transition by Phillips at the 13:22 mark now had the Duhawks trailing by only five at 34-29 and Sinn, not at all happy with her team at this point, called a timeout to let her squad know about it.
The Tommies were arguably playing a dangerous game of Russian Roulette on their home floor in a first round NCAA Tournament game and seemed to sag offensively as they not only looked out of sorts but, even worse, went through a spell where they couldn't get much to go into the cylinder either. And Loras was only too happy to crawl right back into the thick of things. Senior forward Lauren Byrne made a hard drive into the paint for a finish at the 12:29 mark and Phillips brought the Duhawks to within one by knocking down two free throws after she got fouled in a transition attempt at the 11:57 mark. A rebound and putback by Byrne now had Loras shockingly back out in front 35-34 at the 11:32 mark and both sides found themselves playing a cat and mouse affair of sorts; trading one-point leads which is not what UST wanted to be doing by this point on their home floor on this stage. Nursing a 39-38 advantage, the Tommies made a 41-38 game when Brandenburg knocked down two free throws after getting fouled with 8:23 left but Wheeler helped the Duhawks pull to within one again when Wheeler knocked down two charity stripe shots herself after getting fouled with 8:03 left. With little breathing room and with things very uncertain with a mountain of time left, the Duhawks were in prime position to pull off a shocker in the first round on the road.
But, as they seemingly almost always do when the chips are down and things aren't going their way, the Tommies just somehow find that will to win; especially in situations such as this. And it would be the sophomore point guard, Katie Stone, who struggled from the perimeter for a good chunk of this one, finally finding the range when she needed it most. Her "3" from the left wing with 6:22 left gave UST a little more wiggle room and a jumper from the free throw line by Young with 5:36 left now made it a 46-40 game and Heinzen, starting to see things slip away at the most crucial juncture, called a thirty-second timeout. Free throws by Byrne and Langmeier helped the Duhawks get back to within three trailing 46-43 but Loras then had a defensive lapse that allowed Stone to get free in the left corner all by her lonesome where she promptly nailed a "3" with 3:54 left that put UST back up by six at 49-43. Still, the Duhawks refused to fold up camp but made a concerted effort to try and get inside and hopefully get to the charity stripe as well. The tactic seemed to work as free throws by Wheeler and Langmeier helped Loras to claw back to within two trailing 49-47 with just :31 left. In the ensuing timeout called by Loras' Heinzen, you could hear the Duhawks imporing each other; particularly May as she yelled "Let's go! We gotta go!" Cmon!!" UST's Young, sent to the free throw line after getting fouled with just :30.9 left, calmly knocked down both attempts to make it a four-point Tommie lead but Cabrera quickly answered that for Loras as she connected with a lay-up with :21.9 left to once again bring the Duhawks to within two trailing 51-49. On the ensuing UST possession, the Tommies were patient, nursing that two point lead and trying to milk some clock as well. With :11.9 left, Langmeier fouled Weiers and the former New Prague standout was sent to the charity stripe to try and ice this thing. Weiers' front-end attempt, however, missed its intended mark which drew a gasp from the partisan UST crowd. Weiers did connect on the back-end freebie but now Loras had their chance to try and force overtime. The Duhawks brought the ball up the court and desperately tried to get someone open behind the arc as precious seconds kept falling off the clock. Finally, Phillips, hounded by UST junior guard Laura Margarit, was forced to launch a desperation three-point attempt with just one tick left on the clock. The shot fell way short as the Loras dream ended with UST taking a hard-fought 52-49 victory to move on to the second round.
A greatly relieved Sinn afterward was quick to praise her point guard from Eau Claire, Wisconsin when I asked her about those two big three-pointers that she nailed in that critical stretch. "She can do that!" Sinn exclaimed. I couldn't resist asking Sinn the obvious question: Did the Tommies take Loras lightly coming into this game? "Oh no" said Sinn. "We know anything can happen in a setting such as this (NCAA Tournament)." Indeed, she pointed out the fact that the highly-touted Apple Valley boys team was upset the night before in sectional play. Now, with less than a 24 hour turnaround time, how do the Tommies prepare to take on UW-Whitewater on Saturday night? "The same approach we've always taken" replied Sinn. We take things one at a time and we'll look for any advantages we can possibly find and try to exploit them." Give this UST squad credit. They found a way to win this one when they were only able to bring their B- game and let the Duhawks hang around much longer than most expected. They'll need to up their level when they take on UW-Whitewater in the second round Saturday night for sure.
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