Made my way back over to UST's Anderson Athletic Center and Schoenecker Arena on this early Saturday evening to take in the highly-anticipated NCAA Tournament second-round clash between UW-Whitewater out of the WIAC and host UST as both teams advanced with victories from the previous night. These two teams mirror each other in so many ways. Both like and can play up-tempo, both are big and physical, both can shoot the lights out, and both are experienced with great seniors. That's why I got there early to get myself situated where I wanted to be to get ready.
The Tommies drew first blood in this one; getting out to a 4-0 lead behind two free throws by All-American senior forward Taylor Young at the 19:39 mark and a drive and pretty spin move for a finish by junior guard Jen Dockter at the 18:50 mark. UW-Whitewater would strike right back and get three straight scores from senior reserve post Kristen Ruchti to forge ahead 6-4 by the 15:40 mark. Another UST push behind a reverse lay-up underneath by senior post Maggie Weiers at the 14:58 mark and a lay-up in transition by junior reserve forward Elaine Warner had the Tommies back up by four again at 10-6 at the 14:30 mark. But Ruchti struck again for the Warhawks to help her team pull to within one on her drive and finish at the 13:36 mark that got her fouled and allowed her to sink the obligatory freebie. A turnaround jumper by UST senior guard Kelly Brandenburg at the 12:51 mark had the Tommies up by three at 12-9 but things got knotted up at 12 a piece when UW-Whitewater sophomore guard Abbie Reeves drained a "3" from the top of the key at the 12:09 mark. Brandenburg and Ruchti traded scores that created a 14-all deadlock by the 11:34 mark. Free throws by Dockter at the 9:38 mark and by the Warhawks senior forward Amy Mandrell at the 9:27 mark created a 16-all count. Dockter's drive and lay-up with 9:03 left and a score in the paint by Ruchti had the issue tied up again at 18 a piece with 8:30 left which gives you a bit of an idea of how high and intense the level of play was from both sides.
A Young lay-up with 8:04 left put the Tommies back up 20-18 but then UW-Whitewater's Reeves uncorked another "3" from the top of the key with 7:41 left that put the Warhawks up 21-20. A free throw by UST's Warner once again had things all knotted up at 21 a piece with 7:27 left. Two free throws by Dockter who continued to be aggressive taking the ball inside had the Tommies up 23-21 with 7:06 left before UW-Whitewater senior guard Mary Merg's "3" from the top of the key had the Warhawks up by a single digit at 24-23 with 6:49 left. The Tommies were then finally able to open up a little bit of breathing room as two free throws by Brandenburg with 6:37 left and another foray into the paint and finish by Dockter who got fouled in the process and followed it up with the ensuing charity stripe shot had UST up 28-24 with 5:22 left. Weiers then asserted herself in the paint for a score and was promptly fouled as well and her free throw put UST up 31-26 with 4:49 left. Brandenburg connected on a lay-up with 3:37 left to maintain that five-point edge at 33-28 but unfortunately for the Tommies, she also picked up her third foul ten seconds later that sent her to the bench for the rest of the half. Still, a drive across the lane and finish by Young gave UST their biggest lead of the game at 35-29 with 3:11 left and the six-point lead was maintained when Weiers was able to score down low with 2:32 left for a 37-31 Tommie advantage. Late scores by both Merg and Ruchti helped negate a lay-up by UST's Dockter with :33 left as the Tommies held a 39-35 lead going into the locker room at halftime.
But while the Tommies may have been feeling good about themselves during the halftime break they failed to match the intensity and sense of urgency that UW-Whitewater came out with once the second half got underway. Mandrell connected with a short jumper at the 19:50 mark that drew the Warhawks to within two. UST's Weiers tried to counter as she connected with a lay-up and got fouled in the process and made the ensuing freebie for a 42-37 Tommie advantage but a Reeve's "3" from the left wing area at the 18:30 mark once again cut the lead to two points. UW-Whitewater then employed their full-court pressure to force a rare Brandenburg turnover as the Warhawks got the ball to speedy 5'5" guard Kaitlyn Thill who dashed the other way for a lay-up that had things tied up at 42-all at the 18:16 mark. UW-Whitewater's Merg then connected with a lay-up in transition at the 17:52 mark that put the Warhawks back out in front by a 44-42 count and UST Head Coach Ruth Sinn quickly sensed the Tommies courting disaster once again and called a timeout to try and put a halt to all this.
But things would gradually get worse for the Tommies after the break in the action. Brandenburg picked up her fourth foul at the 16:25 mark and Sinn had no choice but to sit her senior star from Brookfield, Wisconsin for later on. The Tommies managed to stay within a single possession until a short shot by Ruchti at the 15:14 mark and a "3" by senior guard Katie Burton from the left wing at the 14:13 mark had UW-Whitewater up by seven at 53-46. A "3" from the left corner by Thill at the 13:14 mark had the Warhawks up by eight at 56-48 before the Tommies could recover somewhat. Dockter responded with her own "3" from the top of the key at the 13:02 mark and a pair of jumpers in the lane by Young helped bring the Tommies back to within a single point trailing 56-55 by the 12:08 mark. A Ruchti score in the paint upped the Warhawk lead to 58-55 at the 11:19 mark but then UST's Young uncorked a "3" from the left top area that knotted things up again at 58-all at the 11:01 mark. UW-Whitewater's Merg responded with a drive into the lane and finish at the 10:34 mark that got her fouled and she sank the ensuing charity stripe shot for a 61-58 Warhawk advantage but a lay-up by UST's Weiers at the 10:18 mark and a score down low by the former New Prague standout now had the Tommies back up by a 62-61 with 9:29 left. After flirting with disaster for the first part of the second half, maybe, just maybe, this was the push that UST needed to make that would get them over the hump and into the Round of Sixteen.
Alas, it was not to be as the Warhawks responded like a hungry team on a mission and were simply too good down the stretch. A score in the paint by Burton with 9:09 left put UW-Whitewater back up for good by a 63-62 count. Two free throws by Merg with 8:33 left and a rebound and putback by Ruchti who was simply dominant when she had to be upped the Warhawk advantage to 67-62 with 7:47 left. UST, normally flawless on the offensive end encountered some of the same shooting struggles they had against Loras the previous night although, in this case, a lot of that could be attributed to a suffocating Warhawk defense that upped their game in the critical moments. Two more scores by Ruchti - a short turnaround jumper with 6:42 left and a score in the paint with 6:06 left had UW-Whitewater up 71-64. The Tommies blatantly refused to throw in the towel, however, and this proud team would try and claw back. A "3" from Young from the left top area with 5:52 left and a jumper from Brandenburg from the same area just inside the arc helped shave the Warhawk lead down to 73-69 with 5:27 left but they never could get that one critical shot to go in that might have cut things down to a single possession and, even worse, could not get a stop when they needed it most. A Weiers score in the paint had the Tommies to within four again trailing 75-71 but UW-Whitewater got into the double-bonus when Thill was fouled with 4:13 left. She sank those ensuing free throws for a 77-71 Warhawk advantage and even though a Dockter score in the paint brought UST to within four again with 3:06 left, Thill connected with a lay-up with 2:54 left for a 79-73 UW-Whitewater lead. Brandenburg; back into the game by this point riding those four fouls, got into the paint for a score with 2:37 left and was fouled in the process but she couldn't knock down the ensuing freebie that would have made it a single-possession game. A one-handed runner by the Warhawks Merg with 2:09 left once again put UW-Whitewater up by six at 81-75 and missed shots by Weiers, Dockter and sophomore guard Katie Stone doomed UST. The Warhawks milked the clock for all that it was worth and UST, left with no other choice but to foul, sent Burton to the line with :33.7 left and she knocked down both charity stripe shots. One last wisp of hope for the Tommies occurred when Stone got fouled attempting to knock down a trey and she made good on all three ensuing free throws that brought UST back to within five trailing 83-78. The Tommies, hell-bent on trying to create a turnover with full-court pressure, initially appeared to do so but the officials saw things differently and whistled a foul on Young that sent UW-Whitewater's Thill to the line where she knocked down both free throws for an insurmountable 85-78 Warhawk lead. Two more free throws by the Warhawks Burton with just :05.5 left made it an 87-78 UW-Whitewater lead and the clock had finally run out on UST's storied season.
It was painful to see the tears on the Tommies faces afterward; particularly those of the seniors (Young, Brandenburg and Weiers plus Annessa Hicks) after all the success they've enjoyed wearing that UST uniform and having things come to a crashing halt on their home floor. This was a squad that, had it been at full-strength; i.e., having a healthy junior Anna Smith available as well, would have been awfully, awfully tough to knock off. And no one felt worse for this group then Sinn who did not mince words when I asked her about this defeat. She left no doubt with her frustrations with the officials in this contest who were arguably at best subpar which is a bloody shame considering that this was an NCAA Tournament second-round game with a berth in the Round of Sixteen at stake. I have to whole-heartedly agree with Sinn's assertions on this front. Again, I get and understand that you're never going to get a perfectly officiated game in any contest and that questionable calls go with the territory. But at least be consistent with your calls. Don't call one half one way and the other half completely different. Not to take anything away from a great UW-Whitewater team here that played exceptionally well on the road in a big-time situation when they had to but the officiating in the second half particularly seemed to favor the Warhawks as they got sent to the line 19 times compared to just six times for the Tommies; a discrepancy quickly pointed out by Sinn during my post-game conversation with her. Losing Brandenburg with that fourth foul early on in the second half hurt as well; freshman Paige Gernes stepped in and provided solid minutes but that leadership element that Brandenburg has was not there when the Tommies needed it on the floor. Ruchti's dominance down low, too, was a sore spot for UST in the second half. "We let her get too deep on us" Sinn lamented. And so, that's that for a great UST season that comes to an end with a fabulous 25-5 record and another MIAC Championship Game trophy under their belt as well. It's tough to accept that the MIAC is now out of the tourney (along with Concordia's loss on Friday night, SMU was eliminated as well in their opening round game loss to UW-Oshkosh) but this was a great year for the conference; a year that will be remembered for a long time and I'll have some more thoughts on that this next week.
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