Made my over to the renovated Butler Center on this Wednesday night to take in the contest between visiting Bethel and host St. Kate's on the opening night of MIAC play. With an unblemished record so far, the Royals were looking to get off to a good start in conference play to bolster their lofty hopes and expectations while the Wildcats were looking to keep the beat going with their 4-1 record coming into conference play and to put last year's miseries behind them for good.
The early going in this one was all Bethel as junior guard Sydney "Bam Bam" Schultz banged home a "3" from off the glass on the Royals first possession for a quick 3-0 lead. Junior post Rachel Parupsky maneuvered into the paint for a score at the 18:41 mark and then sophomore sensation Kalli Zimmerman finished off this opening 9-0 spurt with two free throws at the 18:06 mark and a lay-up at the 17:42 mark. The 'Cats were finally able to get a little something going as sophomore phenom guard/forward LaShay Holt connected on a lay-up at the 17:42 mark to get St. Kate's on the board. Two free throws by junior guard Shauna Horsch at the 15:26 mark and a lay-up by freshman guard Audra Clark at the 14:22 mark helped to trim the Bethel lead down to 13-6 but the Royals then embarked on yet another 9-0 burst. Senior reserve forward Kailey Eid got a lay-up at the 14:09 mark and then junior reserve guard Lexi Friesen snared a steal and dashed the other way for an easy lay-up at the 13:34 mark. Parupsky got into the paint again for another score at the 11:59 mark and then freshman reserve guard Angie Kirchoff drained a "3" from the left corner for a commanding 22-6 Bethel lead. From a St. Kate's standpoint, it was the "Here we go again" automatic thought and Head Coach Sean Pinkerton had no choice but to call a halt to the action to search for answers.
The Wildcats would make incremental cuts into the deficit but Bethel was not willing relinquish control just yet. A drive into the lane and finish by Holt at the 10:53 mark and a steal and lay-up the other way by willowy sophomore reserve forward Kennedy Jennings at the 10:36 mark cut the Bethel lead down to 22-10 but the Royals would turn up the heat again. Parupsky scored in the paint at the 10:15 mark and then two scores by super sophomore forward Kalli Zimmerman - one in the paint with 8:28 left and a steal and lay-up the other way with 5:43 left pushed the Royal lead back to sixteen at 28-12. St. Kate's however, was able to make a push a temporarily trim the deficit back to single digits. Senior reserve forward Mary Neumann uncorked a "3" from the left corner with 5:22 left and then the other half of the Clark duo; freshman guard Meg, showed her three-point prowess by knocking one down from the left wing area with 4:50 left. A steal and lay-up the other way by the flashy Holt got the 'Cats back to within single digits trailing 29-20 and a score in the paint by Horsch pulled St. Kate's to within eight trailing 30-22 with 2:10 left. A "3" from the right top area sophomore reserve forward Alexis Garcia gave reason for hope for St. Kate's as that score cut the Royal lead down to seven at 32-25 but Bethel had one last little push left in them before the half. Parupsky knocked down a short jumper with :52 left and then sophomore guard Shanni Moorse made a hard drive and finish with :18 left on the clock that allowed the Royal to go into the locker room at the half with a 36-25 lead.
Bethel looked to be on their way again early on in the second half as Parupsky connected on a short turnaround jumper at the 16:57 mark and then was able to muscle into the paint for another score at the 16:28 mark that pushed the Royal lead to thirteen at 40-27 and St. Kate's Pinkerton had no choice but to burn a timeout at this juncture. The Wildcats would respond coming out of that stoppage in play. Horsch uncorked a "3" from the top of the key at the 15:43 mark and then Jennings connected on a lay-up in transition at the 13:53 mark that slimmed down the Bethel advantage to 42-32. Another Mary Nuemann "3" from the left corner area at the 13:01 mark and a score in the paint by Jennings at the 12:13 mark now had St. Kate's back to within seven trailing 44-37. The Royals would be able to douse these Wildcat hopes for a bit as "Bam Bam" Schultz canned a "3" from the left top area at the 11:54 mark and then Parupsky got into the paint for yet another score at the 10:54 mark for a 49-39 Bethel lead and it just looked like one of those nights where the 'Cats simply didn't have enough firepower (or willpower) to catch their opponent.
Unfortunately for the Royals, however, someone forgot to tell Holt & Co. that this one was out of reach. First, the former St. Paul Humboldt standout connected with a jumper from the top of the key just inside the arc at the 9:48 mark and then was able to snare a steal and dash the other way to the rim for a lay-up with 8:31 mark. A Meg Clark drive and finish with 7:58 left cut the Bethel lead down to 52-45 and two free throws by Garcia sliced the Royal lead down to five at 52-47 and also had St. Kate's in the bonus to boot. A jumper in the lane by Mary Neumann with 6:53 left now whittled the once-comfortable Bethel advantage down to 52-49 count and Head Coach Jon Herbrechtsmeyer; now seeing all sorts of red flags, called a halt to the action with 6:53 left.
The Royals appeared to come out of the timeout with a renewed sense of determination as Zimmerman connected with a lay-up with 6:37 left and then Parupsky established herself in the paint again with a score with 5:25 left to give Bethel a bit more breathing room with a 56-49 advantage . But this one would unravel for the Royals like a bad dream; you know, where you try to run but can't or, more specifically from a basketball standpoint, where all you need to do is make free throws but can't. Junior guard Hannah Niewald was able to only get the front end of a 1-and-1 situation after getting fouled with 4:44 left. Meanwhile, the 'Cats clawed their way back and had Bethel treading water. Horsch connected with a lay-up with 4:15 left and then an Audra Clark lay-up with 3:49 left sliced the Bethel lead down to 57-53. Parupsky was fouled by St. Kate's with 3:27 left that now had the Royals in the double-bonus and seemingly in great shape to ice this thing away once and for all. But Parupsky was able to only get the front-end to go down. A pull-up jumper by Niewald did increase the Bethel lead back to seven at 60-53 with 2:53 left but those pesky Wildcats just refused to go away. Two free throws by Holt with 2:45 left and a short jumper with 2:04 left by Holt had St. Kate's back to within three trailing 60-57. With 1:22 left and Bethel hanging on for dear life, Horsch made a hard drive and finish that sliced the Royal lead down to a scant point at 60-59. Zimmerman's rebound and putback with 1:04 left increased the lead back to three at 62-59 but a turnaround jumper by Holt with :53.7 left and a jumper by Holt from the free throw line with :26 left after a failed Bethel possession now had the 'Cats in front for the first time in the contest at 63-62 and Herbrechtsmeyer used another timeout to keep his squad from reaching for the panic button. Niewald was sent to the line after getting fouled with :16.2 left but she was unable to connect on both attempts and now St. Kate's was in prime position to pull off the upset. Horsch was fouled with 11.2 and she made good on both attempts from the charity stripe for a 65-62 Wildcat lead. Bethel had one last chance to force overtime but their possession looked rushed; not smooth. Kirchoff launched an errant three-point attempt and the rebound fell into the arms of Audra Clark who was immediately fouled with just :00.6 left. She was able to get one of the ensuing freebies to go down and St. Kate's pulled off the first big upset of this young MIAC season with a stunning 66-62 victory.
Bethel Assistant Coach Steve Reiter couldn't say a whole lot afterward. He talked about the missed free throw attempts in the second half that left points off the board but he also said that this squad has some things to learn as well. The St. Kate's contingent (Pinkerton and assistants Tim Kjar and Tim Peper) meanwhile were all in a celebratory mood and rightfully so. I can't say if this is necessarily a "signature"-type win for the 'Cats but it's definitely a big step in the right direction considering what this squad went through last year and also after the curious departure of guard Gabby Zehrer who bolted for rival UST as she figured to be a major force for a resurgent St. Kate's program. But this win was a total team effort and they showed that they can win if they come together as a team. In the bigger picture, I think that this game shows that nothing can be taken for granted in this conference. That, even if you're an upper-echelon team, you'd bloody well better be prepared to bring your "A" game every day or night or else you'll likely get an "L" handed to you.
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