Made my way over to Northwestern's Ericksen Center on this Saturday afternoon to take in yet another MIAC/UMAC clash - this one between visiting Gustavus Adolphus and host Northwestern. I was anxious to get my first look at the 2014-15 version of the Gusties and, as it seems with every venture GAC takes to the Twin Cities for a game, there is always a host of Gustie alums in the stands to cheer on their former teammates and today was no different. The Eagles on the other hand, were looking to rebound after their disastrous 78-45 loss at Augsburg two nights ago which was also their fourth loss in a row. No doubt Northwestern was going to have to turn it up a notch if they wanted to end this skid today.
Despite a sweet rendition of the National Anthem by Northwestern senior guard Chanel Madson, the Eagles looked as if they were still in hangover mode from Thursday night's debacle over at Augsburg as the Gusties raced out to a 15-3 lead. Freshman guard Mikayla Miller started things off with a lay-up in transition at the 18:55 mark and a "3" from willowy junior forward Lindsey Johnson had Northwestern reeling. Miller connected with another lay-up in transition at the 16:57 mark but the real show early on in this one was provided by sophomore guard Kelsey Carpenter. The St. Peter product first made a lay-up at the 16:31 mark to extend the GAC lead to 9-3 and then proceeded to light up Ericksen Center with her three-point prowess. One trey from the right corner at the 16:03 mark and another one at the 15:38 mark from the left wing made it a 15-3 Gustie lead and Northwestern Head Coach Aaron Kahl had no choice but to call a halt to the action before his squad got run out of its own gym. The Eagles did get a bit of a reprieve junior forward Regan Cooper snared an offensive rebound for a putback at the 13:45 mark but GAC's Carpenter continued to shoot the lights out as she drained another "3" - this one from the top of the key at the 13:21 mark for an 18-5 Gustie lead.
Despite the horrendous start, Northwestern gradually worked their way back into the contest; thanks in part to some smart play and a smattering of missed opportunities by the Gusties. Sophomore reserve post Rachel Hart connected with a lay-up at the 12:52 mark and a score in the paint by Cooper at the 11:36 mark got the Eagles back to within single digits trailing 18-9. Madson connected with a lay-up at the 10:34 mark and then sophomore reserve forward Emily VanLith maneuvered into the paint for a score at the 10:05 mark. VanLith was also able to snare an offensive rebound for a putback with 9:11 left and a Madson "3" from the top of the key with 6:30 left seemed to suck some of the early energy the Gusties had as Northwestern was back in this one trailing 26-18 and GAC Head Coach Laurie Kelly called a timeout in hopes of rejuvenating her squad. But the Eagles had other ideas as they kept chipping away. Sophomore guard Tiffany Stubbs drilled a "3" from the right top area with 5:19 left and Cooper added two charity stripe shots after getting fouled with 4:09 left as GAC curiously seemed stymied on offense. VanLith made good on a drive and finish with 3:15 left and then junior forward Kim Campbell connected on a lay-up in transition that trimmed the Gustie lead to a scant point at 28-27 and Kelly wasted no time in calling yet another timeout. A tough lay-up by Miller with 2:24 left increased GAC's lead back to three at 30-27 but a Campbell trey from the left top area with 2:11 left finally tied the score and two free throws by VanLith with :45.2 left finally had Northwestern up at the half 32-30.
The Eagles; determined not to have the second half letdown they suffered Thursday night at Augsburg, started out strong as Cooper made a hard drive and finish to get things going at the 19:24 mark for a 34-30 Northwestern lead but they never could quite shake the Gusties. Carpenter, who had set the Ericksen Center ablaze with her three-point shooting in the first half, dropped another bomb from the right corner at the 19:11 mark to draw GAC to within one and two scores by freshman forward Miranda Rice - an offensive rebound for a putback at the 16:26 mark and a score in the paint at the 15:49 mark - allowed the Gusties to reclaim the lead at 37-36. That lead was short-lived, however, as Northwestern's Stubbs banged home a "3" from the left wing area at the 15:40 mark but right back came GAC as senior reserve guard Maddie Ehrich connected with a jumper at the 15:17 mark and got fouled in the process and the ensuing charity stripe shot put the Gusties back out in front again 40-39. Two scores by strong freshman reserve forward Stephanie Klockmann allowed GAC to maintain a small lead and a lay-up in transition by the wily point guard Miller had the Gusties up 45-41 at the 13:47 mark. Northwestern would manage to battle back as VanLith scored in the paint at the 13:31 mark to make it a one possession game again at 45-43. In the span of twenty-two seconds, Cooper's heroics put the Eagles ahead once more. She connected with a lay-up after a long offensive rebound at the 12:21 mark and then got a score in the paint at the 11:59 mark that got her fouled in the process and her free throw had Northwestern with a 48-45 lead as GAC's Kelly had to burn a timeout to get her forces reorganized.
That timeout by Kelly seemed to do the trick for the Gusties as they came out with much more focus, energy and determination and they reclaimed the lead for good with a decisive 9-0 that turned things around. Rice made a hard drive along the left baseline and finished at the 11:46 mark and got fouled in the process and her freebie knotted things up at 48 a piece. A charity stripe shot by Ehrich at the 11:35 mark and a short jumper off the glass by Carpenter at the 11:12 mark had GAC up 52-48. A jumper in the lane by sophomore guard Hannah Howard with 9:41 left made it 54-48 and Northwestern's Kahl wasted no time in calling a halt to the action to get his team adjusted. Two freebies by Howard extended the lead to 56-48 with 9:06 left before the Eagles were finally able to make some inroads on the GAC lead. A jumper along the right baseline by lanky 6'2" senior post Jacki Smith with 7:59 left and a lay-up by VanLith with 7:25 left drew Northwestern to within four trailing 56-52 but they would not get that close again. A foul on GAC's Miller with 7:09 left was a double-whammy for the Eagles as not only did Smith foul out with only four points and five rebounds on the day but GAC was now in the double-bonus as well. An offensive rebound and putback by Rice with 6:36 left along with a score by Miller in the paint with 6:00 left gave the Gusties a six-point cushion at 61-55. Two free throws by freshman guard Siri Sviggum with 4:37 left and a jumper along the left baseline with 3:54 left by the former Kenyon-Wanamingo standout made it a ten-point game at 65-55. Northwestern was able to close the gap a bit on late scores by Madson and Campbell to get within six at 65-59 but now the Eagles were reduced to fouling and taking their slim chances at the GAC charity stripe where the Gusties came through as Ehrich, Miller and Johnson made their freebies and the Gusties claimed an important 71-62 non-conference victory.
A very happy and relieved Kelly afterward made note that those missed opportunities in the first half were definitely a sore spot but defensive adjustments made in the second half helped turned the tide for her team. She also pointed out that this was an incredibly tough week for her squad to prepare as players had four straight days of finals (ugh, I remember THOSE days all too well and don't miss 'em one bit) and really only one day (Friday) of true practice in preparation for this game. Still, the Gusties came through with flying colors when it counted and, sitting with a 7-2 record heading into the holiday break with a game looming over at UW-River Falls on December 30th before GAC dives head-first into MIAC play for the rest of the year is not a bad spot to be in. Kelly is building for the future with her young core of players and I definitely like what I see after today's game. The big question for them going into 2015 is can they make a move to secure, say, a fourth- or third-seed when the MIAC playoffs roll around? We'll see but the recent struggles of conference rival Concordia so far just may be the opening that the Gusties have been looking for to do just that.
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