Made my way over to the Anderson Athletic Complex and Schoenecker Arena on this Sunday afternoon to take in this huge contest between two powerhouse programs - visiting UW-Steven Point out of the WIAC and host UST of the MIAC. For an early season tilt, this one was definitely on my "to do" list and I wouldn't be disappointed.
The Tommies would get off to a great start in this one as two quick scores by senior post Maggie Weiers and a "3" from the right wing by senior point guard Jen Dockter had UST up 7-4 by the 16:01 mark. Despite the fact that Weiers picked up two quick personal fouls in the opening stages of the game that forced UST Head Coach Ruth Sinn to sit her for a spell, the Tommies were able to expand their lead to 16-6 by the 13:50 mark thanks to scores from junior guard Katie Stone, senior reserve forward Alyssa Favilla and senior forward Anna Smith whose "3" from the top of the key seemed to have the home team firmly in control. But the Pointers, who had trouble early on with that stifling Tommie pressure defense, were finally able to shake off some of the cobwebs and make a push. Sophomore guard Lauren Anklam made a pretty drive and finish at the 13:23 mark and then senior reserve guard Jamie Destache uncorked a "3" from the right wing that helped bring UW-Stevens Point back to within five trailing 16-11 by the 13:01 mark. The Tommies were able to get back up by ten points again when senior reserve forward Elaine Warner snared an offensive rebound for a putback at the 12:39 mark along with a Dockter "3" from the top of the key at the 12:18 mark for a 21-11 Tommie advantage but UW-Stevens Point would answer as junior reserve post Allie Miceli was able to muscle into the paint for a score at the 11:56 mark and then the Roland twins - Mickey and Lexi (both freshmen) - would get back-to-back scores at the 10:59 mark and with 9:27 left that trimmed the UST lead to 21-17.
A turnaround jumper by senior post Kaitlyn Jacobs with 8:40 left drew the Pointers within two trailing 21-19 before the Tommies were able to step on the gas again. Weiers made a nifty move to snare an inbounds pass and score with 7:40 left and a running jumper by Dockter with 7:07 left put UST up 25-19. Newcomer freshman reserve post Lauren Fischer snared an offensive rebound for a putback with 5:41 left and then lefty senior reserve guard Hannah Hughes drained a "3" from the left wing area with 4:55 left that had the Tommies in command with a cozy 30-19 lead. The gap bulged to as much as fifteen points as Weiers was able to score in the paint with 4:21 left and got fouled in the process and got the "and one" and a Dockter "3" from the top of the key with 3:53 left had the Pointers in some serious trouble trailing 36-21. UW-Steven Point behind the work of Miceli did manage to chip away at that deficit some before the first half ended though. One free throw by the Marseilles, Illinois product with 3:34 left along with a hard drive and finish with 1:07 left plus a short jumper with :51 left allowed the Pointers to trim the UST lead to 37-26 by the time the first half buzzer sounded. A bit of a plus for UW-Stevens Point going into the locker room but you had to figure that Head Coach Shirley Egner was going to have something to say about her squad getting worked on the boards in the first half of play.
Whatever Egner said in the locker room during the halftime break sure seemed to have an effect on her squad as they look energized and much more determined once the second half got underway. Not only did they look that much more crisp on offense, they were also hitting the boards much harder than they were in the first half and this helped open up scoring opportunities for the Pointers as they gradually clawed back into the thick of things. A score in the paint by Miceli at the 19:42 mark along with a jumper from sophomore guard Taylor Douglas from the left corner at the 18:18 mark brought UW-Stevens Point back to within single digits trailing 39-30. Anklam was able to connect with a trey from the right top area at the 16:55 mark and "3's" from both Lexi Roland and Anklam helped cut the UST lead down to five points at 41-36 at the 16:04 mark. Pointer junior post Joann Wolfenberg, who struggled during the first half, finally got untracked at the 15:03 mark by snaring an offensive rebound for a putback that got UW-Stevens Point to within a single possession trailing 41-38 and an offensive rebound and putback by Mickey Roland helped keep the deficit manageable at three points trailing 43-40 at the 12:52 mark. The Tommies finally caught their collective breaths and found themselves again averting (at least for the moment anyway) total disaster. Hughes snared an offensive rebound with her strong 5'8" frame and proceeded to do a one-handed reverse lay-up that wowed the crowd on hand and there was nothing vanilla with Favilla's lay-up either at the 10:07 mark for a somewhat more secure 49-40 UST lead.
But just when it seemed like the Tommies had held off the strongest UW-Stevens Point threat, the purple-clad Pointers stormed right back to throw another scare into the home team. Jacobs knocked down two freebies after getting fouled with 9:50 left and then Destache got loose in the right corner and she drilled a "3" with 9:20 left that cut the UST lead down to 49-45. A jumper from the left corner by Jacobs completed a 7-0 run with 8:30 left that now had cut the Tommie lead down to a scant two points at 49-47. Weiers; now saddled with three fouls, was able to increase the UST lead to 51-47 with her score in the paint with 6:13 left but with 4:31 left, Weiers picked up her fourth foul and now Sinn had no choice but to sit her star senior post and opt for lanky 6'3" sophomore reserve post Kaitlin Langer down low. At this point, the Tommies seemed ripe for picking as UW-Stevens Point seemed primed to zero in for the kill. Miceli scored in the paint with 4:00 left and a "3" by Anklam from the right top area with 3:04 left offset two earlier freebies by UST's Smith as the Pointers were now down by one trailing 53-52. Alas, that's as close as the Pointers could get to tasting ultimate victory. A jumper by Stone from the left top area with 2:47 left increased the lead to 55-52 and Weiers; now back in the game with those four fouls, laid it all on the line to muscle into the paint for a score with 1:50 left for a 57-52 Tommie lead. The Pointers had a last flicker of hope when Miceli was sent to the free throw line with 1:24 left but a lane violation committed by UW-Stevens Point effectively shut the curtain on their comeback bid. The Pointers; now forced to foul and preserve what little precious time that was left, saw Dockter and Favilla go to the free throw line to seal the deal for the Tommies as UST claimed a tough - and very important - 60-54 victory to improve their record to 4-0 while dropping UW-Stevens Point to 3-3 on this very young season.
I couldn't resist asking Sinn afterward how important a victory like this over a very tough WIAC opponent was heading into conference play. "It's very important" said Sinn. The always-congenial UST head coach had also told me earlier in the weekend during the Pat Patterson Thanksgiving Tournament how important it was for her squad's long-term goals to stay in one piece. "We've GOT to stay healthy; no doubt about it". Certainly having both Dockter and Smith back - and fully healthy - is huge for this squad if they intend to make yet another run at the whole ball of wax. I don't know if this team is as infallible as the group from 2012 that featured the likes of Taylor Young, Kelly Brandenburg and Ali Johnson. But this squad does have some nice playmakers coming off the bench in Hughes, senior reserve forward Elaine Warner, (nothing vanilla) Favilla, Langer along with two young freshmen who saw minutes in this contest - Fischer and point guard Maddie Wolkow. It is only early December of course and a lot can happen between now and late February/early March. Still, you have to like the makeup of this team and its chances not only in MIAC play but beyond as well.
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