After leaving Augsburg's Si Melby Hall, I made my way over to the St. Paul side of town and over to St. Kate's Butler Center for the 3:00 P.M. game between visiting GAC and host St. Kate's. I got settled in at the Butler Center with the Gusties holding an early 4-0 lead at the 18:10 mark.
GAC was off to a solid start in this one and, with that 4-0 advantage, they were able to expand that advantage to a touchdown lead on one freebie by sophomore guard/forward Hannah Howard and a short jumper off of an inbounds pass by willowy junior forward Lindsey Johnson made it a 9-0 game at the 14:12 mark. Senior guard Maddie Ehrich drove inside and finished at the 13:40 mark to complete an 11-0 opening burst and this one had the makings of a rout written all over it by this point. St. Kate's Head Coach Sean Pinkerton apparently was in agreement as he called a timeout right after freshman guard Audra Clark finally got the 'Cats on the board with a lay-up at the 13:27 mark. That timeout had a positive effect on the Wildcats as they followed up on that score with three more unanswered scores to complete a 10-0 burst of their own; highlighted by treys from Audra Clark and senior reserve forward Mary Neumann to get to within a single point trailing 11-10 by the 11:01 mark. Gustie sophomore reserve post Cara Christiansen knocked down two free throws after getting fouled with 9:50 left for a 13-10 GAC lead but Audra Clark had the hot hand at the moment for St. Kate's as she nailed a "3" from the left top area with 9:40 left to deadlock things at 13 a piece.
The Gusties would manage to forge a small lead but they were doing it for the most part without their freshman point guard Mikayla Miller who picked up two early fouls in this contest and had to sit a good spell of the first half on the bench. After Howard was able to connect with a jumper with 9:18 left to give GAC a 15-13 lead, Miller was able to come back in and got one free throw to go down when she was fouled with 8:48 left. Johnson, en route to a huge performance on this day, drained a "3" from the left wing with 7:29 left that upped the lead to 19-13 but again the Wildcats were able to get right back into the thick of things and chop away at the Gustie lead. Freshman guard Meg Clark knocked down a "3" from the top of the key with 7:10 left and then freshman reserve guard Emily Neumann connected with a lay-up with 5:22 left. A score in the paint by sophomore sensation guard LaShay Holt with 5:13 left drew St. Kate's to within one again trailing 21-20. But GAC was able to find another burst down the home stretch of the first half that gave them some more breathing room. Sophomore forward Miranda Rice connected with a short jumper with 3:34 left and pairs of free throws by Ehrich and Miller not only had GAC up 29-22 with 2:06 left but had the Gusties in the double-bonus as well. Two more charity stripe shots by Ehrich with 1:13 left and a score in the paint by sophomore reserve forward Morgan Iverson gave the Gusties a 35-24 advantage at the half. The funny thing was though that, for some reason, it didn't feel like an eleven point lead and from all my years of watching basketball this one just did not seem safe for the Gusties. Little did I realize how true that thinking would be later on.
Early scores in the second half by both Ehrich and Johnson gave GAC its largest lead at thirteen at 39-26 by the 18:54 mark but a re-energized Wildcat team would skillfully and slyly whittle away at the Gustie advantage and get their shooters good looks. One of those shooters - junior guard Shauna Horsch - who had a relatively quiet first half, came alive in the second half. Two free throws at the 16:50 mark were the precursor for a huge day for the Simley standout. Horsch uncorked a trey from the right top area at the 15:34 mark and after knocking down two more free throws after getting fouled at the 15:10 mark, she unleashed another patented high-arcing three-point bomb at the 14:32 mark that not only found its mark but also brought St. Kate's back to within three trailing 43-40. This forced GAC to awake from its late afternoon siesta and take notice. One score by freshman reserve post Stephanie Klockmann and two scores by Johnson helped to re-establish a five-point 49-44 advantage by the 11:24 mark but two free throws by Audra Clark at the 11:00 mark and a score in the paint by sophomore forward Mari Lee with 9:59 lead brought the 'Cats back to within one trailing 49-48 and suddenly this looked like a very dangerous game for the Gusties.
GAC was able to slightly extend their tenuous lead to four points on freebies by Rice with 8:34 left and a short shot off the glass by Ehrich with 7:29 left for a 54-50 advantage but pairs of free throws by Holt finally brought St. Kate's even at 54 with 6:49 left and, even worse for the Gusties, Miller was now saddled with four fouls as well. With 6:26 left, Holt connected on a pull-up jumper in transition that gave the 'Cats their first lead of the afternoon at 56-54. A score in the paint by Christiansen with 6:04 left brought GAC even at 56-all but it was here that St. Kate's embarked on a 12-2 run; lighted by a lay-up in transition by senior reserve forward Sarah Manning and treys by both Horsch and Holt that incredibly gave the Wildcats a 68-58 lead with only 3:11 left. But this Gustie team; which could have faltered and collapsed like a house of cards at this juncture, found a way to dig in its collective heels and mount a comeback of its own. And it would be the two upperclassmen - Ehrich and Johnson - putting the team on their collective backs when things looked the most perilous for the black and gold. Ice-cold back-to-back "3's" by Johnson - one from the left top area with 2:55 left and one from the top of the key with 2:18 left - pulled GAC back to within four trailing 68-64. Two free throws by Rice drew the Gusties to within a single possession trailing 68-66 and, even worse for St. Kate's, sent Holt to the bench for the day with her fifth foul. With exactly 1:00 left, Ehrich used her athleticism to get into the lane for a score to tie the issue at 68-all. The Wildcats had two chances of their own to try and win it but turnovers doomed those opportunities. With :25.3 left, GAC Head Coach Laurie Kelly called a timeout to try and set-up a play to win it in regulation. But solid defense by St. Kate's forced Johnson to put up an off-balance shot that harmlessly fell short of its mark and off we went to overtime tied at 68.
A score in the paint by Ehrich with 3:57 left in the overtime period gave the Gusties their first lead since the 6:26 mark of the second half but this two-point advantage was short-lived as Horsch got free behind the arc from the left wing area and let loose with another three-point heave that swished through that gave the Wildcats the lead back at 71-70 with 3:46 left. On the ensuing GAC possession, Ehrich worked her magic again and got into the lane for a scoring attempt and was fouled by Audra Clark that sent one half of the Clark duo to the bench with her fifth foul. Ehrich knocked down both freebies that gave the Gusties a 72-71 lead. One free throw by Meg Clark tied the issue at 72-all. On GAC's ensuing possession, Ehrich was rebuffed twice trying to score in the lane but the Gusties were able to secure the offensive rebound and, with the shot clock winding down, Rice connected with a jumper with 2:30 left for a 74-72 GAC lead. Two free throws by Horsch after she was fouled with 2:21 left tied things up one last time for the Wildcats at 74 a piece. It was at this point that both Johnson and Ehrich came up with their most important scores of the game - a Johnson jumper with the shot clock expiring with 1:52 left and an Ehrich score in the lane with 1:07 left - that gave GAC a two-possession advantage at 78-74. Meg Clark was able to maneuver into the paint for a score with :50 left that drew St. Kate's to within two. Pinkerton called a timeout to try and draw up plans for a stop for his Wildcats but there was seemingly no plan that would stop Ehrich on this day. She was able to connect again on a jumper in the lane with :24 left that once again gave the Gusties a two-possession advantage at 80-76. St. Kate's quickly got back downcourt and Horsch took the rock to the rack where she was fouled and got two free throws to go down with :14.3 left that once again had the 'Cats back to within one possession trailing 80-78. Another Pinkerton timeout to try and figure out a way to get a stop and get the ball back. On the ensuing GAC possession, it was Johnson coming to the Gusties rescue as she got fouled with :13.1 left and sank both of the obligatory free throws that once again had GAC up two possessions. Desperation time for St. Kate's as they wanted to find someone out behind the arc for a "3" but the Gusties were able to lock down on defense and eliminate that option. Meg Clark had to make a foray into the lane for a lay-up attempt with :07 left that missed its mark and Miller, the freshman with those four fouls, was there to grab the defensive rebound for GAC and was immediately fouled. She got the front end to go down and though she missed the back end, Rice was there to grab the offensive rebound. Johnson put the finishing touches on her amazing 28-point scoring performance with an insurance jumper off of an inbounds pass with just :00.9 left that gave the Gusties a breath-taking 85-78 overtime victory.
A jubilant GAC contingent was heaving a huge sigh of relief after this one and relishing in the comeback effort that gave them this hard-earned victory on this day. I asked Ehrich afterward what was going through her and her teammates minds when they found themselves down by ten late in regulation. She talked about having "that will to win" which has seemingly become a theme for the Gusties these days. It seems amazing and so special to see Ehrich having a chance to do this considering how she was cast aside by a short-sighted St. Olaf coaching staff that subsequently sent her packing for greener pastures in St. Peter. Johnson talked about how she and her teammates "flipped the switch" when they had to and to see the former Edina standout developing into the kind of scoring threat that the Gusties needed her to be is great to watch. I had a very nice talk with Kelly afterward as well and we discussed some of the various aspects of this team that, so far anyway, has them in very good shape. This last stretch of five games has been an exhausting one for GAC and things may have caught up with them this last Wednesday night when they dropped that 65-52 home decision to Bethel. "We just didn't show up that night" she lamented. The immediate plan is to take Sunday off for a very well-deserved day of rest and a chance to re-charge the batteries before preparing for the unenviable task of taking on #4 UST on Wednesday night back in St. Peter. The task looks daunting indeed but Kelly seems to take it all in stride as she says that her squad has nothing to lose. Meanwhile, for St. Kate's, another bitter pill to swallow. So incredibly close and even tougher to accept considering Horsch's equally impressive 28 point performance. Pinkerton admitted that he disagreed with the fouls on both Holt and Audra Clark that sent them to the bench with their fifth fouls but is all too aware of the fact that those things don't always go your way and that "life isn't always fair" either. Still, for St. Kate's, you have to take this as a positive development. They're getting closer all the time and one of these times they're going to get that win over somebody big.
No comments:
Post a Comment