Was back over at Butler Center on this Wednesday night to take in the neighborhood rivalry between UST which made the quick hop down Cleveland Avenue to take on host St. Kate's. The Tommies; coming into this contest with an unblemished 13-0 (6-0 MIAC) record were rolling right along and would be prohibitive favorites in this one against the Wildcats at 7-6 (2-4 MIAC). I have to admit I had some apprehensions coming into this game; wondering how hard it would be to write about if this indeed turned into a bloodbath that many (including me) anticipated. But, as I was to find out, this one would turn into being a much more interesting contest than anyone would have thought.
As expected, UST established an early 5-0 lead on scores by junior guard Katie Stone and senior guard Jen Dockter that had Wildcat Head Coach Sean Pinkerton shedding his sportcoat by the 17:35 mark. Junior guard Shauna Horsch got St. Kate's on the board with her lay-up at the 16:15 mark but the Tommies were able to extend their lead to 9-2 at the 14:37 mark thanks in large part to the trapping and pressing that UST employs to suffocate their opponents. Still, the 'Cats were able to find some loopholes in that seemingly infallible Tommie "D" and were also able to force some turnovers by the Tommies as well. Freshman guard Audra Clark banged home a "3" from the right top area at the 13:58 mark that shrunk the UST lead down to 9-5 and after Dockter threw an errant pass out of bounds Tommie Head Coach Ruth Sinn knew full and well that something wasn't right and called a timeout in hopes of quickly correcting the situation. But St. Kate's was intent on making life not so pleasant for the fifth-ranked team in the nation. Another Audra Clark "3"; this one from the left top area at the 12:28 mark got the 'Cats to within one trailing 9-8 before UST was able to recover somewhat as they were able to expand their lead to 13-8 by the 10:52 mark on scores in the paint by senior post Maggie Weiers and fellow senior forward Anna Smith.
St. Kate's would continue to hang around like a pesky mosquito while the Tommies were still looking for some sort of spark that might trigger a big run. Two scores from senior reserve forward Mary Neumann twice got the Wildcats to within three. Smith got one charity stripe shot for UST with 8:47 left for a 16-12 UST advantage but a lay-up by Mary Neumann with 7:29 left brought St. Kate's to wihin two trailing 16-14 and then sophomore sensation LaShay Holt, who has a knack for playing big in big games, got a lay-up in transition at the 7:07 mark that tied the issue at 16 a piece and had the Wildcat faithful full of hope. But the Tommies were in no mood for any upset loss on this night and quickly went to work to rectify the situation. Stone knocked down a "3" from the top of the key with 6:31 left and two scores by senior reserve forward Alyssa (Nothing Vanilla) Favilla - a lay-up with 6:04 left and a score in the paint with 5:24 left - made it a 23-16 ballgame. Smith got a lay-up in transition after a steal with 3:38 left and Dockter did the same with 3:11 left to complete a decisive 11-0 burst for a 27-16 lead. A jumper from the right elbow by Holt finally ended the St. Kate's drought with 2:39 left but a one-handed jumper off the glass by Dockter with 1:59 left along with a lay-up by senior guard Laura Margarit with :47.8 left and a "3" from Smith from the right wing gave UST a somewhat cozy 36-20 lead at the half.
St. Kate's; determined to not let this thing get away from them early, sought to get out on the right track once the second half got underway. Two scores by sophomore forward Mari Lee trimmed the Tommie lead down to 37-24 at the 18:01 mark and a jumper from the top by Horsch at the 16:45 mark had the 'Cats back to within eleven trailing 37-26 and Sinn, ever fearful of a letdown by her squad, called another timeout to talk about things with her team. That stoppage in play seemed to do the trick as the Tommies proceeded to go on a 7-0 burst on two scores in the paint by senior reserve forward Elaine Warner and a "3" from Dockter from the right wing area that made it a 44-26 game. At the 10:31 mark, Dockter struck again with a drive along the left baseline and finish to make it 46-27 and UST appeared to be on their way.
St. Kate's however, was not going to simply roll over and go away. An offensive rebound and putback of her own miss by freshman reserve guard Emily Neumann with 9:32 mark and a long offensive rebound and lay-up by Audra Clark with 8:17 left helped to spark some life in the 'Cats mojo. But two three-point bombs by freshman reserve point Maddie Wolkow and a drive along the left baseline and finish by Stone allowed the Tommies to maintain a relatively safe cushion at 54-32 with 7:06 left. UST would hold that twenty-plush cushion before the Wildcats were able to make some inroads late. The Clark Sisters (Audra and Meg) got scores with 4:02 and 3:31 left and then Audra connected with a lay-up with 3:01 left. Holt, still full of flair, went coast-to-coast for an easy lay-up with 2:23 left to cut the UST lead down to nineteen at 62-43. Free throws by Holt and Horsch further cut the Tommie lead down to 62-45 with 1:28 left and then Lee was able to get a lay-up with :43 left. One last coast-to-coast and lay-up dash by Holt with :04 left completed a 10-0 tear that helped cut the final margin to 62-49 and left Sinn less than pleased afterward.
I had to ask Sinn afterward if her team may have had a bit of a letdown after the big win over Concordia last Saturday at home. She wouldn't go either way on that one but was quick to agree when I said that her team simply didn't look as sharp as they had the previous weekend. She pointed out the turnovers her squad committed on this night; noting that the normal rate is ten but on this night they were guilty of sixteen boo-boos and you can bet that they'll be working hard in practice after this one. Pinkerton was quick to agree as well; adding that it was a game where both sides made a lot of mistakes. He was pleased with the effort that his team gave that helped forge a 16-16 tie with 7:07 left but admitted that they made several mistakes afterward that cost them. From a UST perspective, I suppose that one could argue that the Tommies may have come into this one with a mindset that this would be an easy win; that maybe they took St. Kate's lightly. And I wouldn't necessarily disagree with that argument. I think that, more than likely, they just had an off night and didn't come into this one with the full intensity and sense or urgency that they normally show. And that's not any slap to St. Kate's either. It's just reality. Even the best teams in the nation can have an "off" night every now and then and if you're UST, maybe this was the night to have it. Nevertheless, you can bet that Sinn will be doing a lot of talking in practice in the coming days; talking about intensity and finishing. Somewhere along the line, St. Kate's will get that lucky break and get that big win as well.
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