This Wednesday night found me over at UST's Anderson Athletic Center and Schoenecker Arena for Part II of the Neighborhood Rivalry between visiting St. Kate's which made the short hop down to play host UST. The Wildcats had played the Tommies tough in their first meeting shortly after the first of the year and even though they were riding an eight-game skid, they had given several of their last few opponents fits and they figured to have some surprises up their sleeves for UST which came into this game with an unblemished record and a lofty number two-ranking nationally as well. This was also a big night at Schoenecker Arena as well as this was "Dunk For MS" night which was helping to raise funds in the fight against multiple sclerosis. Several of the Tommie players were wearing either orange socks or orange shoes in their support and the coaching staff was wearing some orange as well.
St. Kate's fired the shot of this battle as freshman guard Audra Clark drained a "3" from the right top area at the 19:25 mark. A lay-up in transition by sophomore guard/forward Kennedy Jennings had the Wildcats up 5-2 at the 17:10 mark and although UST narrowed the deficit to 5-4 on senior forward Anna Smith's score in the paint at the 16:46 mark, the Tommies were arguably out to a very sloppy start; missing four easy shots early on in this contest. UST Head Coach Ruth Sinn; not at all pleased with the way things were going, called a timeout to try and get her squad back on track. That stoppage in play appeared to get the Tommies attention as they responded with a 7-0 burst over the next two minutes. Smith connected with a short jumper in the lane at the 15:36 mark to give UST its first lead at 6-5 and then junior guard Katie Stone banged home a "3" from the left corner at the 15:03 mark. Senior posts Maggie Weiers' score in the paint at the 14:24 mark expanded the lead to 11-5 but, just as they had in their previous meeting, the Wildcats had every intention of staying right in the thick of things. Audra Clark drained her second trey of the night from the top of the key at the 13:53 mark and junior guard/forward Shauna Horsch got her first "3" of the night at the 13:11 mark that cut the Tommie lead to 13-11. While St. Kate's may have been feeling good about themselves at this point, they arguably may have felt even better had they connected with a couple of easy lay-up opportunities that they let slip through their fingers.
The Tommies appeared to be on the verge of opening up some distance on the 'Cats when senior point guard Jen Dockter uncorked a "3" from the right corner at the 12:06 mark to make it a 16-11 ballgame. Lefty senior reserve guard Hannah Hughes dropped a trey as well from the opposite corner with 9:56 left for a 19-12 lead but once again St. Kate's was able to claw their way back to make things close. Audra Clark connected with a jumper in the lane with 9:42 left and got fouled in the process as well and her ensuing freebie cut the deficit to four points. Willowy sophomore forward Kennedy Jennings got one free throw to go down with 8:28 left and flashy sophomore guard/forward LaShay Holt dropped two charity stripe shots with 6:59 left after she was fouled that trimmed UST's lead down to 21-18. Here, however, UST was finally able to open up a bit more breathing room on this pesky Wildcat squad. Dockter drove into traffic down low for a finish with 6:05 left and Weiers connected with a lay-up with 5:52 left. Senior reserve forward Elaine Warner snared an offensive rebound for a putback with 5:26 left and then Dockter snared a steal and dashed the other way for a lay-up to complete a 9-2 run that now made it a 30-20 ballgame and St. Kate's Head Coach Sean Pinkerton; who had shed the sportcoat early on in this contest, called a timeout to try and get his squad calmed down. But Dockter would connect from three-point land in the left top area with 3:04 left and then it was Stone doing the same from the right top area with :39 left. Two Dockter freebies with :21.1 left had the Tommies up 38-22 but Holt was able to make the last noise of this first half for the Wildcats with a "3" from the left wing area with just :01 left on the clock to make it a 38-25 game once the horn sounded ending the first half.
UST was able to build on its lead once the second half started but it didn't come without a fly or two in the ointment. A Weiers lay-up at the 19:45 mark and a Stone jumper from the right wing area at the 18:55 mark upped the Tommie lead to 42-26. Smith knocked down two free throws at the 18:18 mark but Smith also collected her fourth foul of the night at the 18:07 mark and Sinn had no choice but to sit her for a good spell of the second half. Stone made a foray into the lane for a finish with a one-handed floater at the 16:53 mark for a 46-28 UST lead but Warner; a key cog for the Tommie rebounding effort coming off the bench, picked up her third foul of the evening at the 14:48 mark. St. Kate's meanwhile slyly whittled away at the deficit. Trailing 46-34, freshman guard Meg Clark connected with a lay-up in transition and got fouled in the process and the ensuing freebie got the 'Cats back to within single digits trailing 46-37. Horsch connected with a jumper from the left elbow at the 13:48 mark and then Holt launched one of her patented two-handed three-point bombs from the right corner at the 12:06 mark that had the Wildcats within reach trailing 52-42 and things were getting a tad bit uncomfortable for the home team.
But this UST team; even when it doesn't necessarily bring its "A" game to the table, does know how to "push the button" so to speak, when it has to. The southpaw Hughes connected with a lay-up at the 11:48 mark and also got one free throw to go down after being fouled at the 11:09 mark that gave the Tommies a 55-44 lead. Smith, back on the floor by this point, got a lay-up at the 10:36 mark and then Dockter got a lay-up in transition at the 10:06 mark that gave UST a fifteen point lead at 59-44. A Weiers score in the paint with 9:22 left and two Dockter charity stripe shots made it 63-47 with 8:53 left. While Dockter did pick up her fourth foul of the night with 7:50 left, Hughes came to rescue again as she drilled a "3" from the right wing with 6:23 left for a 66-47 Tommie advantage. St. Kate's tried desperately to claw back into things late: A score in the paint by Holt with 6:07 left and a Horsch "3" from the right corner with 4:36 left cut the deficit to fourteen trailing 66-52 but once again Hughes came through with shining colors for her teammates as she uncorked another three-point bomb - this one from the left top area with 4:03 left that effectively shut the door on the 'Cats and gave UST a 69-52 lead. Weiers got a score in the paint with 3:45 left and Dockter; back in the contest with those four fouls, got an insurance lay-up with 2:08 left as the Tommies recorded a 73-56 win at the buzzer that pushed their record to 21-0 and 15-0 in the MIAC.
A disappointed St. Kate's Head Coach Sean Pinkerton; while proud of the effort his squad gave on this night, couldn't help but wonder if some of those missed opportunites that the Wildcats had in that first half in the form of missed lay-ups, might have at least changed the complexion of the contest. "They're just so good" Pinkerton lamented afterward. "If you make one mistake, they're on it just like that." Sinn meanwhile, though happy with the win, also expressed some disappointment as well. I had to ask her if the fouling issue was something that she talked about with her squad at the half and afterward and she quickly nodded in the affirmative. Turnovers - seventeen on the night - was another sore spot. "We've GOT to clean those things up" Sinn said. I also asked her about the challenging road ahead as well. "Our team likes to be challenged with these kinds of games" she replied enthusiastically. She talked about how her squad (and others) gets into the so-called "dog days" of late January/early February and how they need to have something to pick them up. Certainly, the upcoming games on the road with both Concordia and Bethel will provide the Tommies with a playoff-like atmosphere that will no doubt be huge for them as the MIAC playoffs loom ahead.
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