Was over at UST's Anderson Athletic Complex and Schoenecker Arena on this Friday night to take in the two first-round games of the UST Regional pod; the opening 5:30 P.M. game featuring Luther out of the IIAC and St. Norbert out of the Midwest Conference. Not knowing much about either team, this game was very intriguing to me as I wanted to see what styles each team had and there was just something about this contest that made me believe that this could be a good one. It turns out that my premonitions were pretty accurate.
Predictably, this one was very close in the opening minutes with both teams feeling each other out. With the Green Knights taking an early 2-0 lead on a score in the paint at the 19:46 mark by senior forward Tasha Giese, Luther garnered a 5-2 advantage thanks to two scores by sophomore guard Anna Madrigal - a jumper from the top of the key at the 18:59 mark and a "3" from the left corner at the 17:54 mark. That lead was short-lived however as a 7-0 St. Norbert burst; highlighted by junior reserve guard Stephanie Weigman's lay-up at the 17:35 mark and her "3" from the left corner at the 15:52 mark now had the Green Knights up 9-5. Now it was the Norse's turn to get on a bit of a run and a lay-up at the 15:33 mark by junior guard Moran Lonning along with a three-point bomb by junior reserve and former Spring Grove standout Taylor Elton had Luther back out in front 10-9 at the 14:02 mark. The cat-and-mouse game would continue for a little bit yet as St. Norbert answered with two scores by Giese - one in the paint at the 13:14 mark and a lay-up in transition at the 12:50 mark - gave the Green Knights a 13-10 advantage and a score in the paint by junior post Heidi Van Sistine at the 11:53 mark made it a 15-10 ballgame and, presumbably by this point, St. Norbert was in halfway decent shape.
But the Green Knights and their Head Coach Connie Tilley; in her 38th year at the helm, were seemingly caught off-guard when Luther turned up the heat with their half- and full-court press that resulted in several St. Norbert miscues and the Norse were primed and ready to take full advantage of the situation; embarking on a 17-0 run that completely turned the tables in this contest. Junior guard Kylie Romeo dropped free throws at the 10:14 mark and with 9:54 left to get the party started and then Madrigal; the hometown product from Decorah, brought the party hats. She uncorked one "3" from the left top area that put Luther back in front 16-15 with 8:44 left and a jumper from the right wing by junior reserve guard Tayler Jenks with 8:25 left made it 18-15 Norse. Senior guard Carrie Kilen snared an offensive rebound for a putback and got fouled in the process and the obligatory free throw suddenly made it a 21-15 ballgame with 6:20 left. The large contingent of Luther students in the stands; already full of fun and making their share of noise, exploded when Madrigal put the finishing touches on this blitz when, with 5:58 left, she snared an offensive rebound for a putback and got fouled in the process and the ensuing freebie made it 24-15. On the ensuing Norse possession, Madrigal found the range again from three-point land; draining one from the right wing area with 5:32 left for a 27-15 Luther lead and St. Norbert's Tilley had seen enough to know that a thirty-second timeout was warranted. That short stoppage in play not only gave Tilley a chance to speak her mind to her Green Knights squad but it also gave St. Norbert a chance to breath and collect themselves as well - and, more importantly, fight their way right back into the contest in the home stretch of the first half. Despite another Madrigal three-point bomb from the left corner with 4:56 left, the Green Knights were able to chip away at the deficit. Two scores in the paint by sophomore reserve post Mallory Nickerson with 5:07 and 4:30 left along with free throws with 3:58 and 3:24 left helped get St. Norbert back to within single digits trailing 31-22. Junior reserve guard Kyra VandenHeuvel's jumper from the right wing with 2:46 left and two free throws by Weigman with 2:21 left chopped the Norse lead down to five at 31-26. Luther was able to get the lead back up to eight on senior guard Meagan Koepnick's lay-up that got her fouled and allowed her to sink the ensuing freebie with 2:13 left but a score in the paint by VandenHeuvel with 1:23 left and a jumper from the top of the key just inside the arc by sophomore guard Brianna Byrne with :55 left sliced the Luther lead down to 34-30 and had the Green Knights feeling a heckuva lot better about themselves by the time the buzzer sounded ending the first half. While St. Norbert was guilty of twelve first half turnovers, they were able to make up for that bad stretch with that closing 15-7 push that had this one very close again.
The Green Knights looked to keep that positive vibe going once the second half got underway and a "3" from the right wing at the 19:19 mark by sophomore reserve guard Jill Kleiman cut Luther's lead to one at 34-33. Still, the Norse were able to build a six-point advantage over the next three minutes as two Koepnick scores - a pair free throws at the 18:56 mark and a pretty drive and one-handed finish at the 17:52 mark along with two Lonning scores - a jumper from the right corner at the 17:11 mark and a "3" from the left top area at the 16:34 mark - made it a 43-37 ballgame. But St. Norbert would be able to respond with a 8-0 burst that allowed the Green Knights to get their nose out in front again. Two charity stripe shots by VandenHeuvel at the 16:20 mark and a drive along the left baseline and finish by Kleiman at the 15:39 mark and a score in the paint by Giese at the 14:44 mark made it 43-all. Nickerson's scores in the paint at the 14:22 and 13:53 marks helped give St. Norbert a slim two-point advantage 47-45 and a short shot off the glass by Weigman at the 13:21 mark increased that lead to 49-45. But this cat-and-mouse game of runs would continue as the Norse would answer the call again. A Romeo score in the paint at the 13:06 mark and a three-point bomb from the right wing by Madrigal at the 12:25 mark put Luther back out in front again 50-49. Romeo found the range from three-point land as well from the right corner at the 10:16 mark for a 53-49 Norse lead so at this juncture it was difficult to guess as to who might have the last laugh coming down the stretch.
Scores in the paint by Byrne with 9:50 left and by Van Sistine with 9:20 left knotted things up at 53-all and a score by Kleiman on a pretty give-and-go play with 8:14 left had the Green Knights up again at 55-53 and another Van Sistine score in the paint with 7:28 left maintained that two-point lead at 57-55. But it was here that Luther Head Coach Amanda Bailey had her squad unleash its full- and half-court pressure/trap defense that just caused a ton of trouble for St. Norbert and allowed the Norse to make its decisive run. A Kilen score in the paint with 7:13 left tied the issue at 57 and a Koepnick freebie with 5:58 left put Luther out in front for good 58-57. Madrigal; a thorn in the side all night long for Head Coach Connie Tilley's St. Norbert squad, drained another huge "3" with 4:57 left; this one from the right top area for a 61-57 Norse lead. Giese's score in the paint with 4:34 left cut Luther's lead to two at 61-59 but the Green Knights could get no closer. Koepnick; already saddled with four fouls by this point, maneuvered into the paint for an important score with 3:28 left and the seasoned veteran Lonning; a Decorah native, had the Luther student section exploding again with cheers as she made a hard drive into the war zone and finished and got fouled in the process and the obligatory freebie now made it a 66-59 ballgame with 2:28 left. St. Norbert, now in desperation mode, tried to pull closer when Byrne connected with a one-handed shot off the glass with 1:36 left but Madrigal's magic would shut the door on the Green Knights for good when she connected with a jumper from near the free throw line with 1:11 left for a 68-61 Norse lead. Luther would get insurance free throws from both Romeo and Koepnick in the closing moments to record a 72-61 victory to advance to the second round.
A disappointed Tilley gave Luther the credit they deserved after this game and admitted that her squad needed to handle that Norse pressure better in order to come out on top. "It broke us down a bit" she said. She also said that injuries hurt her squad this season in the long run and that they were often on edge in those close games this year. "You're never happy with a loss" she said but, with the Green Knights graduating only one senior (Giese) from this squad, the future looks incredibly bright for this squad once the legion of walking wounded return for next season. I also spoke with an ecstatic and very happy Bailey about her squad and this game in particular. She didn't feel that her squad lost that much energy after that all-important 17-0 1st half run that seemed to dissolve after St. Norbert closed the gap to four at the half. She did give her team a ton of credit for turning the tide with their pressure defense which is their identity. She also spoke glowingly of Lonning; one of the two hometown products on this squad who, in addition to being the leader in assists with this team is also a great leader off the court as well. Additionally, she mentioned that the real goal of this program is the "pursuit of excellence" and tonight's win was a huge step in that direction. Madrigal, who led all scorers on this night with her 25-point performance; gave her teammates all the credit to her teammates about helping her get open for those good looks which led to those three-point bombs she dropped on this night. She also spoke about how this team is so close and how they've just bonded so incredibly well and how that's played such a huge role in finding ways to survive and move on; pointing out that they were picked to finish eighth in the IIAC at the beginning of the season. Certainly the prognosticators back in my home state of Iowa will have to rethink about how they pooh-pooed Luther's chances this season and you have to think that, with a host of young players returning for next season, this team will be far more recognized in the years to come.
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