After leaving UST's Anderson Athletic complex, I hustled up Snelling Avenue to the north side of town and over to Northwestern's Ericksen Center to catch what I could of the UMAC Championship Game between visiting UM-Morris and host Northwestern. I got settled in with 8:53 left in the game and with UM-Morris holding a 39-32 lead.
Whatever might have been holding the Eagles down up to this point was unknown from my vantage point but Northwestern; looking to repeat as UMAC Playoff champions, finally found its groove when it appeared as if they might be in great danger. A lay-up by freshman reserve guard Jackie Foster with 8:05 left shrunk the Cougar lead to 39-34 and a "3" from the right corner by sophomore guard Tiffany Stubbs with 7:35 left brought the house down as the UM-Morris lead was now down to a scant two points at 39-37. A jumper from the right elbow by senior forward Jessica Love did up the Cougar advantage to 41-37 with 7:08 left but this Eagle squad; which looked to have been the beneficiary of a second wind, was able to snare the lead away from UM-Morris. Junior guard Kim Campbell connected with a lay-up with 6:54 left and then junior post Regan Cooper muscled into the paint on the ensuing Northwestern possession for a score and got fouled in the process and the obligatory freebie now had the Eagles up 42-41. With 4:45 left, Campbell connected with a lay-up in transition and was fouled in the process and the Bloomington native knocked down the free throw for a 45-41 Northwestern lead. Campbell added more heroics with a blocked shot and being fouled in transition that allowed her to sink one free throw for a 46-41 Eagle lead with 4:13 left. The Cougars, who could have easily folded after absorbing this 14-2 shellacking over the last four minutes, somehow steadied the ship and fought back. Senior guard Kendra Wycoff drained a "3" from the top of the key with 3:29 left that cut the Eagle lead to 46-44 and two free throws by fellow senior forward Emily Auch who was fouled in transition with 3:03 left tied the issue at 46. A Stubbs trey from the right corner with 2:41 left looked to have Northwestern in the driver's seat again with a 49-46 lead but Wycoff came to the rescue again for UM-Morris as she banged home a "3" of her own from the right wing area with 2:10 left that tied things up at 49 a piece. The Eagles were unable to convert on two scoring opportunities on their next possession and, on the ensuing Cougar possession, Auch; the Benson native, wound up on the charity stripe after being fouled with 1:00 left where she knocked down her two free throw attempts for a 51-49 UM-Morris lead. After Northwestern Head Coach Aaron Kahl called a timeout to set up strategy, the Eagles committed a costly turnover courtesy of Auch and could have paid for it dearly had senior guard Connor Lewis been able to connect at the charity stripe with 18.4 left. Lanky Northwestern senior forward/post Jacki Smith was able to snare the rebound and the Eagles dashed down the court where Kahl called a final timeout with :13 left. The play that tied it up was set-up beautifully by Kahl and his staff. The Eagles got the ball down low to Cooper and she placed a perfect bounce pass into the hands of Stubbs who made a hard cut for the ball and connected with a lay-up with :09 left that made it 51-all. The Cougars had one last chance left in regulation but junior reserve guard Cori Becker's three-point attempt from the left corner in the waning seconds was errant and off to overtime we went tied at 51.
The fact that Northwestern couldn't quite close the deal in regulation after that 14-2 run seemingly had a downer effect on the Eagles in the extra five minute session. Or maybe it was because UM-Morris; buoyed by a raucous contingent of fans and students who had made their way to the Cities for this game, caught new life after averting disaster. In any event, the Cougars wasted little time in usurping control of this contest. A score in the paint by reserve sophomore forward Tori Holt with 3:33 left put UM-Morris up for good at 53-51. A missed jumper by Smith and a Cooper turnover stymied Northwestern's efforts on their ensuing possessions but still, trailing only by two, the Eagles still had hope. Smith swatted away a jumper attempt by the Cougar's Auch with 1:56 left but another Northwestern turnover on their ensuing possession killed their chances as Auch snared the ball way and quickly got the rock to Wycoff who connected with a lay-up in transition with 1:16 left for a 55-51 UM-Morris lead. Campbell was unable to connect on a lay-up attempt with 1:04 left and the Cougars got the rebound and the ball off to Wycoff who was immediately fouled and her two free throws with :53.9 left made it a 57-51 game and Northwestern was now in desperation mode. Smith was unable to connect from three-point land with :44 left and another Cougar rebound led to another trip to the charity stripe for insurance points. Auch was nails for UM-Morris with free throws in the last minute while the Eagles lost their two "bigs" - Smith and Cooper - to fouls as the Cougars earned a measure of revenge for last year's UMAC Championship Game loss to Northwestern at Morris with a 63-54 victory.
Kahl, while disappointed with the loss, thought that this was a great game and was thankful for the opportunity to have been in it. I asked him if he felt that maybe his squad ran out of energy after that big run late in the second half but Kahl felt it was more of a proposition where UM-Morris simply made some great plays and shots where they had to. Kahl had mentioned to me on Wednesday night after the victory over Martin Luther that he felt that they just had to make their shots in order to beat the Cougars on Saturday. They did in that great 14-2 run. They just couldn't do it when they needed it most at the end. Meanwhile, for UM-Morris, I suppose a lot of people can easily dismiss this team with a 16-11 overall record and, with a likely placing in the UST pod for the first round of the NCAA Tournament, many will think that they will be fodder for either the Tommies or perhaps Bethel. But, from what little I got to see of this squad, their guards and forwards are very physical and they can play very tough man-to-man defense. The bottom line here is that it's tournament time and with the Cougars arguably playing the underdog role, they can roll the dice and gamble and that's a very beautiful position to be in; with nothing to lose.
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