My first game of the 2015-16 season had me over at Butler Center on the campus of St. Catherine's University to take in the season opener between host St. Kate's and visiting Crown out of the UMAC. While I wasn't expecting great things from either team in this tip-off game, I did want to see how much the Wildcats had progressed since I caught one of their opening practices back in October.
Both teams felt each other out in the opening minutes of the first period as the 'Cats and the Storm traded several one-point leads. Freshman guard Hannah Malone gave Crown a 2-1 lead at the 9:02 mark and the West Salem, Wisconsin native struck again at the 7:38 mark with a steal and lay-up the other way for a 4-3 Storm lead. Willowy junior forward Kennedy Jennings got the 'Cats back out in front 5-4 with her score in the paint at the 7:22 mark but St. Kate's Head Coach Sean Pinkerton shed his familiar sportcoat at the 6:45 mark as Crown was not willing to go away so quickly. Sophomore guard Jessica Klaustermeier connected with a lay-up ten seconds later and although scores from Jennings and senior guard Shauna Horsch had the Wildcats up by three at 9-6 at the 5:51 mark, the Storm tied things up at 9-all on a "3" from the right wing area by sophomore reserve guard Marissa Bacerra. But that would be the last "feel good" moment of the night for Crown as the 'Cats proceeded to go on a 16-1 run to wind up the first period. Flashy junior reserve guard LaShay Holt got the party started with a coast-to-coast lay-up with 4:44 left. Sophomore guard Audra Clark's lay-up with 4:20 left and a pretty drive and lay-up by Horsch with 3:31 left gave St. Kate's at 15-10 lead. Audra Clark again made her presence felt with 2:22 left when she snared a steal and dashed the other way for a lay-up - and got fouled in the process as well and the obligatory freebie pushed the lead to 18-10. Holt then put the finishing touches on the first period: a score in the paint with 1:46 left, a "3" from the top of the key with 1:22 left and a jumper from the left elbow with just :02 on the clock to make it a 25-10 ballgame and Crown was reeling when the buzzer sounded ending the first period.
The 'Cats were far from finished, however, once the second period got underway. Junior forward/post Mari Lee sunk two free throws at the 8:38 mark and then it was Holt with a long rebound and lay-up at the 7:57 mark. Audra Clark's lay-up in transition at the 7:36 mark expanded St. Kate's lead to 31-10 before the Storm finally stopped some of the bleeding at the 6:48 mark on junior reserve guard Charmaine Begay's jumper from the free throw line. But the Wildcats would get the lead back up to twenty-plus on Holt's offensive rebound and putback of her own miss at the 5:50 mark. A sweet move and drive and finish by Jennings that got her fouled in the process and allowed her to sink the obligatory freebie not only expanded the lead to 36-12 but also had St. Kate's in the bonus as well with 4:42 left; further complicating Crown's perilous situation. The Storm did get a bit of a break when sophomore reserve guard Marissa Becerra hit a long jumper from the left wing as the shot clock was expiring with 3:10 left but an aggressive St. Kate's defense never let the Storm get into any real offensive flow in the first half. Reserve junior guard/forward Alexis Garcia knocked down a jumper from the free throw line with 2:05 left and a three-point bomb from the left top area by junior reserve guard Annie Schoeben capped a big first half for the Wildcats as St. Kate's took a commanding 45-22 lead into the locker room at the half.
The Storm tried valiantly to make inroads on the huge deficit once the third period got underway. Free throws by junior post Sam Mauer at the 8:07 mark and Klaustermeier at the 7:42 mark along with a steal and lay-up the other way by diminutive sophomore guard Andrea Besa at the 7:29 mark kept a small flicker of hope alive as St. Kate's lead was slimmed down to 49-28. Klaustermeier was able to score off of an inbounds pass at the 6:49 mark but the Wildcats would soon extinguish that last flicker of hope that Crown was hanging on to. Lee snared an offensive rebound for a putback at the 6:35 mark and then a double dose from Jennings - a score in the paint at the 5:46 mark and another one after a steal that got her fouled in the process that allowed her to sink the obligatory freebie - upped the lead to 58-30. Audra Clark's lay-up in transition at the 5:25 mark gave St. Kate's a thirty-point cushion at 60-30 and a score in the paint by freshman reserve forward Alexis Christianson with 3:26 left had the 'Cats up 62-33. The Storm would make nicks and dents in St. Kate's big lead from the free throw line but could never find any burst that might give St. Kate's any reason to doubt. Schoeben connected with a jumper from the right elbow with 1:24 left and freshman reserve guard/forward Kelsey Olson finished off a dominating third period for the Wildcats with her two free throws for a 67-38 lead for the home team.
Olson would get the first two points for the Wildcats in the opening moments of the fourth period with her offensive rebound and putback at the 9:24 mark before Crown attempted yet another futile comeback attempt. Klaustermeier knocked down two shots from the charity stripe at the 9:05 mark and then struck again at the 8:44 mark with a lay-up in transition and was fouled in the process and the ensuing free throw trimmed the St. Kate's lead down to 69-43. Malone connected with a lay-up at the 7:52 mark and then Besa got a lay-up after a steal at the 7:46 mark. Free throws by Malone at the 7:26 mark further cut into the lead that made it a 71-49 ballgame but the young reserves that Pinkerton now had in the game for the 'Cats would answer. Freshman reserve forward Makenzie Mace snared an offensive rebound for a putback at the 6:33 mark and then junior reserve forward Maria Davis got back-to-back scores: an offensive rebound for a putback at the 6:06 mark and a lay-up in transition at the 5:39 mark. Olson drained a "3" from the right wing area with 4:30 left and then it was a double dose from Schoeben - a lay-up with 3:23 left and a jumper from the right top area with 2:37 left that made it 84-55. Schoeben got one more feather in her cap for the night when she drilled a "3" from the left wing area with 1:41 left and freebies by Olson with :40.6 left gave St. Kate's a big win in their season opener by a count of 89-58.
Pinkerton was quick to admit afterward that there still remains a ton of work to do to help get this team better; particularly on the defensive side. Still, I think there were a lot of positives from this night for the team to move forward on and even more encouraging that the young reserves got some quality minutes and were able to contribute. Audra Clark led all scorers with her 17 points and both Jennings and Holt had 14 points a piece. The 'Cats dominated the glass on this one by a 46-29 margin although they were guilty of 23 turnovers - something that will have to be improved once MIAC play rolls around. Klaustermeier's 13 points led the way for Crown while Malone added 10.
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