Made an impromptu trip down to St. Peter and Lund Arena on the campus of Gustavus Adolphus College on this Friday evening to take in (what I could anyway) the second half of the GAC Tip-Off Classic that featured visiting UW-Stout of the WIAC going up against the host Gusties. I got into Lund Arena and settled in at the 5:30 mark of the second period with UW-Stout holding a tenuous 23-22 advantage.
A short shot by lanky senior forward Lindsey Johnson with 4:32 left and a score in the paint by senior forward Stephanie Kastens with 3:54 left allowed the Gusties and Blue Devils to trade one-point leads. But, with 2:36 left, Johnson found herself open in the left wing area and she gracefully drained a three-point bomb that had GAC up 27-25. Two turnovers and a handful of missed shots by UW-Stout gave the Gusties a bit of an opening before the half and sophomore guard Mikayla Miller pounced on an opening in the Blue Devil defense and connected with a lay-up with :32 left for a 29-25 GAC lead. Kastens was able to convert on another opportunity in the paint for UW-Stout that made it a one-possession game going into the locker room at the half but it was plain to see that the Blue Devils were going to have to clean up their act if they wanted to pull off an unlikely road win on the other side of the Mississippi River.
UW-Stout managed to hang tough in the third period as a short shot off the glass by junior forward Jenna Goldsmith at the 9:37 mark and a hard drive along the right baseline and finish by junior forward Danielle Adams kept the Blue Devils within a single possession trailing 33-31. Two more Goldsmith scores in the paint - one at the 7:43 mark and another at the 7:01 mark - kept UW-Stout close but it was here that the Gusties were able to forge a bit of an opening. Freshman guard Taylor Anderson's score in the paint at the 6:37 mark and a lay-up in transition by fellow freshman reserve guard Justine Lee now had GAC up 41-35 and a score in the paint by junior reserve post Cara Christiansen helped maintain that six-point edge at 43-37. A "3" from the right top area by freshman reserve guard Kyncaide Diedrich brought UW-Stout back to within three with 4:20 left but the Gusties were able to get on a key 6-0 run. Miller uncorked a "3' from the top of the key as the shot clock expired with 2:53 left and then junior reserve guard Kelsey Carpenter connected on a lay-up in transition with 1:47 left. A score in the paint by sophomore forward Miranda Rice with 1:29 left suddenly made it a ten-point game at 50-40 and the Blue Devils seemed stunned by what hit them. Two Rice free throws with :43.9 left and a tough score in the paint with :23 left gave GAC a 54-42 lead and then Johnson, the Edina native, put the exclamation point on this big third period with her Hail Mary heave of a prayer from way downtown with just :00.2 left that gave the Gusties a seemingly safe 57-44 lead.
Johnson's score in the paint at the 9:34 mark that got her fouled and allowed her to sink the obligatory freebie gave GAC its largest lead of the game at 60-44 but UW-Stout slyly worked its way back into the contest and made things dangerous for the Gusties down the stretch. Senior guard Kyleigh Hebert connected on a lay-up in transition at the 7:31 mark and Kastens was able to muscle into the paint for a score at the 6:27 mark. Adams was able to get a lay-up out of a steal and this 6-0 burst let the Blue Devils draw closer trailing by ten at 60-50 at the 5:04 mark. Two free throws by senior guard Dana Karlstad with 4:39 left and two more by Goldsmith with 3:06 left along with a lay-up by freshman reserve guard Shannan Watkins with 2:27 left had UW-Stout back in single-digit range trailing 64-56. Blue Devil Head Coach Mark Thomas; sensing the Gusties vulnerability, called a timeout to lay-out strategy for his squad. Still, things seemed safe enough for GAC when Miller used her 5'8" frame to score in the paint with 1:56 left for a 66-56 Gustie lead and there would have been no reason to sweat from a Black and Gold perspective if they could just convert on free throws in the home stretch. Miller, in fact, did sink two charity stripe shots with 1:33 left for a 68-58 lead but UW-Stout was far from finished. After Miller failed to convert on two attempts from the charity stripe with 1:12 left, Diedrich connected with a lay-up in transition with :30 left that had the Blue Devils back to within single digits again trailing 68-60. On the ensuing GAC possession, freshman reserve guard Brooke Lemke was fouled with :26.5 but she, too, was unable to convert. On the ensuing UW-Stout possession, Hebert snared an offensive rebound off of a missed shot by freshman reserve guard Bailey Diersen and got a putback and was fouled in the process. She sunk the obligatory freebie and suddenly the Gustie lead was now down to five at 68-63. Fortunately for GAC, that's as close as the Blue Devils would get. Miller cooly sunk two free throws when she was immediately fouled with :14.3 left and Lee did the same with :05.3 left as the Gusties held on for an important non-conference win 72-67.
A somewhat relieved GAC Head Coach Laurie Kelly was quick to acknowledge afterward that her squad's youth and inexperience may have played a role in allowing UW-Stout to get back into the contest late after the Gusties had seemingly sewn up the victory. She also said that Miller; her star point guard, is working her way back to full health and conditioning although from my vantage point she looked as strong as ever. "It's always easier to be critical after a win than it is after a loss" she pointed out and I expect that the Gusties - particularly the young new faces - will have to endure a learning curve but, once they do, they'll be fine. Indeed, Miller led all scorers on this night with the 23 points she poured in and Johnson was right behind with her 20 points. Goldsmith and Diedrich each chipped in 10 points in the losing effort for UW-Stout. The Blue Devils actually had a slight advantage on the boards at 41-39 but were also guilty of 27 turnovers - something that will have to change once UW-Stout delves into WIAC play.
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