Made my way over to Macalester's Leonard Center on this Friday evening for the contest between visting Gustavus Adolphus against host Macalester. This unusual Friday night setting; the first I can remember for a conference regular season game, was a big one nonetheless as the Gusties were coming off a huge home win over Bethel on Wednesday night and looking to improve on their overall 5-2 record. The Scots meanwhile were riding a two-game skid and were looking to reverse the trend and a big home win over a pretty good GAC team might just be what the doctor ordered to get the ship pointed in the right direction.
But the Gusties were blossoming with confidence once this one got underway as they raced out to an early 8-2 lead. Early scores in the paint by sophomore forward Miranda Rice - one at the 9:30 mark and another at the 8:22 mark - had the Black & Gold out to a 4-0 advantage. Macalester got on the board when junior foward Park Masterson connected with a short turnaround jumper at the 7:24 mark but the one thing that was easy to see in the early going was that GAC really came into this game with an intent to turn up the heat defensively and it forced several miscues by the Scots; including a shot clock violation at the 6:38 mark. Leading 6-2, a lay-up by junior guard Hannah Howard at the 6:08 mark completed the early run. The Scots tried to respond as sophomore guard Vivi Gregorich banged home a "3" from the top of the key at the 5:45 mark but they could not stop the early GAC momentum. Sophomore point guard Mikayla Miller's short jumper at the 5:18 mark made it a 10-5 game and then two free throws by willowy forward Lindsey Johnson with 4:25 left and then a "3" from the right top area by the Edina native with 3:46 left now made it a 15-5 ballgame and Macalester Head Coach and former Golden Gopher standout Kelly Roysland wasted no time in calling a thirty-second timeout to try and make quick adjustments. Another Gregorich "3"; this one from the right top area with 3:23 left slimmed down the Gustie lead to 15-8 but the Scots could do little in the paint as GAC effectively clogged up the middle. Things worsened for the Scots when Johnson knocked down a short shot off the glass with 3:05 left and then a minute later with 2:05 left, junior reserve guard Lauren Clamage went down with an apparent ankle injury and had to be helped off the court. Miller, the Goodhue native who is quickly becoming the best point guard in the conference, upped the Gustie advantage to 19-8 when she snared an offensive rebound for a putback of her own miss with 1:38 left. Gregorich eased some of Macalester's first period pains when she connected with a lay-up with just :00.5 left on the clock but it was obvious that this was going to be an uphill battle for the Scots.
Macalester's woes continued into the second period. Consecutive scores by Miller - a reverse lay-up underneath the basket at the 8:36 mark and a lay-up in transition at the 8:18 mark - upped the GAC lead to 24-11. The Scots could only make incremental dents here and there in the Gustie rampage. Sometimes-shy junior guard Kelsey Carpenter buried a "3" at the 7:35 mark and a steal and lay-up the other way by Miller at the 7:24 mark now had the Gusties up 29-13. Senior reserve post Anna Lundquist connected with one lay-up at the 6:35 mark and then it was Carpenter again at the 6:08 mark on a short turnaround jumper. Sophomore reserve post Stephanie Klockman powered into the paint for one score with 4:47 left and then promising freshman phenom reserve guard Justine Lee got free from the top of the key and uncorked a "3" that suddenly made it 38-13. Macalester tried to recover from this devastating blow as freshman reserve guard Katie Grahn connected with a lay-up with 3:42 left and then Masterson got a short turnaround jumper to go down with 3:06 left. But GAC was not done yet. Johnson got a short jumper to go down with 2:43 left and two Rice freebies with 1:32 left gave the Gusties a commanding 42-19 lead going into the locker room at the half. Just to give you an idea of how hot GAC was in the first half, they shot 50% from FG range and 50% from three-point land while holding the Scots to a frigid 28.6% from FG range and an even icier 20% from behind the arc. Also, the swarming Gustie defense forced 14 Macalester turnovers as well.
The Scots needed something positive to try and turn things around in the third period. Certainly their energy level and intensity looked considerably better than it did in the second period when they were weathering the GAC onslaught. Sophomore post Regan Fruh; who was held to one point in the first half, got into the paint for a score at the 9:16 mark and drew a foul as well that allowed her to knock down the subsequent free throw that narrowed the gap to twenty at 42-22. Fruh got one more free throw to go down at the 7:27 mark and then Clamage; with the injured ankle taped up, was sent to the charity stripe at the 6:28 mark where she knocked down a pair. Fruh got two more freebies to fall at the 5:18 mark and then Clamage drained a "3" from the left corner with 4:45 left. So, while Macalester did step things up offensively in the third period, they were still unable to get on a sustained run like the Gusties did in that might have narrowed the deficit considerably. To their credit, however, they whittled the deficit down to fourteen on another Clamage free throw with 3:32 left and another Gregorich "3"; this one from the right top area with 2:32 left. GAC would respond to this Scot uprising as freshman reserve forward Kendall Thompson (daughter of former Macalester Head Coach Ellen Thompson) connected with a lay-up with 2:00 left for a 50-34 Gustie lead and then it was Miller using her strong 5'8" frame to get into the paint for another score with 1:13 left to make it 52-36. With :33 left, Miller made yet another foray into the paint for a score and got fouled in the process and her free throw upped the lead to 55-38. Then, with just :03.5 left on the clock, Johnson put on the exclamation point for this third period when when she let loose with a "3" from the right top area that kissed the glass and found its way into the cylinder for a 58-40 lead.
Although down by 18 points going into the fourth period, the Scots were by no means ready to throw in the towel just yet. Clamage found the range from behind the arc again; drilling a "3" from the right corner at the 7:30 mark and then Masterson connected on a turnaround jumper in the lane at the 5:24 mark but again, Macalester simply could not sustain any long run that could have made the final minutes nerve-wracking for the visitors. GAC Head Coach Laurie Kelly by this time had started inserting her young reserves as did Roysland to give them a chance to grab some more experience. Freshman reserve guard Brooke Lemke connected on a lay-up in transition with 3:50 left and junior reserve post Cara Christiansen scored in the paint with 1:41 left. Macalester sophomore reserve forward Emilie McGuire snared an offensive rebound for a putback with :21.5 left and Grahn got a lay-up with :04.3 left on the clock but it was the Gusties walking off victorious by a count of 67-55.
Kelly, while certainly pleased with the road win and how well her team played in the first half, couldn't help but express some disappointment with how the second half played out. "We lost our focus and intensity" Kelly remarked as she agreed that a level of complacency had set in with the 23-point lead at the half. With the Gusties, they certainly have the capability to be a very, very good team but they haven't quite yet but two full halves together. Kelly pointed to how young her squad is; indeed, this team is heavy on freshmen, sophomores and juniors and Johnson and Lundquist are the only seniors on the squad. Macalester's Roysland; somewhat subdued afterward, expressed disappointment on how the first half went for her squad although she did offer that her team came out with a renewed sense of energy and intensity in the second half. Miller and Johnson led the way for GAC in the win as they both chipped in 15 points while both Gregorich and Fruh led the way for the Scots with their 13 points. Turnovers plagued Macalester in this one and the Gusties were responsible for many of them with their defense in the first half. GAC had a 17-13 edge on points off of turnovers and a 32-20 advantage on points in the paint.
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