Made my way over to Northwestern's Ericksen Center on this sunny, cold December afternoon with the Yuletide a mere week away to take in this intriguing inter-conference clash between visiting St. Kate's of the MIAC against host Northwestern of the UMAC. The Wildcats; fresh off their upset victory over then-#6 UST a weekend ago, were looking to build some momentum right before the holiday break. Northwestern came into this contest on a six-game winning streak that included a big win against UM-Morris the previous weekend at home so the Eagles were definitely riding high as well. I think the big thing coming into this contest was the preparation aspect as both teams went through a grueling week of finals (God, how I DO NOT miss that stuff) so there likely was not a lot of time to prepare on either side for this game.
I also had a feeling that this game had the potential to be a very good one as well and I certainly was not disappointed. Neither side could gain any decided advantage early as one-point leads were traded often in the first period. Northwestern, of course, was in its 2-3 match-up zone on defense but that didn't prevent willowy Wildcat junior Kennedy Jennings from slithering into the lane down low for a reverse lay-up underneath at the 9:25 mark. The Eagles came back a bit later on a jumper from the top of the key by sophomore Amy Berglund at the 8:29 mark and one free throw by senior post Regan Cooper at the 7:59 mark for a 3-2 Northwestern lead. St. Kate's would grab a 5-3 lead on a trey from the right wing area by sophomore guard Meg Clark at the 7:42 mark but the Eagles would regain the lead on one freebie by Cooper at the 7:26 mark and a short jumper from the right side by senior forward Courtney Cunard that made it 6-5 Northwestern at the 5:21 mark. But the Eagles stalled out somewhat after that and the 'Cats would take the initiative down the stretch of the opening period. Flashy junior guard/forward LaShay Holt snared a long offensive rebound and got a lay-up out of it with 3:36 left and then the former Humboldt standout connected with a jumper in the lane with :37 left that St. Kate's up 9-6 at the end of the first period.
Northwestern looked to make amends for the disappointing way they finished out the first period as they stepped on the gas in the early stages of the second period. Freshman reserve forward Taryn Tumbleson snared a steal and used her athleticism to dash the other way for a lay-up at the 9:51 mark and then it was Cunard with a "3" from the right wing area at the 9:05 mark as the Eagles took back the lead at 11-9. Then it was St. Kate's turn. Sophomore guard Audra Clark made her way into the lane for a finish at the 8:43 mark and then another tough score in the paint by Jennings at the 7:58 mark now had the Wildcats back out in front by a count of 13-11. Cooper tied the issue for Northwestern at 13-all with her two free throw shots at the 6:40 mark but this is where the Wildcats were able to make a bit of a push. First, Meg Clark hit a jumper along the right baseline at the 6:23 mark and then senior guard forward Shauna Horsch; who struggled in the first period, finally found her three-point shooting touch with her patented high-arcing bomb; this one coming from the left top area at the 5:48 mark for an 18-13 St. Kate's advantage. But right back came the Eagles as first junior guard Tiffany Stubbs dropped a "3" from the left wing area at the 5:28 mark and then senior sharp-shooting guard Kim Campbell drained a "3" from the right wing area with 3:47 left for a 19-18 Northwestern lead. Somewhat predicatably, the two teams played a game of cat and mouse coming down the stretch before halftime. With the score tied at 19 a piece, Eagle sophomore reserve guard Jessica Cole banged home a "3" from the top of the key with 2:33 left for a 22-19 Northwestern lead but two Audra Clark free throws with 2:04 left and a strong rebounding effort by Holt that saw her grab an offensive rebound of her own miss for a putback with :25.3 left now had the 'Cats back up 23-22. The Eagles got the last opportunity right before halftime as Cole was fouled going in for a shot and she sank both charity stripe shots to give Northwestern the slimmest of leads going into the halftime break at 24-23. St. Kate's did have the advantage on the boards in the first half at 23-17 and both teams shot 75% from the charity stripe.
The Wildcats got off to a solid start at the beginning of the third period. Two scores in the paint by Jennings at the 9:36 and 8:33 marks sandwiched an Audra Clark freebie at the 9:09 mark for a 28-24 St. Kate's lead. Northwestern would recover though as sophomore guard Amy Berglund connected with a lay-up at the 8:06 mark and then Cooper muscled her way into the paint at the 7:25 mark that knotted the issue at 28-all. A Stubbs lay-up at the 6:00 mark put the Eagles up 30-28 before the Wildcats went on a 8-0 burst. Horsch knocked down a jumper from the left elbow area at the 5:37 mark that tied the score and then junior forward Mari Lee; held scoreless in the first half, got a lay-up to go down at the 5:13 mark for a 32-30 St. Kate's lead. Freshman reserve forward Alexis Christianson knocked down a short jumper with 4:05 left and then Holt capped this run with a steal and lay-up the other way with 2:45 left to make it 36-30 and it appeared momentarily that the Wildcats might be on the verge of opening up some distance between themselves and their opponent. Remember last week when the 'Cats had that big third quarter that got UST into a bit of a hole and it looked as if the same scenario could have been unfolding here. But this is where Northwestern dug in and sewed up the holes. Junior forward Emily VanLith connected on a lay-up with 2:01 left as did Berglund with 1:29 left that cut the deficit to two points. St. Kate's looked as if it would take that slim two-point lead going into the fourth quarter but on the Eagles final possession of the period, they were able to get into transition and that freed up Cole who dropped a short jumper in with just :00.7 left that tied things up again at 36 a piece. Northwestern definitely avoided disaster in the last two and a half minutes.
The Eagles carried this new momentum going into the final period. A lay-up by Cooper with 9:26 left and a Cole "3" from the left corner at the 8:48 mark had Northwestern up 41-38 and two more Cooper lay-ups - one at the 7:21 mark and another one at the 5:57 mark - gave the Eagles a bit of breathing room with a 45-41 lead. But St. Kate's was not going away just yet. Audra Clark dropped two freebies at the 5:22 mark and then calmly dropped a jumper from the free throw line a short time later with 4:45 left had this one tied up yet again at 45-all. But Northwestern was not about to let the visitors from the MIAC spoil their pre-Yuletide gathering on their home floor. Cole again came up huge as her "3" from the right wing with 4:30 left started the key 8-2 run. The Eagles got into the bonus with 3:35 left and Cooper got one free throw to go down as did Cunard with 2:59 left. But Cunard, the Mo Valley, Iowa native, took in her one shining moment with 2:26 left when she buried a huge "3" from the left corner with 2:26 left that capped the crucial spurt for a 53-47 Northwestern lead. A Cunard lay-up with 1:39 left made it 55-48 and Wildcats Head Coach Sean Pinkerton had no choice but to call a timeout. The Eagles increased their lead to 57-48 on two free throws by Stubbs with 1:16 left and now St. Kate's was in desperation mode. A Meg Clark "3" from the left top area with 1:04 sliced some of the fat off the deficit but now the Wildcats were forced to foul as well and give Northwestern the opportunity to cash in on insurance freebies. Two by Cooper with :40.4 left and 1 by Cunard with :30.1 left made it a ten-point game at 62-52. St. Kate's tried desperately to get back into striking distance as Horsch nailed a "3" from the right corner with :13.1 left and then Holt let loose with a prayer from way outside the arc on the 'Cats final possession with just :00.8 left but the Eagles took this game by a final count of 64-58.
A relieved Northwestern Head Coach Aaron Kahl said this win was huge to take into the holiday break - and into UMAC play after the first of the year. Even former Eagle standout and current assistant Jacki Smith said that she was very proud of how this squad responded coming off of a grueling week of finals. Disappointment was the buzzword on the St. Kate's side. While certainly not a devastating loss by any means, Pinkerton still expressed disappointment on how his squad couldn't find the consistency in the crucial stretches of this contest that might have allowed them to steal a nice road win. The Wildcats actually had a decisive edge on the boards in this one by a 42-34 count and turnovers were virtually identical with St. Kate's committing 18 and Northwestern guilty of 17. The big difference in this one was shooting - pure and simple. The Eagles shot 50% from three-point land in this contest and were a blistering 75% in the second half alone. St. Kate's shot only 34.4% from FG range and 37.5% from behind the arc. Northwestern was fairly balanced with its scoring as well with Cooper and Cole both chipping in 15 points while Cunard had 12 points and Stubbs had nine. St. Kate's was pretty balanced scoring-wise as well. Audra Clark with her 14 points and Holt had 12 points. Jennings had 10 points while Meg Clark added eight in the losing effort.
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