Made my way over to the Butler Center on the campus of St. Catherine's University on this unseasonably warm December Saturday afternoon to take in another round of the "friendly" neighborhood rivalry between visiting and number 6-ranked UST and host St. Kate's. Just a few short miles separates these two campuses and while I wouldn't put this rivalry on the same level as, say, UCLA vs USC, there was still a heavy turnout of Tommie fans and parents/family in attendance that mixed in well with the St. Kate's crowd that was there as well. The color purple was the order of the day for sure!
The Tommies appeared loose and confident at the beginning of this one and when senior guard Katie Stone unleashed a "3" from the right wing at the 9:48 mark for a quick 3-0 UST lead, it looked as if this might be yet another one-sided affair for the four-time defending MIAC champs. But St. Kate's had other ideas and they showed on this day that they were definitely up for the challenge. A high-arcing "3" from the left corner by senior guard/forward Shauna Horsch at the 9:15 mark tied the score. At the 7:30 mark, sophomore guard Meg Clark connected on a lay-up in transition and drew a foul as well that allowed her to sink the obligatory freebie for a 6-3 Wildcat lead. A little more than a minute later at the 6:07 mark, Horsch struck again from three-point land; this one coming from the top of the key that gave St. Kate's a 9-5 advantage. The Tommies would come right back though as a lay-up by lanky junior post Kaitlin Langer at the 5:46 mark and another Stone trey; this one again from the right wing area at the 5:05 mark, gave UST the lead back at 10-9. St. Kate's would take the lead right back on a "3" by sophomore guard Audra Clark from the left top area with 4:12 left but the Tommies would knot the issue at 12 a piece when senior reserve forward Mykenzie Spaulding made a tough drive along the left baseline for a finish with 1:54 left. UST would forge a 16-12 lead on an offensive rebound and putback by Spaulding with 1:15 left and a short jumper along the left baseline by junior guard Paige Gernes with :17 left but flashy Wildcat junior reserve guard/forward LaShay Holt would have the last say of the first period when she grabbed an offensive rebound of her own miss and managed to get a putback with just :00.4 left on the clock that cut the Tommie lead to 16-14.
Everybody, including yours truly, kept waiting for that one "spark"; that one burst where UST would get on a run and leave yet another opponent in the dust but a pesky Wildcat team was making life miserable for their visitors up the road on Cleveland Avenue with their swarming defense that was causing uncharacteristic Tommie mistakes. Still, two Langer free throws at the 9:31 mark of the second period once again gave UST a bit more breathing room for an 18-14 advantage but that lead didn't last long. Holt connected with a pull-up jumper at the 9:10 mark and then it was Horsch letting loose with another three-point bomb; this one from the top of the key at the 7:48 mark that put St. Kate's back out in front 19-18. Stone would reply for the Tommies as she uncorked a "3" of her own from her favorite launching pad, the right wing area that had UST back out in front again at 21-19 at the 6:43 mark and one free throw by former Wildcat and now junior guard Gabby Zehrer maintained the two-point Tommie edge at 22-20. St. Kate's would come right back on a short jumper off of an inbounds pass by junior forward Mari Lee with 4:18 left. Now it was UST's turn. Langer was able to make a hard drive into the lane for a finish off the glass and got fouled in the process and the ensuing freebie had the Tommies back out in front 25-22. Again, the 'Cats would respond. Two free throws by Holt with 3:09 left and a lay-up in transition by Horsch with 2:44 left had St. Kate's up by one with 2:44 left. UST would grab still another three-point edge when Langer knocked down two shots from the charity stripe with 2:24 left and a hard drive and finish by Zehrer on her old teammates made it a 29-26 ballgame. But St. Kate's was not going to let this one get away from them by halftime. Holt connected with a lay-up with 1:26 left and, despite a score in the paint by Langer with :58 left, Meg Clark connected with a lay-up with :41.7 left and was fouled in the process and the ensuing free throw knotted things up at 31 a piece which is how this one went into the locker room at the half. The first half box told an interesting story. The Tommies did hold a slight advantage on the boards at 20-16 but were also guilty of nine turnovers - as were the 'Cats. St. Kate's also snared six steals in the first half and a cool 34.5% shooting by UST from FG range played a part.
St. Kate's came out of the gate in the third period on fire. Sophomore guard Audra Clark went into the lane for a drive and finish at the 9:24 mark and then twin sister Meg Clark went bombs away from behind the arc in the left wing area that suddenly had the 'Cats up by a count of 36-31. But a resourceful UST squad would battle their way right back. Zehrer got into the paint for one score at the 8:20 mark and then Langer used her long wingspan to snare an offensive rebound for a putback at the 7:33 mark that cut St. Kate's lead down to one at 36-35. Audra Clark then buried a "3" from the left wing at the 7:16 mark to make it 39-35 but ah, here come the Tommies right back. Langer sank one free throw after getting fouled at the 6:45 mark and then Stone dropped a three-point bomb from the left top area that had things all tied up at 39-all. So while the Tommies seemed to have an answer for every Wildcat burst thus far, you had to wonder at the same time if the frenetic pace St. Kate's was playing at on both sides of the floor might get to UST. Finally in the latter stages of the third period, the Wildcats got on a serious run. Audra Clark connected with a lay-up at the 5:07 mark and one freebie by Holt with 4:36 left put St. Kate's up 42-39. But the Tommies weren't able to respond on their ensuing possession so when the 'Cats got the ball, Lee found herself open from behind the arc in the right wing area and she shocked the whole Butler Center crowd by burying a "3" that made it a six-point game at 45-39. Langer would get into the paint for a score for UST with 2:59 left but the Wildcats saved their best for last. Two free throws by Holt - who was proving to be a royal pain in the side for the Tommies - with 2:28 left and a jumper from the right elbow area by Meg Clark with 1:17 left pushed the lead to eight at 49-41. Freshman reserve guard/forward Morganne Gruber brought UST closer with her score in the paint with 1:02 left but with just :06 left, Holt put the finishing touches on this 13-4 burst with her "3" from the left top area that had St. Kate's up 52-43 and the shocked faces of Tommie fans in the stands told the whole story.
The Wildcats pushed UST into deeper doo-doo early in the fourth period when freshman reserve forward Alexis Christianson got into the paint for one score at the 9:37 mark and then Holt connected with a jumper from the right wing area at the 9:04 mark for a 56-43 St. Kate's lead. But as good as the Wildcats were feeling - and playing - you also knew that the Tommies, when backed up against a wall, would respond. And they did just that; going on an 11-0 tear that would normally put the fear of God into most teams. Two Langer scores - one in the paint at the 8:49 mark and a lay-up in transition at the 8:12 mark - whittled the St. Kate's lead down to 56-47 and Head Coach Sean Pinkerton; not wanting to take any chances, called a timeout to get his squad calmed down and refocused. But UST was just getting warmed up and the stoppage in play did not undermine their efforts. Langer connected on a pretty reverse lay-up underneath the basket at the 7:27 mark and then it was Zehrer finishing up on another transition opportunity at the 6:52 mark. And then it was Gruber; the freshman delivering the unexpected blow - a three-point bomb from the right top area at the 6:04 mark that suddenly made it a one-possession game with the 'Cats desperately clinging to a 56-54 lead. But when many in attendance waited for St. Kate's to fold right then and there, the Wildcats instead showed their mettle and hung tough. After one free throw by junior forward Kennedy Jennings with 4:39 left, Holt got an opening at the top of the key behind the arc and uncorked a "3" for a 60-54 St. Kate's lead. Stone would drop another "3" on the 'Cats from her favorite launching pad - the right wing with 2:59 left that cut St. Kate's lead down to 60-57 but again the Wildcats kept their cool. Holt calmy drained another "3" from the right corner with 2:43 left and two Horsch free throws with 1:27 left maintained the two-possession gap and a 65-59 advantage. The Tommies would mount one last stand before capitulating. One free throw by Langer with 1:11 left trimmed the St. Kate's lead down to five at 65-60 and, after Jennings was unable to convert from the charity stripe for the Wildcats with :55.8 left, UST still had hope. Langer snared an offensive rebound for a putback with :44 left and shortly thereafter, Stone snared a steal from the normally-reliable Audra Clark and quickly got the ball to Zehrer who was fouled. Zehrer could only convert on the back-end of the two-shot opportunity but that was still good enough to make it a two-point ballgame at 65-63 with :36.7 left - a mountain of time. St. Kate's took another timeout to get itself situated and, on the ensuing Wildcat possession, they were able to eat up enough clock and bring the shot clock down until Jennings had to uncork an off-balance jumper with :05 left that missed its mark, The Tommies should have been right there for the long rebound but somehow Jennings craftily snared the long rebound away from UST and now the Tommies had to foul. Audra Clark was fouled with :01.6 left and the sophomore from Kenyon calmly sank both charity stripe attempts to seal the deal. UST had one last-gasp - a three-point attempt that fell way off the mark by sophomore reserve guard Maddie Wolkow with :01.2 left and St. Kate's pulled off the upset of the season so far with a 67-63 victory.
I felt somewhat guilty afterward when UST Head Coach Ruth Sinn had to cut short her post-game pow-wow session with her assistant coaches when she spotted me hanging out in the lounge. Obviously, there was a lot for her to go over with her assistants after a tough loss like this. Still, Sinn was her gracious self in defeat. She was quick to credit St. Kate's for their hustle on defense and offensive rebounding and how they forced the Tommies to get away from establishing themselves in the paint which is what they prefer to do. And, let's be honest here. While this UST team is very solid and very good, they are definitely not the all-world infallible team they were the last two seasons with the cast of great players that they had. This squad is dominated sophomores and freshman with only two seniors (Stone and Spaulding) and four juniors (Zehrer, Gernes, Langer and Ava Stock). A disappointing finish in this one for sure but this team will be back. Meanwhile, congratulations are due for Pinkerton and his staff for getting St. Kate's their first win over UST since the 2010-11 season. They wound up shooting a blistering 54.55% in the second half from three-point land and they also got key offensive rebounds that kept several possessions alive. Perhaps even more important, I saw confidence emanating from this team for the first time when things got tight late in the second half when previous teams likely would have folded against a quality opponent. It's way too early to take too much from this contest but it will be interesting to see how far the Wildcats can go after getting a big win like this.
No comments:
Post a Comment