Made the trip over to venerable Hutton Arena on the campus of Hamline University on this frigid early January Saturday afternoon to take in the game between visiting Gustavus Adolphus and host Hamline. This would be my first look at the Pipers this season who were coming into this game with a 3-9 overall record and 1-4 in MIAC play. The Gusties, likely still smarting after absorbing a 67-45 defeat at the hands of UST on Wednesday, were looking to improve on their 8-4 overall record and 3-2 mark in MIAC play.
Hamline has been battling a variety of injuries this season thus far not to mention that this is a squad that is very young and not very deep. Still, that didn't stop the Pipers from getting out of the gates fast and using their speed and athleticism that initially caught the Gusties flat-footed as Hamline built an early 6-2 advantage by the 8:14 mark as easy baskets by freshman forward Haley Greene and junior guard Chloe Graves showcased how quick the Pipers truly are. A jumper from the left elbow area by sophomore reserve forward Alex Peterson with 4:34 left and another one by senior guard Emily Behrman from the same area made it a 10-3 ballgame with 3:35 left and GAC Head Coach Laurie Kelly; frustrated that her squad could not only not get stops but couldn't get anything going offensively either, called a thirty-second timeout for a quick chewing-out session. But Graves would drain a "3" from the right corner with 1:51 left for a 13-3 Hamline lead before the Gusties finally shook off a few of those early game cobwebs. Junior guard Hannah Howard got into the paint for a score with 1:39 left and sophomore post Stephanie Klockmann knocked down one free throw after getting fouled with :45.5 left that trimmed that Piper lead down to seven at 13-6. But Graves found an opening in the GAC defense with time winding down in the period and slashed through it for a lay-up with just :01 left for a 15-6 Hamline lead.
Maybe it was a hangover effect from the loss to UST on Wednesday night that the Gusties had to shake off before they could move on held them back in the opening period. Or maybe they got an earful from Kelly after the first period buzzer. In any event, GAC shook off those first period blues and found their groove on offense. Back-to-back scores by freshman reserve guard Taylor Anderson - a "3" from the left corner at the 9:21 mark and a pull-up jumper in the lane in transition at the 8:47 mark - suddenly reduced the Piper lead down to four at 15-11. A lay-up by strong senior point guard Mikayla Miller at the 7:15 mark, one free throw by freshman guard Brooke Lemke at the 7:02 mark and a jumper from the right top area by junior reserve guard Kelsey Carpenter completed this stirring 10-0 run by the Gusties that gave them their first lead of the game at 16-15. Hamline would take their last lead of the contest at the 6:14 mark on a Greene lay-up but here the Gusties went on another big burst. Lemke snared a steal and got a lay-up in transition at the 5:37 mark then Miller muscled inside for a score and drew a foul in the process and the ensuing freebie made it 21-17 GAC. One lay-up by Lemke with 3:57 left and another one by Howard with 3:39 left now had the Gusties up 25-17 and Hamline Head Coach Kerri Stockwell; realizing that all that early momentum was now gone, had no choice but to call a timeout to try and stop the bleeding. But the Gusties were far from through with their onslaught. Miller connected with a jumper in the lane off of an inbounds pass with 2:58 left and then the Goodhue native banged home a "3" from the left wing with 2:27 left that upped GAC's lead to double-digits at 30-17. Another Anderson trey; this one from the top of the key with 1:19 left along with free throws from both Miller and Howard completed this 11-2 blitz that now had the Gusties up 36-19. Junior guard Chelsey Bonsante helped stave off complete disaster for Hamline by dropping two charity stripe shots with :26.7 left but this big second period by GAC turned things completely around as they possessed a 36-21 lead going into the locker room at the half. The Gusties held a sizable advantage on the glass in the first half with a 22-14 advantage and the Pipers; despite that early good start, cooled off considerable from FG range as they shot only 36.4%.
Despite a short jumper by sophomore guard Allison Bartak at the 9:27 mark and the first three-point bomb by Bonsante from the left wing area at the 8:23 mark, GAC slowly built their lead to twenty points by the 7:08 mark when the willowy Anderson drained another "3"; this one coming from the left wing area that made it 46-26 that presumably had the Gusties in good shape if they could just keep their intensity up and take care of things on defense which they were doing up to this point. But they didn't count on the Ironton native; Bonsante, to almost single-handedly bring her Hamline team back and give the Gusties fits the rest of the way. With frigid temperatures outside, Bonsante quickly turned up the heat as she drilled a "3' from the left top area at the 6:53 mark. Two free throws by the always-reliable Graves slimmed GAC's lead down to 46-31 and a score in the paint by Bonsante at the 5:35 mark gave the Pipers some hope trailing 48-33. One free throw by Bartak at the 5:15 mark and another Bonsante three-point bomb; this one from the left wing area with 4:50 left reduced the Gustie lead down to 50-37. GAC got a bit of reprieve when Carpenter knocked down a "3" from the right wing area with 4:33 left but two scores by Graves - a pair of freebies with 4:30 left and a lay-up in transition with 4:04 left - kept the flame flickering for Hamline. But that flame looked like it had some serious water thrown on it by the Gusties when sophomore reserve forward Miranda Rice snared an offensive rebound for a putback with 3:42 left and Carpenter again found the range from three-point land with her bomb from the left top area with 3:04 left for a cozy 60-41 GAC lead. But Bonsante came back to rescue her Hamline teammates from the brink of extinction. She unleashed yet another three-point bomb from the left wing area with 2:53 left that reduced the Gustie lead down to 60-44 and two free throws by Peterson with 2:17 left and a short jumper off the glass by Bonsante with 1:35 left got the Pipers closer trailing 64-48. GAC seemed stymied down the final stretch of the third period as the home team took their cue. Two charity stripe shots by Graves with 1:08 left and a score in the paint by sophomore reserve forward Ivannie Robertson with :36 left in the period reduced the Gustie lead down to twelve at 64-52 and though GAC still had the lead, it definitely appeard that the momentum was teetering toward Hamline.
The Gustie advantage appeared even more tenuous once the fourth and final period got underway. Graves banged home a "3" from the top of the key at the 8:26 mark that reduced GAC's lead down to ten points at 65-55 and a Bartak jumper in the lane at the 7:30 mark kept the deficit in that ten-point range at 67-57. Fouls were starting to become a bit of a factor as well as Anderson picked up her fourth foul at the 6:50 mark and Kelly had no choice but to sit the freshman for a spell. A Bonsante score in the paint at the 6:40 mark reduced the Gustie lead to nine at 68-59 and yet another Bonsante l three-point dagger; this one from the top of the key at the 6:04 mark cut GAC's lead down to eight at 69-61. A lay-up by Graves with 5:35 left trimmed the Gustie lead down to seven at 70-63 and things clearly could have gone kablooey for GAC right then and there. But just when things appeared most dangerous for the Gusties, they found a way to stave off the challenge. Miller found just enough space in the right wing area to knock down a tough "3" with 4:38 left and two free throws by Carpenter got the lead back up to twelve for GAC at 75-63. The Pipers tried desperately to rekindle the magic that brought them from so far back. Greene got into the paint for a score and drew a foul and made the ensuing free throw that got the deficit back into single digits at 75-66 and Bonsante's final three-point bomb of the day from the left wing area slimmed the Gustie lead down to eight a 77-69 but that was as close as they would get. Miller connected with a tough insurance jumper from the right corner with 1:19 left and two Carpenter free throws with :17.7 left sealed a scary 81-69 decision for GAC as they walked off in relief with the nets still sizzling after a spectacular Bonsante performance behind the arc.
Stockwell shook her head in disappointment afterward; citing "execution" and "mistakes" for her squads ultimate downfall in this one. "We were very good for one quarter" she lamented. Kelly was still taking some deep breaths after this win at Hutton Arena; a place that has not been kind to the Gusties over the past few seasons. When I asked her about her squad's slow start in this contest, she said it was "like they never got off the bus". She talked about how her players have a nasty habit of letting a bad defensive sequence affect their performance on offense (a reversal, if you will, of Bethel's philosophy). But once they shook off those early doldrums, they functioned well. She also spoke of how the youth of this team is factoring into some of the struggles; especially now with senior forward Lindsey Johnson out of action for the time being as she recovers from an illness and how they miss her senior leadership on the floor. Still, it has to be good to see some of these underclassmen such as Miller, Carpenter, and Howard step up in situations such as the one today. Indeed, Miller's 25-point performance was somewhat overshadowed by Bonsante's huge second half. Carpenter added 16 points while Anderson added 11. No question who led the Hamline attack in this one as Bonsante's 25 points led the way with 23 of those points coming in the second half alone. Graves added 18 points while Green contributed 11 points in the losing effort. The Pipers were guilty of 21 turnovers in this contest and that's one thing they'll have to improve on going forward without question.
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