Made the short hop over to Bethel's Robertson Center on this Monday night to take in the last of the non-conference clashes of this season; this one featuring next door neighbor Northwestern of the UMAC going up against host Bethel. The Eagles were coming into this contest riding on something of a high with an eight-game win streak and a solid 9-2 overall record while the Royals were surprisingly limping along with a 5-5 overall record and only 2-2 in MIAC play. I expected a close game on this night and knew that the Royals were going to have to turn it up a notch if they wanted to protect their home floor.
This game would also be a clash of defensive styles as Northwestern Head Coach Aaron Kahl staunchly holds with his 2-3 "match-up" zone while Bethel likes the hard-nosed one-on-one defense that creates turnovers and leads to easy points. The Eagles held an early 4-2 lead on a lay-up after a steal in the backcourt by sophomore guard Amy Berglund at the 8:49 mark and a lay-up by senior guard Kim Campbell at the 7:50 mark but Bethel went on a 6-0 spurt. Free throws by junior forward Kalli Zimmerman and fellow junior guard Shanni Moorse at the 7:03 and 7:13 marks respectively tied the score at 4-all and then senior point guard Hannah Niewald connected on a lay-up in transition at the 6:13 mark and then was also able to drive into the lane for a finish at the 5:06 mark for an 8-4 Royal lead. Northwestern came right back on an offensive rebound and putback by senior post Regan Cooper with 4:52 left and a pull-up jumper from the right elbow by Campbell with 4:26 left that knotted the issue at 8 a piece. The Royals would regain a four-point edge coming down the stretch of the first half, however. Senior post Rachel Parupsky connected with a jumper from the left elbow area with 3:04 left and a short jumper by sophomore reserve forward Molly O'Toole with 2:31 left made it 12-8. The Eagles would close the gap to two points when junior guard Tiffany Stubbs got into the lane for a finish with 2:00 left but Parupsky's lay-up with :54 left closed out the first period scoring for a 14-10 Bethel lead.
The Royals weren't able to establish much more distance in the opening minutes of the second period. An offensive rebound and putback by Moorse at the 9:25 mark and a pretty drive along the left baseline and finish by reserve freshman post Hannah Johnson kept the cushion at four with an 18-14 lead at the 8:45 mark. Northwestern would again come right back to tie the score at 18 on a short jumper by reserve freshman guard sensation Taryn Tumbleson at the 8:21 mark and a short jumper by Campbell at the 7:10 mark. Bethel would slowly forge a bit more breathing room over the next few minutes that may have, if anything, lulled them into a false sense of security. Senior guard Sydney "Bam Bam" Schultz banged home a "3" from the wing area at the 6:53 mark and two freebies by Moorse at the 5:28 mark had the Royals up 23-20. An offensive rebound and putback by the versatile Moorse with 4:15 left and a drive into the lane and finish by Niewald with 4:06 left made it 27-22. Reserve sophomore guard Abby Miller's short jumper from the left wing area with 2:37 left maintained the five-point edge at 29-24 and the Royals appeared to be in good shape. Northwestern, however, had other ideas and went on a 7-0 run right before the end of the half. Cooper connected with a lay-up with 2:15 left as did reserve junior forward Emily VanLith with 1:48 left that sliced Bethel's lead down to a scant point at 29-28. With :46.8 left, sophomore reserve guard Jessica Cole sliced into the heart of the Bethel defense for a lay-up and drew a foul in the process and the ensuing free throw allowed the Eagles to take a somewhat surprising 31-29 lead into the locker room at the half. The Royals had a slight edge in the rebounding column at 22-19 but they were also guilty of more turnovers as well; leading that category by a 12-8 count.
Northwestern took their cue from the late second period run and opened up a four-point advantage early in the third period when Cooper took a sweet and perfectly-placed bounce pass from Campbell and got a lay-up out of it at the 9:15 mark. Bethel would manage to cut the gap on a score in the paint by Zimmerman at the 8:53 mark and two charity stripe shots by Moorse at the 8:23 mark knotted the issue at 33-all. A drive into the lane and finish by Zimmerman gave the Royals the lead at 35-33 by Northwestern would come right back again. Campbell knocked down a "3" from the left corner at the 6:33 mark that gave the lead back to the Eagles at 36-35 and a score in the paint by Cooper with 4:39 left allowed Northwestern to cling to that one-point advantage at 38-37. Bethel, though, would snare a bit of momentum back in the latter stages of the period. Trailing 39-38, Miller banged home a "3" from the left top area with 2:52 left that had the Royals back out in front 41-39 and an offensive rebound and putback by Parupsky with 1:44 left made it a 43-39 ballgame. Back again came the Eagles. Berglund banged home a "3" from the right top area with 1:21 left and one free throw by Tumbleson who was fouled with :40.2 left tied the game at 43-all. Another Schultz trey; this one coming from the left top area with :23.1 left put Bethel back on top 46-43 but Cole would close out the scoring in the third period for Northwestern with her lay-up with :12 left that had the Royals clinging to a one-point lead at 46-45. For the Bethel fans in the stands, it had to be a bit disconcerting that they were not yet able to shake the pesky Eagles who were managing to hang around and then some.
To their credit, Northwestern managed to hang right in the thick of things in the opening moments of the fourth and final period. A drive along the left baseline and finish by Niewald had the Royals up 48-45 but Cooper was fouled down low at the 8:40 mark and the obligatory free throws by the Pella, Iowa native trimmed that deficit for the Eagles down to a scant point at 48-47. At some point, however, you had to figure that the Royals would get that sense of urgency to turn it up a notch. One free throw by Moorse at the 8:24 mark increased the lead to 49-47 but an offensive rebound and putback by O'Toole also drew a foul and she put down the ensuing freebie to a 52-47 Bethel advantage and, while not an insurmountable deficit, Northwestern's Kahl must have felt a bit of alarm as he called a timeout to discuss strategy with his team. But the five-point deficit was only part of Kahl's concern. The Royals were now pounding the glass on both ends of the floor and on offense, they were beginning to spread that Eagle 2-3 "match-up" zone with precise, crisp passing that created openings. Leading 53-49, O'Toole snared a long offensive rebound and promptly drove along the right baseline for a finish at the 5:45 mark to make it 55-49 and a jumper from the charity stripe area by Parupsky maintained the six-point edge at 57-51 with 3:36 left. The Eagles were able to make it a one-possession game on one free throw by Cooper with 3:26 left and a jumper from the right wing area by senior forward Courtney Cunard that cut the Bethel lead down to 57-54. Bethel, however, snuffed out the last hopes that their next door neighbor may have had about stealing a victory. Niewald snared a steal and dashed the other way for a lay-up with 2:22 left and then the Fridley native found an opening in that stretched-out Eagle zone and drove into the lane for a finish with 1:33 left that made it a 61-54 game. Insurance free throws by Moorse with :56 and :48.6 left and one by Zimmerman with :14.3 left gave the Royals a tough, hard-earned 66-59 win.
Bethel Head Coach Jon Herbrechtsmeyer had high praises for Niewald afterward saying that "she played her best game of the season so far" and added that the guard play, while solid, needs to become more efficient for his squad to get back to their winning ways. Northwestern's Kahl admitted afterward that his squad got "pounded on the boards" and a glance at the box score reveals just that. While the rebounding edge at the half was small for the Royals, it was an astounding 25-14 edge in the second half which played a huge difference, particularly in that final period. Bethel had a pretty balanced scoring attack as well with Moorse's 15 points leading the way while Niewald added 12 and O'Toole chipped in with 11 points. Kahl had high praises for his senior post and deservedly so as she led the way for the Eagles with her 20 points and eight rebounds. Berglund added 11 points while followed by Campbell with her nine points in the losing effort.
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