Los Angeles Rams

Los Angeles Rams

Sunday, January 17, 2016

St. Olaf vs St. Kate's 1-16-16

Traveled over to Butler Center on the campus of St. Catherine's University on this frigid Saturday afternoon to take in the contest between visiting St. Olaf and host St. Kate's.  The Oles were coming off a home win over Macalester earlier in the week while the Wildcats were in another one of those funky slumps; dropping their last four games including Wednesday night's game at GAC.  So somehow St. Kate's had to get this thing turned around - now.

Both teams came up empty on their first few possessions before sophomore guard Meg Clark knocked down a "3" from the left top area at the 7:45 mark.  That was matched by Ole senior sharp-shooting guard Afton Wolter with one of her patented three-point bombs from the right top area that tied the score at 3-all.  But the Wildcats seemed to settle down once Head Coach Sean Pinkerton shed his sportcoat.  Junior forward Mari Lee's score in the paint at the 6:41 mark and a "3" from flashy junior guard/forward LaShay Holt at the 5:12 mark had St. Kate's up 8-3.  Holt continued with her hot hand in the latter stages of the opening period.  One free throw after being fouled in transition with 3:59 left and her second trey of the day - from the right top area with 3:23 left - opened up a 12-5 advantage and another three-point bomb from the right corner with 2:17 left gave the 'Cats their largest lead of the game at 15-7.  A score in the paint by freshman reserve forward Makenna Ash cut St. Olaf's deficit down to five trailing 15-10 but Wildcat senior guard/forward Shauna Horsch connected with a lay-up with :22 left in the first period for a 17-10 St. Kate's lead - just the kind of start that Pinkerton had hoped for.

But Ole Head Coach Dave Stromme had no plans in breaking out any panic button and St. Olaf resourcefully got themselves back into the contest in the opening minutes of the second period. Consecutive scores in the paint by Ash - one at the 9:34 mark and again at the 8:55 mark - cut the Wildcat lead down to three at 17-14.  Holt was still feeling it, however, as another "3" - this one from the left corner at the 8:31 mark - got the St. Kate's lead back up to six at 20-14.  But the Oles would again respond.  One score in the paint by senior forward Zoe Hansen and another Wolter three-point bomb - this one from the right top area at the 7:44 mark - cut the Wildcat lead down to a scant point at 20-19.  Meg Clark tried to stave off this comeback attempt from St. Olaf as her "3" from the right top area off of an inbounds pass at the 7:27 mark pushed the St. Kate's lead back up to four at 23-19. But Wolter was just getting warmed up and her teammates knew they had to get her open.  Wolter unleashed her third trey of the afternoon - this one coming from the right corner at the 7:01 mark - that pulled the Oles close again trailing 23-22.  Two Wolter free throws at the 5:37 mark gave St. Olaf its first lead of the afternoon at 24-23.  Fellow senior guard Woo Bandel dropped another freebie with 4:05 left that gave the Oles a 25-23 lead but the Wildcats knotted the issue at 25 when Lee connected with a short jumper from the left side with 3:50 left.  St. Olaf would hold small leads of two points over the next minute and were up 29-27 when Holt tied the game for the 'Cats with her lay-up with 2:29 left.  Things really got wild in the home stretch after Ash put the Oles up 31-29 with her score in the paint with 2:12 left.  Holt hit her fifth trey of the first half when she uncorked a bomb from the right top area with 1:53 left that gave St. Kate's the lead back at 32-31.  That lead was short-lived, however, when Ole junior reserve guard Brooke Nyenhuis drained a "3' from the left top area with 1:41 left that put St. Olaf back up 34-32.  Holt's lay-up in transition with 1:28 left tied the game for the Wildcats at 34-all.  Ole junior reserve guard Kari Keogh banged home a "3" from the top of the key with 1:11 left that put St. Olaf up 37-34 but St. Kate's was able to respond as Lee drilled a "3" of her own from the left top area with :48 left to forge another tie at 37 a piece which is how this wild period ended going into the halftime break.  Thanks to Holt's heroics in that first half of being 5-of-5 from three point land and Meg Clark's 2-3 record from behind the arc, the Wildcats shot a blistering 72.7% from behind the arc.  But perhaps the most important statistic - at least in my mind anyway - was that St. Olaf held a 20-14 edge in the rebounding department and you could tell that they were having their way in the paint on both ends of the floor.

Despite the problems that St. Kate's was experiencing matching up in the paint with the Oles, they managed to stay right in the thick of things in the early going of the third period.  A Meg Clark lay-up at the 9:11 mark and another one by twin sister sophomore guard Audra Clark at the 7:02 mark had the contest knotted at 41 a piece.  But the 2-3 "match-up" zone that St. Olaf employed in the second half effectively clogged up the middle and forced the 'Cats to try to beat them with perimeter shooting.  Moreover, junior forward Betsey Daly; held scoreless in the first half, broke out of her shell in this second half and gave St. Kate's yet another problem to deal with.  The former Rochester Lourdes standout gave the Oles the lead for good at the 6:46 mark with her jumper from the left elbow area at the 6:46 mark and her lay-up with 5:14 left had St. Olaf 45-41.  The Wildcats would try to respond when Audra Clark connected with a lay-up of her own at the 5:02 mark but another Daly lay-up with 4:45 left got the lead back up to four at 47-43 and then Wolter uncorked a "3" from the top of the key off of an inbounds pass with 3:31 left that suddenly made it a seven-point game at 50-43.  A Holt "3" from the right wing area with 3:01 left closed the gap for St. Kate's down to four trailing 50-46 but senior point Lauren Gutierrez connected with a jumper from the top of the key with 2:46 left and Daly swished a "3" from the top of the key and now St. Olaf was up 55-46.  Hansen connected on a jumper in the lane off the glass off of an inbounds pass with 1:21 left and the youngster, Ash, got another score in the paint with :50 left that put the Oles up double digits 59-48 and St. Kate's was clearly under the gun when the third period ended.

St. Olaf wanted to shut the door quickly in the opening minutes of the fourth and final period. Hansen connected with a short jumper off the glass at the 9:39 mark and Wolter showed she was far from finished on this fabulous afternoon for her.  She drained a "3" from the right wing area at the 8:56 mark and unleashed her final three-point bomb of the day at the 6:37 mark of the right corner that now had the Oles up 67-51.  When Bandel was able to get control of a loose ball and get a lay-up out of it at the 6:13 mark the lead was expanded to 69-51 and the Wildcats were clearly in desperation mode.  A Lee score in the paint at the 5:03 mark and another Holt "3" from the left corner with 4:27 mark trimmed the deficit down to thirteen at 69-56 and Pinkerton called a thirty-second timeout in hopes of being able to stave off defeat.  But those hopes were quickly dashed when Daly connected with a jumper in the lane off of an inbounds pass with 3:51 left and two Bandel free throws with 2:32 mark made it 73-56 Oles.  Holt tried to come to St. Kate's rescue again as she drained her eighth trey of the contest; this one coming from the top of the key with 2:24 left and then also connected with a lay-up in transition with 2:06 left that trimmed the deficit down to twelve at 73-61.  The Wildcats were forced to foul now as well and with St. Olaf safely in the bonus it was now time for insurance free throws to seal the deal.  Bandel, Wolter, Gutierrez, Daly and Hansen did just that as the Oles took home a 79-69 victory.

Both Pinkerton and Assistant Coach Tim Kjar could only point to defensive lapses and other mistakes that cost the 'Cats dearly on this day.  There was hope for this team when they started out 5-0 and also upset UST back in December but this latest January swoon now has St. Kate's backed up against a wall and it's going to take a Herculean effort to get out of this mess.  Meanwhile, St. Olaf finished off a good week by winning games that, on paper anyway, they should win.  The question now becomes can they find some consistency and big performances by Wolter with her three-point shooting and Daly with her prowess down low to do the dirty work to beat some of these upper-echelon teams? We'll find out this next week as home dates with both UST and CSB await.  Wolter led the way for St. Olaf in this contest with her 22 points and going 6 of 10 from behind the arc.  Daly; quiet in the first half, exploded onto the scene in the second half and got a double-double; scoring 12 points on the day and, perhaps even more important, snaring 11 rebounds.  Despite Holt's ridiculous 33-point performance on this day, the 'Cats cooled off considerably in the second half; shooting only 31.6% from three-point land in the second half and 35.3% from FG range.  The Oles easily owned the boards on this day by a 37-26 count as well.

No comments:

Post a Comment