The nightcap at Karges Center had all the makings of a humdinger - CCIW co-champ Wheaton taking on host and WIAC regular season champ UW-River Falls. D3hoops.com had touted this match-up as perhaps the marquee match-up of all the sites on this Friday evening and why not? Two Top 25 teams squaring off in the first round and both teams with a ton of talent and ability. The Falcons received a second life not only getting into the Dance but also being able to host a pod as well after losing a 65-64 heartbreaker to UW-Oshkosh in the WIAC Championship Game last Saturday and with a rowdy and raucous student section on hand for this one, you knew that Karges Center would be rocking for this one.
The visiting Thunder drew first blood in this contest as sophomore guard Kelly Lawson drained a "3" from the left top area at the 9:39 mark and, in a hostile environment such as Karges Center on this night, Wheaton needed a jump start to keep that student section halfway quiet. However, a score in the paint by junior guard Brynn Liljander at the 9:20 mark spurred a quick 9-0 UW-River Falls run. Junior guard Kate Theisen followed up with a lay-up at the 9:06 mark as did senior guard Richell Mehus at the 7:34 mark that gave the Falcons a 6-3 lead. Then it was Liljander; the former Cambridge-Isanti standout striking from downtown behind the arc at the 7:11 mark that suddenly made it a 9-3 ballgame and Wheaton Head Coach Kent Madsen; fearing an early collapse by his squad, called a timeout in hopes of getting his team calmed down. That stoppage in play seemed to do the trick as senior post Hannah Considine made a drive along the left baseline and finished at the 6:30 mark and another trey by Lawson - this one from the left corner at the 5:40 mark - cut the UW-River Falls lead down to a scant point at 9-8. It was here, however, that the Falcons embarked on a 10-0 blitz. Two Theisen freebies at the 5:19 mark increased the lead to 11-8 and then the Thunder made the mistake of leaving Liljander open from behind the arc again as she drained one from the right top area with 4:50 left that pushed the lead to 14-8. Lanky sophomore post Taylor Karge got into the paint for a score with 4:24 left and then junior guard Katie Messman drained a "3" from the left wing area with 3:19 left that now had UW-River Falls up 19-8. The Thunder calmly responded with a 5-0 push of their own. Junior point guard Katie McDaniels knocked down one free throw after getting fouled in transition with 2:37 left and the former Mounds View standout followed that up with a lay-up with 1:55 left that trimmed the Falcon lead down to 19-13. Sophomore reserve guard Maggie Dansdill cut further into the UW-River Falls cushion with her two free throws with 1:13 left that made it a 19-15 game. The Falcons, however, made a late push right before the end of the first period. Messman dropped another three-point bomb - this one from the top of the key - with :47 left and sophomore reserve post Hayley Rau got into the paint for a score with just :02 left that had UW-River Falls up 24-17. Not a prohibitive margin by any means but momentum was clearly with the home team.
A 12-2 Falcon run to begin the second period put Wheaton behind the 8-ball. A Mehus lay-up at the 8:39 mark and Messman "3" from the top of the key at the 8:05 mark had UW-River Falls up double digits at 29-17. Theisen; the former Watertown-Mayer standout who can make things happen out on the perimeter with her defense and can mix it up down low, got into the paint for one score at the 7:40 mark as did Rau at the 6:41 mark for a 33-19 Falcon lead. Then it was the crafty and skilled Liljander; slithering through traffic for a lay-up that drew a foul and sent her to the line for the obligatory free throw and a 36-19 UW-River Falls advantage that the Thunder never really recovered from. Back-to-back Theisen scores - a lay-up at the 5:09 mark and one in the paint at the 4:35 mark - had the Falcons up 40-20. McDaniels tried in vain to bring her Wheaton team back from this avalanche of Falcon attacks but she wasn't getting a lot of help. One lay-up with 4:22 left and a lay-up in transition with 3:10 left along with two free throws left got the Thunder points but they simply were not getting stops. As the Falcons took a cushy 44-26 lead into the locker room at the half, Wheaton was going to have to find a way to match the energy and intensity that their opponent had on this night. A glance at the first half box score reveals the damage as UW-River Falls not only had a decided 21-14 advantage on the boards but was also shooting a blistering 64.3% from FG range and an equally torrid 55.6% from three-point land. Wheaton on the other hand could only muster 25% from FG range and an icy 16.7% from downtown and that simply wasn't going to get the job done on this night.
Going into the third period, the Thunder needed some sort of boost; something that might somehow spark a run that could whittle the deficit down and give them half a chance of climbing back into this thing. A drive into the lane and finish by McDaniels at the 9:44 mark and a "3" from the top of the key by by junior guard Chantal Meachem at the 7:15 mark was definitely a good start from a scoring standpoint but again, Wheaton was not getting defensive stops. Liljander burned the Thunder from behind the arc again at the 6:56 mark with her trey from the top of the key at the 6:56 mark and an offensive rebound and putback by Mehus at the 6:17 mark maintained the twenty-point cushion at 54-34. Liljander connected with a lay-up at the 5:42 mark that, coupled with a score in the paint by Karge with 4:40 left and a lay-up by Theisen with 4:16 left, had UW-River Falls up 60-39. With 2:54 left, Karge made a sweet spin move and got a lay-up for a 62-42 Falcon lead and an offensive rebound and putback by Theisen with :09 left maintained the cushion at 64-44 and although Lawson got a "3" from the right corner with just :02 left for the Thunder, Wheaton had stepped into a dungeon on this night that was Karges Center and there was little, if any chance at this point that they could complete any comeback attempt.
To their credit, the Thunder made a bit of an inroad into the UW-River Falls cushion in the opening moments of the fourth and final period. Two McDaniels free throws at the 9:28 mark and one more by Considine at the 8:12 mark reduced the Falcon lead to 16 at 66-50 but any hope that Wheaton had at that point quickly vanished into thin air. A Messman jumper from the left corner with the shot clock winding down at the 7:42 mark spurred a 6-0 Falcon burst. A score in the paint by Theisen at the 5:33 mark and two Karge free throws at the 5:07 mark had UW-River Falls up 72-50 and there was no looking back now. McDaniels tried desperately to work her magic with one free throw with 4:52 left and a lay-up with 4:07 left but the Falcons simply would not be denied on this night. Junior reserve guard Mikaela Wilson snared an offensive rebound for a putback with 3:01 left and insurance free throws by Liljander and junior reserve guard Cassy Saxton with 1:27 left put the finishing touches on a resounding 81-56 UW-River Falls victory that propels the Falcons into the second round on Saturday night to take on UST in the friendly confines of Karges Center.
I had the pleasure afterward of conducting one of the most fun interviews afterward with UW-River Falls Head Coach Cindy Holbrook and four of her players - Mehus, Karge, Theisen and Liljander. I first asked Holbrook about the incredible energy and intensity that her team displayed on this night. "That comes from our team" she said adding that her squad came out with a lot of confidence going into this game. Holbrook didn't think that the loss to UW-Oshkosh last Saturday in the WIAC Championship Game was in the back of the team's mind going into this contest. "We came into this NCAA Tournament just wanting to move forward and win games" and added that UW-Oshkosh never really crossed her mind going into this contest on this night. I asked Theisen about her ability to be able to get into the paint not only to score but to do the "dirty work" as well; i.e. boxing out, getting rebounds and the like. She talked about though she's only 5'8" she works on this a lot in practice and it definitely paid dividends on this night as her 21 points and nine rebounds would suggest. Liljander; perhaps the most shy of this fun group, talked about how the early three-point bombs she was able to drop helped raise the intensity and energy-level of this team. "It just really helped get everyone 'jacked'.....and it really makes you want to push the ball faster." Holbrook: What you've gotta know about this team is that Brynn can shoot the ball" as she pointed out how a good start by Liljander can really give this team a shot of confidence on both ends of the floor and definitely can stretch out an opposing team's defense and added that "they like to run and share the ball." Karge, the Mankato native, talked about how much her confidence has grown in just her sophomore year and it definitely showed on the floor tonight as she dropped 12 points and made life miserable down low for the Thunder. Mehus, the senior from Spring Grove, talked about how getting the opportunity to play in the state tournament in high school and now being able to play in the NCAA Tournament in her senior season; and being able to do it on her home floor is "a dream come true.......It's your ultimate goal as a senior...It's huge." I finally asked Holbrook about the upcoming game with UST on Saturday night. Specifically, I asked her if the squad can bring the same type of intensity and energy as it showed on this night which, not surprisingly, drew a collective laugh from the players indicating that that won't be a problem. "Oh, absolutely" Holbrook said. "We're in the (tournament) to win the tournament......Our starters put in a lot of minutes but we also got good minutes from our subs as well....Our kids will bring that spunk tomorrow (Saturday) night."
Theisen's 21 points did indeed lead the way for UW-River Falls on this night and Liljander was right behind with her 20 points as her three-point bombs did a lot of damage that Wheaton could never recover from. Karge had those 12 points and Messman added 11 points. Not surprisingly, McDaniels led the way for Wheaton in the losing effort with her 17 points while Lawson added 11 points in the losing effort as the Thunder bow out with a 22-6 overall record.
No comments:
Post a Comment