Made my way back over to UST's Schoenecker Arena on this unseasonably warm Saturday evening to take in the NCAA Regional Final Game - not the anticipated George Fox vs UST match-up that I and many others thought would play out but rather between the two upset winners from Friday night - Wartburg going up against Texas-Tyler. These two teams shocked many with their upset wins so now it was time to see which team had enough left in the tank to punch their ticket to the Final Four.
Scoring came at a premium in the opening minutes of the first period as early free throws had Texas-Tyler up 2-1 by the 7:49 mark before both teams finally found a bit of a groove from FG range. Sophomore forward Miranda Murphy connected with a lay-up for Wartburg at the 7:07 mark but that was answered by a "3" from the right top area by diminutive 5'3" Patriot guard Michelle Obach for a 5-3 Texas-Tyler lead. A score in the paint by senior reserve post Kailey Kladivo tied things up for the Knights at 5 a piece and a short turn around jumper by Kladivo at the 5:07 mark had the score knotted at seven. It was here that the Patriots were able to make a push and establish a bit of a cushion. Junior guard Makenzi May unleashed a "3" from the top of the key with 4:54 left and a lay-up by the lightning-fast Obach with 3:10 left gave Texas-Tyler a 12-8 advantage. Another May three-point bomb - this one from the right wing area with 2:37 left stretched the lead to five at 15-10 and two free throws by junior reserve forward Shuntay Raglin with 1:06 left got the cushion upped to seven points at 17-10. Raglin would get into the paint for a score with :45 left to maintain that seven-point edge at 19-12 and although Wartburg sophomore guard/forward Kristie Sommer connected with a "3" from the left corner with :15 left in the opening period to cut the Patriot lead down to 19-15, Texas-Tyler's expansive up-tempo offense was stretching the Knight defense to its limits.
Arguably Wartburg was in a bit of a sticky situation down as they were at the beginning of the second period and with seemingly no answers - at least up to this point anyway - of controlling the fast-paced Patriots. But Knight Head Coach Bob Amsberry always seems to have a few tricks up his sleeve even in the most pressure-packed situations and he calmly made the needed adjustments to get his squad going. The big difference in the second period was that Wartburg was finally able to establish their inside presence of Kladivo/Miranda Murphy and sophomore post Aryn Jones that helped open up opportunites out on the perimeter for their sharpshooters. A Kladivo score in the paint at the 9:29 mark and a "3" from the left wing by sophomore guard Kristie Sommer at the 9:05 mark gave Wartburg the lead back at 20-19. After Patriot junior forward D'Onna Matthews put Texas-Tyler back out in front 21-20 with her offensive rebound and putback at the 8:43 mark, the Knights countered as Kladivo connected with a short shot off the glass at the 7:01 mark and then followed that up with a lay-up at the 6:34 mark for a 24-21 Wartburg lead and Patriot Head Coach Kendra Hassell; concerned about how the Knights were getting their inside game going; called a timeout to discuss the situation with her squad. A jumper from the left wing by junior guard Alex Kochner at the 6:18 mark cut the Wartburg lead to one at 24-23 but the Knights were not deterred. Jones made a pretty move and finished in the paint for one score at the 5:51 mark and repeated that feat at the 5:16 mark that extended the Wartburg lead to 28-23. A score in the paint by Miranda Murphy with 4:20 left and a Miranda Murphy "3" from the left corner with 3:07 left got the lead to six at 33-27 and two Kladivo free throws with 2:22 left maintained the six-point edge at 35-29. The Knights would put Texas-Tyler in an even deeper hole right before halftime. Kladivo got into the paint for another score with 1:04 left and a jumper in the lane by sophomore reserve guard Morgan Neuendorf with :34 left made it a 39-31 ballgame and a somewhat shocked Patriot team had to wonder if it could recapture some of that early magic going into the locker room at the halftime break. Neither team shot exceptionally well in the first half but the way Wartburg was able to establish the inside game in the second period clearly turned this one around in the Knights favor.
Wartburg was able to increase their cushion to ten points in the early moments of the third period when Miranda Murphy knocked down a short jumper from the right side at the 9:14 mark for a 41-31 lead and when the former North Polk (IA) standout connected with a lay-up that drew a foul and allowed the Alleman (IA) native to sink the obligatory freebie for a 44-34 advantage at the 7:32 mark, Texas-Tyler looked doomed. But the Patriots faced a similar situation in their win against second-ranked George Fox the previous night and they valiantly battled their way back. May drained her second trey of the game at the 7:14 mark from the right wing area and a short jumper by Obach at the 6:53 mark cut the Knight lead in half at 44-39. At the 5:19 mark, sophomore reserve guard Alexus Bertrand connected with a lay-up and one Obach free throw with 4:31 left got Texas-Tyler closer trailing 46-42. With 3:34 left, a Bertrand "3" from the right top area got the Patriots back to within a single possession trailing 47-45 and another Obach charity stripe shot with 2:44 left cut Wartburg's lead to a perilous one point at 47-46. The Knights could have easily broken out the proverbial panic button right then and there but Amsberry and his squad would have none of it. Sophomore guard Katie Sommer calmly drilled a "3" from the right corner with 2:21 left and one Neuendorf freebie with 1:37 left gave Wartburg a bit more breathing space and a 51-49 lead. Senior guard Bobbie Burrows was able to snare an offensive rebound of a missed lay-up in transition for a putback with 1:13 left and a Kladivo jumper in the lane with :42 left got the lead to four at 55-51. With just :00.8 left, Kladivo was able to work her magic down low again that drew a foul from Matthews and the ensuing free throws by the Traer, Iowa native got the lead back to six and, despite the comeback effort by the Patriots midway through the period, Texas-Tyler looked a bit deflated and worse yet, their star junior forward Matthews was now saddled with her fourth foul as well.
Wartburg hoped to shovel in the dirt and plant the daisy on this contest for good in the early moments of the fourth and final period and a drive along the left baseline and finish by Kladivo at the 9:07 mark and a Kristie Sommer three-point bomb from the left corner at the 7:51 mark that gave the Knights a 62-53 lead suggested that they may have done just that. But this gritty, never-say-die Texas-Tyler team refused to go quietly into the night back to the Lone Star State without putting up one last comeback attempt. Two Bertrand free throws with 7:29 left and a score in the paint by Raglin at the 7:06 mark trimmed Wartburg's lead down to five at 62-57 and two Kochner free throws at the 6:30 mark got the Patriots back to within a single possession at 62-59 with a mountain of time left. A Raglin score in the paint at the 5:23 mark once again had Texas-Tyler tantalizingly close again; trailing 62-61. Just like they had in the third period, however, the Knights stood firm when everything could have gone kablooey for them right then and there. Kristie Sommer connected with a lay-up at the 5:00 mark and a dagger three-point bomb from the left corner with 4:29 left by twin sister Katie Sommer had the lead back up to four at 67-63. Texas-Tyler tried desperately to respond as Obach was able to make a gutsy drive and finish in traffic with 4:20 left but a key 7-0 spurt Wartburg in the span of two minutes effectively ended the last strand of hope the Patriots had. A Kladivo jumper in the lane with 3:52 left and a Neuendorf jumper from the right elbow area with 2:56 left had the lead back up to six at 71-65. The real blow came from Miranda Murphy with 2:01 left as she uncorked a killer "3" from the right wing area that extended the lead to nine at 74-65 and the Patriots Hassell had no choice but to take a match to a timeout. To their credit, Texas-Tyler was able to slim the deficit down to four points on two Matthews free throws with 1:46 left and a May "3" from the left top area with 1:34 left had Wartburg's lead down to 74-70 but the Patriots could not get any closer. Amsberry called a thirty-second timeout to get his squad calmed down and set up strategy for the final home stretch. A Kochner three-point attempt with :46 left missed its mark and a Patriot turnover with :27 left now meant Texas-Tyler had to foul. Neuendorf was sent to the charity stripe with :20.3 left where she calmly dropped both attempts for a 76-70 Wartburg lead and after a missed jumper by Bertrand with :14 left, Katie Sommer was immediately fouled by the Patriots on the defensive rebound and she dropped two more insurance freebies for a 78-70 Knight lead. Katie Sommers would get sent to the line again for two more free throws with :07.3 left and, despite late baskets by both Matthews and Obach, Wartburg earned its first-ever trip to the Final Four with the exhilarating 80-74 victory.
Texas-Tyler's Hassell was quick to credit Wartburg on its victory and admitted that the Knights ability to shoot the three-pointer was key in its win. I asked Hassell specifically if Wartburg's ability to establish the post position in the second period bothered her team. "It did" she replied as she expressed some disappointment that they weren't able to handle that better. Still, she talked about how proud she was of her team and how easy it is to coach them and added that her student-athletes are not only great players on the court but also great students in the classroom and great members in the community as well. With a very young roster dominated by juniors and freshmen, you have to figure that this Patriot team will stand a good chance to build on this season and Hassell added that this run "is a big boost for our program." A very proud and happy Amsberry first talked about how proud he was of his group and how they knew that Texas-Tyler was a very good team coming in to this game and "very tough to guard." But he was quick to praise his team and it's "second chance and revival"......."I talked to our team before the game and I think the reason that we're in this position is that we work very hard on our culture....We've got a great culture." Amsberry added that "We were able to punch them in the nose and that gave us confidence." The thing that amazes me about this Wartburg team is how they hung together when a lot of things were going wrong for them earlier in the season. They had that losing streak back in January and just when it looked like they had righted the ship, the promptly lost to Coe in the first round of the IIAC Playoffs and their hopes for receiving an NCAA at-large bid looked bleak at best. Yet, here they are as regional champions; knocking off some very, very good teams along the way. The real interesting thing from my perspective when I look at this a bit closer is that I see parallels with this team and my 1979 Los Angeles Rams that made it to Super Bowl 14 when they were saddled with a 5-6 record at one point and beset by injuries or the 1980 Iowa Hawkeyes that lost their best player; Ronnie Lester early in the season and limped to an 10-8 record in the B1G to sneak into the Big Dance. Lester came back late in the season from that injury and guided Iowa to the Final Four where they narrowly lost to eventual champion Louisville that season. I couldn't help but ask Amsberry about this and he could only reply "One game at a time I guess.....I thought we did a good job of not ever looking forward." Well, here the Knights are - on the Big Stage - the Final Four. Given what this team has accomplished considering what they've been through and who they've managed to beat after getting a second chance, it's a great story and it'd be a mistake for any of the other three teams in the Final Four to discount their chances now.
As it had the previous night against UST, the Knights had very good scoring balance in this one. Kladivo; who skipped a chance to compete in the NCAA Division III indoor track and field championships, led all scorers with her 22 points while Miranda Murphy followed up with 16 points and Katie Sommer had twelve points. Both Kristie Sommer and Neuendorf added nine points a piece. Texas-Tyler was led by Obach's 19 points while both May and and Bertrand chipped in with 14 points and Matthews and Raglin had eight points a piece in the losing effort. While Wartburg's rebounding advantage wasn't that big (38-35), where the Knights won this contest was their ability to score in the paint where they had a decided 34-22 advantage. Wartburg also shot a solid 52.2% from FG range in the second half and shot 44.4% from three-point land in the second half as well. One possible overlooked stat that may haunt Texas-Tyler's Hassell for some time is that her squad shot only 73.3% from the charity stripe in the second half and that's simply not going to get the job done when things get tight in a championship game.
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