Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League Results For Wednesday 7-27-16

Here are the results on the final night of the Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League:

6:00 P.M. Game

Northern State - 52
St. Kate's - 38


7:00 P.M. Game

B Ballers - 80
Superhoopers - 79  OT


8:00 P.M. Game

Concordia St. Paul Alumni - 40
Renegades - 30


9:00 P.M. Game

B Ballers - 43
Concordia St. Paul Alumni - 36


The college team division championship in the 6:00 P.M. slot pitted the St. Kate's team going up against the Northern State team in a MIAC-NSIC showdown.  It would be the Northern State team getting off to a good start in this one; getting a quick 4-0 lead and building that advantage to a 9-2 count when sophomore-to-be Makenzie Murtha drained a "3" from the left wing area early in the contest.  The St. Kate's team would make inroads on that deficit before the first period was over when senior-to-be La Shay Holt banged home a "3" that trimmed the Northern State lead down to 11-8 with 4:05 left in the opening period.  The Northern State team would recover, however, and get some more breathing room down the stretch of the first period; getting their lead up to 18-8 on a 7-0 spurt highlighted by a lay-up by junior-to-be Jillian Conrad and a Murtha free throw.  The Northern State team would open up more distance in the second period when Murtha found the range again from downtown early in the second period that helped build the lead to 23-10.  The St. Kate's team would chip away at the deficit and tough scores in the paint against a bigger Northern State team by junior- to-be Audra Clark and senior-to-be Mari Lee had the St. Kate's team within single digits but the Northern State team would recover and get the lead back to double-digit range at 29-18 at the half.  A 6-0 run at the beginning of the third period by the St. Kate's team gave them some momentary hope as they closed the gap to 29-24 and arguably would have been closer had it not been for several easy missed opportunities.  As such, the Northern State team calmly set the ship sailing straight again and choked off the threat by the St. Kate's team as they built a 35-25 lead by the end of the third period. The size of the Northern State team; particularly the rebounding ability of Conrad spelled doom for the St. Kate's team in the fourth and final period as they built their lead to 39-25 and extended it to 43-27 midway through the period.  The St. Kate's team would manage to make a last-ditch effort late in the game that momentarily trimmed the Northern State team's lead down to 45-33 but they could never get any closer.  Congratulations to the Northern State team on winning the championship!

The alumni division games filled up the rest of the evening.  The semifinal game in the 7:00 P.M. slot between the B Ballers team and the Superhoopers team may very well have been the best game of the entire league as it had high quality play from both teams with several swings in momentum.  The B Ballers team; comprised mostly of former Southwest Minnesota State players, built a 9-4 lead midway through the first period but an 11-0 burst by the Superhoopers team made it a 15-9 game. The B Ballers team would respond with a 9-3 push of their own that knotted the game at 18 late in the opening period and the teams would be tied at 20-all going into the second period.  The B Ballers team appeared to capture some momentum in the second period; getting a 26-22 advantage on the strength of three-point shooting and they would hold a 30-24 lead midway through.  The Superhoopers team would manage to cut the B Ballers team's lead down to 33-30 and get to within a scant point trailing 35-34 but a late second period run by the B Ballers team would get the lead up to eight at 44-36 and they would enjoy a little bit of breathing room at the half with a 44-39 lead.  The Superhoopers team would slyly whittle away at the deficit in the opening minutes of the third period and reduce the B Ballers team's lead down to 46-43 and tie the contest at 46-all at the 7:36 mark.  The B Ballers team would respond with a 5-0 push to make it a 51-46 game but that advantage was quickly wiped away by the Superhoopers team as they went on an 8-0 run tied that gave them a 54-51 lead and they would hold a 57-56 lead going into the fourth period.  Things would be tied up again at 59 a piece early in the fourth period and both teams would trade one-point leads over the next couple of minutes.  The B Ballers team would go on a bit of a spurt to grab a 68-64 lead but that lead again was short-lived as the Superhoopers team came right back and knotted things up again at 68-all midway through the fourth period.  The B Ballers team would go on a three-point scoring spree and take a 74-68 lead that momentarily looked to have the Superhoopers team in a bit of trouble but, once again, the Superhoopers team found a way to come right back to tie the game again at 74 a piece with 3:20 left.  Both teams played things carefully down the home stretch; unwilling to let a mistake be fatal for them in the closing moments.  The Superhoopers had the ball and a chance to close it out in the closing seconds but two shot attempts in the last few seconds went awry and into overtime we went tied at 74.  The B Ballers team took the initiative in the extra two minute session and built a 78-74 lead with just under a minute left but the Superhoopers team managed to close the gap to one point at 78-77 with just :09 left.  They immediately fouled that gave the B Ballers team an opportunity to build their lead to three points again which they did at 80-77.  Still a final opportunity left for the Superhoopers team as a player was fouled behind the three point line with just :02 left.  But only two free throws went down and the B Ballers team ran out the last two ticks to hold on for a thrilling victory.

No such drama in the other semifinal game in the 8:00 P.M. slot of the alumni division between the Concordia St. Paul Alumni team and the Renegades team.  Things would be tied at 5-all midway through the first period and the Concordia St. Paul Alumni team would hold a slim 9-8 advantage going into the second period.  In a game where defense was the buzzword, the Concordia St. Paul team found just enough cracks in the Renegades team defense to grab a 13-8 advantage and a pretty give-and-go layup by former Golden Bear standout Carissa Wolyniec with 2:00 minutes left before the half made it a 15-11 game and they would hold a 17-13 lead at the half in this low-scoring affair.  A Wolyniec "3" at the beginning of the third period stretched the Concordia St. Paul Alumni team's lead to 20-13 but the Renegades team did manage to make a bit of a comeback late in the period.  A pretty three-point play by former Waldorf standout De'sia Demmings helped spark a late third-period run by the Renegades team that had them within striking distance trailing 31-28 going into the fourth period.  But a 6-0 run by the Concordia St. Paul team at the beginning of the fourth period effectively sunk the hopes of the Renegades team as they could do little offensively down the stretch.

So that set up the championship game of the alumni division in the 9:00 P.M. slot between the B Ballers team and the Concordia St. Paul team.  The B Ballers team would grab control of this one early on; building up a 10-2 lead and some hot three-point shooting got the lead to 16-8 by the end of the first period.  The B Ballers would control the tempo in this contest; primarily with their size in the paint and get a 20-10 lead early in the second period and 22-12 midway through.  The Concordia St. Paul Alumni team struggled offensively in the half court and although Carissa Wolyniec managed to knock down a three-point bomb late in the second period, the B Ballers team still held a 26-15 lead at the half.  Two early third period scores by former Minnesota Golden Gopher standout Ashley Ellis-Milan stretched the B Ballers team's lead to 30-16 and effectively had the Concordia St. Paul team in a precarious position as they were unable to make any serious inroads going into the fourth period trailing 35-21.  The Concordia St. Paul Alumni team finally found some signs of life in the fourth and final period as two quick scores trimmed the B Ballers team's lead down to 39-28.  The B Ballers team tried to methodically eat as much time off the clock as possible on their offensive possessions but the Concordia St. Paul team had one last gasp left in them as they finally got back into single-digit range trailing 39-31 with 4:44 left and 41-36 with 2:30 left.  But just when things appeared most dangerous for the B Ballers team, Ellis-Milan powered into the paint for an insurance score and they closed the door on any futile attempts the Concordia St. Paul team had in the final minute.  Congrats to the B Ballers team on their championship win!