Northland vs Bethel 11-15-16

Made my way over to Robertson Center on the campus of Bethel University on this Wednesday night of Beat SC Week to take in the home and season opener for host Bethel as they took on Northland College out of the UMAC.  I picked Bethel to finish third in the MIAC this season but felt like I needed some kind of validation for my lofty pick for them.  On this night, they validated my pick.

The Royals showed both full- and half-court pressure early on which led to several Northland mistakes and turnovers and Bethel was only too happy to take advantage.  Junior point guard Abby Miller connected on a short jumper at the 9:09 mark to get things started and Lumberjill Head Coach Daryle Tucker; perhaps sensing imminent disaster, called a timeout to try and get his squad reorganized.  But the Royals kept applying the pressure and the turnovers kept on coming from Northland.  One Miller free throw at the 8:39 mark and two more from senior forward Kalli Zimmerman at the 8:34 mark made it 5-0 and Tucker again took a match to another timeout to try and stem the tide to no avail.  Bethel's starting five were doing enough damage as it was but Tucker likely could not have counted on Royal freshman reserve guard Jasmin Bretoi coming off the bench and raining terror from three-point land.  The former Centennial standout dropped her first trey from the right wing area off of an inbounds pass at the 7:41 mark and after Zimmerman slithered inside for a score at the 7:10 mark for a 10-0 Bethel lead, Bretoi uncorked another three-point bomb - this one from the left wing area at the 6:21 mark that stretched the lead to 13-0.  A bit later at the 5:52 mark, Bretoi showed her defensive prowess as she snared a steal and dashed the other way for an easy lay-up for a 15-0 Royal lead.  Zimmerman did the same at the 5:31 mark for a 17-0 Bethel advantage before the Lumberjills finally got on the board with a "3" from the right wing area by senior guard Brianna Tody but by now the Royals had set the tempo on both sides of the floor and Northland was in a hole that was going to be very hard to dig out of.  Bethel senior guard Shanni Moorse snared an offensive rebound for a putback with 4:37 left made it 19-3 and then another new face made her impact felt.  Freshman reserve guard and former Maple Grove standout Haylee Barker snared a steal and dashed the other way for a lay-up with 3:08 left that made it a 22-5 ballgame.  Bretoi would strike again from three-point land from the left wing area with 2:21 left for a 25-5 Royal lead before Northland could finally cut into the deficit. Sophomore guard Nicole Huber would hit a "3"  from the right wing area with 1:54 left and two more Huber scores - a short shot with 1:38 left and a lay-up with 1:08 left - made the score a bit more respectable at 27-12 but two pairs of free throws by Zimmerman to end the first period had the Lumberjills staring at a 31-12 deficit by the end of the first period.

Northland hoped to get the second period off to a somewhat better start and a jumper from the free throw line by Huber at the 8:54 mark seemed to point the Lumberjills in the right direction at least. But a quick 7-0 Royal burst soon dashed those hopes as Abby Miller drained a "3" from the right wing area at the 8:11 mark as Zimmerman zigged and zagged her way into the paint for a lay-up at the 7:13 mark for a 36-14 Bethel lead.  Lanky freshman reserve forward Taite Anderson got into the paint for a score at the 6:10 mark for a 38-14 Royal advantage before Northland could make some more dents.  A Tody jumper in the lane at the 5:54 mark along with one free throw by sophomore guard Emily Wagner with 4:12 left along with a Tody "3" from the left wing area with 3:29 left trimmed the Bethel lead to 40-20 but the Royals simply had more firepower and answers on this night.  Sophomore reserve guard Maria Vavra got into the paint for a score with 2:17 left and freshman reserve forward Brittany Reimer grabbed an offensive rebound for a putback with 1:21 left for a 44-20 Bethel lead.  Wagner would connect on a lay-up for the Lumberjills with 1:00 left but there were no miracles seemingly in sight for the visitors from Ashland, Wisconsin on this night going into the locker room down 44-22 at the half.  And 14 first half turnovers along with 30% shooting was not helping Northland's cause.

Bethel increased its lead to 49-24 early in the third period on the strength of another Abby Miller "3" from the left corner at the 9:18 mark and a score in the paint by sophomore post Hannah Johnson at the 8:54 mark before the Lumberjills could make anymore inroads on the deficit.  Senior forward Bethany Best connected with a lay-up at the 8:25 mark and Huber connected with a lay-up as well at the 7:11 mark that drew a foul and allowed her to sink a free throw but Northland was simply giving up too much on defense to make up any ground.  Abby Miller had connected with another three-point bomb by then and Zimmerman managed to slither inside for another score at the 5:12 mark for a 56-30 Royal lead. Huber tried to keep the Lumberjills in the hunt as she connected with another lay-up and got fouled in the process again that allowed her to sink another freebie with 4:51 left and two more Huber free throws with 4:10 left along with a coast-to-coast lay-up by Wagner with 2:23 left that had the deficit back in the twenty-point range at 57-37 but that didn't last long.  Anderson dropped two free throws herself with 1:59 left and an offensive rebound and putback by Johnson with 1:23 left had the Bethel lead out to 61-37 and two Moorse free throws with :37.7 left before the end of the period gave the Royals plenty of breathing room with a 63-37 lead.

A Best coast-to-coast lay-up to begin the fourth period at the 9:26 mark was about the only bright spot for Northland as things went from bad to worse.  Bethel junior guard Angie Kirchoff; who was quiet for the most part in the first half, drained a "3" from the right top area at the 9:09 mark that gave the Royals a 66-39 advantage and, with such a sizable lead by this point, Royals Head Coach Jon Herbrechtsmeyer had an opportunity to not only to gradually insert more of his younger reserves but also try some different things on defense; including showing a 2-3 zone which is something of a rarity for Bethel which prides itself on its man-to-man defense.  Moorse's block of a three-point attempt by Northland sophomore guard Emily Howe and a lay-up the other way at the 7:08 mark had the Bethel crowd on its feet and another Zimmerman score in the paint at the 6:02 mark made it a 70-43 ballgame.  Then it was Barker again playing the thief in the night with her steal and lay-up the other way at the 5:56 mark.  Johnson drove into the lane for a finish off the glass at the 5:14 mark and sophomore reserve guard Hannah Simpson was fouled in transition after a steal and her two free throws with 4:45 left gave the Royals a sizable 76-43 advantage.  Northland's Best tried to steal the spotlight with her steal and lay-up the other way with 4:04 left but a Simpson lay-up with 3:34 left along with two free throws by freshman reserve forward Miranda Robinson with 2:14 left had the lead out to 80-47.  Reimer would bang home a "3" from the left corner off of an inbounds pass with 1:51 left and one free throw from sophomore reserve guard Brenna Larsen with 1:07 left and a "3" from the left wing area with :30 left by freshman reserve guard Maggie Miller gave Bethel a resounding 87-47 victory.

I was able to chat with an upbeat Herbrechtsmeyer afterward and he was quick to sing praises to his young players that shined on this opening night along with his starters as well.  "There's four great shooters in this conference and I've got two of them" he said; likely referring to Abby Miller and Bretoi.  Herbrechtsmeyer is also high on Barker, the former Maple Grove standout who, along with Bretoi, give the Royals a Northwest Suburban Conference flavor.  Herbrechtsmeyer thinks that Barker can develop into one of the top point guards in the MIAC at some point and that "she'll be the best on-ball defender" as well.  She certainly showed those characteristics tonight with her two steals in 18 minutes of total play.  Assistant Coach Dwight Nelson also talked about the Royals shot-blocking ability; noting that they were first in that category two seasons ago and, although they slipped to ninth in the country in that category last season, he thinks they can get right back up there this season with this group of players they have with their mobility.  Zimmerman led a fairly-balanced scoring attack on this night with her 19 points and Abby Miller followed with her 12 points and Bretoi was right behind with her 11 points.  Bethel owned the glass on this night as well with 46 total rebounds; 11 of those coming from Zimmerman.  Huber led the way for Northland on this night with her 14 points and Best was right behind with her 10 points which all came in the second half.