Northwestern vs GAC Scrimmage 11-11-16

Made my way down U.S. Highway 169 and the Union Pacific's "Omaha Route" mainline on this Friday to St. Peter evening to take in the scrimmage between Northwestern out of the UMAC and host GAC.  This would be my first peek at the 2016-17 version of the Gusties and, having picked them to finish second in the MIAC this year, I was very anxious to check them out.  I got settled into Lund Arena in plenty of time and, for a Friday evening scrimmage that happened on Veteran's Day, it was decently attended.

The Gusties came right out of the gate in the opening ten-minute scrimmage and showed their aggressiveness right away as junior point guard Mikayla Miller was able to snare the opening tip and race to the rack for an easy lay-up at the 9:55 mark.  Senior forward Hannah Howard made it a 4-0 game with her steal and lay-up the other way at the 9:19 mark and a shell-shocked Northwestern team hadn't even had an opportunity yet to utilize its bread and butter - the 2-3 matchup zone defense. Junior guard Amy Berglund got the Eagles on the board at the 9:08 mark with her score in the paint but GAC then proceeded to go on a decisive 10-0 run.  Miller uncorked a three-point bomb from the left wing area at the 8:36 mark and Howard played the thief in the night again; snaring a steal for a lay-up the other way at the 8:17 mark that made it a 9-2 game.  One free throw by junior forward Emee Udo at the 7:45 mark coupled with a hard drive along the right baseline and finish by Miller that also drew a foul and allowed the Goodhue native to sink the obligatory freebie got the score to 13-2 and a free throw by freshman forward Josie Schieffert at the 6:12 mark capped the run.  A jumper along the left baseline by senior forward Emily VanLith temporarily stopped some of the bleeding by Northwestern but Gustie senior guard Kelsey Carpenter pushed GAC's lead to 16-4 at the 5:14 mark when she slipped into the paint for a score.  The Eagles could only make incremental dents into the GAC cushion down the stretch.  Sophomore guard Logan Retzlaff connected with a jumper along the left baseline with 2:32 left but a Carpenter "3" from the right corner a short time later with 2:09 left got the lead to 19-6.  A long Berglund jumper from the right wing area with 1:53 left and one Retzlaff free throw thirty seconds later got the deficit back to ten points for Northwestern trailing 19-9 but GAC sophomore forward Kendall Thompson put the finishing touches on this first scrimmage with her score in the paint with :07 left and I had the Gusties winning this opening scrimmage handily by a 21-9 count.

Miller picked up right where she left off in the early moments of the second scrimmage when she drained her second trey of the evening; this one coming from the left corner at the 9:11 mark and it looked as if the Gusties might be off and running again.  This time around though, both teams hit a bit of a rough patch as both offenses stalled - thanks to turnovers and other miscues - for just a little over three minutes before Northwestern's Berglund connected with a lay-up at the 6:02 mark that had her team trailing by only a scant point at 3-2.  GAC Head Coach Laurie Kelly; perhaps not happy with how her team bogged down on offense, called a timeout to get her team pointed in the right direction and that stoppage in play would eventually pay off.  Howard would sink two free throws at the 5:29 mark for a 5-2 Gustie advantage and, although Northwestern would manage to tie the game at 5-all off of a Retzlaff score with 3:59 left, two more Howard freebies with 3:31 left and a Howard score in the paint with 3:06 left gave made it 9-5 GAC and when sophomore guard Taylor Anderson grabbed an offensive rebound of her own miss for a putback with 2:31 left, the Gustie lead was now six at 11-5.  Northwestern was able to make one last push that made things interesting down the stretch.  Two Berglund free throws with 2:15 left and a pretty running jumper from the left side by freshman guard Jazinae Patterson trimmed the GAC lead down to 13-9 and one free throw with 1:18 left by senior post Rachel Hart with 1:18 left had the Eagles within a single possession trailing 13-10 but any hopes of a complete comeback were dashed with :31 left when Northwestern made the mistake of leaving Miller open from behind the arc in the left corner as she drilled another three-point bomb that gave GAC the second scrimmage by a count of 16-10.

Northwestern was finally able to grab an early 2-0 lead in the third scrimmage on a score in the paint at the 9:32 mark but that lead didn't last very long.  Gustie sophomore guard Brooke Lemke's jumper from the left side at the 8:22 mark tied the score and then it was - guess who - Miller unleashing more terror from behind the arc with a "3" from the right corner for a 5-2 GAC lead.  Howard's jumper in the lane in transition at the 6:30 mark made it 7-2 and Eagle Head Coach Aaron Kahl; a one-time assistant at GAC, saw things slipping away and he called a timeout to try and keep the ship from sailing away.  But the Gusties refused to let their collective foot off of the gas pedal as Carpenter swished her second trey of the night - this one coming from the right wing area at the 5:31 mark and a Thompson lay-up off of an inbounds pass with 4:03 left capped this 12-0 GAC run.  Berglund stopped some of the bleeding for Northwestern with 3:29 left with her pretty one-handed shot but an Anderson lay-up with 2:51 left and a score in the paint by Schieffert with :56 left sealed the deal for Gusties as they took this third scrimmage handily by a count of 16-4.

Kelly let some of her younger players start the fourth period scrimmage and this allowed Northwestern to grab an early 4-0 lead.  Kelly took a quick timeout to make some adjustments and this allowed GAC to gradually get back into this one.  Still, the Eagles' Patterson knocked down two free throws that increased their lead to 6-0 before the Gusties finally got untracked.  Junior guard Kate Thiesse knocked down two free throws after getting fouled at the 6:48 mark and then Thompson let loose with a three-point bomb from the right wing area at the 4:53 mark that closed the gap to a single point at 6-5.  Northwestern managed to get the lead back up to 10-5 on a Patterson lay-up and two Retzlaff free throws with 4:13 left but then GAC's Miller; who was back on the floor by this time, made the Eagles pay.  She dropped her fifth trey of the night with 4:00 left that brought the Gusties back to within a single possession again trailing 10-8 and they stayed within a single possession at 12-10 on two free throws by Schieffert with 3:23 left.  The Eagles tried to make a late surge on a "3" from the right wing area by senior guard Tiffany Stubbs with 3:08 left that got the lead back to 15-10 but they were unable to close the door.  Two Schieffert scores - one in the paint with 2:49 left and a short shot in transition with 1:53 left - cut the deficit to a single point at 15-14 and two free throws by Miller with 1:12 left finally gave GAC the lead at 16-15 and a score in the paint by Schieffert with just :30 left gave the Gusties a hard-earned 18-15 win.

Both Kelly and Kahl let the young ones and reserves take the floor in the fifth and final scrimmage to not only rest their normal rotation of players but to give the younger reserves an opportunity to gain some good in-game experience.  Northwestern struck first on a Patterson lay-up at the 9:02 mark but the younger Gusties wasted little time to show their stuff.  Freshman forward Agnes Ekman tipped in an errant shot at the 8:27 mark that also drew a foul and allowed her to sink the ensuing free throw for a 3-2 GAC lead.  Thiesse snared an offensive rebound for a putback at the 7:38 mark and then Ekman struck again at the 6:27 mark as she snared a steal and dashed the other way for a lay-up for a 7-2 Gustie advantage.  The Eagles were able to close the gap to a single point on two Retzlaff free throws at the 5:34 mark and a short jumper from the right side by freshman guard Sherri Clark at the 5:04 mark but a 6-0 GAC push snuffed out any hopes Northwestern may have had in taking at least one of these scrimmages.  Senior guard Annie Odegard knocked down a "3" from the left top area with 3:56 left and one free throw by freshman guard Tierney Winter with 3:24 left and two more by Ekman with 2:24 left gave the Gusties a 13-6 lead.  Winter would snare an offensive rebound for a putback with 1:52 left that drew a foul and allowed her to sink the obligatory freebie and she would also get another offensive rebound for a putback in a transition opportunity with 1:13 left that gave GAC an 18-7 lead.  An Ekman score in the paint with :22 left closed out the fun and entertaining scrimmage as the Gusties took this one by a count of 20-7.

While Kelly was not happy with all aspects of her team's play on this night, there's a lot there to feel very good about; particularly with her starting five and rotation of players off the bench which looks very strong.  Kelly did admit that a few players on her squad are battling through some minor injuries and senior forward Miranda Rice, who sat on the bench in civvies on this night, should be back soon. Assistant Coach Dan Wolfe told me unequivocally beforehand when I mentioned that I thought the Gusties were headed for big things this season, "We've got to stay healthy."  Northwestern came into this scrimmage a bit short-handed as sophomore guard Taryn Tumbleson is out with a back injury "but not for the rest of the season" Kahl said with a note of hope.  The Eagles do lack size and while they can cause opponents problems with their 2-3 matchup zone along with 1-2-2 variations, they'll have to count on doing a lot of damage from behind the perimeter if they hope to challenge for the UMAC title this season.