Bismarck State vs Anoka-Ramsey 12-16-16

Made my way up to Coon Rapids on this snowy Friday evening as Winter Storm Decima was making its arrival in the Twin Cities to take in one of the Anoka-Ramsey Holiday Classic games - this one between visiting Bismarck State and host Anoka-Ramsey.  The Mystics were an unknown team to me although glancing at their roster, it became readily apparent that they had some good size so it would be interesting to see how they handled the speed and athleticism that Anoka-Ramsey has.

Bismarck State would take a 3-2 lead on a "3" from the right corner by freshman forward Hannah Hanson at the 7:18 mark of the opening period but the Golden Rams were quick to counter.  Freshman guard Alyssa Correll nailed a "3" of her own from the left corner at the 6:54 mark and speedy sophomore point guard Rashonna Thomas snared a steal and dashed the other way for a lay-up at the 6:48 mark that had Anoka-Ramsey up 7-3.  The Mystics would close the gap to one point on a "3" by sophomore guard Cassidy Wilhelm from the left top area at the 6:28 mark and one free throw by fellow sophomore forward Macy Lynch at the 5:51 mark tied the game at 7-all.  Anoka-Ramsey looked to widen the earlier margin and a lay-up by freshman guard Lateah Turmon with 4:55 left in the opening period drew a foul and sent the former Robbinsdale Armstrong product to the line for the obligatory free throw for a 10-7 lead and an offensive rebound and putback by freshman forward Dariel Lipscomb with 3:51 left along with a Lipscomb lay-up with 3:01 left gave the Golden Rams a five-point 14-9 lead.  Right back came Bismarck State as Lynch connected with a lay-up with 2:59 left and freshman reserve guard Nicole Bunting knotted the issue at 14 with her "3" from the right corner with 2:22 left.  A Bunting score in the paint with 1:42 left gave the Mystics their first lead of the ballgame at 16-14 but Anoka-Ramsey was quick to counter as two Correll scores - a jumper from the top of the key with :59 left and another one from the right wing area with :24 left had the Golden Rams up 18-16 at the end of the first period.

Anoka-Ramsey looked like it was on the verge of getting some separation in the early moments of the second period.  Two free throws by Thomas at the 9:46 mark and another one at the 9:36 mark made it a 21-16 game and an offensive rebound and putback by Lipscomb at the 8:56 mark maintained the five-point edge at 23-18.  A short jumper by Thomas in transition at the 8:37 mark and a "3" from the left top area by sophomore reserve guard Laya Sath at the 7:29 mark stretched the lead to eight points at 28-20 and all facets of the Golden Ram offense looked to be clicking the way they should. Thomas' drive and finish at the 6:44 mark and two free throws by freshman reserve guard Biftu Tula at the 6:24 mark gave Anoka-Ramsey a double-digit lead at 32-22.  But the Mystics regrouped and calmly responded with a 9-0 run.  Lynch first connected with a lay-up at the 6:10 mark and two scores by sophomore guard McKayla Howling Wolf - a short shot off the glass at the 5:48 mark and a "3" from the right wing at the 5:17 mark - closed the gap to a single possession at 32-29.  Another Lynch lay-up with 3:32 left brought Bismarck State back to a single-point deficit at 32-31.  Thomas tried to jump start her Golden Ram teammates with her lay-up in transition with 3:23 left that made it a 34-31 game but a "3" from the left corner by Mystic freshman forward Hannah Hanson with 2:12 left knotted the issue again at 34 a piece.  Anoka-Ramsey seemed to get a wake-up call by this latest push by its opponent and closed out the first half on an 8-0 push.  A jumper from the free throw line off the glass by Tula with 1:35 left and two free throws by freshman guard Amanda Lindsay with 1:12 left got the lead back to four points at 38-34.  The speedy Thomas got a lay-up in transition with 1:02 left and Correll closed out the first half with her lay-up after a steal with :24 left that had the Golden Rams feeling a bit better about themselves up 42-34 going into the locker room; even if they weren't able to put away their opponent for good by this point.

Anoka-Ramsey sought to put their opponent in a big hole again - presumably one that they couldn't recover from - once the third period got underway.  A Thomas lay-up at the 9:30 mark and a Correll lay-up after a backcourt steal at the 9:18 mark gave the Golden Rams a 46-34 lead and Bismarck State Head Coach Jason Harris knew he had trouble on his hands and called a thirty-second timeout to try and rectify the situation.  Still, a Turmon lay-up at the 8:24 mark gave Anoka-Ramsey its biggest lead of the game at 48-34 and it appeared right then and there that the Mystics were likely beyond the point of no return at this juncture.  Bismarck State, however, shocked everyone in the warm gym on this cold night (including yours truly) by launching a game-changing 24-4 run to close out the third period and it would be Lynch; the Bismarck, North Dakota product, doing most of the damage.  She started this unlikely burst with her lay-up at the 7:40 mark and was able to knock down one free throw at the 7:08 mark.  Then it was a lay-up in transition at the 6:28 mark and then a drive along the right baseline for a finish at the 5:47 mark got the Mystics back to within a single possession trailing 50-41.  Bunting as able to snare an offensive rebound for a putback at the 5:18 mark and then two more Lynch scores - a short jumper in the lane off of an inbounds pass with 4:27 left and a "3" from the left top area with 3:54 left - suddenly cut the Golden Ram lead down to a scant two points at 50-48 and Head Coach David DeWitt called a timeout to assess the carnage and to try to get his shell-shocked squad calmed down.  But the Mystics were far from finished with their blitzkrieg.  Two Bunting freebies with 3:10 left after she was fouled in transition with 3:10 left tied the game at 50 and with 1:57 left, freshman reserve guard Mariah Sellon connected with a lay-up in transition and drew a foul and the Turtle Lake, North Dakota native's ensuing freebie put Bismarck State up for good at 53-50.  Bunting was able to connect with a lay-up in transition with :23 left after an Anoka-Ramsey turnover that gave the Mystics a 55-50 lead before Thomas finally stopped the Golden Ram hemorrhaging with her offensive rebound and putback of her own miss with :08 left. Bismark State, however, would cap this big offensive when Bunting was fouled on a three-point shot attempt from the top of the key and she calmly knocked down three free throws with no time left on the clock that now had the Mystics up 57-52 going into the fourth period.

One of the things that aided Bismarck State's big comeback was that they switched to a 1-3-1 zone defense that, along with traps here and there, completely took Anoka-Ramsey out of their comfort zone to a point where they simply looked like a mess offensively with several uncharacteristic turnovers.  This pattern continued into the fourth period as a short jumper off the glass by Sellon at the 9:36 mark pushed the lead to 59-52 and had DeWitt clamoring for a thirty-second timeout right then and there.  A Lynch jumper from the right corner just inside the arc at the 8:50 mark put the Golden Rams further in a hole trailing 61-52 but Bismarck State's Harris had cause for concern a bit later when Lynch; who had slowly been accumulating fouls in this contest, picked up her fifth and final foul at the 8:01 mark and with a still uncertain single-digit lead.  But, much to his relief, the Mystics role players stepped up to the plate and carried the load.  Sellon connected with a short jumper off the glass at the 7:54 mark and two Bunting free throws at the 7:36 mark gave Bismarck State its first double-digit advantage at 65-54.  A Turmon lay-up at the 6:54 mark gave the Golden Rams a bit of hope as they got back to within the single-digit range at 65-56 but a Sellon lay-up in transition at the 6:39 mark and two free throws by freshman reserve guard Jaycee Walter at the 5:49 mark got the lead back up to double-digits for the Mystics at 69-56 and there was no looking back. Howling Wolfe got an open look from behind the arc from the left corner and unleashed a three-point bomb at the 5:19 mark for a 72-56 lead that really broke Anoka-Ramsey's back.  The Golden Rams tried to counter on Lindsay's "3" from the left wing area at the 5:03 mark but a 7-2 Mystic push over the next two minutes put the bow tie on this game for good.  One Bunting freebie with 4:53 left and a Bunting lay-up after a steal with 4:42 left made it 75-59.  Two Wilhelm free throws with 3:57 left and a Wilhelm lay-up in transition with 3:17 left made it a 79-61 game and another Howling Wolf three-point bomb - this one from the right corner - made it 82-63.  Both Lipscomb and Thomas got late scores for Anoka Ramsey in the last two minutes but they were for naught as the Mystics took a big 82-68 win.

Bismarck State's Harris was aglow after this game and with good reason.  He talked at length at how Lynch; who is actually a third-year sophomore, transferred to Bismarck State after a semester at another school.  That transfer has paid big dividends for the Mystics program and Lynch for sure will be playing somewhere after this season is over.  "She's definitely a D2 player" Harris said.  Even more encouraging for Harris is how his role players stepped up after Lynch fouled out and kept the beat going.  Meanwhile, a disappointed and somewhat shocked DeWitt could only voice frustration after this contest.  "We've got to figure some things out" he said in his matter-of-fact tone.  Likely one of his big frustrations was how his squad let go of a fourteen-point lead early in the third period in just a matter of minutes.  That, coupled with how things fell apart offensively, is something that will have to be addressed after the holiday break.  The Golden Rams had only five first half turnovers but that number doubled in the second half.  I don't think you can point to just one thing as to what's ailing Anoka-Ramsey right now.  I couldn't help but think on the way home when DeWitt remarked to me after the loss to Milwaukee Technical College that "We're not very good."  And that maybe he wasn't so far off in his assessment at the time.  Still, I don't think this loss is going to ruin their season by any means and they've got enough weapons and talent to learn from the mistakes on this night and move forward.  DeWitt, however, must be shaking his head when he sees that his squad shot only 33.8% on this night from FG range and only 12% from behind the arc.  The fact that rebounds were even at 40 is probably another thing that irks DeWitt.  Rebounding has always been a hallmark of DeWitt's tenure at Anoka-Ramsey and it's a rarity when his squad gets out-rebounded.  Lynch's 25 points led all scorers on this night and Howling Wolf was the only other double-digit scorer for the Mystics with her 11 points.  Anoka-Ramsey had a fairly balanced scoring attack with Thomas leading the way with her "double-double" of 20 points and thirteen rebounds.  Correll had 13 points and Lipscomb had 12 points in the losing effort.