Carleton vs Macalester 12-7-16

Made my way over to the Leonard Center on the campus of Macalester College on this cold, windy Wednesday evening to take in the battle between visiting Carleton and host Macalester.  This was a big game for both teams as they were coming into this contest at 0-2 in the MIAC and were looking for a way to break out of their doldrums.  Not only that, both squads were hoping that this contest could lead to bigger things down the road and possibly breaking out of that lower tier of the conference.

Offense seemed to come at a premium for both teams in the early going with each side missing easy opportunities.  With the score tied at 3-all, Macalester was finally able to make its first decisive move of the evening.  Senior forward Park Masterson's jumper in the lane at the 7:53 mark helped spark a 15-2 run.  Two free throws by junior post Regan Fruh at the 7:38 mark and a lay-up by freshman guard Holly Hull at the 5:33 mark made it 9-3 game.  The Knights temporarily stopped this charge when willowly sophomore forward Cece Leone drove into the lane from the left side and connected on a pretty hook shot at the 5:04 mark but the home team continued with its blitz.  One Fruh freebie with 4:39 left and a lay-up in transition by junior reserve guard Vivi Gregorich with 4:20 left pushed the lead to 12-5 and a Fruh lay-up in transition a bit later with 3:57 left in the opening period stretched the lead to 14-5 and Carleton Head Coach Cassie Kosiba called for a thirty-second timeout to try and get her squad recharged.  But a Gregorich "3" from the left wing area with 3:11 left and a Fruh score in the paint with 2:31 left had the lead at 19-5 before the Knights were able to make something of an inroad on the deficit.  One free throw by sophomore reserve guard Caroline Hull with 1:57 left and one more by Leone with 1:07 left trimmed the Scot lead down to 19-7 and two free throws by freshman reserve forward Malika Adda-Berkane with :19.7 left in the period allowed the visitors from Northfield to get into the ten-point range trailing 19-9 but Macalester had clearly set the tempo going into the second period.  Even more worrisome for Kosiba was that the Knights had missed out on easy scoring opportunities in the opening period leaving several potential points on the table.

Carleton appeared ready to make a charge early on in the second period thanks to junior reserve forward Katherine Miles.  The Park Ridge, Illinois native got into the paint for one score at the 8:01 mark and was able to knock down a "3" from the left top area at the 6:20 mark that cut the Scot lead down to 21-14 but Macalester refused to capitulate.  Two free throws by Fruh at the 6:01 mark and one more by freshman reserve guard Tyana Loiselle at the 5:53 mark got the lead back to double digits at 24-14 and then Loiselle struck again at the 5:08 mark scoring on a nifty give-and-go lay-up that got the lead to 26-14.  Another Gregorich three-point bomb from the top of the key with 4:43 left made it 29-16 before the Knights were able to chip away.  Two free throws by Caroline Hull with 4:25 left and a tough turnaround shot by freshman post Samantha Cooke with 3:26 left had Carleton flirting with a comeback attempt; back in single-digit range trailing 29-20 and a "3" from the right wing area by freshman guard Katie Chavez with 2:13 left kept the Knights in the hunt trailing 32-23. One free throw by Cooke with 1:41 left and a drive and finish by Chavez with 1:14 left now had Carleton within striking distance trailing 32-26 but the Scots were finally able to put on the brakes just before the half.  Holly Hull banged home a "3" from the right wing area with :58 left and senior reserve post Karen Rathjens connected with a short jumper with :29 left that allowed Macalester to take a 37-28 lead into the locker room at the half.  Though the Knights were at least back in single digit range, some of the stats in the first half box score were cause for concern:  12 turnovers and a 71.4% rate from the charity stripe again left some points on the table.

While in single digit range going into the third period, Carleton was still in something of a precarious position given their relative inefficiency on offense in the first half and things gradually got worse as the third period wore on.  For starters, the Scots reeled off the first five points as a score in the paint by Fruh at the 9:26 mark and lanky junior guard Leah Gray; who had a quiet first half from a scoring standpoint, got into the books at the 8:52 mark with one freebie at the 8:52 mark that had Macalester back up by double digits at 40-28.  A Fruh lay-up at the 8:28 mark made it 42-28 before the Knights could counter on free throws by Cooke at the 7:17 mark and by Leone at the 6:52 mark that at least cut the deficit back to ten points at 42-32.  But then the Scots exploded for an 14-2 run that really put Carleton behind the 8-ball for good.  Holly Hull connected with a lay-up at the 5:48 mark that drew a foul and allowed the Overland Park, Kansas native to sink the obligatory free throw for a 45-32 lead and three straight scores by the energetic Gregorich - a short, running jumper at the 5:28 mark and lay-ups with 3:41 and 3:11 left - along with a short shot off the glass in transition by Fruh bulged the Macalester lead to 53-34 and Kosiba had no alternative by this point but to call a timeout to get her Knights refocused.  Fruh would cap this 14-2 onslaught with a lay-up with 1:13 left that drew a foul and sent the San Rafael, California native to the charity stripe for the ensuing freebie.  Carleton finally stopped the bleeding in the last minute of the third period on a Chavez drive and lay-up with :43 left and a drive and finish by Leone with :11 left but the Knights were still staring at an 18-point deficit at 56-38 going into the fourth and final period.

Carleton needed something to energize them in the early moments of the fourth period and a Chavez "3" from the left wing area at the 9:38 mark along with a lay-up in transition by junior forward Sarah Waldfogel at the 8:43 mark trimmed the Scots lead down to fifteen at 58-43.  One Chavez freebie at the 7:33 mark and one more by Waldfogel at the 5:57 mark kept the deficit at the fifteen-point range at 60-45 but Gregorich; who was proving to be a pain in the side for Kosiba's Knights on this evening, stretched Macalester's lead back to nineteen at 64-45 with her free throws at the 5:29 mark and with 4:40 left.  A jumper from the left elbow area by senior reserve guard Lauren Clamage for insurance gave the Scots a 66-47 lead with 3:13 left.  It was at this point that Carleton made an unlikely run that, while not in the same league as Texas A&M's bizarre comeback over UNI this last March in the NCAA Tournament, at least shaved some of the fat off of the deficit in the final tally. Caroline Hull not only drilled a "3" from the right corner but a foul away from the ball at the same instant sent Waldfogel to the charity stripe where she sank two free throws for an unusual five-point play with 2:58 left.  Two free throws by Cooke with 2:03 left and two more by Chavez with 1:04 left got the deficit back to ten points and, had there been another minute or two left in this game, it's entirely likely that Macalester Head Coach Kelly Roysland might have been sweating bullets and Roysland indeed called a timeout after a lay-up in transition by Leone with :34 left got the Scots back to within single digits trailing 66-58.  Fittingly, however, two Gregorich free throws with :06.3 left closed the door on Carleton as the Scots took their first MIAC victory of the year by a final score of 68-58 that improved their record to 1-2 in conference play and 5-3 overall.

Kosiba lamented afterward when I had an opportunity to catch up with her that "We just didn't execute our gameplan tonight."  Certainly one of the most important pieces in the overall Carleton gameplan - junior forward Anne Hamilton - was dressed in civvies on the bench on this night; still apparently not fully recovered from an injury last season.  Kosiba, however, remains hopeful that Hamilton will be back in action sometime after the holiday break.  "She's progressing well" she added.  I was also able to catch a moment with Waldfogel afterward as well and she remarked that "we can't be putting ourselves in a hole".  Presumably, however, once Hamilton is back in action, Carleton will have a dynamic player back in its starting rotation and someone who, according to Kosiba, has talents way beyond her scoring ability.  Meanwhile, on the Macalester side, Roysland had to be bubbling with good feelings after a great outing by the junior reserve guard Gregorich who led all scorers on this night with her 23 points.  Gray was right behind with her 22 points and nine boards on this night but the real positive for the Scots is that they have someone who is able to step up and provide quality minutes not to mention get a good number of points scored that will undoubtedly relieve some of the burden on both Masterson and Gray.  If they can do this consistently, Macalester could be a very dangerous team going forward.  Carleton was led on this night by Chavez' 13 points while both Leone and Caroline Hull had ten points a piece.  The Scots did hold an overall advantage on the boards at 41-35 as well.