Northland vs Macalester 12-19-16

Made the run over to Macalester College's Leonard Center for this unusual Monday afternoon non-conference match-up between visiting Northland out of the UMAC taking on host Macalester of the MIAC.  With finals finally in the rear-view mirror and the holidays just around the corner, however, the timing probably couldn't have been better for both teams.  And it was a chance for both squads to get a win to feel good about themselves before they go into the holiday break.

The first period could probably best be described as missed opportunities for both teams; particularly the Lumberjills as they were unable to cash in on several easy opportunities.  As a result, Macalester was able to make the best out of a not-so-great situation and build an early 5-0 lead on the strength of an offensive rebound and putback by junior post Regan Fruh at the 9:44 mark along with one free throw by freshman guard Holly Hull at the 8:44 mark and two more by junior guard Vivi Gregorich at the 8:20 mark.  Northland Head Coach Daryle Tucker; probably realizing his squad was out of sorts from the long trip down to the Twin Cities, took a thirty-second timeout to get his squad settled down.  That seemed to work at first as senior forward Bethany Best snared an offensive rebound of her own miss for a putback at the 7:51 mark and sophomore guard Nicole Huber knocked down two freebies at the 6:28 mark that narrowed the gap to a single point at 5-4.  The Scots got a bit of a charge when senior reserve guard Lauren Clamage got into the game as she connected with a jumper from the free throw line at the 6:17 mark and followed that up with a steal at mid-court and subsequent lay-up at the 6:06 mark for a 9-4 lead and a lay-up by senior forward Park Masterson extended the lead to 11-5 with 3:34 left.  Two Gregorich scores - a jumper from the left wing with 2:29 left and a lay-up with 1:53 left - gave Macalester a 15-6 lead before the Lumberjills could respond with two Best freebies with 1:31 left that made it a 15-8 lead going into the second period.

A "3" from the left corner by sophomore guard Kaitlyn Thompson at the 9:45 mark had Northland back in the thick of things again trailing 15-11 but the Scots threw a monkey wrench in their opponent's comeback plan.  Masterson snared an offensive rebound for a putback at the 9:29 mark and then Gregorich uncorked one of her patented three-point bombs - this one from the right top area at the 7:56 mark - that jumped the lead up to 20-11 and the Lumberjill's Tucker called a full timeout; perhaps a bit impatiently so, to try and turn the tide.  But Gregorich would unleash another "3" - this one coming from the left wing area at the 7:07 mark and a Clamage jumper from the free throw line at the 5:42 mark pushed the lead to 25-13.  The situation would have been a perfect one for Macalester Head Coach Kelly Roysland if Clamage hadn't have picked up her third foul with 4:36 left before the half that forced the former Minnesota Golden Gopher standout to dig deeper into her bench.  Coming down the stretch before the half, Northland twice was able to get back into the ten-point range on two Best scores - a lay-up with 3:32 left and a drive and finish with 2:20 left - that trimmed the Scot lead to 27-17 but one free throw by freshman reserve forward Laurel Kriesel-Bigler with just :03.9 left gave Macalester a 28-17 lead going into the locker room at the break.  A glance of the first half box score shows that the Lumberjills shooting was nothing to write home about - 22.7% from FG range and only 16.7% from behind the arc.  Even more worrisome for Tucker was that Best was doing the bulk of the work with her 12 first half points and 11 first half turnovers by his team weren't helping either.

And the last thing that Northland needed at the beginning of the third period was a sizable Scot run which is precisely what happened.  Slender junior guard Leah Gray started things with a jumper from the left wing area at the 9:03 mark and yet another Gregorich three-point bomb - this one from the right wing area at the 8:49 mark - suddenly made it a 33-17 ballgame and the Lumberjills' Tucker was clamoring for a thirty-second timeout.  But that short stoppage in play didn't seem to cool off Macalester any.  Fruh snared an offensive rebound for a putback at the 8:26 mark and then it was Gregorich capping this 9-0 burst with a lay-up after a steal at mid-court that gave the Scots a 20-point cushion at 37-17.  One of the reasons for this unexpected burst was that Roysland had her squad employing some solid half-court pressure that resulted in two ten-second violations to get over the timeline that helped fuel this Macalester burst.  Huber finally ended the Lumberjills woes with her lay-up in transition at the 7:39 mark but Northland had to endure a 7-0 Scot burst afterward. Gregorich connected with a lay-up at the 6:34 mark and the Boulder, Colorado native followed that up with a "3" from the right corner at the 6:00 mark that made it 42-19.  A lay-up in transition by Hull at the 5:28 mark for a 44-19 lead capped this latest run before the Lumberjills could finally rely on two scores by their best and most reliable player - Best.  Two free throws with 4:42 left and a score in the paint with 4:16 left by the Cable, Wisconsin native trimmed Macalester's lead down to 44-21 but the damage had already been done.  One Hull free throw with 4:10 left along with two Masterson scores - an offensive rebound for a putback with 3:42 left and a lay-up with 3:11 left - made it 49-23. A Clamage "3" from the top of the key with 1:45 left pushed the Scot lead to 52-24 before the Lumberjills finally offered up some firm resistance.  Sophomore forward Ashton Meadows connected with a short turnaround jumper with :47.9 left that also drew a foul and sent the San Antonio, Texas native to the charity stripe for the obligatory free throw.  But Macalester ended the period on a score in the paint by senior reserve forward Emilie McGuire with :36 left and took a sizable 54-27 lead going into the fourth and final period.

Northland sought to undo some of the damage that had been done to them in the early moments of the fourth period and two scores by Huber - a "3" from the right top area at the 9:51 mark and two freebies at the 9:20 mark - trimmed some of the fat from the deficit at 54-32.  Two Best charity stripe shots at the 8:14 mark and a short shot off the glass by sophomore reserve guard Emily Wagner at the 7:24 mark kept things from totally spiraling out of control trailing 56-36.  But the Scots weren't willing to relent just yet.  Two Fruh free throws at the 6:49 mark and a Gray "3" from the left wing area at the 6:11 mark made it 61-37 and a Hull "3" from the left corner with 4:27 left made it 64-40. Sophomore reserve guard Addy Perkins got into the game as well for Macalester and she snared an offensive rebound for a putback with 3:36 left for a 66-42 Scot lead before Northland could make a meaningful late-game 14-0 run that made the score closer than what it appeared.  Sophomore reserve guard Katherine Taylor started this unlikely run with a lay-up in transition with 3:24 left and a steal and lay-up the other way by senior reserve guard Brianna Tody with 2:37 left trimmed Macalester's lead down to 66-46.  A score in the paint by Meadows with 1:47 left and a Tody "3" from the right top area with 1:08 left cut further into the Scot cushion at 66-51.  Two free throws by sophomore reserve guard Emily Howe with :30.9 left and another Tody "3" - this one from the top of the key with :09.3 left - gave the final points in Macalester's 66-56 win.

A somewhat relieved Roysland was glad to get the "W" on the heels of finals week and going into a much-deserved holiday break.  Perhaps the only damper on the day was the presence of junior point guard Grace Dickman in warm-ups but not in uniform.  I was able to speak briefly with Dickman afterward and she wasn't sure when she'd be back.  Roysland said that her situation is "indefinite" right now and that's certainly a blow to Macalester when they delve into the meat of MIAC play after the first of the year.  No doubt that Hull, Gregorich and Clamage will have to step up their games in Dickman's absence.  Gregorich did just that on this day as she led all scorers with her 24 points and, in fact, was the only Scot player in double figures.  On the Northland side, it was Best leading the way with her 21 points with no one else in double figures.  On the bright side for Roysland, Macalester owned the boards on this day by a whopping 50-26 margin although they did have more turnovers than the Lumberjills had although many of those turnovers came in the last few minutes when the reserves were in.