Bethel vs St. Kate's 1-14-17

After leaving UST's Schoenecker Arena, I made the short run down Cleveland Avenue down to Butler Center on the campus of St. Kate's for the 3:00 P.M. game between visiting Bethel and host St. Kate's.  I got settled into Butler Center with :54.5 left in the first period and the Royals up 22-13.

This game would be a contrast of styles with St. Kate's up-tempo style and the calculated, half-court style that Bethel prefers.  That was on display when I got settled in as a steal and lay-up the other way by Wildcat senior forward Kennedy Jennings with just :14 left in the first period trimmed the Royal lead down to 22-15.  Bethel would respond quickly in the opening moments of the second period as junior reserve sharp-shooting guard Jasmin Bretoi drained a "3" from the right wing area at the 9:36 mark and two free throws by senior forward Shanni Moorse at the 9:00 mark pushed the Royal lead back up to 27-15.  St. Kate's would then move into high gear offensively as they proceeded to go on a 7-0 push.  The graceful-moving Jennings got into the paint for one score at the 8:51 mark and junior guard Audra Clark followed that up with a "3" from the right top area at the 8:08 mark that got the 'Cats back into single-digit range trailing 27-20.  Jennings would strike again with a jumper from the right elbow area at the 7:33 mark that cut the Bethel lead to four and it definitely looked as if St. Kate's was clawing their way back into the thick of things.  But the Royals; perhaps still smarting from that heartbreaking loss they suffered at the hands of GAC three nights ago, fixed up the holes in the boat and proceeded to go on a 11-2 run.  Junior guard Angie Kirchoff knocked down a jumper in the lane at the 6:03 mark and two scores by the versatile Moorse - a drive and finish at the 5:34 mark and a jumper from the right elbow area at the 5:08 mark - pushed Bethel's lead back up to double-digits at 33-22.  Then it was Bretoi reigning terror from three-point land again with a bomb from the left wing area with 3:15 left and a jumper from the left elbow area in transition by junior sparkplug guard Abby Miller with 2:54 left now had the Royals up 38-24.  St. Kate's tried to respond as freshman reserve guard Danica Cambrice snared an offensive rebound for a putback with 2:10 left that drew a foul as well and the "and one" temporarily trimmed Bethel's lead down to eleven at 38-27 but the Wildcats could only make small dents the rest of the way.  A score in the paint by Royal sophomore reserve guard Hannah Simpson with 1:57 left along with a Moorse "3" from the left wing area with :46 left offset last-second heroics by the Wildcat's Cambrice who connected on a lay-up right before the buzzer as Bethel took a 43-31 lead into the locker room at the half.  A check of the first half box score reveals that the Royals enjoyed a decided edge on the glass at 20-11 and also shot a decent 56.7% from FG range.  Moreover, Bethel did a pretty good job of limiting the Wildcats potent three-point shot weapon to just that one by Audra Clark early in the second period.

Despite the fact that senior forward Mari Lee would get the 'Cats on the board first in the third period with her jumper from the top of the key at the 8:12 mark, there were signs that were already showing that this simply was not to be St. Kate's day.  Audra Clark was tagged with her third foul in the opening moments of the period.  Still, the Wildcats managed to stay reasonably close as Audra Clark; saddled with those three fouls, knocked down a short shot at the 7:35 mark that had the Bethel lead down to ten at 45-35 and a jumper from the free throw line by Jennings at the 6:58 mark coupled with two free throws by senior reserve guard LaShay Holt at the 6:07 mark had St. Kate's back in single-digit range trailing 47-39 and there was certainly reason for hope at that point.  But that hope quickly faded with a 7-2 Royals run.  Sophomore reserve post Hannah Johnson got into the paint for one score at the 5:45 mark and another three-point bomb by Bretoi - this one from the left top area at the 5:25 mark, pushed the Bethel lead back into double-digits at 52-39.  Wildcat hopes sunk even further when Lee picked up her fourth foul with 3:38 left and St. Kate's Head Coach Sean Pinkerton had no choice to but sit the Dawson native for a spell.  An Abby Miller jumper along the left baseline with 2:59 left capped this run that had the Royals up 54-41 before the 'Cats could make another foray into the single-digit range.  Audra Clark made a drive for a finish with 2:08 left and two Jennings free throws with 1:24 left closed the gap to nine points at 54-45 but each time St. Kate's would draw back to within striking distance, the Royals would manage to step on the gas.  Johnson got into the paint for another score with 1:01 left and pairs of free throws by Abby Miller with :47.8 left and by Moorse with :19.1 left had Bethel up 60-45.  Holt would provide late-period heroics again for the Wildcats with her three-point bomb from the top of the key with just :01.3 left but the fact that Audra Clark was now saddled with her fourth foul made the outlook grim for St. Kate's.

Using a weather analogy, if the third period was a mild rainstorm for the 'Cats, the fourth and final period was a Category 5 hurricane as things went to hell in a handbasket quickly.  An Abby Miller three-point bomb from the right wing area at the 9:26 mark was the beginning of the end for St. Kate's as Bethel slowly but surely started to pull away for good with a 63-48 lead.  The Wildcat's Cambrice picked up her fourth foul of the contest to add to St. Kate's misery and an offensive rebound and putback by Moorse at the 7:59 mark that drew a foul and sent the former Apple Valley standout to the line for the obligatory free throw compounded the misery.  Two Johnson charity stripe shots at the 7:17 mark and a Moorse "3" from the right top area at the 6:28 mark had the Royals out in front 71-52 and back-to-back scores by Bretoi - a jumper from the free throw line at the 5:58 mark and a dagger "3" from the left wing area at the 5:01 mark - gave Bethel a 76-53 lead and there was no looking back from there.  Bretoi would sink one free throw with 4:40 left and a Simpson jumper in the lane with 4:11 left had the Royals up 79-55.  Freshman phenom forward Taite Anderson connected with a lay-up with 3:41 left and St. Kate's lost Lee for good with her fifth and final foul of the day with 3:04 left.  Bethel Head Coach Jon Herbrechtsmeyer started to insert his reserves in the contest and sophomore reserve guard Maria Vavra knocked down one free throw with 1:33 left and also made good on a drive and finish with :37 left.  Freshman reserve and former Maple Grove standout Haylee Barker also got into the scoring column with her jumper in the lane with :10.2 left and the Royals romped to an 86-57 victory.

A pleased Herbrechtsmeyer remarked that this was something of a "feel good" win for his squad after the heartbreaking disappointment at home against GAC on Wednesday night.  "We needed this win" he said and added that he felt that "we're still a pretty good basketball team."  Herbrechtsmeyer was particularly please with the progression of the players who have stepped up in the absence of senior forward Kalli Zimmerman who has to ride the rest of her senior season on the bench with that ACL injury suffered shortly after the first of the year at UST.  Moreover, he hinted that some of these players could be seeing considerably more playing time as he has to tweak things to make up for the absence of Zimmerman.  And, as I mentioned before, it's dangerous to prognosticate the future on paper but the remaining regular season schedule is more than doable and should the Royals wind up with 21 wins in the regular season and perhaps notch another "W" in the MIAC playoffs, it's difficult to envision a scenario where they would get left out of the Big Dance.  Meanwhile for St. Kate's, this has been a much more difficult week than originally expected.  They did record a nice win at Hamline earlier in the week but injuries and other problems have been wreaking havoc.  Holt was arguably not at full strength as she battles back from a bout with the flu and senior reserve guard Alexis Garcia is out for a spell with an injured shoulder.  Presumably, junior guard Meg Clark will be back in action very soon as well and it's important that the 'Cats have all the pieces in place for this team to do some of the very good things they were able to pull off earlier in the season.  Bethel had an incredibly balanced scoring attack with four players in double figures.  Johnson recorded a "double-double" on this afternoon with her 18 points and 12 rebounds.  Bretoi also chipped in with 18 points while Moorse was right behind with her 17 points and Abby Miller added 14 points.  For St. Kate's, Jennings had a solid outing as she really shouldered most of the load with her 20 points while Audra Clark was the only other player in double figures with 16 points.  The Royals completely owned the boards by a 42-29 count and shot a solid 54.2% from FG range.