Concordia vs Hamline 1-7-17

Made my way over to venerable Hutton Arena on the campus of Hamline University on this cold early January Saturday to take in the 1:00 P.M. contest between visiting Concordia which made its way from Moorhead down U.S. Highway 10 and the BNSF's Staples Sub mainline and host Concordia.  I got into Hutton Arena early armed with some lunch and God's nectar (aka Pepsi) to get ready to take in what looked to be a very interesting match-up.

The Cobbers; who have struggled as of late, especially on the road, were hoping to get off on much better footing this time around and early on they did just that .  Senior forward Jenna Januschka's score in the paint at the 9:45 mark and fellow senior forward Crystal Amundson's jumper from the right top area at the 8:00 mark had Concordia up 4-0 and a "3" from the right corner by sophomore guard Grace Wolhowe at the 6:58 mark pushed the lead to 7-2.  Senior guard Greta Walsh connected with a jumper from the right wing off of an inbounds pass at the 6:30 mark that had the Cobbers up 9-3 before Hamline was able to shake off some early cobwebs.  Freshman reserve guard Morgen Coleman connected on a drive and finish at the 6:16 mark and then senior guard Chloe Graves; honored before the game on scoring 1,000 points earlier this week in a win at Carleton, drained a "3" from the left corner with 4:46 left in the opening period that drew the Pipers to a scant point trailing 9-8.  A drive along the left baseline and finish with 4:15 left by sophomore guard Alaina Quaranta gave Hamline their first lead of the afternoon at 10-9.  Quaranta; the Eau Claire, Wisconsin native, drilled a "3" from the top of the key with 3:12 left that gave the Pipers a 13-11 advantage before Concordia awoke from their brief early afternoon slumber.  Walsh unleashed a "3" from the right corner with 1:54 left and Wolhowe did the same from the left top area with 1:26 left that propelled the Cobbers to a 17-13 lead and Hamline Head Coach Kerri Stockwell; perhaps a bit concerned at this development, called a timeout to make some adjustments.  An offensive rebound and putback by junior forward Ivannie Robertson with :58 left briefly had the Pipers back to within a single possession trailing 17-15 but Concordia responded with a 4-0 push to end the opening period as Amundson connected with a lay-up with :40 left and Wolhowe did the same in a transition opportunity with :14 left so with a 21-15 lead, the Cobbers and Head Coach Jessica Rahman had to be feeling a lot better about themselves going into the second period considering the debacle that they endured up at CSB on Wednesday night.

Hamline, however, threatened in the early moments of the second period as one free throw by senior guard Tia Diggins at the 9:40 mark and another Quaranta three-point bomb - this one from the right corner at the 9:18 mark - had the Pipers back to within a single point again trailing 21-20.  Concordia then decided to explode on a 12-0 run that was initiated by a jumper from the left wing by junior guard Cassidy Rahman at the 8:57 mark.  Cassidy Rahman would then strike again - this time from three-point land from the left wing area - for a 26-20 Cobber lead.  Walsh connected with a short jumper from the left side at the 8:00 mark and then the acrobatic and speedy Walsh connected with a lay-up in transition at the 7:26 mark for a 30-20 Concordia lead and the Piper's Stockwell wasted little time in taking a match to another timeout to stop the massive bleeding.  Still, Walsh would cap this big run with a "3" from the right wing area at the 7:10 mark that made it a 33-20 game before Hamline could recover somewhat thanks to a great effort by Robertson.  She first snared another offensive rebound for a putback at the 6:35 mark and followed that up a bit later with a jumper in the lane with 4:58 left that reduced the deficit to eleven at 35-24.  A Robertson score in the paint a minute later had the Pipers back to within single digits trailing 35-26 and then Robertson also knocked down a short shot with 2:35 left to keep Hamline reasonably close trailing 37-28.  Freshman reserve guard Kaeli Stayer out of Coppell, Texas brought another hot hand for the Pipers as she swished a "3" from the left corner with 1:57 left that cut Concordia's lead down to 37-31.  A Wolhowe free throw with 1:31 left upped the Cobber lead to 38-31 that they took into the locker room with them at the half but considering that Hamline looked to be on the brink of being down a ton by the break, Stockwell and her staff had to heave a bit of a sigh of relief.  A check of the first half box score shows that Concordia indeed shot awfully well in the first half - 51.6% from FG range and 50% from behind the arc.  The Cobbers also held a slight advantage on the boards at 19-16 and both teams were guilty of nine turnovers in the first half.

Jessica Rahman and the Cobbers switched gears on defense to begin the third period by going to a 2-3 match-up zone and that seemed to give Hamline fits early on.  Concordia took full advantage of the Piper offensive sluggishness as they went on a 6-2 push on the strength of two Cassidy Rahman treys - one from the right wing area at the 8:50 mark and another one from the left wing area at the 7:50 mark - for a 44-33 Cobber advantage.  Hamline recovered again somewhat as Quaranta connected with a short shot off the glass at the 7:36 mark and Diggins snared an offensive rebound for a putback at the 7:12 mark that reduced the deficit to seven trailing 44-37.  But Concordia stepped on the gas pedal again as two Walsh free throws at the 6:20 mark and a Walsh lay-up after a steal at the 6:11 mark pushed the Cobber lead back up to double-digits at 48-37.  Walsh would then connect with a lay-up in transition at the 5:05 mark and a short shot off the glass by Januschka with 4:11 left now made it a 52-37 ballgame and this 8-0 run had the Piper's Stockwell clamoring for another timeout before this one got away from her squad for good.  Hamline managed to slowly cut into the Cobber cushion as one Stayer freebie with 3:48 left and a "3" by Coleman from the right corner with 2:17 left got the deficit down to twelve at 53-41 and although Cassidy Rahman would drop a three-point bomb for Concordia from the left corner with 2:02 left, Stayer would uncork a "3" from the left corner with 1:35 left and another Coleman trey - this one from the left wing area with 1:02 left - got the Pipers back into single-digit range trailing 56-47 and the Cobber's Jessica Rahman now decided to take a timeout of her own with this latest swing.  Wolhowe would close the third period for Concordia with one free throw for a 57-47 lead but, given the unpredictability of things up to this point, the Cobbers could hardly feel safe just yet.

Still, things looked pretty good for Concordia in the early moments of the fourth period.  Januschka muscled into the paint for a score that drew a foul and sent the St. Cloud native to the line for the obligatory free throw for a 60-47 Cobber lead at the 9:11 mark and two scores by Walsh - a short jumper at the 8:39 mark and a jumper from the right wing area at the 8:00 mark that drew a foul and sent the former Litchfield standout to the line for the ensuing freebie and a 65-49 Concordia lead. Sophomore reserve forward Lincoln Haiby's score in the paint at the 6:41 mark maintained that sixteen-point lead at 67-51 and it really seemed unlikely at that point that the Pipers could mount any meaningful comeback.  Then again, Hamline is just one of those teams that are totally unpredictable and incredibly dangerous at the worst times for opponents and a 14-0 Piper explosion had Hutton Arena rocking.  Quaranta started this unlikely run with her "3" from the left corner at the 5:10 mark and two Diggins charity stripe shots with 3:53 left trimmed the deficit down to eleven at 67-56. Quaranta then used her great defensive prowess to snare a steal and dash the other way for a lay-up with 3:26 left that got Hamline back into single-digit range yet again trailing 67-58 and two freebies by freshman forward Reilly Geistfeld with 3:03 left cut further into that Cobber cushion at 67-60. Concordia curiously seemed to go into a shell offensively and the Pipers smelled blood.  Graves connected with a lay-up with 2:35 left that drew a foul and sent the Denver, Colorado native to the line for the obligatory free throw that now sliced the Cobber lead down to four at 67-63 and freshman reserve forward Aly Sartain's score in the paint with 2:15 left now had that big Concordia cushion down to a precarious two points and Jessica Rahman was left with no choice but to call a timeout to try and save this potentially sinking ship.  Sartain was able to force a Cobber turnover on Concordia's ensuing possession so here was Hamline's chance to complete this incredible comeback bid.  But just when the Pipers were tantalizingly close to striking a dagger to the heart of the Cobbers, Graves went down with an injury while trying to make a drive and the time she was on the floor being attended to by the athletic trainer seemed to take a pin to the proverbial balloon that Hamline was flying in this wild comeback attempt.  Although the injury she suffered thankfully turned out to be nothing more than a cramp, the Pipers were unable to get over the hump.  Hamline did have one last real chance and with Graves back in the game, it looked as if they might do the unthinkable but the Cobbers got a critical stop with :33 left and, after a Jessica Rahman timeout, Walsh was fouled with :25.4 left and she calmly stepped to the line to drop two free throws that made it a two possession game at 69-65. There was still a sliver of a chance for the Pipers but Graves was subsequently called for traveling with :19.7 left and that effectively ended any last hope Hamline may have had.  Two Januschka free throws with :14.5 left and two more by Amundson allowed Concordia to escape Hutton Arena with a hard-fought 73-65 win.

Sometimes in sports, it's fair to say that you get a little bit lucky at times and the Cobbers; who came limping into this contest with a very un-Concordia-like record of 4-8 overall (1-4 in the MIAC) caught a break when they needed it most.  Jessica Rahman was quick to give the Pipers a ton of credit in their fourth period comeback but maybe a win like this is exactly what the doctor ordered for this Concordia team.  There's still time for the Cobbers to turn this thing around but it has to start now and we'll see if this win today proves to be something of a launching pad for that desired turnaround. Walsh had a huge outing on this afternoon when Concordia needed it the most and they definitely needed all of the 27 points that she dropped on Hamline on this day.  Cassidy Rahman was also solid with her 14 points and both Januschka and Wolhowe added ten points a piece.  Quaranta led the way for Hamline in this heartbreaking loss with her 19 points while Graves added 11 points and Robertson finished with ten points.  Concordia had a bit of an edge on the boards at 40-35 but interestingly enough, Hamline had an edge in second-chance points (17-13), points off the bench (17-6) and points in the paint (28-20).