CSB vs St. Kate's 1-25-17

Made my way over to Butler Center on the campus of St. Kate's on this Wednesday evening to take in a crucial mid-season contest between visiting CSB and host St. Kate's.  The Blazers were one game up on the Wildcats in the standings so this would be a big chance for St. Kate's to move up and the perfect set-up was there for them with this game in the friendly confines of Butler Center.  The Blazers were looking to rebound from a heartbreaker at Carleton this last weekend and were hoping to maintain their fourth place slot in the MIAC standings coming down the home stretch.

Things would be tight in the early going although the Wildcats would have a slight edge.  Senior forward Kennedy Jennings connected with a lay-up at the 9:42 mark to get things going for this normally high-octane St. Kate's team and after Blazer junior forward/post Nikki Fokken tied the game at 2-all with her jumper along the left baseline at the 8:45 mark, Wildcat newcomer sophomore guard Kanani Asuncion connected with a lay-up at the 8:21 mark for a 4-2 St. Kate's lead.  The Wildcats would achieve another two-point advantage on an offensive rebound and putback by senior reserve guard/forward LaShay Holt at the 5:22 mark for a 6-4 ballgame but CSB senior guard Annie Dittberner would tie the game on her lay-up at the 5:09 mark.  The Wildcats appeared to make their first decisive move of the game with 4:11 left in the opening period as Jennings was able to maneuver into the paint for a score and then freshman guard Danica Cambrice connected with a lay-up in transition with 1:11 left that drew a foul and the ensuing "and one" pushed St. Kate's lead to 11-6.  The Blazers, however, were able to get back to within a single possession when junior reserve guard Morgan Merritt connected with a lay-up in transition of her own with :38 left that narrowed the Wildcat lead down to 11-8 going into the second period.

CSB looked to grab some early momentum in the second period as a score by junior post Kate Banovetz in the paint at the 8:30 mark cut the deficit to a scant point at 11-10 and a jumper along the left baseline by the lanky Fokken as the shot clock was expiring at the 7:26 mark gave the Blazers their first lead of the evening at 12-11.  But St. Kate's snared that momentum away with a 7-0 push. Senior forward Mari Lee dropped two free throws after getting fouled at the 6:52 mark and then Jennings connected on a pretty reverse lay-up at the 6:22 mark.  Asuncion capped this run with a "3" from the right wing area at the 5:39 mark for an 18-12 Wildcat lead.  While the lead was hardly insurmountable from a CSB standpoint, less than stellar free throw shooting hampered the Blazers down the stretch before the halftime buzzer.  After Fokken connected with a jumper along the right baseline with 4:30 left that cut the deficit to four at 18-14, the Oronoco native missed a pair of charity stripe shots with 3:56 left and so did Banovetz with 2:52 left.  Fokken finally broke the spell when she sank two freebies after getting fouled with 2:26 left to get the Blazers back to within a single possession trailing 18-16.  Freshman reserve post Alex Johnson was able to get into the paint for a score with 1:14 left to keep the deficit at two points at 20-18 and after St. Kate's pushed the lead to four on a short jumper by freshman reserve guard Jackie Radford with :52 left, Johnson again got CSB back to a single possession with her short shot off the glass with just :11.9 left before both teams headed to the locker room for the halftime recess with the Wildcats up 22-20.  A check of the first half box score shows that neither team was shooting the lights out.  St. Kate's shot only 8-29 from FG range for 27.6% and the Blazers were only marginally better at 9-26 for 34.6%.  CSB did indeed own the glass with a 24-17 edge in rebounding but what had to be bothering Blazer Head Coach Mike Durbin and his staff in the locker room was the team's abysmal free throw shooting; going only 2-8 from the line for 25%.

A Cambrice score in the paint at the 9:36 mark pushed the Wildcat lead back to four points at 24-20 but getting in down low for any score was proving to be a chore for this free-wheeling St. Kate's team as the Blazers had gone to a 2-3 zone defense early on in this contest; something of a rarity for Durbin who in years past, often relied on tough man-to-man defense.  But with a long and athletic team such as CSB, they were making the most of Durbin's philosophical change of heart and that likely helped recharge the Blazers as they proceeded to go on an 11-0 blitz that definitely changed the complexion of this contest.  Banovetz connected with a short shot off the glass at the 9:05 mark to get this run going and one Fokken free throw at the 7:41 mark cut the deficit down to one point at 24-23. Back-to-back scores by Banovetz - one in the paint at the 7:15 mark that gave CSB the lead at 25-24 and a lay-up in transition at the 6:28 mark - made it a 27-24 ballgame.  Junior forward Chelsey Guetter connected with a lay-up in transition as well at the 5:52 mark and a pretty move in the paint and finish by Fokken at the 5:09 mark suddenly had the Blazers up 31-24 and St. Kate's Head Coach Sean Pinkerton had to take a match to a timeout to try and stem this tidal wave that CSB was riding. That stoppage in play helped the 'Cats catch their breath and they slowly battled their way back. Cambrice was able to knock down a jumper from the right elbow area off the glass with 4:20 left and the flashy Holt was able to get to the charity stripe for two shots after getting fouled with 3:43 left that narrowed the deficit down to a single possession at 31-28.  A Holt drive and finish with 1:37 left kept the deficit at three points at 33-30 and two more free throws by the former St. Paul Humboldt standout with :29.5 left at least had St. Kate's right back in the thick of things again trailing by one at 33-32 going into the fourth period.

One Cambrice free throw at the 9:28 mark of the fourth and final period knotted things up at 33 a piece but some warning signs were starting to rear their ugly heads for St. Kate's.  Asuncion had already been tagged with her third foul of the evening late in the third period and then Cambrice herself picked up her fourth foul of the night at the 8:02 mark and two Guetter free throws - one at the 8:42 mark and then the one at the 8:02 mark - had the Blazers up 35-33.  A Radford "3" from the right wing area pushed St. Kate's back out in front 36-35 but that didn't last long.  Senior point guard Allison Newton's jumper in the lane at the 6:14 mark and a score in the paint by Banovetz at the 5:21 mark re-established a three-point edge by CSB at 39-36.  A Fokken score in the paint with 4:31 left helped maintain that three-point lead at 41-38 but the 'Cats appeared to once again steal the show and the momentum when Jennings made one of her patented hard drives for a finish that also drew a foul and allowed the former Dallas Center-Grimes (IA) standout to sink the obligatory free throw that knotted the game at 41 a piece.  One Holt free throw with 3:15 left kept things tied up at 42 a piece and then Lee; the former Dawson-Boyd standout, buried a "3" from from the left wing area with 2:23 left that allowed St. Kate's to push its nose out in front again at 45-44.  The tension was real in the last two minutes as both teams traded small one-point leads.  Fokken connected with a jumper from the free throw line with 1:58 left to push the Blazers back out in front at 46-45.  Holt put the Wildcats out in front one last time with her drive and finish with 1:16 left for a 47-46 game.  The ensuing CSB possession was telling for the outcome and how the Blazers used their length for rebounding to gain the edge when it counted.  Dittberner let loose with a three-point shot attempt with just under a minute left and although it missed its intended mark, her backcourt partner, Newton was there to grab the long rebound.  Newton herself tried launching a three-point attempt but Lee was able to get a hand on the ball that sent the shot attempt awry.  Banovetz, however, was in the right place at the right time and she snared the loose ball and was able to get into the paint for a score with :38 left that pushed CSB back into the lead at 48-47.  Still plenty of time for St. Kate's to try and respond and as the 'Cats worked the ball carefully around the perimeter, Asuncion spotted just the tiniest crack in that 2-3 zone defense the Blazers were in and took her chances on a drive.  Her shot attempt, however, was off the mark with :10 left and Fokken was right there for the rebound.  St. Kate's still had a foul to give and they used that up right away and Durbin called a timeout with :07.1 left to set up strategy. On CSB's ensuing inbounds pass, freshman reserve guard Sidney Schiffler was fouled with :03.7 left and the former Albany standout calmly stepped to the charity stripe on the other end and sank two shots that upped the Blazer lead to 50-47.  Still one last chance for St. Kate's as Pinkerton drew up a play for a final three-point attempt to try and send the game into overtime.  Lee was near the half-court line to inbound the ball but a stingy CSB defense had Pinkerton clamoring for another timeout to avoid risking a five-second call.  The second time around, Lee got the ball inbounds pass to Holt who was guarded tightly and with :01.3 left, she launched up an off-balance shot from near the top of the key that missed its mark.  There appeared to be some possible contact as she put the shot attempt up and Pinkerton pleaded with the officials on the no-call but to no avail as the Blazers took a precious 50-47 road victory back to St. Joe.

A mightily relieved Durbin was heaving several sighs of relief after this hard-fought battle.  I asked him first about the 2-3 zone defense he employed for most of this contest which seemed to be in stark contrast to normal operating practices with CSB's normal reliance on man-to-man defense.  Durbin admitted that it is something indeed different for him and his team but when you have a long, athletic team like the Blazers do what with Fokken, Banovetz and Guetter along with two athletic and quick guards like Dittberner and Newton, it works.  Moreover, as Durbin alluded to, it can really hamper shot vision and selection not to mention stop other teams from getting into the lane for easy shots.  Of course, Durbin could not help but wince at his squad's abysmal free throw shooting for the night which saw them go only 8-18 for the night for 44.4%.  "Atrocious.  Just absolutely atrocious" he said; noting that he wishes he could have a sports psychologist for every player on this squad when it comes to free throws.  Yet, the Blazers got away with it on this night and part of that can be attributed to CSB's dominance on the boards on this night by a 47-32 count.  Durbin couldn't help but sing praises for Banovetz on this night.  "Kate was just a monster on the glass" he said.  Meanwhile, it really came down to CSB making one more great play than the Wildcats did on this night as a disappointed St. Kate's Assistant Head Coach Tim Kjar alluded to afterward.  Banovetz and Fokken were the only players in double figures scoring-wise on this night for the Blazers as both finished with 17 points a piece.  Guetter only had four points but, more importantly, grabbed 10 rebounds.  St. Kate's had only two double-figure scorers as well as Holt led the way with 13 points while Jennings had 11.  It was a tough night from behind the arc for the 'Cats on this night as they went only 3-21 for a paltry 14.3% and for a team that normally can reign terror from three-point land, this had to be a tough one for Pinkerton and his staff to absorb.  That 2-3 zone defense that CSB employed also hampered normal FG shooting as well as the 'Cats shot only 16-58 for 27.6% for the game.