Hamline vs Bethel 1-21-17

Made my way over to Robertson Center on the campus of Bethel University on this dreary Saturday afternoon to take in the match-up between visiting Hamline which made its way up Snelling Avenue to take on host Bethel.  I got settled into my usual seating area armed with a good lunch and a bottle of God's nectar (aka Pepsi) to go along with it.  The Royals were coming off a solid road win up at Concordia on Wednesday night while the Pipers were hoping to find a way to snap the funk that they've been in lately.

Bethel wasted little time getting out to an early 10-2 lead.  Two free throws by freshman phenom forward Taite Anderson at the 9:44 mark got things started and a jumper along the left baseline by junior guard Angie Kirchoff at the 8:19 mark made it 4-0.  After freshman forward Reilly Geistfeld got the Pipers on the board with her score in the paint at the 7:53 mark, the Royals then started showing off their three-point prowess.  Sparkplug junior guard Abby Miller drained one bomb from the left corner at the 7:39 mark and Kirchoff did likewise from the left top area at the 6:38 mark to cap this first march of the day for a 10-2 advantage.  Hamline, however, slyly worked its way back to within striking distance.  Senior guard Tia Diggins maneuvered into the paint for one score at the 6:16 mark and back-to-back scores by fellow senior guard Chloe Graves - a scoop shot with 3:43 left and a drive and finish with 3:06 left - narrowed the deficit down to four points at 12-8.  That Piper push seemed to awake Bethel as they closed out the opening period on a 5-2 push.  Sharp-shooting junior reserve guard Jasmin Bretoi buried her first three-point bomb of the afternoon from the top of the key with 2:37 left and two free throws by senior guard Shanni Moorse with 1:13 left gave the Royals a 17-10 advantage going into the second period.

A score in the paint by willowy sophomore post Hannah Johnson at the 9:06 mark maintained the seven-point edge for Bethel at 19-12 but again the Pipers found a way to at least make things a bit uncomfortable for their host.  Freshman forward Reilly Geistfeld banged home a "3" from the left top area at the 8:45 mark that trimmed the deficit down to four points again and a somewhat perturbed Royals Head Coach Jon Herbrechtsmeyer called a timeout to get his squad's defensive priorities straightened out.  But Hamline was still able to make inroads as a "3" from the left top area by sophomore guard Alaina Quaranta at the 7:20 mark and an offensive rebound and putback by Diggins at the 6:46 mark suddenly cut Bethel's lead down to a scant point at 21-20.  The Royals again awoke from their early afternoon slumber and decided to step on the gas pedal.  Johnson was able to get another score in the paint at the 6:02 mark off of an inbounds pass and a lay-up in transition by Anderson at the 5:40 mark gave Bethel a bit more breathing room up 25-20.  The former White Bear Lake standout struck again a little more than a minute later with 4:35 left with another lay-up in transition but this one drew a foul and the "and one" now pushed the Royals lead up to 28-20. Hamline tried to find a spark off of a Quaranta "3" from the left wing area with 4:13 left but that flame was quickly doused.  Two Abby Miller scores - a drive and finish with 3:59 left and a lay-up in transition with 3:38 left got the lead to nine at 32-23 and one Moorse freebie with 3:25 left and another from Abby Miller with 2:13 left got the lead to double-digits at 34-23 and a lay-up by sophomore reserve guard Hannah Simpson with 1:28 left helped Bethel to close out the first half on a 15-2 run to take a 36-23 lead into the locker room at the half.  A quick check of the first half box score shows that the Royals had a firm grip on this game.  They shot 41.9% from FG range and had a decided edge on the boards at 23-14 and only had four turnovers compared to nine for Hamline.

The Pipers managed to stay reasonably within range in the opening moments of the third period as a Geistfeld lay-up in transition at the 9:27 mark and a drive and finish by Graves at the 8:18 mark slimmed the deficit down to eleven at 38-27.  Geistfeld got into the paint for a score at the 7:20 mark that kept the deficit at eleven at 40-29 but then Bethel delivered two back-breaking treys - one by Bretoi from the right wing area at the 5:03 mark and another one by Abby Miller from the right corner off of an inbounds pass with 3:57 left that suddenly pushed the lead up to seventeen at 46-29 and Hamline Head Coach Kerri Stockwell had no choice but to take a match to a timeout.  The Pipers tried to turn the tide on one Quaranta free throws with 3:20 left and a score in the paint by Geistfeld with 3:09 left but then Kirchoff had the Royals off and running again with her three-point bomb from the right corner with 2:50 left and a 49-32 Bethel lead.  Anderson scored in the paint with :48 left and two free throws by freshman reserve guard Haylee Barker with :05.6 left in the third period had the Royals up by twenty at 53-33.

Hamline again tried to take the initiative in the early moments of the fourth quarter in a vain attempt to snare some of the momentum that the Royals had.  Graves was able to connect with a jumper from near the free throw line as the shot clock was winding down at the 9:07 mark.  Freshman reserve forward Aly Sartain dropped one free throw at the 8:32 mark and Graves was able to connect with another jumper from near the free throw line area that cut the deficit down to fifteen at 53-38.  But that would be as close as the Pipers would be able to get as Bethel did the necessary things down the stretch to preserve the cushion - and get the win as well.  Anderson dropped two free throws at the 7:31 mark and then got into the paint a bit later at the 6:57 mark for a score that got the lead up to 57-38.  Moorse would connect with a lay-up at the 5:43 mark and then Johnson; the former Duluth East standout, dropped a rare "3" - this one coming from the left corner with 4:31 left for a 62-42 Royal lead.  Johnson would add to her totals with a score in the paint with 4:02 left and Bethel then took care of things from the charity stripe down the stretch to finish things off.  Simpson dropped one free throw with 3:04 left and dropped two more with 2:39 left for a 67-49 Royals lead.  The New Richmond, Wisconsin native was able to get one more freebie to go down with 2:13 left and got a score in the paint to boot with 1:34 left.  Sophomore reserve guard Maria Vavra dropped pairs of free throws with :55.8 and :28.7 left for the finishing touches as Bethel stamped a convincing 74-51 into the books.

It may have seemed like a routine win for many of the Bethel faithful in the stands on this Saturday but for Herbrechtsmeyer and his staff, it's just one small step toward getting themselves into very good position towards the end of the regular season.  Herbrechtsmeyer is hoping to stretch out more and more playing time to his key reserves coming off the bench; noting that his five top players are currently averaging more than 30 minutes a game.  Herbrechtsmeyer feels that that's a bit much coming down the home stretch of the regular season and, especially now with senior forward Kalli Zimmerman no longer a part of the equation with her ACL injury, some of these young ones are going to have to step up more and more and I think we're beginning to see that with the emergence of both Simpson and Barker; the former Maple Grove standout, getting quality minutes and contributing on both ends of the floor.  Sophomore reserve forward Miranda Robinson out of Robbinsdale Armstrong also saw some time on this afternoon as well and her 5'11" frame certainly adds a presence for the rebounding duties.  The good news for Bethel on this afternoon is that they had an incredibly balanced scoring attack in this game with four players in double figures.  Anderson led the way with her 15 points while Abby Miller was right behind with her 13 points.  Johnson recorded a "double-double" with 11 points and ten rebounds while Kirchoff had 10 points.  Hamline had three players in double figures for this game as Graves had 14 points while both Geistfeld and Quaranta added 13 points.  The Pipers simply did not have a good day shooting the rock and a 35.2% from FG range along with 36.4% from behind the arc reflects that.  But more worrisome for Stockwell and her staff is that Bethel simply owned the boards on this day by a commanding 45-27 count and you will not win many games when you get outrebounded like that.  Obviously, Hamline has had their share of injuries as well and Stockwell could use both junior Allison Bartak and sophomore Mariah Ortega-Flowers to help bolster its rebounding woes.