A Look Ahead To Sunday's MIAC Championship Game - GAC vs UST

So we get the much-anticipated rematch on Sunday afternoon at UST's Schoenecker Arena as GAC comes to town with its impressive 25-1 record and number 13 national ranking to take on the host Tommies with their unblemished 26-0 record and lofty number 2 national ranking.  No matter what happens, both teams are locks to get into the NCAA Tournament so I would expect both teams to come out feeling loose and ready to wheel and deal.

When UST won the regular season meeting back on February 1 in St. Peter, I think the experience that the Tommies had in these types of situations paid off as they escaped Lund Arena with a hard-fought 75-69 win.  But this time around, there's a part of me that wonders if that loss, from a GAC perspective anyway, doesn't do them more good than harm coming into Sunday's rematch.  There's a part of me that thinks that the Gusties will come into this game feeling much more loose and relaxed knowing that they're in the Big Dance.  On the other hand, the Gusties still have to deal with the fact that they haven't beaten UST since the 2010 season and when you haven't beaten a team in literally eons, it's something that can be there in your head and that's a big hurdle to overcome.  Without delving too much into the numbers as I did prior to the regular season contest, I want to touch on a few stats from the regular season game with some comments.

Rebounding as a whole was nearly even in this game with the Gusties holding a 38-37 edge. Breaking it down further, GAC had 21 offensive rebounds to UST's 10 but the Tommies held a 27-17 edge on defensive rebounds.  I'm not entirely sure what to take from that specifically, as both teams did a reasonably good job on that front.  But UST senior post Kaitlin Langer is such a great rebounder and the Gusties absolutely have to find a way to limit her opportunities down low to not only score but rebound as well and that means BOXING OUT.

Another area where the Tommies had a big edge in their earlier meeting this month - "second chance points" where UST held a sizable 21-12 advantage.  And that is primarily attributed to Langer's ability to score when even double-teamed down low.  GAC does not have the biggest front line out there with senior Hannah Howard at 5'9" and junior Miranda Rice at 5'11" so again it's going to come down to technique.  The fact that Gusties outrebounded Bethel (a team that ordinarily outrebounds everyone) on Friday night in its MIAC Semifinal Playoff Game should be encouraging at the very least and they'll likely need another effort like that to limit those second chance opportunities that UST often gets.  Interestingly enough, CSB limited UST to just three of those "second chance points" in the other MIAC Semifinal Playoff Game but CSB is a much longer team than the Gusties are, too.

Those points in the paint are another big thing and in that February 1 meeting in St. Peter, the Tommies held a 38-30 edge and, again, if you're UST, you know who's going to do most of the dirty work down low - Langer.  You may not be able to completely neutralize her but GAC is going to have to find ways to deny those entry passes down low because once Langer gets the ball in the post, she's practically impossible to stop down low.

One thing that may still give UST Head Coach Ruth Sinn some nightmares is giving up the three-pointer - something that killed the Tommies in their NCAA Tournament loss to Wartburg last season. And GAC has some pretty decent three-point bombers in junior guard Mikayla Miller, sophomore guards Brooke Lemke and Justine Lee and senior reserve guard Kelsey Carpenter.  Even Rice has the ability to hit from downtown so the Tommies have to be aware of that.  I would have to think that GAC Head Coach Laurie Kelly won't make it a priority to go bombs away from the get go but if they get open looks from behind the arc, they'll certainly take their chances.  UST has some very good three-point shooters of its own in junior guard/forward Lauren Fischer and senior point guard Gabby Zehrer and the Gusties can ill-afford to let either of these two have unlimited looks from behind the arc.

So that's just a few things I wanted to touch on for Sunday's MIAC Championship Game.  This one has the potential to be a real beauty as well with the records and rankings that are in place and the fact that both of these teams will be NCAA Tournament-bound come Monday afternoon.  I'm guessing that Schoenecker Arena will be rocking for this one on Sunday afternoon!