Concordia vs Macalester 2-4-17

Made the run over to St. Paul in the late A.M. over to Leonard Center on the campus of Macalester College for a late-season game between visiting Concordia which had to make another trip down U.S. Highway 10 and the BNSF's Staples Sub mainline to the Twin Cities to face host Macalester.  This has been an incredibly disappointing season for the Cobbers who normally find themselves right in the mix of the MIAC playoff picture as they have lost seven of their last ten games since the first of the year.  Macalester's once flickering playoff hopes have taken a huge hit as well as they've dropped their last five games and they absolutely needed a win at home today to keep any sliver of a chance alive.  I got there early armed with a Subway lunch and God's nectar (aka Pepsi) to get me fueled for the day.  This was also "Pink Day and Play For Kay" Day as both teams wore pink t-shirt warm-ups for breast cancer awareness.  Additionally, several Macalester alumni players showed up for this contest and it was neat to be able to catch up with former Scot great Shannon Rene at the game.

The Scots seemed to have all the energy and answers in the early moments of the opening period as a short jumper by junior guard Vivi Gregorich at the 9:15 mark and a "3" from the right top area by senior guard Lauren Clamage gave Macalester a 5-0 lead by the 8:00 mark.  The Cobbers, however, would answer with an 8-0 run as a lay-up by sophomore forward Kirstin Simmons at the 7:43 mark got the Cobbers on the board and a short shot by Simmons that also drew a foul and sent the Waseca native to the line for the "and one" at the 6:45 mark tied the game at 5-all.  Then it was the acrobatic senior do-it-all guard Greta Walsh with a steal in the backcourt and ensuing lay-up that drew a foul and sent the former Litchfield standout to the line for an "and one" and suddenly Concordia was out in front 8-5 at the 6:35 mark.  The Scots would respond with an 10-0 run of their own to regain the advantage.  Junior post Regan Fruh got into the paint for a score that also drew a foul and her ensuing free throw leveled the game at 8-all and a Gregorich lay-up at the 5:59 mark pushed Macalester ahead 10-8.  Fruh connected with a lay-up as well at the 5:35 mark that increased the lead to 12-8 and Cobber Head Coach Jessica Rahman; perhaps a bit concerned with some defensive lapses that her squad was guilty of, called a thirty-second timeout for a quick fix.  Still, Fruh would add one charity stripe shot at the 5:04 mark and Gregorich would cap the run with her jumper from the right elbow area with 3:29 for a 15-8 lead left before Concordia could regain some solid footing.  One free throw by sophomore reserve forward Lincoln Haiby with 3:19 left and a three-point bomb by junior guard Cassidy Rahman with 2:48 left in the first period had the Cobbers back within a single possession trailing 15-12.  Two free throws by senior forward Jenna Januschka with 2:14 left cut the deficit down to a single point at 15-14 and a Januschka jumper from the right elbow area with 1:09 left as the shot clock was expiring kept Concordia in that single-point range trailing 17-16.  The Scots got a bit more breathing room as Fruh connected with a lay-up with :05 left in the opening period but considering how the Cobbers avoided getting into a big hole early on the road, Jessica Rahman had to feel a lot better about her team's chances going into the second period.

A graceful-looking "3" from the right wing area by Walsh at the 9:39 mark allowed Concordia to tie the contest at 19-all but the Scots would grab the advantage again.  Clamage knocked down a jumper from the free throw line at the 9:21 mark and two Fruh free throws at the 8:17 mark had Macalester up 23-20.  A Clamage score in the paint off of an inbounds pass at the 7:36 mark and a Clamage jumper in the lane at the 6:46 mark increased the lead to four points at 27-23.  An offensive rebound and putback by senior forward Park Masterson with 3:28 left and a score in the paint by Fruh with 2:52 left nudged the lead up to six points at 31-25.  Two Masterson free throws with 1:35 left in the period maintained that six-point edge at 33-27 before the Cobbers could get back in that single-possession range again on another three-point bomb by Cassidy Rahman with 1:23 left that made it a 33-30 game.  But Macalester's Gregorich answered that with just :15.4 left with her "3" from the right top area as Concordia left her open that allowed the Scots to take a 36-30 lead into the locker room at the half.  A check of the first half box score shows that the Cobbers actually had a bit of an edge on the boards at 23-20 but that didn't mesh with Concordia's icy shooting that saw them go 9-32 from FG range for 28.1% and 4-14 from behind the arc for 28.6%.  Shooting 8-12 from the charity stripe for 66.7% along with six first half turnovers wasn't helping the Cobbers cause either.

Concordia went right to work in the opening minutes of the third period to get back to that single-possession range as two Januschka freebies at the 7:59 mark and a Walsh lay-up in transition at the 7:46 mark cut the Scot lead down to two points at 36-34.  A pretty-looking short, turnaround jumper by Fruh at the 6:44 mark again gave Macalester a four-point edge at 38-34 but right back came the Cobbers.  One Walsh free throw at the 6:10 mark and an offensive rebound and putback by Haiby with 4:51 left pulled Concordia back to that single-point range trailing 38-37.  Two free throws by Fruh with 4:29 left gave the Scots a bit more breathing room with a 40-37 lead but things started to spiral downward for the home team ever so slowly.  Fruh was saddled with her fourth foul of the afternoon with 4:19 left and Cobber freshman reserve post Shelby Duckstad was able to get one free throw to go down with that foul that cut the Macalester lead down to 40-38 and although two free throws by freshman reserve guard Tyana Loiselle who was fouled in a transition opportunity with 3:21 left upped the Scot lead to 42-38, Walsh came right back for Concordia with a pretty drive into the lane where she seemed to hang in the stratosphere forever before connecting cut Macalester's lead down to 42-40.  The Cobbers finally tied the game at 42 a piece on a Walsh jumper from the left elbow with 1:38 left and the real momentum-killer for Macalester came with :43.7 left in the period as Januschka connected with a lay-up and drew a foul in the process and the St. Cloud native's "and one" suddenly pushed Concordia ahead 45-42 going into the fourth period.

A Simmons score in the paint at the 9:26 mark of the fourth and final period upped the Cobber lead to five points at 47-42 before Macalester could recover.  Freshman guard Holly Hull was able to snare an offensive rebound for a putback at the 9:04 mark that also drew a foul and the Overland Park, Kansas native completed the three-point play with the free throw that had the Scots back to within a single possession trailing 47-45.  Loiselle; the Bloomer, Wisconsin native, knocked down a jumper from the left corner at the 8:30 mark and Macalester was back even at 47 a piece.  But disaster struck the Scots less than two minutes later as Fruh was sent to the pine for good with her fifth foul.  Januschka sank two free throws at the 6:58 mark and further foul trouble doomed Macalester as Loiselle collected her fourth foul at the 6:34 mark as did Masterson at the 6:20 mark.  Sophomore reserve guard Jamie Mentzer dropped two free throws on Masterson's foul for a 51-47 Concordia lead and a Mentzer lay-up at the 5:49 mark increased the lead to 53-47.  The Scots pulled a bit closer on an offensive rebound and putback by junior reserve guard Leah Gray at the 5:27 mark but the Cobber's Cassidy Rahman delivered a dagger "3" from the right wing area with 3:48 left that Macalester could never really recover from trailing 56-49.  Sophomore guard Grace Wolhowe connected with a lay-up with 3:09 left for Concordia and one Wolhowe free throw with 2:26 left maintained that seven-point edge at 59-52.  Two Januschka free throws with 1:45 left and a jumper by Walsh from the left elbow area with 1:11 left upped the lead to nine at 63-54 and insurance freebies by Walsh - one with :46.7 left and two more with :36.9 left - gave the Cobbers a 66-56 win.

I was able to catch up with a very happy Jessica Rahman afterward and she expressed how proud she was of her squad for continuing to work so hard in practice and in games in the midst of an incredibly disappointing season with seemingly nothing on the line for them.  It just goes to show you how incredibly tight-knit and family-oriented this Concordia program is and you won't be able to keep the Cobbers down forever.  Whether this win is something of a launching pad for a late Cobber run remains to be seen and, keep in mind as well that Concordia was without the services today of senior forward Crystal Amundson who is battling concussion symptoms at the moment and couldn't make the trip down.  They have some tough games ahead of them; including a roadie with Bethel and a home date against UST to close out the season but opponents had better not take this Cobber team lightly.  Concordia had three players in double figures on this day including Walsh who led all scorers with 18 points while Januschka had 15 points and Simmons; starting in the place of Amundson, had a solid outing with 10 points.  Macalester had three players in double figures as well as Fruh had 16 points while Gregorich added 14 points and Clamage chipped in with 13 points.  Rebounds wound up being pretty even with the Cobbers holding a 43-42 edge but one of the things that improved for Concordia in the second half was improved FG-range shooting which jumped to 41.67%.  Improved free throw shooting in the second half as well as another important statistic - points off turnovers where the Cobbers held a 14-8 advantage - paid dividends at the end.