Macalester vs Hamline 2-18-17

Made my way over to Hutton Arena on the campus of Hamline University on this incredibly unseasonably spring-like day with the temperature hovering in the low 50's to take in the regular season finale between visiting Macalester and host Hamline.  It was Senior Day at Hamline on this day as seniors Chloe Graves, Tia Diggins and junior Ivannie Robertson who is leaving early were honored before the game.  The playoff hopes for both of these squads died some time ago so while there wasn't anything on the line for either of these squads, you can bet that there was a lot of pride at stake for both of these teams and the seniors for each squad wanted to end their college career on a high note.

The Pipers seemed to have all the answers early; bolting out to a quick 6-0 lead.  Sophomore guard Alaina Quaranta first knocked down a jumper from the left corner at the 9:32 mark and a score in the paint by Robertson at the 8:28 mark along with two Graves free throws at the 7:51 mark established the early lead.  Junior guard Vivi Gregorich got Macalester on the board when she drained one of her patented three-point bombs from the right corner at the 6:20 mark but that was quickly answered by Quaranta as she unleashed a "3" of her own from the left top area at the 5:58 mark that got the lead back to six points at 9-3.  Another three-point bomb by the Pipers - this one coming from freshman forward Reilly Geistfeld with 4:39 left upped the lead to seven points at 12-5 before the Scots could recover by a three-point bomb of their own by junior reserve guard Leah Gray with 2:50 left.  Still, a score in the paint by Piper freshman reserve guard Morgan Coleman with 1:44 left in the opening period and two free throws by Diggins with :12.4 left got the lead to six points again at 16-10 and the tempo of the game up to this point was clearly favoring the home team.

Beyond the Senior Day aspect, the other intriguing thing about this contest are the vastly different styles that each team employs.  Hamline; under Head Coach Kerri Stockwell, always favors a free-wheeling up-tempo mode; trying to score in easy transition opportunities while the Scots under Head Coach Kelly Roysland are more of a disciplined, slow it down a bit half-court type offense. Macalester would close the gap to four points on a jumper along the right baseline by senior forward Park Masterson at the 9:03 mark.  Both team would then go on a nearly five minute drought with easy opportunities blown on each end.  The Pipers finally took the forming cobwebs on their basket off when freshman reserve forward Aly Sartain got into the paint for a score with 4:16 left and Macalester's Roysland; unhappy about how her squad was performing on the offensive end, called a thirty-second timeout to rectify things.  That short stoppage in play seemed to re-charge the visiting Scots as a "3" from the left wing area by senior guard Lauren Clamage with 3:50 left brought Macalester back to within a single possession trailing 18-15.  The Pipers managed to step on the gas pedal once more as a "3" from the right wing area by freshman reserve guard Kaeli Stayer with 3:17 left got the lead back to six again at 21-15 but Macalester continued to make inroads.  One free throw by junior post Regan Fruh with 3:00 left and a "3" from the left top area by Gray with 1:45 left cut the Hamline lead down to two points at 21-19.  Robertson got into the paint for a score for the Pipers with 1:04 left but an offensive rebound and putback by freshman guard Holly Hull with :38 left allowed the Scots to go into the locker room down only two points at 23-21.  A check of the first half box score reveals that both teams did indeed shoot poorly as evidenced by that nearly five minute drought in the second period.  Macalester shot 7-26 from FG range for 26.9% and 4-14 from behind the arc for 28.6%.  Hamline meanwhile shot 8-34 for 23.5% from FG range and 3-13 from downtown for 23.1%.  The Scots held an edge on the boards at 26-20 but also committed more turnovers than the Pipers did at 14-6 so you can probably be sure that they got a talking to from Roysland in the locker room during the break.

An offensive rebound and putback by Robertson at the 9:40 mark of the third period extended the Piper lead to four points at 25-21 but you could tell that Macalester came out of the locker room with a renewed sense of determination and a shot of energy as well.  Still, Quaranta's lay-up at the 8:31 mark maintained the four-point edge for Hamline at 27-23 but it was here that the Scots finally started to make their move.  Fruh connected with a lay-up at the 7:59 mark and one free throw by freshman reserve guard Tyana Loiselle at the 7:39 mark cut the deficit down to one point at 27-26. Macalester finally was able to poke its nose out in front for the first time in this contest at the 7:22 mark when Hull connected with a short jumper from the right side for a 28-27 Scot advantage.  The Pipers quickly responded to this challenge as Graves connected with a lay-up in transition at the 7:13 mark but Macalester remained undaunted.  Hull snared an offensive rebound for a putback on the Scots ensuing possession at the 6:45 mark for a 30-29 Macalester lead and then a Fruh lay-up in transition at the 6:27 mark expanded the lead to 32-29 and Hamline Head Coach Kerri Stockwell; sensing that things were getting away from her squad, called a thirty-second timeout.  But Hull's basket at the 6:45 mark was just the beginning of a key 14-0 run for the Scots.  After the timeout, Hull was able to snare a steal and dash the other way for a lay-up at the 6:11 mark and a Loiselle jumper from the right corner at the 5:28 mark now had Macalester up 36-29.  Masterson was able to make a pretty drive along the left baseline for a finish with 4:28 left and the Poway, California native followed that up with a lay-up off of an inbounds pass with 3:50 left.  A Loiselle lay-up in transition with 3:22 left capped the run for a 40-29 Scot lead and although Hamline's Stayer was able to finally stop the bleeding with 2:51 left with her "3" from the right top area, the damage had already been done and the Pipers looked as if they had been clubbed.  Still, Hamline did a good job of not letting things get completely away from them in the last moments of the third period.  Graves dropped one free throw with 2:13 left and Geistfeld was able to connect with a short shot off the glass with :12 left and Quaranta did extend some life in the home team with her lay-up in transition with just :00.6 left before the end of the period but, facing a 47-37 deficit going into the fourth period, they had a lot of work in front of them and would almost certainly have to rely on one of their patented frenetic fourth-period comeback attempts to get back to within striking distance.

Macalester put the Pipers under further duress in the opening moments of the fourth period by embarking on a 7-2 run.  Clamage knocked down a jumper from the free throw line at the 9:46 mark and a lay-up in transition by Fruh at the 9:06 mark increased the Scot lead to 51-39.  Loiselle was able to drop one freebie at the 7:50 mark and, even worse for Hamline, Graves picked up her fourth foul of the day as well.  Fruh was then able to connect with a short jumper off the glass at the 7:24 mark for a 54-39 Macalester lead and the Pipers Stockwell had seen enough to know that a timeout was warranted.  A "3" from the right corner by Coleman at the 7:08 mark was a hopeful injection of new life for Hamline but the Scots held steady.  Loiselle connected with a short jumper at the 5:18 mark and Gray unleashed a "3" from the left top area with 4:49 left for a 59-42 Macalester lead that pretty much sealed the Pipers fate on this day.  Hamline would do minimal damage from the charity stripe over the course of two minutes and a Fruh lay-up with 2:51 left and two Fruh charity stripe shots with 2:12 left had the Scots up 63-46 to make things pretty much academic.  Fittingly, however, Graves would have one last hurrah on her home court of Hutton Arena.  She dropped two free throws with 2:01 left and connected with a short jumper with 1:01 left and Stockwell then knew it was time for her three departing players to get a standing ovation from the crowd and sent in replacements. Loiselle dropped one more free throw for the Scots with :51 left and senior reserve forward Emilie McGuire got one last hurrah for herself and her Macalester teammates by connecting with a jumper in the lane with :10.5 left.  The Piper's Stayer got the last score of the day with a jumper in the lane with :04 left but it was Macalester who walked away with a 66-52 victory.

I managed to catch up afterward with the Scots Roysland who was obviously very happy and pleased with the win.  I asked her what adjustments that she and her staff made during halftime.  "We were shooting way too many threes and we needed to get more up-tempo" she said, adding that Loiselle did a wonderful job in helping the squad do just that on offense.  Roysland responded in the positive as well when I asked her if this win today helps give her program some momentum going into next season and noted that the 11 wins this season is the most since the 2011-12 season and you can't deny that this program has made steady progress under Roysland's tutelage.  Also, it was good to see junior guard Grace Dickman back in action today and hopefully she'll be fully ready to go next season.  Finally, it was a nice little send-off for the seniors on this squad - Masterson, Clamage, Karen Rathjens and McGuire.  I managed to speak briefly with Masterson to wish her well and you could tell by the look on her face that the win definitely made her day.  Meanwhile, on the Hamline side, obviously a disappointing finish to an incredibly disappointing season.  My heart couldn't help but sink a bit for Graves and Diggins as they gave their all to this program and left it all out there on the floor and now they're done.  And I guess it's that aspect of collegiate athletics that you really begin to appreciate and when it's finally over for them, their hearts crumble.  But this is a very young Piper team for the most part and the returners for next season will be hungry to make amends for this season.  Fruh paced the way for the Scots in this win today with her 18 points and 11 rebounds for a "double-double" and you can bet that she'll be the "go-to" person next year for Macalester.  Loiselle also had that great second half and finished with 11 points.  Graves was the only scorer for Hamline in double figures with her 11 points on the day to finish a fabulous collegiate career and you know she'll be hammering away in the summer leagues for a long time to come.  The big difference on this day was on the rebounding front where Macalester simply owned the boards by a 53-32 count including a 36-21 advantage in defensive rebounds.  Dismal shooting also helped do in the Pipers on this day as they shot 18-63 from FG range for 28.6% and 5-23 from behind the arc for 21.7%.