MIAC Championship Game - GAC vs UST 2-26-17

Made my way over to the St. Paul side of town on this sunny but cold Sunday during the late A.M. over to Schoenecker Arena on the campus of UST to prepare myself for the crown jewel of MIAC Women's Basketball - the MIAC Championship Game. This, of course, would feature the highly-anticipated rematch between visiting GAC which made its way up U.S. Highway 169 and the Mankato Sub portion of Union Pacific's "Omaha Route" mainline to take on host UST.  The Gusties survived a thriller with Bethel back in the friendly confines of Lund Arena on Friday night in one semifinal game while the Tommies methodically rolled over CSB in the other semifinal game.  I got settled in by 11:30 for the 1:00 P.M. tip-off and am glad I did now as Schoenecker Arena got packed right before tip-off time and you could just feel the excitement and anticipation in the air for this top-heavy quality match-up featuring two elite teams who had their tickets to the Big Dance punched some time ago and now these two were ready to battle it out again for conference honors.

Coming into this contest, I personally felt that some of the intangibles favored GAC as I believed that they would come in much more relaxed and confident knowing that they had an NCAA Tournament bid sewn up and that all the pressure would be on UST but it was the Tommies who came out strong and with a purpose from the opening tip-off; racing out to a 6-0 lead.  Senior All-American post Kaitlin Langer helped UST draw first blood with her score in the paint at the 9:10 mark and a lay-up in transition by sophomore guard Lucia Renikoff at the 8:52 mark pushed the lead to 4-0.  Renikoff; the former Washburn standout, capped this early run with two free throws at the 8:02 mark before the Gusties could shake some of the early cobwebs off of their basket on a three-point bomb by sophomore guard Justine Lee from the right wing area at the 7:34 mark.  Another "3" by Lee; the former Dawson-Boyd standout, from the left wing area at the 7:02 mark pulled the Gusties back in two-point range trailing 8-6 and a "3" by junior point guard Mikayla Miller from the left wing area at the 6:32 mark seemingly had GAC in good shape trailing 11-9.  But it was here where the Tommies started to turn up the heat.  Two Langer free throws at the 6:14 mark and a "3" from the right corner by junior sharp-shooting guard/forward Lauren Fischer at the 5:29 mark widened UST's lead to 16-9. The Gusties would briefly cut into the deficit when junior forward Miranda Rice drained a "3" from the top of the key with 4:41 left but a 9-0 Tommie run soon followed.  Two scores in the paint by Langer - one with 4:15 left and the other with 3:05 left - grew the lead to eight points at 20-12 and a drive into the lane and finish by senior point guard Gabby Zehrer with 2:09 left now had UST up double-digits at 22-12 and Gustie Head Coach Laurie Kelly called a thirty-second timeout to try and make some defensive adjustments.  Still, a Renikoff "3" from the left corner with 1:42 left grew the lead to 25-12 before GAC finally stopped some of the bleeding on a score in the paint by Miller with 1:18 left.  Tommie senior guard Paige Gernes made good on a drive and finish with 1:08 left and although Rice would help the Gusties pull a bit closer when she connected with a jumper along the left baseline with :19 left, UST junior reserve guard Maddie Wolkow knocked down a "3" from the left corner that gave the Tommies a sizable 30-16 advantage going into the second period.

Gernes' jumper in the lane at the 9:52 mark of the second period allowed UST to double-up the Gusties by a 32-16 count but you could tell that GAC had made some subtle adjustments during the break after the first period on defense and now they were starting to do a better job in defending down low.  More importantly, they started to edge closer as well.  Senior forward Hannah Howard made a hard drive for a finish at the 8:14 mark and although Langer would increase the Tommie lead to 34-19 on her short jumper in the lane at the 7:59 mark, GAC would embark on a 6-0 push.  Howard struck again for the Gusties at the 5:22 mark with a lay-up and then Lee connected with a lay-up in transition with 4:56 left that cut the deficit down to eleven points at 34-23.  A tough scoop lay-up by Rice with 3:53 left brought GAC back to within single-digit range trailing 34-25.  A short running one-handed jumper by Wolkow got the Tommies some more breathing space with a 36-25 lead with 3:18 left but the Gusties would make further inroads.  One Lee freebie with 3:11 left and a tough drive and lay-up by Miller with 2:35 left cut the deficit down to eight points at 36-28.  One Langer free throw with 2:14 left and two more by Wolkow increased UST's safety net to eleven points at 39-28 but a short running jumper by sophomore guard Brooke Lemke with :37 left before the halftime buzzer allowed the Gusties to go into the locker room at the half back to within single-digit range trailing 39-30.  A check of the first half box score shows that UST shot 14-22 from FG range for 63.6% which is one of the reasons they got off to the great start that they did and the Tommies also had a 15-10 edge in rebounds in the first half as well that included a 12-6 edge in defensive rebounds.  Still, things could have been a lot worse for GAC considering that they were down by sixteen points early in the second period.

A short shot off the glass by Rice at the 9:37 mark of the third period seemed to indicate that things were starting to finally look up for the Gusties as they cut further into the deficit at 39-32 and, despite the fact that both Howard and Miller picked up their third fouls shortly thereafter, momentum seemed to shift to the Black and Gold.  Two Rice free throws at the 7:21 mark kept GAC in that seven-point range trailing 41-34 and the fact that the Gusties were now finally getting some defensive stops was encouraging to the large contingent of GAC fans on hand on this day.  And when sophomore reserve guard Taylor Anderson drained a "3" from the right top area at the 6:43 mark that cut the deficit down to a tantalizing four points at 41-37, there was every reason to think that the Gusties were on the verge of usurping control of this contest and that it would only be a matter of time before they poked their nose out in front.  Strangely, however, the fire that GAC seemed to have would mysteriously start to fizzle out as the Tommies slowly applied the brakes and gradually regained control of things.  Langer wasted no time in coming to UST's rescue as a score in the paint at the 6:27 mark and two free throws by the Stillwater native with 4:28 left extended the lead to eight points at 45-37.  The Gusties would make one more attempt to draw close again as a short jumper by Rice with 4:07 left and a Howard lay-up with 3:29 left again had GAC within that four-point range trailing 45-41 but they would get no closer.  Renikoff knocked down a short jumper in the lane that grew the Tommie lead to 47-41 and one free throw by freshman reserve guard Sarah Krynski with :31.8 left and a score down low by Langer with just :00.8 left before the end of the third period got the lead to nine points at 50-41.  So not only did all that momentum that GAC seemed to grab early on in the period fly out the window, but now the Gusties two primary front line players - Rice and Howard - had each been tagged with their fourth foul of the contest as well.

Lemke attempted to draw GAC closer with her lay-up at the 8:48 mark that cut the deficit to seven points at 50-43 but that spark that the Gusties had in the early moments of the third period had simply evaporated by this point.  A short jumper in the lane by UST's Zehrer at the 8:27 mark and one Zehrer charity stripe shot at the 7:37 mark got the lead to double-digits at 53-43 and now even worse for GAC was that Miller collected her fourth foul of the afternoon at the 5:59 mark.  The Tommies gradually started to pull away afterward that effectively ended any real hope that GAC may have had. Gernes drove in down low for a finish at the 5:45 mark and a routine score in the paint by Langer at the 5:01 mark made it a 57-43 game.  Then two more scores by Langer showed why she's likely one of the best Division III players in the nation as she connected with a lay-up with 4:40 left and then knocked down a short shot in the lane off the glass off of an inbounds pass with 2:41 left that suddenly extended the lead to 61-44 and there was no doubt by now how this thing was going to end. Howard was able to score in the paint for the Gusties with 2:21 left but all GAC could do now was make nicks and dents in an insurmountable deficit as time had long become their enemy.  Howard fouled out with 1:43 left that allowed Langer to sink one free throw for the Tommies and after Miller got GAC some more points with her offensive rebound and putback with 1:31 left, she fouled a short time later and Gernes went to the line to put the Gusties in an even deeper hole at 64-48.  One more Langer free throw with 1:02 left and another by Renikoff with :32.1 left sealed the deal and UST claimed yet another MIAC Championship Game title with a 66-49 victory.

With all the postgame hoopla going on afterward, it took some time but I finally was able to catch up with Tommie Head Coach Ruth Sinn to ask her about this game and this win today.  "I told our team to be excited about this opportunity"she said and the fact that UST got off to such a good start in this contest shows that they were definitely focused and ready coming into this game.  Without question, with an unblemished 27-0 overall record and ranked second nationally along with their top ranking in the West Region, the Tommies will be one of the NCAA Tournament's top-four seeds when the pairings are announced tomorrow (Monday 2-27) afternoon as well they should be.  I asked Sinn if there's possibly more pressure on her squad and and the coaching staff given the circumstances this time around but she replied that "We don't think like that."  The fact that UST has been through so many of these wars and the fact that they know what it's all about and what it takes to succeed from this point on is testimonial to the success they've had over the years.  Aside from sophomore guard Bobbi Brendefur being out for the season, the Tommies look to be pretty healthy at this point and that hasn't always been the case for this team at this time of the year.  Probably just as important, they seem to be playing their best basketball at precisely the right time of the year and they have the goods to not only make a deep run but to win the whole ball of wax as well.  On the other side of the coin, a disappointed Kelly pointed to a number of factors that contributed to the loss but was quick to point out that her primary chain gang of players (Rice, Howard, Miller, Lee and Lemke) simply didn't have their best games today when they needed it and that's a bit of a worrisome aspect as the Gusties await news on their NCAA Tournament destination.  She pointed out that her team doesn't have the NCAA or "big game" experience like UST does and they don't go as deep as the Tommies do either.  But I think that the Gusties have learned plenty this season in achieving an impressive 25-2 record and I'd be willing to bet that this team will be chomping at the bit; ready to get back to practice on Monday afternoon when they learn of the NCAA Tournament destination.  And, make no mistake about it. They do have the goods to make a deep run as well.  Langer easily led all scorers on a monstrous day with 29 points and nine rebounds; just missing a "double-double".  Renikoff was the only other Tommie in double-figures scoring-wise with her 13 points.  On the GAC side, Rice was the only player in double-figures scoring-wise with her 11 points.  UST didn't have that huge of an edge on the glass on this day at 33-29 but, breaking that down a bit, the Tommies enjoyed a 25-17 edge in defensive rebounds.  Dismal shooting really did in the Gusties on this day as they shot only 19-55 from FG range for 34.5% and a lot of that was due to a great defensive effort by UST.  Furthermore the Gusties shot only 5-20 from downtown for 25% and that's simply not going to get the job done. Both Kelly and Sinn were probably not happy about the amount of turnovers their squads were guilty of on this afternoon (17 and 16, respectively) and, interestingly enough, GAC had a 17-11 edge on points off of turnovers.  The only other comment I want to make about this game - and I rarely comment on the officiating - but, for a big contest with so much on the line as there was today, I was rather disappointed in the quality of the officiating.  Again, I understand and get that you're never going to get a "perfectly" officiated game and questionable calls always come with the territory.  Today, though, there were several strange call on both ends of the floor; one in particular I had NEVER seen before; much less ever heard of.  I think it was disappointing as it marred a marquee match-up between two elite teams in a high-stakes contest.