MIAC Quarterfinal Playoff Game - St. Kate's vs CSB 2-22-17

Made my way up U.S. Highway 10 and the BNSF's Staples Sub mainline on this pleasant late Wednesday afternoon to take in one of the two big MIAC Quarterfinal Playoff games - this one between visiting and number five-seed St. Kate's and host number four-seed CSB.  The Blazers swept the regular season series between these two teams and I had covered the last meeting between these two teams almost a month ago where CSB prevailed in a hotly-contested game by a count of 50-47 and there was every reason to think that this one with so much on the line for both could feature some of the same drama as the last one.  This was my first trip to Claire Lynch on the campus of CSB in seven years and it was definitely good to get back.

Just as he had in the previous contest at Butler Center back in January, Blazer Head Coach Mike Durbin had his team employ a 2-3 zone defense and with the long reach of players such as junior post/forward Nikki Fokken, junior post Kate Banovetz and junior forward Chelsey Guetter, it can be quite an arduous task to try and find any nooks and crannies for an opposing team to try and penetrate.  As such, that zone defense and some early St. Kate's miscues allowed CSB to grab an early 8-2 lead.  After senior forward Kennedy Jennings put the 'Cats up early with two free throws at the 8:04 mark, the Blazers went to work.  Two free throws by Fokken at the 7:49 mark tied the contest and an offensive rebound and putback by Guetter put CSB up 4-2.  Then it was senior point guard Annie Dittberner making her presence felt as she connected with a lay-up in transition at the 7:10 mark and then found a seam to slither through in the Wildcat defense for a lay-up at the 6:32 mark for an 8-2 Blazer advantage.  St. Kate's closed the gap to three points when junior guard Audra Clark drained a "3" from the left wing area at the 6:13 mark but two more Blazer scores - a Dittberner drive and finish at the 5:46 mark and a Banovetz drive and finish at the 5:13 mark - gave CSB some more breathing space with a 12-5 lead.  The Wildcats again edged closer as senior guard/forward Alexis Garcia banged home a "3" from the left wing area with 4:16 left but CSB was able to open up some more space with a 6-0 push.  Fokken connected with a lay-up with 3:30 left and the Oronoco native followed that up by knocking down a short jumper from the left side with 2:51 left with 2:51 left for a 16-8 Blazer advantage.  Then it was Guetter snaring an offensive rebound of her own miss for a putback with 1:31 left for a ten-point 18-8 CSB lead and a score in the paint by Banovetz with :53 left in the opening period maintained that ten-point edge at 20-10.  Wildcat sophomore reserve newcomer guard Kanani Asuncion got St. Kate's back to within single digits again with her "3" from the left top off the glass with just :00.7 left but one of the big things I was worried about from a St. Kate's perspective - CSB's ability to rebound; particularly on the offensive end - was already playing a big part in the Blazers opening period success.

But one thing that opponents in general found out about the Wildcats this season is that they are a very resourceful group and though you may have them down early, you can never count them out and St. Kate's slowly made its way back into this contest in the second period.  Audra Clark showed her defensive prowess as she snared a steal and dashed the other way for a lay-up at the 7:31 mark and a score in the paint by freshman reserve guard Danica Cambrice at the 6:55 mark trimmed the Blazer lead down to three points at 20-17.  Fokken opened up a bit more breathing space for CSB again with her score in the paint at the 5:26 mark but flashy senior reserve guard LaShay Holt again brought the 'Cats back to within a single possession with her "3" from the top of the key with 4:56 left that cut the Blazer lead down to a scant two points at 22-20.  CSB; perhaps alarmed by this recent development, was able to awake from its early evening siesta as senior reserve guard Macy Kelly unleashed a three-point bomb from the left wing area with 4:28 left and one Dittberner freebie with 3:42 left got the lead to 26-20.  St. Kate's again got back to within a single possession when Garcia unleashed a "3" from the left wing area with 2:27 left but a score in the paint by Blazer freshman reserve post Alex Johnson with 1:05 left gave CSB a 28-23 advantage; a lead that they also took into the locker room at the half.  A check of the first half box score confirmed some of my fears coming into this game.  The Blazers held a sizable 20-11 advantage on the glass including a 16-6 edge in defensive rebounds alone.  Then again, the fact that CSB also shot 12-21 from FG range for 57.1% played a factor as well.  The fact that an opportunistic Wildcat defense forced 11 CSB turnovers in the first half was somewhat offset by not so great shooting as the 'Cats shot only 8-26 from FG range for 30.8% and were only 5-14 from behind the arc for 35.7%.  Another glaring statistic that must have been bothering St. Kate's Head Coach Sean Pinkerton in the locker room at the half was that the Wildcats were only 2-5 from the charity stripe for 40% in the first half.  That's leaving some potential points on the table and that's something that had to change for his squad coming out of the locker room.

Versatile senior forward/post Mari Lee got the Wildcats off to a great start in the third period with her three-point bomb from the left top area at the 9:48 mark but that was answered by two CSB scores - a short shot in the lane by Dittberner at the 9:28 mark and a score in the paint by the lanky Fokken at the 9:01 mark that had the Blazers up 32-26.  Seeking a quick fix, St. Kate's struck back as Audra Clark knocked down a "3" from the right top area at the 8:36 mark that had the 'Cats back within that single-possession range trailing 32-29 and a pretty jumper along the left baseline by Jennings at the 7:57 mark kept St. Kate's in that three-point range trailing 34-31.  A lay-up by Lee at exactly the 7:00 mark had the Wildcats trailing by a single tantalizing point at 34-33 and although Audra Clark would get tagged with her third foul of the contest a minute later, St. Kate's shored up its defensive efforts enough to keep the Blazer basket quiet for nearly five minutes.  Finally, Cambrice's score in the paint with 3:01 left in the third period allowed the Wildcats to poke their nose out in front for the first time since the opening moments of the contest with a 35-34 lead.  CSB, not about to let the visitors from St. Paul rain on its parade, quickly reclaimed the lead on a three-point bomb by Guetter from the right wing area with 2:33 left and one free throw by Dittberner with :57.6 left in the period gave the Blazers a three-point advantage at 38-35 but Jennings helped St. Kate's close the gap to one point with her steal and lay-up the other way with just :07 left so with the Blazers clinging to a perilous 38-37 advantage going into the fourth quarter, you knew this one had all the makings of a possible classic.

Banovetz's offensive rebound and putback at the 9:26 mark of the fourth period again gave CSB a bit more breathing room with a 40-37 edge but right back came those pesky 'Cats.  Jennings was able to knock down a jumper from the free throw line at the 8:58 mark and then Holt; who was fouled in a transition opportunity after a steal, knocked down two free throws at the 8:02 mark that once again allowed St. Kate's to poke its nose out in front by a 41-40 count and you couldn't help but wonder if the Wildcats were now positioning themselves to possibly seize the moment in a hostile environment to take control of this contest.  Fokken's jumper along the right baseline at the 7:44 mark helped the Blazers retake the lead at 42-41 and both teams clamped down hard on defense; trying desperately not to let the other side gain any advantage.  Lee helped St. Kate's gain one last lead at 43-42 with 4:56 left with her lay-up in transition but when the Wildcats needed a critical stop or a big shot or a big rebound, it just simply wasn't there for them.  As such, CSB moved quickly to snatch the lead back.  One free throw by Fokken with 4:45 left and a Fokken score in the paint off the glass with 3:37 left had the Blazers up 45-43 and Fokken would come up big again with 2:45 left with a lay-up that now made it a two-possession game at 47-43.  One Jennings free throw with 2:24 left brought the 'Cats back to within a single possession trailing 47-44 but again they needed to get a stop on the ensuing CSB possession so when Guetter made a drive into the lane for a finish with 1:57 left that pushed the lead to five at 49-44, St. Kate's Pinkerton had to call a thirty-second timeout to set-up strategy to try and get his team back within striking distance.  Audra Clark's three-point attempt with 1:37 left missed its mark and the Blazers had an opportunity to salt this one away for good but Guetter was unable to connect on a lay-up attempt thus giving the 'Cats new life.  Holt attempted to work her magic; driving into a sea of white and red for a tough shot with :38 left but it missed its intended mark.  Dittberner was sent to the charity stripe with :40.4 left but could only get one of the free throw attempts to go down for a 50-44 lead.  Not impossible for St. Kate's but the sands of time were quickly running out and when the Wildcats subsequently suffered a turnover on its ensuing possession, everything appeared to be almost academic.  Audra Clark fouled out with :27.6 left and Dittberner had another opportunity at the charity stripe to widen the lead even more.  Again, she was only able to get one of those free throw attempts to go down for a 51-44 CSB advantage and now the Wildcats had to roll the dice.  Holt got open behind the arc from the right wing area with :16.3 left and let loose with one of those patented high-arcing three-point attempts that made the cotton sing and cut the deficit down to four points at 51-47.  Dittberner was immediately fouled on the inbounds pass with 14.6 left but, once again, was only able to get one of the two free throw attempts to go down for a 52-47 Blazer lead.  St. Kate's hustled downcourt on its possession and got the ball to Asuncion who uncorked a "3" from the top of the key with :07 left that suddenly narrowed the deficit down to a scant two points at 52-50.  Confusion reigned supreme shortly thereafter on the ensuing CSB inbounds pass as it was apparently tipped by a St. Kate's player that ultimately resulted in CSB having to inbounds the ball again from the end of the court instead of the half-court area as the Blazers' Durbin had originally hoped.  Dittberner was immediately fouled on the next inbounds pass attempt and promptly went to the line.  Surprisingly again, Dittberner was only able to knock down the front-end attempt for a 53-50 CSB lead so when the back-end attempt rattled out, Holt was there for the defensive rebound and the Wildcats were off to the races downcourt.  St. Kate's desperately worked the ball around the perimeter hoping to find somebody - anybody - in a grey Wildcat uniform open behind the arc to try and send this one into an extra session.  Finally, Garcia came off a screen and got free in the left corner behind the arc and got the ball and uncorked one last hope with :01 left. The shot looked so true but, alas, banged off the rim and CSB held on for a 53-50 victory.

An obviously disappointed and heartsick Pinkerton talked about how proud he was of his team's effort on this night.  "We played well" he said but added that "we had some defensive lapses in the beginning."  And, for the four seniors on the St. Kate's squad - Jennings, Lee, Holt and Garcia - who have played such a big part in the resurgence of this program, it had to be a bitter disappointment to come so close and yet fall just short.  But these four have also left their mark on this program and they will be incredibly tough to replace.  CSB's Durbin had high praises for his veteran group in getting the win on this night.  The length of Fokken, Banovetz and Guetter cannot be overstated in such a big game but I pointed out to Durbin that I thought Dittberner who, despite a few hiccups from the charity stripe late, was instrumental in helping his squad achieve victory tonight and I had vastly underestimated her abilities.  He had quick praises for her as well and pointed out how huge her leadership was on the floor on this night.  Without question, the 45-24 rebounding advantage that the Blazers enjoyed on this evening played a big part in the ultimate victory for CSB on this night. Breaking that stat down, the Blazers had a 15-6 edge in offensive rebounds and a 30-18 edge in defensive rebounds and that, more often than not, will help you get a victory when you need it.  While some spotty free throw shooting in the second half kept the overall percentage at 61%, the fact CSB had such a huge edge on the boards partially offset that.  The fact that the Wildcats shot only 5-9 from the charity stripe themselves for 55.6% for the game did not help their cause either.  Another huge stat to point out:  CSB had a huge edge in those so-called "second-chance points" by a 14-3 count thanks to the efforts of Banovetz, Fokken and Guetter.  Not surprisingly, it was Fokken's monstrous night of 17 points and 10 rebounds that helped pace the way for CSB on this night. Dittberner had 14 points and Guetter had 11 points.  St. Kate's didn't have anybody in double figures scoring-wise but they did have a balanced attack nonetheless.  Both Lee and Jennings; in their final collegiate contest, tallied nine points each and Audra Clark and Holt had eight points.  Both Garcia and Asuncion chipped in with six points a piece.