MIAC Semifinal Playoff Game - Bethel vs GAC 2-24-17

Made my down U.S. Highway 169 and the Mankato Sub portion of Union Pacific's "Omaha Route" mainline to St. Peter on this sunny but cold Friday afternoon to take in the highly-anticipated rematch between visiting Bethel and host GAC.  I got into town shortly after 5:00 P.M. and milled around Lund Arena in anticipation of Friday evening's tilt and got to visit a bit with Gustie Assistant Coach Dan Wolfe before heading over to the world-famous Gustavus Cafeteria for a good pre-game meal.  I got settled into Lund Arena a good hour before tip-off to try and absorb just how big this game was for both teams.  Beyond the obvious point of the winner advancing to the MIAC Championship Game on Sunday, there were other things as well such as both squads trying to solidify their NCAA Tournament resumes and while GAC was all but assured of a berth coming into this thing, the same could not be said for Bethel despite its solid 22-4 record.  They needed to get a win over a regionally-ranked team that would give them a much better resume before the NCAA Committee convenes this weekend and the Royals were ready to roll the dice.  And if any conclusions could be drawn about their previous regular season meeting back in January, you knew this one had the makings of a possible classic.

A rowdy student section was in place by tip-off time on "White Out Night" ready to cheer on the home team but that didn't seem to deter Bethel from setting the pace and tempo of things early on in this contest.  Freshman forward Taite Anderson's lay-up at the 9:01 mark and a short jumper by junior guard Angie Kirchoff at the 8:09 mark had the Royals up 4-2 and a Taite Anderson lay-up at the 5:11 mark maintained that two-point edge at 6-4.  GAC, however, would respond with a 7-0 push as senior forward Hannah Howard's score in the paint with 4:55 left tied the game and then a lay-up in transition by sophomore guard Justine Lee with 4:41 left that also drew a foul and allowed the former Dawson-Boyd standout to complete the "and one" gave the Gusties their first lead of the evening at 9-6.  Howard extended GAC's lead to 11-6 with her lay-up with 3:23 left but the Royals would soon close the gap.  Junior reserve sharp-shooting guard Jasmin Bretoi knocked down her first three-point bomb of the evening - this one coming from the right wing area with 2:15 left.  After Gustie junior forward Miranda Rice extended the home team's lead to four with her lay-up with :40 left in the opening period, Bretoi struck again for the Royals as she nailed a "3" from the left top area with :18 left that closed the gap to one point at 13-12 going into the second period.

The second period was a classic back-and-forth affair.  Howard's short jumper in the lane at the 9:20 mark gave the Gusties a bit more breathing space with a 15-12 lead but right back came Bethel behind junior sparkplug guard Abby Miller.  Two free throws by the former Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted native at the 9:02 mark and a lay-up at the 8:32 mark pushed the Royals ahead 16-15 and GAC Head Coach Laurie Kelly called a timeout to make some changes defensively.  That short stoppage in play seemed to benefit the Gusties as, on their ensuing possession, Rice was left open behind the arc from the right wing area and calmly launched a "3" that found its mark to put GAC out in front 18-16.  A Rice lay-up at the 7:30 mark maintained that two-point edge at 20-18 and then lefty sophomore guard Brooke Lemke connected with a lay-up in transition at the 7:00 mark that extended the Gustie lead to 22-18.  Two Lee freebies at the 6:40 mark gave GAC its biggest lead of the evening at six points at 24-18 but a determined Royals team refused to be fazed by this development.  Abby Miller used her 5'3" frame to dart through defenders on a drive and finish at the 6:15 mark and one Abby Miller free throw at the 5:43 mark not only brought Bethel back to within a single possession again trailing 24-21 but now Gustie junior point guard Mikayla Miller was tagged with her second foul as well and Kelly had no choice but to yank her star backcourt player.  Lemke also picked up her second foul of the evening and joined Mikayla Miller on the pine for the remaining stretch of the first half.  As such, the Royals were quick to pounce on this opportunity and Taite Anderson went right to work.  The former White Bear Lake standout was able to score in the paint off of an inbounds pass with 4:50 left and followed that up with a lay-up with 4:10 left that now had Bethel back out in front 25-24.  Taite Anderson capped this 9-0 run with a score in the paint to extend the Royal lead to 27-24 before GAC's Rice went back to work.  One free throw by the Forest Lake native with 2:41 left and a short jumper from the left side with 2:01 left leveled the contest at 27 a piece and then Rice was able to knock down a short jumper in the lane with 1:27 left to push the Gusties back out in front 29-27. But Rice was also guilty of a foul on Bethel sophomore post Hannah Johnson's three-point attempt with 1:12 left and the former Duluth East standout was able to knock down two out of the three free throw attempts that again had the game tied at 29-all.  Two more free throws by Kirchoff with :38.3 left pushed the Royals back into the lead at 31-29 but GAC's Lee put her team back out in front when she banged home a "3" from the left top area with :23 left.  But the Royals' Johnson would have the last laugh of this incredibly competitive second period as she was able to sneak around and snare an offensive rebound for a putback with just :03 left as both teams headed for the locker room for the halftime break with Bethel holding a precarious 33-32 lead.  A check of the first half box score shows how incredibly tight this game truly was.  Both teams shot nearly even from FG range (Bethel going 5-14 for 35.7% while GAC shot 6-16 for 37.5%) although the Gusties surprisingly had a bit of an edge on the boards at 12-7.  Both teams kept turnovers to a minimum as the Gusties committed four and Bethel only two.

A continuation of this classic struggle ensued once the third period got underway.  Taite Anderson's "3" from the right wing area at the 7:54 mark extended the Royals lead to four at 36-32 but that was matched by GAC's Rice as she uncorked her second trey of the evening from the left wing area at the 6:56 mark as the Gusties closed the gap to one point at 36-35.  Lee's lay-up in transition at the 6:25 mark pushed GAC back out in front 37-36 but that didn't last long as two Kirchoff charity stripe shots at the 5:41 mark nudged the Royals back out in front by a 38-37 count.  Abby Miller gave Bethel some more breathing space with her tough drive and finish off of an inbounds pass at the 5:08 mark for a 40-37 Royal lead but right back came GAC with a 6-0 push.  A drive and finish by Lee with 4:47 left and two Lee free throws with 4:29 left allowed the Gusties to poke their nose back out in front by a 41-40 count and two more free throws by senior reserve guard Kelsey Carpenter with 3:34 left now had GAC up 43-40.  Now it was the Royals' turn to respond.  Senior guard Shanni Moorse got into the paint for a score that cut the deficit down to one point at 43-42 with 3:20 left and then an Abby Miller three-point bomb from the right wing area with 2:59 left had Bethel back out in front by a 45-43 count and an Abby Miller lay-up with 2:10 left helped the Royals maintain that two-point edge at 47-45.  GAC's Mikayla Miller brought her team even with two free throws with 1:41 left and two Lemke free throws with :45.2 left and a Rice lay-up with :06 left did give the Gusties a 51-48 edge going into the fourth period but this one was going to be a dogfight without any question.

Taite Anderson's offensive rebound and putback at the 9:34 mark of the fourth and final period drew Bethel closer trailing 51-50 and one Taite Anderson free throw at the 8:29 mark tied the contest but fouls were starting to become a factor for both teams by this point.  GAC's Lemke had picked up her fourth foul of the contest in the opening moments of the period and then Taite Anderson of the Royals was charged with her fourth foul of the evening at the 7:54 mark.  Still, both teams soldiered on in their hopes of reaching the MIAC Championship Game.  The Gusties opened up a four-point advantage as Rice connected with a jumper from the left elbow area at the 7:40 mark and a sweet coast-to-coast lay-up by Howard at the 6:48 mark gave GAC a 55-51 lead but again the Royals would close the gap to a single possession on Abby Miller's drive and sweet finish underneath in traffic at the 6:21 mark.  Howard's lay-up at the 6:08 mark extended the Gustie lead to four points again at 57-53 but, just as before, Bethel's Abby Miller was there to put pepper on the sweet dreams that the home team may have been having as she was fouled on a hard drive and subsequently sank two free throws at the 5:46 mark that had the Royals back to a tantalizing two-point deficit at 57-55.  Johnson's short jumper at the 5:19 mark knotted the contest at 57 a piece for Bethel and you couldn't help but wonder if the Gusties could keep fending off the incessant Royal attacks.  It was such a critical stage of this game with things so incredibly tight with everything hanging in the balance and somebody was going to have to step up to save GAC on this night.  Fortunately for the Gusties, they found that saving grace in Mikayla Miller who stepped up huge on both ends of the floor to help tip the balance in favor of GAC down the stretch.  The Goodhue native first sank two free throws after being fouled on a hard drive with 4:05 left to push the Gusties ahead for good at 59-57.  Less than a minute later with 3:20 left, she hauled in a baseball inbounds pass near the half-court area and dashed in for a lay-up that made it a two-possession game at 61-57.  Johnson brought Bethel back to within a single possession at the 3:01 mark but then it was Gusties Mikayla Miller delivering a fatal blow to the Royals hopes; in almost the same fashion as she had done in the regular season meeting between these two teams back in early January.  With the Royals looking to tie the contest, Mikayla Miller arguably made the play of the game when she leaped out in front of a Bethel pass to snare a steal and raced the other way for a lay-up that drew a foul and her obligatory free throw not only had the Gustie student section going crazy but, more importantly, gave the Gusties a 64-59 lead with 2:09 left and now Bethel had to roll the dice.  To the Royals credit, they closed within a single possession again on a Johnson score in the paint with 1:45 left but when Bethel needed to get a stop or force a turnover, it just wasn't there for them when they needed it.  Howard got the Gusties' lead back to five points at 66-61 with her lay-up with :52 left but the Royals were still not ready to wave the white flag as Johnson was able to slither into the paint for another Bethel score that again provided a wisp of hope trailing 66-63.  Royals Head Coach Jon Herbrechtsmeyer called a timeout to set up strategy but GAC played it smart when they had to and got the rock to their best ball-handler and free throw shooter, Mikayla Miller.  She was fouled with :19.7 left and dropped both nerve-wracking attempts that again made it a two-possession game at 68-63.  Another Bethel timeout and on the ensuing Royal possession, Abby Miller was fouled with :15.3 left and she connected with both free throw attempts that again had Bethel within a single possession trailing 68-65 but, just as before, they fell victim to smart play by GAC.  Lee got the inbounds pass and was immediately fouled with :14.3 left and, with the partisan Gustie crowd holding its collective breath, the former Dawson-Boyd standout was true with both free throw attempts that made it a 70-65 game.  But even with defeat appearing imminent, Bethel would not fold on its own.  Kirchoff connected when she drove into the lane for a short basket with :07 left but with the sands of time running out on the Royals (and possibly their season as well), they had no choice to foul and it was Mikayla Miller who was sent to the charity stripe with :03.8 left and she calmly sank two insurance free throws and the Gusties prevailed in an incredibly thrilling contest by the final tally of 72-67 to advance to Sunday's MIAC Championship Game.

An emotionally exhausted Herbrechtsmeyer afterward said afterward that it really came down to the Gusties simply making one more play than his squad did when it counted.  And now, even he knows that it's quite possible that his team might be on the outside looking in come Monday afternoon when the NCAA Tournament field is announced and that would be an utter and complete travesty if Bethel, which is now 22-5 on the year, is somehow left out of the field.  All of those five losses have been to ranked teams and all have been within single digits that could have gone either way.  Moreover, in the loss to UST and the two losses to GAC, the Royals were without the services of senior forward Kalli Zimmerman who was reduced to a cheerleader/assistant coach role on the bench after her ACL injury against UST shortly after the first of the year.  You can't tell me that this Bethel squad isn't capable of playing with anyone in the country and the fact that they finished with the record that they had while playing in arguably the best DIII conference in the nation speaks volumes, IMHO.  Alas, I've come to discover that reason and common sense and the NCAA Committee don't always mix and now Bethel must await its fate on Monday afternoon.  Meanwhile, an extremely relived Kelly talked about how it seemed like yesterday when the season was just getting underway and now here they are, on the verge of not only winning the MIAC Championship Game but knowing that they have an NCAA Tournament berth assured under their belt with a 25-1 overall record.  She also had high praises for Hannah Howard who she said has "given everything she has" to this program and just wants to keep this thing going for as long as they can.  Kelly admitted that free throws played a huge role in GAC's victory on this night as the Gusties going 21-26 from the charity stripe for 80.8% for the game would suggest.  The other big stat that stands out - for me anyway - was that GAC held a 41-32 advantage on the boards and its a rare event when the Royals get outrebounded.  Bethel actually shot better from FG range than the Gusties did as they went 24-54 for 44.4% but free throw shooting was a sore spot for the Royals in this contest 15-22 for 68.2%.  Rice simply had a monster night with her 21 points and 12 points for a "double-double" but, even more important from a Gustie standpoint, is that they had incredibly balanced scoring as well.  Lee had 16 points while Mikayla Miller had 15 points with 11 of those points coming during that crucial fourth period when she really stepped up and Howard had 14 points.  For Bethel, Abby Miller had a fantastic night as well in the losing effort; tallying 21 points while Taite Anderson had 18 points and Johnson finished with 12 points.  Three other important stats to point out in this game:  GAC had a 20-12 advantage in points off of turnovers and a 12-7 edge on those critical "second-chance" points.  Also, they had a 12-0 edge in fast-break points and that was critical down the stretch.