SMU vs St. Kate's 2-11-17

After leaving Augsburg's Si Melby Hall, I made the drive over to Butler Center on the campus of St. Kate's for the 3:00 P.M. clash between visiting SMU and host St. Kate's.  I got settled into a crowded Butler Center with 1:15 left in the first period and the Cardinals up by a 17-7 count.

Things looked bleak indeed for the 'Cats when I got myself comfortably settled in but St. Kate's has a funny way of getting down early and then zapping you like an agitated rattlesnake as the visiting Cardinals soon found out.  A "3" from the top of the key by junior guard Audra Clark with just :03 left whittled the deficit down to seven points to close out the first period and two free throws by senior guard/forward Alexis Garcia at the 7:59 mark of the second period brought the Wildcats closer trailing 17-12.  SMU temporarily gave itself a bit more breathing space on a short jumper in the lane by senior guard Brigette Audette at the 7:43 mark but St. Kate's would soon close the gap.  Sophomore reserve newcomer guard Kanani Asuncion connected with a lay-up at the 7:25 mark and two free throws by flashy senior reserve guard LaShay Holt at the 6:30 mark got the Wildcats back to within a single possession trailing 19-16.  Then it was Garcia reigning terror from behind the arc in the right corner at the 5:43 mark that suddenly tied things up at 19 a piece.  The Cardinals were able to recover as two free throws by strong sophomore forward Brandi Blattner at the 5:26 mark and a Blattner drive and finish with 4:41 left propelled SMU back into the lead at 23-19.  The 'Cats would come right back and take their first lead of the afternoon as a hard drive and pretty reverse lay-up by senior forward Kennedy Jennings with 4:21 left and a lay-up by freshman reserve guard Jackie Radford with 4:00 left that also drew a foul and resulted in an "and one" for the St. Paul native allowed St. Kate's to poke its nose out in front 24-23.  But the Cardinals would rise and fly once more down the stretch before halftime.  Junior guard Alexa Huisman banged home a "3" from the left wing area with 3:46 left and two Blattner freebies with 3:27 left had SMU back out in front 28-24.  The Wildcats would get back to wihin a single possession as two Asuncion charity stripe shots with 3:03 left cut the deficit to two points at 28-26 and the game stopped momentarily when Audra Clark connected with a lay-up in transition with 1:45 left and was recognized for scoring her 1,000th-career point at St. Kate's to a standing ovation.  Still, Blattner would give SMU a three-point edge at 31-28 with her score in the paint with 1:23 left before both squads trotted into the locker room for the halftime intermission.  A quick check of the first half box score reveals that SMU shot a bit better from FG range than the Wildcats did; going 11-30 for 36.7% compared to St. Kate's 8-27 for 29.6% but the Wildcats were perfect from the charity stripe; going 10-10 in the first half.  Rebounds were nearly even with St. Kate's holding a 20-19 edge but the Wildcats had twice as many turnovers as SMU did by a 10-5 count.

The Cardinals sought to widen their advantage in the opening minutes of the third period as a lay-up in transition by lanky senior post Sam Jones at the 9:18 mark got the lead to five at 33-28 and a score in the paint by Audette at the 7:52 mark maintained the five-point advantage at 35-30.  Sophomore guard Danielle Higgins knocked down two free throws at the 6:09 mark that made it a 37-32 game and one free throw by Jones with 2:55 left and two more by Audette with 1:35 left in the third period expanded the SMU lead to six at 40-34.  Fouls were also beginning to complicate the Wildcat's situation as both junior guard Meg Clark and Holt were tagged with their third foul of the game and they had to be careful the rest of the way.  Blattner got to the line with :36.4 left in the period and the former Dover-Eyota standout routinely dropped two freebies that not only gave the Cardinals an eight-point advantage at 42-34 but also found a third St. Kate's player tagged with her third foul of the game in Jennings.  So when Audra Clark got a chance at the charity stripe with :10.5 left in the third period and missed both ends, things looked dismal for the Wildcats.

St. Kate's was mired in further doo-doo once the fourth period got underway as the Cardinals expanded their lead to double-digits. Huisman knocked down one free throw at the 9:41 mark for a 43-34 SMU lead and then Blattner used her strong 5'10" frame to snare an offensive rebound for a putback at the 8:03 mark for a 45-34 Cardinal advantage.  Indeed, the 'Cats looked dead and buried when Huisman made a hard drive and finish at the 7:23 mark that drew a foul and allowed the Adrian native to sink the obligatory free throw for what seemed to be an insurmountable 48-36 SMU lead. But one of the beautiful things about competitive sports is when you find that sense of urgency and find a way to "get in the zone" and manage to battle your way back when things look the most bleak. And that's what exactly the Wildcats did when many at Butler Center (including your's truly) least expected it.  A Holt lay-up at the 6:46 mark got the deficit back to ten points at 48-38 and after Cardinal senior guard Emma Schaefer temporarily got SMU back up to twelve points with two charity stripe shots at the 6:03 mark, Holt responded again for the Wildcats with a score in the paint at the 5:51 mark that had St. Kate's back in that ten-point range trailing 50-40.  Still, that didn't seem to indicate anything special - at least yet anyway.  But when Garcia nailed a "3" from the right corner with 4:50 left and then senior forward Mari Lee connected with a tough jumper from along the left baseline in traffic with 2:58 left that cut the Cardinals lead down to 50-45, a worried SMU Head Coach Brent Pollari immediately called a thirty-second timeout to get his squad calmed down and you could just sense something big in the making.  The Cardinals got the lead back up to seven points when Jones connected with a jumper from the left elbow area with the shot clock expiring with 2:25 left for a 52-45 lead but further panic set in on the SMU side when Holt dropped a three-point dagger from the right corner with 2:08 left that brought the Wildcats even closer trailing by four at 52-48. The Cardinals carefully worked the ball around on their ensuing possession but when Audette finally got a reasonable look with 1:35 left, Audra Clark got a piece of the ball and the rock landed in the hands of the wily Holt and the 'Cats were off and running the other way again.  Although they couldn't connect on two chances on this possession, things were far from finished.  Again with another chance, SMU worked the ball around in the half-court offense and Schaefer had a decent look from behind the arc with 1:05 left and let loose with a shot.  This attempt, however, missed its mark and again Holt was there for an opportunistic defensive rebound and the Wildcats dashed downcourt in a frenzy.  Audra Clark was fouled in the transition opportunity with :53.8 left and the former Kenyon-Wannamingo standout knocked down both attempts that now had St. Kate's back to within that single-possession range trailing 52-50.

The Wildcats committed a nearly-disastrous error when Schaefer; the former Roseville standout was fouled with :48.7 left and this is where SMU likely could have and should have given itself a bit more breathing room.  But Schaefer uncharacteristically missed both free throw attempts and St. Kate's had new life given to it.  Working quickly on its ensuing possession, Holt made a picture-perfect pass to Lee who had maneuvered inside and the former Dawson-Boyd standout got the bucket in the paint that brought the house down to level this contest at 52.  Though she was unable to knock down the ensuing freebie, momentum was now on the side of the Wildcats and SMU was clearly rattled.  Still, the Cardinals had an opportunity to find a way to somehow close this thing out.  Pollari called a timeout with :23.9 left to try and draw up a play.  And on the ensuing inbounds pass and possession, SMU's Blattner had not one but two chances to try and push her squad back into the lead.  But a tough 'Cat defense rose to the occasion and denied both attempts.  Holt, in a sea of SMU red, seemed to outleap everybody to grab the defensive rebound and was promptly off to the races.  She was fouled with :06.6 left and, as the St. Kate's contingent was going wild in the stands, the former St. Paul Humboldt star dropped both free throw attempts for a 54-52 Wildcat lead.  Still one chance left, however, for the Cardinals as Pollari called an immediate timeout to try and draw up a play.  But SMU, which subsequently inbounded the ball on its side of the court, saw one more disastrous thing happen to them as the inbounds pass was too long and bounced off the glass and into the waiting arms of St. Kate's Garcia who was immediately fouled with :02.7 left.  Though Garcia could only get the front end of the two-shot attempt to go down, the Cardinals last lifeline was gone and St. Kate's claimed a thrilling 55-52 victory to clinch a spot in the MIAC playoffs.

SMU's Pollari; though trying to remain upbeat after a heartbreaking result, couldn't help but lament what might have been.  "A score here....A call there...But I thought we played well" he said.  He was quick to praise the Wildcat's Holt.  "She took over the game" he said.  This has been an incredibly rough stretch for SMU as they've now suffered their third loss in a row with this latest defeat and now suddenly find themselves in the fight for their playoff lives with a lot of uncertainty ahead as both UST and CSB lie ahead in the final week of the regular season.  Meanwhile, you have to tip your hat to this St. Kate's team which has eeked out two huge home wins this week when they needed them to clinch a playoff spot.  Though the upcoming schedule in the final week of the regular season includes a home date with GAC on Wednesday night and a trip up to Bethel next week Saturday, it's still entirely possible that the Wildcats could somehow snare that fourth playoff spot and that would be huge for this program which has made tremendous strides under Pinkerton's tutelage.  Surprisingly, it was Garcia who led the way for St. Kate's on this day with her 12 points but she definitely hit some big buckets at big times.  Holt was right behind with her 11 points but she helped engineer this unlikely comeback and her 14 total rebounds on this day were simply monstrous.  Blattner had a solid day for SMU as she led all scorers with her 18 points and 14 rebounds for a "double-double" and Jones chipped in with 11 points.  St. Kate's had the edge on the boards on this day (largely in part because of Holt) by a 44-38 count and shooting 17-21 from the charity stripe for 81% for the game was a big factor as well. Conversely, shooting 18-27 for 66.7% for the game from the charity stripe was one of the big things that did in SMU on this day and Pollari knows all too well that that will have to change this next week.