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Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Thoughts On Another Great Season Just Gone Down


I had to wait a couple of days after the Girl's State Tournament was over to not only collect my thoughts on this last season now completed but to also get caught up on my rest a bit as well as this last week was simply an exhausting one.  There's just a lot of thoughts on both the college and high school levels that I want to get to.  Just as important, I hope that all the positive stuff outweighs some of the negative stuff I need to touch on as well.  In any event, this last season was truly unique in many ways so let's see if I can touch on the things that need touching on.


1.  UST - What can you say about a team that rolled to a 31-0 record and held a 53-41 lead over Tufts with 5:30 left in regulation in one of the national semifinal games in the Final Four and looked like it had things wrapped up before things inexplicably unraveled and Tufts went on a huge run late to come away with a 60-57 victory that brought a great season for the Tommies to a crashing halt.  I've seen UST lose before, of course, but never have I seen ANY Tommie team lose a game in this kind of fashion before - ever.  It was just confounding to say the least.  The sad thing in my mind is that of all the great teams that Head Coach Ruth Sinn has had at UST, this one likely had the best shot at winning it all and it looked like all the stars were aligned for everything to happen and they came so agonizingly close before things went awry at the end.  And you can't help but feel badly for seniors Kaitlin Langer, Gabby Zehrer and Paige Gernes who all played a huge part in this team's run toward a national title.  It's possible UST could get there again, of course, but this is a prime example that shows you how incredibly difficult it really is to win a national championship.  You not only have to be very, very good but you also have to have a little luck go your way as well and the Tommies just didn't get the breaks when they needed them most.

2.  GAC - The Gusties finished up the season with a fantastic 25-3 record and this was arguably the best GAC team since the 2002-03 season.  The Gusties bolted out to a 19-0 start on the year and hosted UST in the MIAC Women's hoops Game of the Century on 2-1 and even though GAC came out on the short end of the stick in that contest, they still finished up the regular season with a 24-1 record and held off a strong challenge from Bethel at home in the MIAC Playoff semifinal to record their 25th victory of the season to force a rematch with said UST team in the MIAC Championship Game at Schoenecker Arena.  But with all the promise this team seemed to have and the potential for a deep run in the NCAA Tournament possible, things quickly went south from there.  GAC absorbed a seventeen-point spanking in the MIAC Championship game from their old nemesis and then drew perennial powerhouse DePauw where the Gusties were pounded into oblivion on the glass and saw their post-season life come to a shattering halt with a 67-57 defeat that wasn't as close as the score suggested.  In some ways, the way the regular season went and how things ended is even more frustrating than UST's predicament in the Final Four.  There was just so much potential for this team to do big things in the Dance and to have it all come to a crashing halt the way it did makes you feel like there's a lot of loose ends that will never get resolved.

3.  Bethel - Unlike the Tommies and Gusties, the Royals never even got to sniff the post-season as Bethel was unfairly snubbed by the NCAA Tournament Committee despite going 22-5 overall and 16-2 in the toughest Division III conference in the nation.  Ultimately what did the Royals in was their record against ranked opponents but had they been able to get in, this is likely the one team you would not have wanted to face.  Still a damn shame that they didn't get the chance.  

4.  Turning attention to high school girl's basketball, there's a share of very good stories - and some not-so-good stories.

A.  But let's start with the good stuff.  First, what another fantastic year for Northwest Suburban Conference Girl's Basketball that saw not one, not two, but THREE of its teams playing on the last two days of the season.  I mistakenly underestimated Andover but the senior trio of Joli Daninger, Amanda Dagostino and Hailey Diemer helped the Huskies to a fine 21-11 record and a spot in the State Tournament with a win over Anoka in the Section 7AAAA Championship Game before dropping their quarterfinal game to Lakeville North.  The Huskies rebounded in the consolation bracket and beat a fine White Bear Lake team in overtime before falling to conference rival Park Center in the Consolation Championship Game.  While Andover obviously loses a lot to graduation, there's certainly reason for hope in the future and the Huskies could be a force in not only the Northwest Suburban Conference but certainly in Section 7AAAA as well.

B.  Oh, and let's not forget about the Park Center Pirates who got to their fourth straight state tournament by virtue of its win over Centennial in the Section 5AAAA Championship Game; a section that was arguably Murderer's Row with the amount of good teams in it.  Still, the Pirates found a way to prevail through it all to reach the big stage again.  Though they wound up losing a tough one in the quarterfinals to a very, very good Eastview team, they bounced back in the consolation bracket and took home the consolation title with wins over Minnetonka and against said Andover team in the final.  Moreover, this was the swan song for an incredibly great group of seniors - Danielle Schaub, Ann Simonet and Mikayla Hayes - who have left unforgettable memories in the minds of players, parents and fans.  It seems like it was just yesterday when this group was some unheralded freshman and had to tow the line late in the Class AAA Championship Game against Marshall back in 2014 where the Pirates found miracle after miracle to not only survive what appeared to be an utterly hopeless situation but to find a way to win in triple overtime 73-71 in what was the most thrilling game I've ever seen anywhere, anytime.  They got another Class AAA title by beating Marshall again in 2015 before getting shoved to Class AAAA for the 2015-16 season.  To watch it all happen in these last four season was truly something special and I'll never forget it.  I just want to say thanks to all the players, coaches and parents for letting me take it all in when the wheel went 'round.  An exciting new bunch of young faces are primed to take Park Center forward next season and it will be interesting to see how this current young group fares.

C.  Then, there's Elk River.  I mean, what can you say about a bunch of seniors that not only took this team to the Promised Land but did so in a fashion that was totally unexpected; going 32-0 and capping it all off with a thrilling state championship win over an incredibly athletic and outstanding Hopkins team?  When I look back on this season, the longer the Elks kept up the winning streak, you just somehow expected that, somewhere along the line, somebody would find a way to finally knock them off their perch.  To be sure, there were some very close calls along the way.  Park Center had the Elks between a rock and a hard place in the second half before Elk River stormed from behind to win in a hostile environment during the Pirate's holiday showcase.  Champlin Park gave the Elks all they wanted and then some in the friendly confines of the Elk River gymnasium and the Rebels had plenty of chances but never could find that one big shot that might have got them over.  Then there was that thriller with Centennial on Senior Night at Elk River where the Cougars staved off certain defeat late in regulation and forced overtime.  Centennial even managed to poke its nose out in front in the extra session before the Elks senior leadership saved the day in the end.  Oh, and let's not forget that controversial ending against Lakeville North in the state tournament semifinals where the Elks had to seemingly pull a Houdini act to survive and move on.  The one thing; the one theme that seemed to stand out to me in all this and what I tried to convey in my blog whenever I covered this squad is that they just always found a way to win.  And I really thought Elk River had an excellent chance to win the whole ball of wax two months ago and the fact that they just kept finding ways to win games; especially in situations under duress, stood out to me.  And not many gave this team a snowball's chance in hades to beat Hopkins in the Class AAAA title game.  Yet, they found a way to win and held off a furious Royals comeback attempt in the end to do it when everything could have gone kablooey for them.  This senior group consisting of Gabi Haack, Sidney Wentland, Ava Kramer, Danielle Lachmiller and Kelsie Cox along with reserve Hayley Ackermann is something special and they proved the naysayers wrong.  Thanks for the memories!

D.  Now it's time to move on to some of the not-so-good stuff.  Being that I was relegated to strictly fan status this time around (and yes, it was INCREDIBLY disappointing to be in that spot), I had forgotten about how the MSHSL prices its event.  The first day at Target Center, I was able to purchase a daily pass for $19 which, considering that you have six games in one day, isn't all that bad I supposed price-wise anyway.  The second day at Mariucci Arena was the same deal - $19.00 for six games which I didn't have any real problem with.  The real surprise came on the following day on Thursday when a good chunk of the event moved next door to Williams Arena.  My hope was to get another $19 daily pass so I could move back and forth between Williams Arena and Mariucci Arena where the Class A games were going on.  But MSHSL has an absolutely inane policy on Thursday through Saturday where you pay $14 for the day session and then $14 for the evening session with no ability (on Thursday anyway) to transfer between Williams and Mariucci to view different games. Would it be THAT difficult for MSHSL to come up with a pricing that would at least allow you to manuever between the two venues that are across the street from each other?  IMHO, this is something that MSHSL needs to review and (hopefully) find a solution for.

E.  Finally, the sad saga of the Tim Leighton reign of terror at MSHSL runs deeper than even I imagined with some of the stories I heard this last week from blogger colleagues and those of the MSM.  While it was bad enough that I (along with other bloggers) did not get to cover this year's event, I was truly shocked when I heard of some stories that I heard this last week and weekend.  One gentleman (a photographer with a newspaper who did have credentials for the event) told me a story at one of the fall events where Mr. Leighton verbally berated him after photographing the athletes on the field shortly after the contest had ended.  Another reporter (who also had credentials for this last week's event) told me an even more shocking story.  This reporter (who happens to be black), told me of the mix-up with how his and his news-gathering firm name was reported when credentials were granted.  When he was initially unable to pick up his media pass at the venue, he asked Mr. Leighton if he could assist him in getting his credentials.  To make a long story short, he explained the problem to Mr. Leighton and even had a contact with his office on the phone to explain the situation to Mr. Leighton.  Instead of contacting his assistant in the MSHSL office to get the problem resolved (like a decent and responsible person would have) Mr. Leighton basically told the man that he'd have to buy a ticket and then present the ticket to him (Leighton) and then he'd be granted media credentials.  I was just absolutely astounded by this account.  First, I hope and pray to God that this wasn't a racially-motivated incident.  That would just be absolutely reprehensible.  Second, and more importantly, why couldn't Mr. Leighton have contacted someone in the MSHSL office to find out how this man's media credentials were listed?  It would have probably saved everyone a lot of time and trouble.  Sadly, this man was accused of lying and now a lot of hard feelings exist - and rightly so.  It just underlies the culture of fear that now exists between MSHSL communications and those in the media (MSM AND bloggers).  To me, this is just totally unacceptable and if I'm an executive in the MSHSL office and I got wind of what was going on, I would sit Mr. Leighton down and have a long, LONG talk with him about what's acceptable and what's not.  Incredibly sad that incidents like this have to happen.


Well, it's been a long, fun and exhausting year with a lot of good stories.  Now comes the time when I go into recovery and withdrawal mode; wishing somehow that there were more games to cover.      

Monday, March 13, 2017

The Strange Doings Of The MSHSL


On the eve of the Girl's State Tournament which begins tomorrow A.M. (Tuesday 3-14), this is normally a very exciting time for me as I'm pouring over the brackets for all four classes and trying to predict a winner and making sure all my ducks are in a row.  The first day of the tournament is an exhausting one to be sure with four quarterfinal games in Class AAAA and two more in Class AA that evening.  But it's always a time of year that I look forward to and I've been lucky enough to sit in press row since 2008 with my mentor; the late Tony Geer, to learn the ins and outs of how things go during the five-day event.  I've been lucky enough to cover the last four state tournaments in my blog and although it's a lot of work, I enjoy doing it because I've always viewed it as the showcase for high school girl's basketball in the state as it should be.  I've met a lot of very good people in my time doing this and it's always great to be able to catch up with them during state tournament week.

This time around, however, I feel an emptiness and sadness on the eve of the Girl's State Tournament as I'll be relegated to strictly fan status and likely for the forseeable future as well. The reason for this is because the MSHSL, in its infinite wisdom, decided after the school calendar year last summer to remove bloggers (such as myself) from covering state-level events (such as the Girl's State Basketball Tournament as we're not an accredited news-gathering organization or an accredited website.  I first got wind of this from other bloggers I know this last fall but really didn't know the extent of the MSHSL's actions until I tried last week (unsuccessfully, of course) to apply for media credentials and was promptly denied.

And who would want to do this you might be asking yourself?  Why, none other than MSHSL Communications Coordinator Tim Leighton.  Leighton, as you may know, worked for the St. Paul Pioneer Press as a sports reporter and was a fixture at the Girl's State Basketball Tournament as a reporter there when I first started sitting in press row.  Recently, Leighton accepted the Communications Coordinator position and there has been a drastic change in attitude towards bloggers (such as myself) that became quite apparent during last year's tournament.

I could tell that as early as two years ago when, on the final day of the 2015 tournament at Williams Arena, bloggers (including myself) were forced to relocate to the upper rafters from court level where the WiFi was quite unreliable and unpredictable (to put it mildly) which made finishing up reports of games on that day and night quite an arduous task.  That happened because a reporter from the Minneapolis Star Tribune threw a hissy fit because he couldn't find an empty space at court-level and complained to MSHSL about it.  As a result, we were the ones forced upstairs.

The real-clincher came last year when, on the first night of the tournament when I was following an evening game and writing up notes on it in my notebook, Mr. Leighton strode by where I was sitting and told me that "I'd like to talk to you when you get a chance."  This struck me as totally out of the blue and, considering the fact that I was trying to keep track of things of the game going on, it really rattled my concentration and made me wonder what I did (Interestingly enough, I was able to catch up with him after a press conference and asked him if he still needed to talk to me and he replied "No, your fine" which only added to the whole puzzling situation in the first place.  But on Thursday that week when my blogger friends and I attempted to sit courtside at Williams Arena that morning, Mr. Leighton strode by and brusquely informed us that we had to go up to the facilities in the rafter; that the court-level seats were for newspaper reporters and radio people only.  Like scolded schoolchildren, we gathered up our computers and other belongings and retreated to the rafters.  I kind of knew then and there that our days of being able to report at the state tournament were numbered and that bloggers, such as myself, were quickly becoming persona non grata in the eyes of Mr. Leighton and the rest of the MSHSL.

To be fair, I did get a call back from Mr. Leighton last week Tuesday afternoon after I called the MSHSL office to try and get an explanation for the denial of my media credentials for the state tournament.  Essentially, the context of our phone conversation centered on the fact that the MSHSL Board adopted a resolution this last off-season that included updating their Media Policy Manual (see letter below) and that this is something that has been going on with other high school governing bodies in several other states as well; based largely in part to recruiting concerns.  While I can buy that up to a certain point, I definitely had issue with the other concerns that MSHSL purportedly had with bloggers (such as myself) at press conferences after games.  Basically, I was told that we had created "problems" at these press conferences (and I have absolutely NO idea what those "problems" might be).  Moreover, there was concern expressed that bloggers (again, such as myself) knew coaches and players on a personal basis and that this was creating a problem as well.  I asked about who made the determination(s) on this and was informed that MSHSL receives feedback each year from coaches and administrators alike on how particular tournaments went and supposedly there were complaints about the bloggers at the state tournament.

Needless to say, I was stunned beyond belief when Mr. Leighton told me this.  Just for me, I don't EVER recall, in all the interviews I've conducted at the State Tournament, where I ever did anything outrageously out of line or offended anybody in any way.  I've always conducted myself in a professional manner so I can get the story which is what I THINK my readers would (hopefully) expect.  At least I've never been personally reprimanded either verbally or by a written notice.  As far as my relationship(s) with coaches and players over the years, all I can say is that you'd have to be a complete and utter moron to NOT know some of these people on a personal basis when you cover this as much as I and others do.  For me, to claim that something like this is causing "problems" seems to stem from petty jealousy from the MSM more than anything.  It's not my fault that they're not out there during the regular season covering games like I and others are and then feel somehow betrayed when coaches and/or players warm up to bloggers such as myself and others because they know me.

To me, it seems we have a clear-cut conflict of interest on the part of MSHSL and Mr. Leighton doing favors for his sports-reporting buddies of the various MSM outlets.  It reeks of favoritism and, worse yet, it exposes a culture of fear that seems to emanate from MSHSL wrt reporting at state-level events; eerily similar to that which exists at my old employer, Canadian Pacific Railway, when E. Hunter Harrison assumed the CEO spot there five years ago.  Though Harrison has mercifully moved on to eastern carrier CSXT (where he'll rape and pillage that railroad ten times worse than he ever did CPRS), it seems as though MSHSL has fallen in love with Mr. Harrison's tactics to draw fear from employees and will stop at nothing to get its way.

Look, in the final analysis, it's the MSHSL's gig; it's their show and they can do whatever they please I guess and if that means keeping bloggers such as myself out, then so be it.  My blog will survive just fine without the Girl's State Tournament and I'll let the clowns of the MSM outlets do their thing so they can get their "story".  While I can accept the MSHSL's decision to do this, what I don't like is how they covered up this thing with lies and half-truths.  If someone at MSHSL has a genuine problem with what I've done over the last several years during the state tournament in my reporting, be man enough to come up to me and call me on it.  And be ready to back up your claim with facts.  And, to be sure, yeah, I could "blog" from the stands but I wouldn't be getting the complete story on games and the people who were in on the action and I think my readers deserve better than that.

After the Bay of Pigs fiasco in 1961, President Kennedy; who felt betrayed by the agency responsible for covert paramilitary operations that were really responsible for what happened with the failed invasion of Cuba, declared that "I will splinter the CIA into a thousand pieces and scatter it into the wind."  After covering the Girl's State Tournament for the last nine years and now being left out in the cold because of the MSHSL's actions in the last year, I can't help but feel some of the same sensations he must have been feeling at the time.  And we know what happened to him a little more than two years later on Elm Street in Dallas and how the MSM, some 50+ years later, STILL covers up the truth about that day in Dallas.  So is it any wonder I have such a mistrust and disdain for the MSM?  I don't know......I guess we'll just have to read the Star Tribune and Pioneer Press for the "real" story about the games this week.  Enjoy.
                     

    From: Yvonne Walsh <ywalsh@mshsl.org> [Add to Address Book]
To: "alexlarams@earthlink.net" <alexlarams@earthlink.net>
Cc: Tim Leighton <tleighton@mshsl.org>
Subject: Media Registration denied
Date: Mar 7, 2017 10:56 AM
Since your web site, Alex, is from a non-accredited news-gathering organization or a non-accredited website, it does not qualify you for a news media credential for state tournament level events.  An online entity or social media site, ie: Facebook account, Twitter account, etc.,  does not fall under the definition of an accredited news organization.
This is the policy per our media policy manual.
On page 7 of our Media Policy Manual states:
Media of a Personal, recruiting or rankings nature, or whose demographic audience are fan-based or focused on primarily one school or a small number of schools DO NOT qualify as news-gathering organizations for purposes of media credentials.If you have any questions, please contact Tim Leighton at tleighton@mshsl.org.  Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.  Thank you!
________________________
Yvonne Walsh
Administrative Assistant
Minnesota State High School League
Phone: 763-569-0486 - Fax:  763-569-0499
www.mshsl.org








NCAA Tournament Regional Final Game - Whitman vs UST 3-11-17


Made my way back over to UST's Schoenecker Arena on this Saturday night to take in the big Regional Final game between Friday night's two winners - Whitman out of the Northwest Conference and host UST of the MIAC.  The fact that both of these teams had been able to plow the road up to this point in the NCAA Tournament was impressive in itself and now the moment came to decide which one of these teams would earn the right to go to the Final Four.  Many had pegged the Tommies as a firm favorite in this game but I was impressed by what I saw out of the Blues on Friday night and I knew this one had the potential to be a good one.  Plus, it's the NCAA Tournament as well where anything can happen.

Certainly Whitman Head Coach Michelle Ferenz had hopes that her squad would get off to a decent start in this one but those hopes were soon dashed as the Tommies built an early 6-2 advantage. Senior guard Gabby Zehrer knocked down a jumper from the top of the key just inside the arc at the 9:08 mark and a short jumper by sophomore guard Lucia Renikoff at the 8:41 mark had UST up 4-2. Junior guard/forward Lauren Fischer found a huge hole in the Blues defense and promptly drived into the lane for a finish at the 6:30 mark that gave the Tommies their early advantage before Whitman could close to within a single possession on a lay-up by freshman forward Makana Stone at the 6:04 mark.  But a 5-0 UST push widened the lead even more.  Senior post Kaitlin Langer connected with a lay-up at the 5:35 mark and a patented three-point bomb by Fischer from the right top area at the 5:04 mark made it an 11-4 game.  The Blues would again close to within a single possession as two free throws by willowy junior point guard Casey Poe with 4:11 left and an offensive rebound and putback by junior reserve forward Sierra McGarity cut the deficit to three points at 11-8.  A pretty spin move and lay-up by sophomore reserve forward Maegen Martin with 2:15 left kept Whitman in that single-possession range trailing 13-10.  But the Tommies managed to create some more separation before the end of the opening period as a score in the paint by sophomore reserve post Hannah Spaulding with 1:45 left and a Zehrer lay-up with 1:07 left made it a 17-10 game.

For Whitman, being down by seven going into the second period on the road wasn't so bad a proposition but when Spaulding dropped two free throws at the 9:42 mark and Renikoff drained a "3" from the right wing area at the 9:13 mark to expand the Tommie lead to 22-10, the Blues' Ferenz wasted no time in calling a timeout to get her squad calmed down.  Whitman's situation wasn't helped any when junior forward Emily Rommel picked up her second foul of the contest at the 9:00 mark and Ferenz had no choice but to sit her starting forward but the Blues at least managed to get the deficit back into single-digit range for a short time.  Senior guard Alysse Ketner knocked down a jumper in the lane at the 6:48 mark and two Ketner freebies at the 6:15 mark after she was fouled trimmed the UST lead down to nine points at 22-13 and Tommie Head Coach Ruth Sinn had to yank senior guard Paige Gernes who was tagged with her second foul of the contest.  UST, however, quickly solved that problem and a Langer score in the paint at the 5:15 mark got the lead back up to double-digits at 24-13.  Then Langer struck again with 4:55 left on a lay-up that drew a foul and the resulting "and one" not only pushed the lead to fourteen points at 27-13 but now the Blues' Rommel was saddled with her third foul of the night and Ferenz now had no choice but to yank the Portland, Oregon native again.  Whitman would manage to whittle the deficit down to ten points as two free throws by senior guard Chelsi Brewer with 3:55 left and a jumper in the lane by Martin with 3:39 left made things a bit more manageable again trailing 27-17 but getting any closer than that was proving to be an arduous task for the Blues.  A Martin lay-up with 3:02 left and a lay-up by freshman reserve forward Lily Gustafson with 1:10 left and a steal and lay-up the other way by Stone finally gave some reason for hope again for the visitors from Walla Walla, Washington as they managed to cut the deficit down to seven points at 30-23 but UST would deliver in the final seconds a dagger to those hopes as Renikoff banged home a "3" from the top of the key with just :06 left that allowed the Tommies to take a 33-23 lead into the locker room at the half.  A check of the first half box score shows that UST held just a slight edge in the rebounding department by a 21-17 count and both sides committed their share of turnovers in the first half as well.  What was killing Whitman was the Tommie defense as the Blues shot only 9-29 from FG range for the first half for 31% and were 0-6 from behind the arc and that just wasn't going to get the job done and the Blues and Ferenz knew it.

Whitman tried desperately to keep the deficit in a manageable range when the third period got underway and one Ketner free throw at the 9:10 mark pulled the Blues back into single-digit range trailing 33-24 but again, trying to keep it there was another story.  UST's Renikoff drained yet another "3" - this one from the right top area at the 8:50 mark to make it a 36-24 ballgame and although the Blues cut the deficit back to ten points on two charity stripe shots by Brewer at the 8:17 mark, trying to keep pace with the Tommies on this night was a lot like trying to save a boat on Lake Superior with a bunch of holes in it.  Junior reserve guard Maddie Wolkow buried a "3" from the left wing area at the 7:21 mark and an offensive rebound and putback by Langer with 4:43 left upped the lead to fifteen points at 41-26.  Two Langer free throws with 3:06 left maintained the fifteen-point edge at 43-28 before Whitman could make another move.  Rommel got into the paint for a score with 2:37 left and two free throws by freshman reserve guard Mady Burdett with 2:13 left trimmed the deficit down to eleven points at 43-32.  Ketner went coast-to-coast with a lay-up with :45 left and two more free throws by Brewer with :20.7 left in the third period finally had the Blues; who had been working so hard, back to within single-digit range again trailing 45-36.  But just when Whitman had a ray of hope to hang onto; a lifeline that they could cling to for some hope, the Tommies delivered yet another dagger in the heart of the Blues as Wolkow got just enough space to unleash a "3" from the left top area with :00.9 left to make it a 48-36 game and, just like that, Whitman seemed totally deflated in going back to the team huddle at the bench at the end of the period.

That deflated effect for the Blues showed up in full force in the early moments of the fourth period as two free throws by UST's Langer at the 8:26 mark and a Wolkow "3" from the right wing area at the 6:40 mark bulged the Tommie lead up to 53-36 and Whitman's Ferenz could plainly see the writing on the wall by this point and called a timeout to try and prevent the seeming inevitable.  The Blues managed to slim down the deficit a bit as an offensive rebound and putback by Ketner at the 6:17 mark and a Brewer lay-up at the 5:06 mark cut UST's lead down to fifteen points at 55-40 and a lay-up after a steal by Poe with 4:52 left brought Whitman a bit closer trailing 55-42 but getting back to single-digit range by this point was simply out of the question.  Ketner was able to muscle into the paint for a score with 3:26 left that cut the deficit to twelve at 56-44 and two Poe charity stripe shots with 2:32 left kept the deficit at twelve but that's as close as the Blues would ever get.  UST's Gernes knocked down a jumper in the lane with 2:04 left and one Zehrer free throw with 1:24 left and two more by Gernes with 1:01 left made it 63-46 and Langer would sink two more with :07.8 left for icing on the cake as the Tommies advanced to their first Final Four berth since 2012 with a 65-48 victory.

Whitman's Ferenz was quick to the point when she was asked about general thoughts of the game.  "Couldn't buy a basket would be my general thought....Partly due to St. Thomas' defense....We did a great job on the boards but just couldn't get anything going offensively...It hurt when we got into foul trouble...But the bottom line is that we couldn't get anything going offensively....The effort was there...The kids played hard."  Ferenz mentioned that her bench rotation was a little short and that Stone has been a little sick the last few days which didn't help their cause any.  I asked Ferenz specifically about the two momentum-killing moments before the half when UST hit big "3's" to extend their lead to double-digits.  "We were struggling to score and every shot they make is a good shot.....I thought that they had a response every time we were able to turn them over and create a little havoc and they seemed to find a way to hit a big shot...Part of it was wrong people in the wrong spots and making wrong reads defensively and we got caught....Every time we seemed to be able to chip away, chip away, they'd hit a big shot and we'd struggle to score.....If we'd have been scoring at a decent clip or at least a lot better than we were (laughing)....But every time they'd score it would make our possessions that much more critical."  And Ferenz metioned as well that this was their worst shooting all season long and it undeniably came at the worst possible time.  Ferenz also mentioned that her team didn't use their screens very well and may have been a little gun-shy from the get-go.

UST's Sinn managed to contain her emotions after this big win that finally thrust her squad onto the Big Stage for the first time since the 2012 season after several near-misses.  "Very excited about this opportunity" she said.  "In 2012, we had an opportunity to go to the Final Four.....Today at shoot-around, I wore a shirt that said 'Final Four 11-12' and Kaitlin (Langer) right away said 'Throwback!' but it was planting a seed that we can get there and we've been on the doorstep....These young ladies were great tonight and one of the things that we said tonight that it was going to be a defensive game.....We really focused on the defense.  They (Whitman) have some great shooters....Brewer, Burdett...They're great shooters....They were 0-15 (from behind the arc) but I really credit our defense....Kaitlin (Langer); 19 boards; 14 defensive boards....That's what it is and we talked about that today so I'm very very proud because defense isn't something that everybody gets excited about." Sinn emphasized as well that her squad is a defensive team and although the Tommies have some great three-point shooters, defense has (especially this season anyway) their bread and butter.  Sinn spoke at length about how this time around, her squad has been relatively injury-free save for the ACL injury that sidelined sophomore guard Bobbi Brendefur very early in the season.  That wasn't the case last year and two years ago when UST was knocked out in the Elite 8 with both Maggie Weiers and Anna Smith both suffering ACL injuries late in the season but this time around, that malady didn't rear its ugly head and Sinn gave a ton of credit to the hard work her team does off the court and how the Tommie athletic training group helps the team stay injury-free as well.  I mentioned to Sinn as well that her squad seemed to go into this game with a very business-like manner without being too overly excited or too amped up and I asked Sinn what the mood was going into this game.  "I think it was 'strong together'.....We talked about how we just have to look forward to what everybody can bring and we just have to play off that....And that's what they did.  I thought they did a nice job of having the trust that defensively we can defend.....We can't stop them from putting the ball in the basket but we can really make it difficult.....And then offensively we can play off of each other....Kaitlin (Langer) did a great job today....She was so balanced and so strong....And we talked about getting a couple of 'and ones' and we did that......And Lucia (Renikoff) did a nice job of attacking the basket."  Finally, I asked Sinn if anything changes drastically with their preparation this coming week for the Final Four semifinal game.  "No....We've broken the tournament down and we continue to talk about that narrow focus.....I give them a booklet that they get every week and the first thing in the booklet is a four-team tournament and so we had a four-team bracket (for the teams last week) and a four-team bracket (for this week's teams coming in) and now we're going to have a four-team bracket with Tufts (UST's opponent in the semifinals) Amherst and Christopher Newport.....And I think what's neat is that we know our identity....And if we continue to play to our identity, we're going to do well.  We're going to compete and that's all we talk to them about is just enjoy this opportunity."

Again, what else can you say about Langer's performance on this night with a "double-double" of 18 points and 19 boards that included 14 defensive rebounds?  Simply outstanding.  And Renikoff was the only other scorer in double figures with her 14 points.  Whitman had two players in double-figures scoring-wise as well as both Brewer and Ketner in their final game of their collegiate career had ten points a piece.  Whitman actually did a decent job on the boards on this night as they held the edge at 41-39 but it was their offensive woes that likely made this a long flight back to Washington state for them.  They shot only 17-62 from FG range and Ferenz already mentioned the 0-15 from downtown that did them in on this night.  The fact that the Tommies had 21 turnovers on this night was probably the only fly in the ointment for Sinn and her staff but with UST, heading to the Final Four - and a reasonably good shot at winning it all - I'm guessing that they didn't complain too much.              

Sunday, March 12, 2017

NCAA Tournament Regional Semifinal Game - Marymount vs UST 3-10-17


The second game on tap at Schoenecker Arena on the Friday night featured yet another intriguing contest as Marymount out the Capital Athletic Conference was pitted up against undefeated MIAC Champion and host UST.  The Saints were coming into this contest with a pretty solid 24-5 overall record but were a relative unknown in this part of the country being out of Arlington, Virginia which is right outside of Washington, D.C.  The Tommies meanwhile were rolling right along with a perfect 29-0 record and would be a heavy favorite in this one being on their home court but, at the same time, they dare not take Marymount lightly as everyone remembers all too well that it was a lightly-regarded Wartburg team that came up here last year and spoiled UST's party.

Tommie junior sharp-shooting guard/forward Lauren Fischer unleashed one of her patented three-point bombs - this one coming from the left wing area at the 8:56 mark - to get things started in a positive manner for the home team but Marymount would come right back and assume a 4-3 advantage on a jumper from the right wing area by junior point guard Leah Hurst at the 7:52 mark and a lay-up in transition by sophomore guard Tyffani McQueen at the 7:27 mark.  UST would reclaim the lead on another three-point bomb - this one coming from the left wing area by lefty senior guard Paige Gernes at the 7:13 mark but a drive and finish by Saint junior forward/post Nicole Viscuso with 4:42 left leveled the contest at 6 a piece.  One thing Marymount found out early is that when you play UST, it really becomes a "pick your poison" type of proposition and Saints Head Coach Ashlee Rogers opted to go with a 2-3 zone in hopes of clogging the middle and limiting the touches for UST senior post Kaitlin Langer.  But Marymount was now finding out how lethal the Tommies are from three-point land and after UST sophomore guard Lucia Renikoff put her team ahead 8-6 with a lay-up with 3:32 left, Fischer then buried her second trey of the evening - this one from the left corner with 2:56 left for an 11-6 Tommie advantage.  Marymount would close the gap to a single point as a lay-up in transition by senior guard/forward Kiki Laux with 2:13 left and two free throws by Hurst with 1:22 left cut UST's lead down to 11-10 but Tommie senior guard Gabby Zehrer stretched the home team's lead to 14-10 with her three-point bomb from the left top area with :54 left in the opening period.

The Saints seemed to settle down after perhaps a few opening period jitters and they were able to push their nose out in front.  Two lay-ups by Laux - one at the 8:31 mark and the other at the 7:21 mark - knotted things up at 14-all.  After Langer helped forge UST back out in front 16-14 with her offensive rebound for a putback at the 7:02 mark, Saint freshman guard Regan Lohr gave Marymount its first lead of the game with her "3" from the left corner at the 6:39 mark and Viscuso helped stretch the Saints lead to 20-16 when she snared an offensive rebound for a putback and was fouled in the process that resulted in the obligatory free throw.  One thing Marymount was having some success with was its double-teaming of the Tommies' Langer whenever the Stillwater native got the ball down low but it also gave her teammates opportunities to score as well.  Gernes dropped her second three-point bomb of the evening when she unloaded from the right corner at the 5:40 mark and a Zehrer drive and finish with 2:33 left pushed UST back out in front 21-20.  The two sides would trade one-point leads over the next minute but with the Saints clinging to a 24-23 edge, two scores by UST's Fischer propelled the Tommies back into the lead.  A pretty reverse lay-up with 1:14 left and another three-point bomb - this one from the left wing area with :27 left - had UST up 28-24.  The Saints would close to within a single possession when freshman reserve guard/forward Lauryn Stouffer connected with a lay-up with just :04 before the halftime buzzer as the two sides trotted to the locker room with the Tommies holding a 28-26 lead.  A check of the first half box score reveals that this one had been a pretty clean game up to this point.  UST held a small 23-20 advantage on the boards and turnovers weren't much of a factor as the Tommies committed five while the Saints committed four. Neither side was shooting exceptionally well save for UST's Fischer and Gernes and perhaps somewhat encouraging for Rogers and her staff at Marymount was that Langer was held to just four first half points and the Saints were right in the thick of things.

The Tommies looked to seize full control of things in the early moments of the third period as a Renikoff "3" from the left top area at the 9:44 mark and a score in the paint by Langer at the 7:49 mark widened UST's lead to 33-26.  The Saints momentarily closed the gap the four points as one Lohr freebie at the 7:39 mark and two more by freshman reserve guard/forward Gabriella Haddad at the 7:11 mark had Marymount back in striking distance range but when the Tommies got back-to-back scores on Renikoff's jumper in the lane at the 7:01 mark and Langer's lay-up in transition at the 6:26 mark that made it a 37-29 game, Marymount's Rogers wasted no time in calling a halt to the action before things got away from her squad.  That stoppage in play allowed the Saints to catch their breath a bit and give them a second wind which allowed them to gradually cut into the deficit as the third period wore on.  Viscuso got into the paint for a score at the 6:11 mark and a Hurst lay-up at the 5:40 mark got the deficit slimmed down to six points at 39-33.  Scores in the paint by Hurst at the 5:06 mark and by Lohr with 4:38 left kept things manageable trailing 43-37 and two charity stripe shots by McQueen with 3:55 left drew Marymount closer trailing 43-39.  Then the Saints were able to knock down two key treys in the final two minutes.  Lohr unleashed a three-point bomb from the right top area with 1;50 left that got Marymount back to within a single possession trailing 45-42 and one Hurst free throw with :11.6 left allowed the Saints to cut the deficit down to just two points at 45-43.  UST hoped to create a bit more breathing space right before the end of the period but when Tommie junior reserve guard Maddie Wolkow couldn't connect on her three-point attempt in the closing seconds, Marymount found a way to not only steal the spotlight but to usurp the advantage from the home team in dramatic fashion.  Laux snared the defensive rebound for the Saints and hustled up to near the half-court line and unleashed a Hail Mary prayer that made the cotton dance on the other end with a mighty swish that had the Marymount contingent and the Saints bench in an uproar and, just like that, the visitors from Arlington, Virginia grabbed a 46-45 lead going into the fourth period.

The Saints threatened to take full control of this contest in the opening minutes of the fourth and final period.  McQueen connected with a lay-up at the 9:43 mark and when Laux connected with a lay-up that drew a foul and resulted in the ensuing "and one", Marymount had suddenly established a six-point edge at 51-45 and even some in the die-hard UST student section were probably starting to squirm by this point but unlike last year against Wartburg, the Tommies never panicked but instead hunkered down and battled their way back.  Langer was fouled at the 7:19 mark and promptly dropped two free throws that cut the deficit to four points at 51-47 and at the 6:40 mark, Langer perhaps made the play of the contest that tipped the balance in favor of UST.  The Stillwater native used her 6'3" frame to make a hard drive for an incredible finish that also drew a foul and had the partisan Tommie crowd on its feet cheering loudly.  Langer proceeded to sink the obligatory free throw that cut the Saints lead down to a scant one point at 51-50.  Renikoff looked primed to help UST regain the lead a bit later at the 6:14 mark when she was fouled and although she was unable to get either attempt to go down, the former Minneapolis Washburn standout more than made up for it less than a minute later when, at the 5:35 mark, she buried a "3" from the right wing area that pushed the Tommies back out in front by a 53-51 count and Marymount's cause grew more desperate a short time later when, at the 5:18 mark, Lohr was tagged with her fourth foul of the contest.  Ten seconds later, UST would get in the bonus and two Langer free throws gave the Tommies a two-possession lead at 55-51.  Marymount would manage to slice the deficit to one point when McQueen connected with a lay-up with 3:49 left that also drew a foul and the resulting "and one" cut the deficit to a scant point at 55-54 but UST would not buckle.  Sophomore reserve post Hannah Spaulding got into the paint for an important score with 3:28 left and then Gernes dropped a dagger "3" from the right corner with 1:05 left to make it a 60-54 game and the Saints were unable to recover.  McQueen couldn't connect on a lay-up attempt on Marymount's ensuing possession and although Viscuso was there for the offensive rebound that drew a foul, she could only get the front-end attempt of the two-shot situation to go down that still gave the Tommies a bit of a safety net with a 60-55 advantage with :09.2 left.  Wolkow would be fouled with :06.1 left and the former Lakeville South standout dropped two insurance free throws that allowed UST to bag a 62-55 victory to put them in Saturday night's Elite Eight contest against Whitman.

A disappointed Rogers of Marymount said in the press conference afterward that "I thought it was a heckuva game....It was a game of runs; back and forth.  It was one of those things where it was unfortunate that one of the teams had to lose....St. Thomas was all that we that we had expected them to be....They have amazing threats from the outside and their posts are pretty difficult to defend on the inside but I give my team a lot of credit.....They stuck to the gameplan and felt that they did an excellent job of frustrating Langer at times......She scored 15 points but I think we made her earn every bucket that she had today.....I couldn't have asked for a better effort from my team and better leadership from our senior (Laux, who was also in the press conference).  Rogers said that in that critical moment of the fourth period, it basically came down to UST digging deep and going to their All-American (Langer) to dig them out of trouble but she felt like her squad was in a very good position going into the fourth period when they grabbed the lead on that Hail Mary heave that Laux hit.  I asked Rogers specifically about that situation and she replied, half-jokingly (I think!) that "We practice that a lot" she said laughing.  "They practice that a lot when I'm not in the gym!"  In all seriousness, Rogers said that "We talked about just continuing the fight....Fight to the end and I think that's exactly what the girls did.....We talk about starting strong and finishing strong.....That shot gave us a lot of good momentum going into the fourth quarter and that's exciting; especially in the atmosphere that St. Thomas provided....We were able to hit a couple of 'back-doors' in the beginning of the fourth quarter and then it was their turn to go on a run."  Rogers admitted that her squad, which does not go that deep, may have run out of gas in the critical moment of the fourth period when UST went on its game-clinching run.  "We lost a step maybe....Getting a cut or setting a screen when we should have....We just looked late and we just looked a little off.....I think that's where we became a little undisciplined and just not on the same page."

UST Head Coach Ruth Sinn brought in both Gernes and Langer into the press conference for their session and Sinn's opening comments seemed to echo those after the close call against Chicago a week ago.  "I think it had to have been an exciting game if you were a fan.....It was a game of plays.  It wasn't that much of a game of mistakes if I'm looking at turnovers (Marymount with 10 and UST with 14).....I give Marymount a lot of credit.  They execute so well......Coming into this game, one of the things that we said that we were so impressed with them is how disciplined they were to their system and understanding what their strengths were and they did a great job of that.  But we're proud of our girls because we had to look for some different ways again to score.  I give Paige (Gernes) a lot of credit.....She continued to find a way.......And Kaitlin (Langer) was just so poised....Her and Hannah (Spaulding) did a great job kind of getting a one-two punch down low and it was kind of nice to go to a big line-up for a little bit."  I asked Sinn specifically about the Hail Mary shot that Laux of Marymount made and the six-point lead they got in the early moments of the fourth period and how the Tommies righted the ship and regained control.  "Well, that's one of the things that we keep talking about with this group and I think they've done a great job when you use the word 'momentum' ........And momentum is 'moment by moment by moment' and you just have to put the moments together....And we try to do that and our motto is 'Own the Moment" and the idea is every single possession so we try to get a score, a stop and then another score to become a really narrow focus and that's what these guys have done such a great job of and even when we were down six, we just kept talking about what do we have to do to be successful defensively to get stops.....And then to try to get that ball moving so we can get easier shots.....It wasn't until we started to get some lane penetration that we started to get some easy baskets that we started to get our momentum going."  I also asked Langer about her big moment in the fourth period at the 6:40 mark when the Tommies still trailed by four points and she made that drive and finish that drew a foul and resulted in the three-point play that really turned things around in this game.  "I think definitely that in these big games, there's a lot of emotion and so I think a lot of times we talk about momentum and motivation and I think that when a big play like that happens.......something like that definitely brings everyone up and when Lucia's (Renikoff) three's that she hit....That was another one of those moments where like 'We've got this' so I think it was a confidence-builder; not only for me but I think everyone kind of felt that."  And Sinn was in agreement when I mentioned it was one of those "energy plays" that she referred to last weekend after the two victories.  "We always talk about being tough together" she said.  "We talk about 'How do we bring that emotion and energy forward'"  Gernes had a laugh when she mentioned that she normally only takes one "3" in a game and on this night she was 3-3 from downtown which played a big part in the Tommies win on this night.  Sinn also had special praise for Gernes in the press conference as well.  "Paige does whatever we need....She always wants to make sure that Kaitlin (Langer) gets her 'touches' and to have that kind of unselfish of a leader and a player on your team and then defensively she's just going to make the other team's life miserable."  Sinn told Gernes how much she has loved coaching her because she does everything for the team.  Indeed, Gernes definitely appears to be the "glue" that holds this team together and helps it play so well on both ends of the floor.  I also mentioned to Sinn how impressed I was with how her squad moves the ball so well in its offensive sets and Sinn replied that she and her staff talk a lot about 'spacing' all the time and that her squad did a nice job of spacing on this night.

Not surprisingly, it was Langer who led the way for UST on this night with her 15 points and three of those coming at perhaps the biggest moment of the contest at the 6:40 mark of the fourth period when the Tommies were down by four.  Fischer followed up with 11 points while Renikoff had 10 points and Gernes had nine points - all from downtown.  Marymount was led by Laux with her 14 points and Hurst had 12 points.  UST didn't have that big of an edge on the boards at 38-34 and turnovers (as Sinn mentioned in the press conference) weren't that big of a factor either.  Again, it really came down to UST just making some big plays when they had to and that seems to be the big story for this group all season long.  One thing that hurt Marymount in that critical fourth period was that they shot only 3-13 from FG range for 23.1% after doing considerably better in the previous three periods.      

Saturday, March 11, 2017

NCAA Tournament Regional Semifinal Game - Trinity vs Whitman 3-10-17


Made my way over to the St. Paul side of town on this Friday afternoon battling the usual round of rush hour traffic that the Twin Cities is famous for to take in the two NCAA Tournament Regional Semifinal Games at Schoenecker Arena on the campus of UST.  The first game this evening pitted Trinity out of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference going up against the designated home team, Whitman, out of the Northwest Conference.  Not knowing much about these two squads, I was interested to see what both teams would bring to the table on this night but I knew well enough that given the fact that both of these teams had made it this far, you could be sure that they were both very good.  Whitman had battled its way out of the Puget Sound pod; knocking off the Loggers in Tacoma this last weekend in the second round while the Tigers were coming into this contest with only one blemish on its record.

Maybe it was the unfamiliar surroundings.  Maybe it was the long travel involved for both teams.  In any event, both sides struggled mightily with their perimeter shooting in the early going and scoring seemed to come at a premium.  With the score tied at 2 a piece, Trinity got a bit of a boost when Blues senior guard Alysse Ketner was tagged with her second foul of the contest at the 6:58 mark and was promptly yanked by Whitman Head Coach Michelle Ferenz.  Tiger freshman forward Abby Holland sank the obligatory free throws for a 4-2 Trinity lead but the Blues responded with a 7-0 push. Willowy junior point guard Casey Poe got into the paint for one score at the 6:34 mark to tie the game at 4-all and Poe's short shot off the glass at the 5:54 mark pushed Whitman ahead 6-4.  Senior guard Chelsi Brewer's "3" from the left top area with 4:40 left capped the run for a 9-4 Blues lead but Trinity responded with a 5-0 push.  Senior guard Monica Holguin drained a "3" from the left wing area with 3:53 left and two charity stripe shots by fellow senior guard/forward Allison Staley with 3:38 left had this game leveled again at 9 a piece.  Whitman would retake the edge on a lay-up by freshman reserve forward Lily Gustafson with 1:45 left but that was answered by the Tigers as a Holland lay-up with 1:19 left tied the game at 11.  Back came the Blues as junior forward Emily Rommel connected with a lay-up with :55 left for a 13-11 Whitman lead but that was met and matched by Trinity's Holguin who connected with a pretty lay-up in transition with :19 left.  The Blues poked their nose out in front one more time before the end of the opening period as Rommel dropped one freebie with :06.5 left but slender junior reserve guard Micah Weaver's jumper from the right wing with just :00.3 left got Trinity out in front 15-14 going into the second period.

But whatever advantage that last-second shot by Weaver the Tigers gone soon evaporated as Whitman proceeded with a 6-0 push.  Two Brewer free throws at the 8:47 mark and a short turnaround jumper by Rommel at the 8:11 mark had the Blues back out in front 18-15 and that lead increased to 20-15 when Poe slithered through defenders at the 7:34 mark for a lay-up.  A jumper from the right elbow area at the 6:11 mark maintained the five-point edge at 22-17 as did Brewer's lay-up with 4:33 left.  But just when Whitman appeared to be creating just a little bit of separation, the Tigers clawed their way right back into the thick of things.  Senior reserve guard Elizabeth Balido banged home a "3" from the left top area off the glass with 4:15 left that cut the deficit down to two points at 24-22 and a score in the paint by junior forward Mollie Hughes with 2:59 left kept Trinity in that two-point range trailing 26-24.  Holguin was then able to snare an offensive rebound for a putback of her own miss in transition with 2:33 left to again level the contest at 26 a piece.  The Blues responded as a short jumper from the right side by sophomore reserve forward Maegen Martin with 1:16 left and a Martin lay-up off of an inbounds pass with :25 left appeared to give momentum back to Whitman with a 30-26 lead but the Tigers cut the deficit to a scant point on a "3" from the left wing area by Staley with :16.3 left as both teams headed for the locker room with the Blues clinging to a 30-29 lead.  The fact that the Tigers were only trailing by one had to be somewhat encouraging for Head Coach Cameron Hill as a check of the first half box score shows that Whitman was pounding the glass in the first half and held a sizable 29-18 lead in the rebounding department including 22 defensive rebounds.  On the positive side for Trinity, they committed only four turnovers to nine for the Blues.  Neither team shot exceptionally well from FG range as Trinity went 11-35 for 31.4% and Whitman went 13-34 for 38.2% and the Blues three-point shooting was a negligible factor as they were only 1-7 from downtown for a paltry 14.3% and the Tigers were only marginally better in this department going 3-11 for 27.3%.

An 8-0 run by Whitman to start the third period appeared to give them a nice little safety net.  Strong freshman forward Makana Stone was able to snare an offensive rebound for a putback of her own miss at the 9:02 mark and a pretty turnaround jumper off of an inbounds pass by Poe at the 7:54 mark had the Blues up 34-29.  Then Rommel was able to muscle into the paint for a score at the 6:48 mark and two Rommel free throws at the 6:13 mark not only had Whitman up 38-29 but now the Tigers had another problem as well as Holland had collected her third foul of the evening.  A Martin lay-up in transition with 4:25 left in the period maintained the nine-point edge at 40-31 and a Martin score in the paint gave the Blues their first double-digit advantage at 42-32.  Trinity would manage to make some dents in this cushion as a Weaver jumper from the left top area with 3:14 left cut the deficit down to eight points at 42-34 but when Whitman's freshman reserve guard Mady Burdett drained a "3" from the right top area with 2:09 left for a 45-34 Blues lead, Trinity looked to be in a heap of trouble.  But the Tigers kept their cool and slowly whittled away.  Holland, back in the game with those three fouls, got into the paint for one score with 1:51 left and the Georgetown, Texas native followed that up with a pretty reverse lay-up with 1:12 left that trimmed the deficit down to seven points at 45-38.  Two Holguin free throws with :27.3 left and a tough drive and finish by Staley with just :05 left in the period now cut the deficit down to a much more manageable five points at 47-42 going into the fourth period.

Rommel's lay-up in transition at the 8:50 mark of the fourth period appeared to have the Blues off and running again with a 49-42 advantage but Trinity responded right away as Weaver uncorked a "3" from the right wing in a transition opportunity that now had the Blues lead down to tenuous four points at 49-45.  Some teams may have panicked right then and there but Whitman would not fold. Though Rommel missed on two free throw attempts at the 8:28 mark, she more than made up for that a bit later when she connected with a lay-up and drew a foul in the process and the ensuing "and one" pushed the lead back up to seven points at 52-45.  Then it was Poe working her magic as she slithered into the lane for a finish off the glass with a deft touch at the 7:27 mark for a nine-point cushion at 54-45.  The Tigers would again close the gap, however, as a score in the paint by Holland at the 7:13 mark and a drive and lay-up by Holguin at the 6:39 mark had the deficit down to five points at 54-49 and one Weaver free throw at the 6:15 mark had the deficit down to a tantalizing four points again at 54-50 but again Whitman managed to close the door.  Poe connected with a lay-up in transition at the 6:10 mark and a Stone lay-up with 4:17 left upped the lead back to eight points at 58-50.  One charity stripe shot by Ketner with 3:49 left now made it a nine-point game at 59-50 and although the Tigers were able to trim the deficit down to seven points on two free throws by Holguin with 3:08 left, Hill was quick to recognize that the sands of time were running out on his team and he called a timeout to set up strategy for the home stretch.  But the Blues would stretch the lead to nine points on two Brewer freebies with 2:54 left at 61-52 before Trinity could make one last push.  Holland connected with a lay-up with 2:06 left and a Weaver jumper from the right wing area with 1:18 left slimmed the deficit down to seven points at 63-56.  The Blues then suffered an untimely turnover and that allowed Weaver to bang home a "3" from the right wing area with 1:11 left that again had Trinity in that four-point range again trailing 63-59.  That, however, was as close as the Tigers would get and Whitman was finally able to shut the door for good.  Poe found a crack on Trinity's defense and slithered through for a lay-up with :57 left and one Martin free throw with :50 left widened the advantage to 66-59.  Two insurance free throws by junior reserve forward Sierra McGarity with :35.8 left and one more by Stone with :25.3 left pushed the Blues to the Regional Final Game with a 69-59 victory.

An incredibly gracious Hill of Trinity thanked UST for being a wonderful host for this Sweet 16 pod and also thanked MIAC rep and Bethel Head Coach Jon Herbrechtsmeyer for all of his work as well. As for the game itself, Hill came clean.  "The stats tell the story....Everybody saw what happened.....I think the key here is just showing my gratitude to this team and the way they played all season long. Most importantly these seniors who did everything they could do all year to put us in position to have such success......Just awfully proud of them as a head coach and a person because now I have five brand new best friends."  A check of the final box score indeed does reveal some rather ugly numbers from a Trinity standpoint.  Whitman simply owned the glass on this night by a 58-33 count on the boards that included a 41-26 edge in defensive rebounds.  But my concern were the missed opportunities that the Tigers let slip through their fingers all night and going 22-69 from FG range for 31.9% won't get the job done most of the time and I asked Hill about the idea that this contest seemed like a game of missed opportunities for his team.  "Without a doubt.....We battled for defensive stops and couldn't close possessions with defensive rebounds.  I'm guaranteeing you that that's going to be the story of the game.  We got to the basket and couldn't finish.....It was a tough night for us to not get those balls to drop from two to three feet from the rim.  The girls did an incredible job of getting angles and an incredible job of sharing the ball and creating opportunities to score.  And that's why this game is so great and that's why we love it so much because the ball can bounce your way or the other team's way and it really doesn't have that much to do with game-planning or coaching or talent as much as it does with the way the ball bounces sometime and tonight the ball didn't bounce our way."  I also asked Hill about Weaver; the junior from Poth, Texas and her solid performance off the bench tonight.  "Micah's done that all year long and Micah can start on any team in the country and she does for us sometimes and sometimes she comes off the bench......In fact, one of the reasons we were the type of team we were this year is because when I needed to ask Micah how she felt about coming off the bench, she interrupted me and said, 'Coach, do whatever's best for the team.'  And that just doesn't happen.....She played her role flawlessly all year long for this team and she was the calming presence that we needed in moments where things were getting a little bit rattely and Micah would just make a play; she would just do something to get the team settled down and get us refocused.  I'm SO glad we were able to get her to come to Trinity."

Whitman's Ferenz admitted that her team had to get over a few jitters in the early going.  "I thought we were pretty nervous to start.....And so we got off to a bit of a tough start...Got some good shots...Trinity's pretty athletic so that seemed to set us back a little bit but we adjusted....Taking care of the ball was huge and I thought we did a pretty good job of that......We did a nice job of crashing the boards so I think that gave us the edge because there's other facets of the game that we didn't do so well."  I asked Ferenz how her squad his seemingly come together after a late regular season loss at home to conference rival George Fox.  "I drive them crazy.....But after that George Fox loss, we lost our home court advantage and we haven't been home for forever and we sat down as a group and we really watched film and saw things that we could do better....They could have said that 'George Fox is a really tough place to play at so forget it'.  But they took the challenge.  And I think they grew up a lot taking that challenge and I think that showing up at George Fox (in the NWC Playoffs), making the adjustments and getting the win in a tough environment against a good team that it just kind of snowballed from there.  They needed to get over that hump of playing a tough opponent and getting it done and they did so credit to them.....And we got a lot better in the last two weeks."  I also asked Poe who was in attendance in the press conference about how versatile this team is; i.e., that it seems to favor the half-court game but can also make the most of the transition opportunities it gets which seems to be one of her strengths.  "I like transition but I like both half-court and transition and I think we work well in transition......But I'll take whatever chance I can."  Ferenz also talked about how her squad is used to playing on back-to-back nights as that is how things are done in the Northwest Conference with games on Friday night and Saturday night so this experience isn't anything new for them.

Another reason why Whitman was successful on this night was a very balanced scoring attack as Rommel's 16 points and 10 rebounds for a "double-double" led the way while Poe added 14 points and Brewer chipped in with 11 points.  And probably the only real fly in the ointment for Ferenz and her staff was the fact that the Blues were guilty of 19 turnovers on this night.  Trinity as well had a relatively balanced scoring attack as it was Weaver's 16 points that led the way while Holguin added 15 points and Holland poured in 14 points.  I mentioned the rebounding stat that was in firm control of the Blues on this night but this also contributed to another important stat that often gets overlooked:  Whitman also held a decisive edge in those "second chance" points at 14-3 and an even bigger edge in points in the paint at 42-28.    

Friday, March 10, 2017

Section 5AAAA Championship Game - Centennial vs Park Center 3-9-17


Made my seemingly annual trek up to Anoka on this Thursday night to take in the Section 5AAAA Championship Game between two old Northwest Suburban Conference rivals - Centennial and Park Center.  These two teams had met back in early January at Park Center with the Pirates winning handily but the Cougars had improved mightily since that defeat and now seemingly looked ready to steal the show.  Park Center meanwhile was seeking its fourth straight trip to the Big Stage and everything appeared to be clicking for them at precisely the right time of the season.

Centennial built an early 4-1 lead as a jumper from the right wing by lanky 6'3" sophomore post/forward Sara Stapleton at the 16:10 mark and a short jumper at the 14:40 mark by equally-lanky senior post Sarah Grow had the Cougars in good shape.  Centennial was also employing a 2-3 "match-up" zone on defense in hopes of plugging up the middle but that didn't seem to bother the Pirates in the early going.  Senior sharp-shooting guard Ann Simonet drilled a "3" from the right top area at the 13:58 mark to level the contest at 4 a piece and a lay-up in transition by senior point guard Danielle Schaub at the 12:45 mark forged a 6-all tie.  Simonet wreaked havoc again from three-point land at the 10:49 mark; draining one from the right wing in a transition opportunity to push Park Center ahead 9-6 and one free throw by senior post Mikayla Hayes at the 10:18 mark increased the lead to 10-6.  Cougar junior guard Claire Orth brought her Centennial team back to a single point with her "3" from the left corner at the 9:16 mark but Park Center's Schaub gave the Pirates a bit more breathing room with her lay-up in transition at the 9:06 mark to make it a 12-9 game.

Park Center upped its lead to 14-9 when Hayes connected with a short shot with 8:33 left that made it 14-9 but the Cougars refused to simply wilt and go away.  Junior guard forward Sydney Stapleton knocked down a jumper from the right elbow area with 8:11 left and a "3" from the left wing by senior guard Nikki Clark with 7:51 left had the game knotted at 14 a piece.  Simonet put the Pirates back out in front 17-14 with her "3" from the right wing area with 7:07 left but that didn't deter Centennial as an Orth lay-up in transition with 6:41 left and a Grow jumper from the free throw line with 6:03 left shoved the Cougars back out in front by a count of 18-17.  Then Grow struck again with 5:43 left when she scored in the paint and drew a foul in the process and the ensuing "and one" now had Centennial up 21-17.  The Pirates then embarked on a 6-0 push to reclaim the advantage as an offensive rebound and putback by Hayes with 5:19 left and another lay-up in transition by the wily Schaub with 4:33 left tied things up again at 21 a piece and a score in the paint by Hayes with 3:39 left now had Park Center back out in front 23-21.  But the Cougars would end the first half on a 5-0 spurt to take a 26-23 lead into the locker room at the half as Centennial had the luxury of being in the bonus down the stretch.  Sophomore reserve guard Taylor McAulay knocked down two free throws after being fouled with 2:38 left and two more by Grow with 2:25 left had the Cougars back out in front 25-23 and one more by Orth with 1:56 left made it a 26-23 game.  Both teams missed out on scoring opportunities in the waning moments but Centennial Head Coach Jill Becken had to be pleased seeing her team doing well against a seasoned and experienced opponent - and with a three-point lead to boot.

The early moments of the second half were a bit ominous for the Cougars as Sara Stapleton was tagged with her third foul at the 15:37 mark.  Speedy Park Center sophomore guard Sommer Blakemore was the beneficiary of the moment and she promptly dropped two free throws to cut Centennial's lead down to a scant point at 26-25 but a 5-0 Cougar spurt seemed to erase that bad moment.  Sydney Stapleton connected with a jumper from the left elbow area at the 14:25 mark and then it was McAulay dropping a three-point bomb with cool aplomb from the left wing area that had the Centennial contingent roaring as the Cougars now held claim to a 31-25 advantage.  Two free throws by Grow at the 12:13 mark expanded the lead to seven points at 33-26 and now there was some genuine worry in the Park Center fan base as Centennial not only had the lead but seemed to be controlling the tempo to their liking as well.  An alarmed Pirate squad then proceeded to go on a 7-0 run to tie the game.  Blakemore connected on a short turnaround jumper at the 11:15 mark and Simonet unleashed another one of her trademark three-point bombs - this one from the top of the key at the 10:34 mark that had Park Center back to within a single possession trailing 33-31.  Slender junior guard Meghan DuBois' lay-up in transition at the 9:19 mark knotted the contest again at 33 a piece and you just knew that this one had all the makings of a possible classic with so much at stake.

The Cougars then poked their nose out in front again as Clark made a pretty move along the left baseline for a finish off the glass with 8:13 left and then Orth found a crack in Park Center's defense and slithered through for a lay-up with 7:26 left for a 37-33 Centenial lead.  The Pirates slimmed the deficit down to a scant point when Blakemore drained a "3" from the right top area with 7:17 left and two free throws by Schaub with 5:51 left tied the game at 38.  But getting their nose back out in front was proving to be an arduous task up to this point anyway for Park Center and the Cougars were doing everything possible to try and make sure that that didn't happen.  Sydney Stapleton connected with a jumper from the right elbow area with 5:28 left for a 40-38 Centennial lead and although Hayes would cut the deficit down to one point for the Pirates with her free throw with 5:14 left, you just couldn't help but wonder if possibly the sands of time were finally running out on Park Center's hope to return to state for a fourth consecutive season.  The Cougars were not going away anytime soon and they seemed to have an answer for everything that was being thrown at them.  But it's a funny thing in a highly competitive situation when you're in a tight contest and you just feel a sudden sense of urgency to raise the level of your game that will help you pave the way to ultimate victory. And Park Center, when at a crucial stage of the game with everything hanging in the balance, found a way to do just that.  Simonet, getting just enough of a good look from behind the arc in the right wing area, launched a bomb with 4:43 left that finally pushed the Pirates ahead for good at 42-40.  But Park Center committed a grievous error on the ensuing Centennial possession as Sydney Stapleton was fouled from behind the arc with 4:31 left.  Unfortunately for the Cougars, the lanky 5'10" junior could only get one of the three free throw attempts to go down and Park Center dodged a huge bullet late.  As such, Schaub extended the Pirate lead to three points on her two free throws with 4:10 left and two more by Blakemore with 3:34 left now had Park Center up by five at 46-41 and even worse for the Cougars was the fact that now Orth was gone; collecting her fifth foul of the night.  Sara Stapleton helped Centennial get back to within a single possession as she was able to knock down two free throws with 3:22 left but they couldn't stop the Pirates on their ensuing possession as they went straight to Hayes who rolled the dice and scored inside with 2:54 left that again had Park Center up five points at 48-43.  Sydney Stapleton made up for those missed free throws earlier by knocking down a jumper from the right elbow with 2:36 left that again had the Cougars down a single possession trailing 48-45.  It was here that Park Center may have played a bit of a dangerous game; going into a stall to try and eat up clock.  Blakemore was finally fouled with 1:00 left and was able to get the back-end free throw attempt to go down for a 49-45 Pirate lead.  On Centennial's ensuing possession, Sydney Stapleton was fouled with :50.8 left but she was unable to get either free throw attempt to go down and now the Pirates finally had a real chance to close this one out.  Schaub would drop one free throw with :36.9 left and two more by Blakemore with :22.5 left and one by Schaub with :09.6 left allowed Park Center to escape with a harrowing 53-46 win to punch its ticket to the State Tournament for the fourth time in a row.

I was able to catch up with an elated Schaub who was soaking in the moment.  I asked her if she and her Pirate teammates could make some noise this time around in the state tournament next week.  "We weren't seeded last year but we're older now and we're more mature and smarter now so I feel like we could really surprise some teams."  Park Center Head Coach Chris VanderHyde; now going to his fourth state tournament in as many seasons with the Pirates, was equally elated.  I mentioned to him that I thought his squad's experience in these types of situations played huge dividends down the stretch.  "Yeah....Fortunately we were able to keep the game tight enough so that we were able to use that experience.....I've got to give a lot of credit to Centennial....They had a great gameplan.  They played well and took away everything we were trying to do all night long.  They've got enough playmakers on the floor to do things to their advantage and Jill (Becken) is a phenomenal coach and gets them ready every night.....They're a terrific team and they're as good as any we'll face next week and I was impressed that our girls didn't crack under all that pressure.....When we got down by seven, it could have been easy for us to say 'We don't have it tonight' but we fought back, kept fighting and that was the difference in the game....We did not give in.  We did not give in."  I also asked VanderHyde if his team is primed to do some damage at the State Tournament this next week given that they're a year older and a year more experienced in the Class AAAA setting.  "Well, I hope so....I don't know....I mean you never know.......You start from the beginning.....There's a lot of great teams and I have no idea what happened in the other sections tonight but there's going to be a lot of great teams in the field next week and we'll find out who we match up with tomorrow.....They're going to be a great team.....And it's going to take a lot of preparation to beat 'em.....The experience is something you remember but it's not something you can rely on to win basketball games."

Park Center had an incredibly balanced scoring attack on this night that helped pave the way to victory with four players in double-figures.  Simonet; with her three-point prowess, led the way with 15 points while Blakemore was right behind with 13 points.  Schaub added 12 points while Hayes chipped in with 10 points.  Grow was the only player for Centennial in double-figures with her 13 points.  While definitely a disappointing finish for the Cougars, there's no question that Jill Becken has this program headed in the right direction and the fact that they made it to the Section Championship Game in her first year back at the helm in Circle Pines speaks volumes, IMHO, on how good a coach she really is and the potential that lies ahead for this Centennial program.  They lose some nice seniors in Clark, Grow, along with reserves Laura Gallup, Bridget Bolkcom and McKenna Gieske but they have an exciting young group coming up including the Stapleton Sisters (Sydney and Sara) along with Orth so the future is definitely bright.

Sadly, this game ends my coverage of high school basketball this season.  I'll be at the State Tournament next week but strictly as a fan because of recent decisions made by the MSHSL and I'll have more - much more- to say about this by the first part of this next week.  I hope that you'll get a chance to take it in as I will because it is truly an enjoyable experience and you get a chance to see the top teams in action.  Congratulations Park Center on your Section 5AAAA championship!!

Monday, March 6, 2017

NCAA Tournament 2nd Round Game - Chicago vs UST 3-4-17


After a busy afternoon at Anoka High School, I made the trek over to the St. Paul side of town and back over to Schoenecker Arena on the campus of UST for Saturday evening's second-round NCAA Tournament game between Chicago and UST.  The Maroons shocked Wartburg on Friday night while the Tommies blew past UW-Superior in their opening round game.  You just knew that this game would be an intense, high-quality game and those in Schoenecker Arena on this night definitely got their money's worth.

Chicago started red-hot from the opening tip-off getting out to a 5-0 lead on a "3" from the right wing area by junior guard Elizabeth Nye at the 9:25 mark and a lay-up in transition by senior forward Britta Nordstrom at the 9:12 mark.  But right back came the Tommies as sophomore guard Lucia Renikoff dropped a three-point bomb from the right wing area at the 8:58 mark and another "3" - this one from junior guard/forward Lauren Fischer from the top of the key after a steal  at the 8:44 mark - pushed UST ahead 6-5.  Both sides would trade one point leads over the next two minutes but with the Maroons holding a 9-8 advantage, two free throws by Tommie senior guard Gabby Zehrer at the 6:53 mark and a score in the paint by senior post Kaitlin Langer at the 6:16 mark had UST up 12-9.  A jumper in the lane by junior reserve guard Maddie Wolkow with 4:48 left maintained the three-point edge at 14-11 and two free throws by Renikoff with 3:58 left had the Tommies up by five at 16-11.  But right back came Chicago with a 6-0 push that allowed them to poke their nose out in front. Freshman guard Miranda Burt; who shot down Wartburg the previous night, drained a "3" from the right corner with 3:39 left and a drive and finish underneath by freshman reserve guard Mia Farrell with 2:58 left knotted the contest at 16 a piece.  One free throw by sophomore forward Olariche Obi with 2:13 left gave the Maroons that one-point lead at 17-16.  UST reclaimed that edge when sophomore reserve post Hannah Spaulding got into the paint for a score with 1:05 left in the opening period but a lay-up in transition after a steal by Nordstrom with :25 left gave Chicago the lead back at 19-18 to close out a wild and wooly first period.

The back-and-forth nature of this one continued in the early moments of the second period.  A "3" from the left top area by lefty senior guard Paige Gernes gave the Tommies the lead back at 21-19 but Chicago answered that with a "3" from the left corner by sophomore reserve guard Alyssa Clemente at the 8:07 mark to make it 22-21 Maroons.  Two free throws by Kaitlin Langer gave the Tommies the lead back at 23-22 at the 7:52 mark but this is where Chicago made its first significant move of the evening as they embarked on a 9-0 run.  Freshman reserve guard/forward Taylor Lake knocked down a short shot off the glass at the 7:27 mark and another Clemente three-point bomb - this one from the right wing area at the 5:59 mark - gave the Maroons a four-point lead at 27-23.  Farrell would be fouled in a transition opportunity with 4:53 left and she dropped two free throws for a 29-23 Chicago lead and a score in the paint by Lake with 4:21 left pushed the lead to 31-23 before the Tommies recovered on a "3" by Wolkow from the right wing area with 3:57 left.  UST would close the gap to one possession as one Gernes free throw with 1:20 left and a steal and lay-up the other way by Fischer with 1:16 left cut the Maroon lead down to 32-29.  A score in the paint by Lake with 1:00 left gave Chicago a bit more breathing room with a 34-29 lead but two free throws by Langer with :24.7 left and a "3" from the right top area by Wolkow with just one tick left before the halftime intermission had this contest leveled at 34-all as both teams headed for the locker room.  A quick check of the first half box score reveals that rebounds were nearly dead-even as well with the Maroons holding a 16-15 edge and both teams were pretty efficient from the charity stripe as well.  Hence, the 34-all tie at the half.

Chicago was able to make another decisive move in the opening moments of the third period as a drive and lay-up by Nordstrom at the 9:37 mark and a Nordstrom lay-up at the 8:56 mark gave the Maroons a 38-35 lead.  Even worse for UST was that Langer was tagged with her third foul of the evening at the 7:29 mark and Tommie Head Coach Ruth Sinn was not going to take any chances with her All-American post and had to yank the Stillwater native to sit a spell on the pine.  The Maroons increased their advantage as Nye unleashed a "3" from the left corner at the 7:10 mark and two freebies by Farrell at the 6:34 mark now had Chicago up by eight at 43-35.  An 8-1 Tommie push tightened things up as Spaulding got into the paint for a score at the 5:48 mark and a short jumper in the lane by Wolkow at the 5:13 mark cut the Maroon lead down to 43-39.  A Renikoff jumper in the lane with 3:22 left had UST back to within a single possession trailing 44-41 and two Spaulding charity stripe shots with 2:17 left cut the deficit to a single point at 44-43.  Chicago increased its lead to 46-43 with 2:02 left as Lake connected with a lay-up but right back came the Tommies as a score in the paint by Langer; who was riding those three fouls, cut the deficit to one at 46-45 and two Zehrer free throws with :43 left now pushed UST back out in front 47-46.  But the Maroons would reclaim the advantage when Farrell knocked down a short jumper from the left elbow area with :31 left and it was clear that the Tommies would have their work cut out for them if they wanted to advance to the Round of 16.

Those in attendance in Schoenecker Arena were held in suspense as the teams kept trading punches. Obi's offensive rebound for a putback at the 9:47 mark of the fourth period upped Chicago's lead to 50-47 but the Tommies would take the lead right back as an offensive rebound and putback by Langer at the 9:14 mark and a drive and finish by Fischer at the 8:39 mark had UST back out in front 51-50.  Obi; one of the Maroons big targets down low, collected her fourth foul of the evening at the 8:17 mark but that didn't seem to deter Chicago as they reclaimed the edge on a pretty reverse lay-up by Nordstrom at the 7:38 mark.  Renikoff gave her Tommie team the lead back at 53-52 with her lay-up at the 7:24 mark but one free throw by Chicago's Nye at the 5:10 mark tied the game at 53 a piece. Langer gave UST the lead back with 4:43 left with her lay-up but, up to this point anyway, the Tommies just weren't able to shake their opponent like they normally do by this point and it was clear that someone was going to have to step up and make a play - a big play - to get this thing going in their direction once and for all.  With 3:54 left in the game, UST found that someone in Renikoff; the former Minneapolis Washburn standout.  Nursing that 55-53 lead, Renikoff made a hard drive in traffic and put up a shot.  Although she couldn't connect with it, she certainly didn't give up on the play.  She was able to snare the offensive rebound of her own miss and get a putback that also drew a foul and you could see by her and her teammates reactions how that suddenly energized them. Renikoff sank the obligatory free throw and now the Tommies were up 58-53 and now Chicago was going to have to find a way to come back being down two possessions.  Two Obi free throws with 3:26 left brought the Maroons back to within a single possession at 58-55 but they needed to get a stop as well and a Langer lay-up with 3:16 left along with two Langer free throws with 2:45 left foiled that objective with UST now up 62-55.  And when Langer was able to snare an offensive rebound for a putback with 1:52 left, Chicago now found themselves down by nine at 64-55 and Maroon Head Coach Carissa Sain Knoche promptly called a timeout.  Chicago came out of the stoppage in play and was able to go on a quick 4-0 push as Obi was able to snare an offensive rebound for a putback with 1:21 left and a lay-up by senior guard Stephanie Anderson with :43 left cut the Tommie lead down to 64-59.  But the Maroons were now also forced to foul as well and two free throws by Gernes with :42.2 left and two more by Wolkow with :31.2 left gave UST a seemingly good safety net up by seven at 68-61.  Nordstrom's offensive rebound for a putback with :13.1 left cut the deficit down to five points for Chicago at 68-63 but two more free throws by the Tommies' Renikoff with :12.4 left gave UST what appeared to be a safe 70-63 advantage.  Incredibly, the Maroons were able to get back to within a single possession as Burt drained a "3" from the right wing area with :07 left that made it a 70-66 game and Chicago immediately fouled Renikoff on the ensuing inbounds pass.  But Renikoff was only able to get one of the two free throw attempts to go down and right back came the Maroons who raced down the court.  Nordstrom connected with a lay-up with :01.7 left and was fouled in the process but the Scottsdale, Arizona native was unable to knock down the obligatory free throw.  Anderson, however, was able to snare the offensive rebound of the missed free throw and she was promptly fouled by UST's Wolkow with :00.2 left.  The tension was real with the Tommies suddenly clinging to a 71-68 lead but Anderson was only able to get the back-end attempt to go down that cut UST's lead down to two points at 71-69.  The Maroons immediately fouled Gernes on UST's inbounds pass but this time Gernes, the former Winona Cotter standout, made no mistake and got both free throw attempts to go down and Chicago was out of miracles as the Tommies claimed a thrilling, hard-fought 73-69 win to advance to the Round of 16.

A somewhat exhausted and disappointed Sain Knoche spoke afterward about how proud she was of her team and the way they competed.  "I thought it was a great game.....Really proud of the way we competed and how hard we played.  It was fun to be a part of that experience tonight.  I thought our kids rose to the occasion and I'm just really proud of them."  I asked Sain Knoche about how I felt her team seemed to control the tempo for the most part of the game and seemed to have the upper hand before things went awry late.  "You're not going to push the ball and turn it over so I thought it was important for us to get 'good' possessions.....Those were coming off a lot of made baskets....The tempo slowed and we gave up a couple baskets."  Nordstrom and Anderson, the two seniors on this squad, were in the press conference as well and Nordstrom talked about how much the players on this team love each other.  "I've never been on a team that's cared so much about each other and cared so much about getting each other better every single day and support each other in every single way on and off the court.  It's honestly incredible and that just reflect how we take care of each other."  Sain Knoche added that "I think we play the toughest schedule in the country.....We typically play a top five SOS (strength of schedule).  I'm not trying to do that.  It's just the nature of the beast."  Indeed, I was astonished to find out that Chicago actually played sixteen teams that made the NCAA Tournament field this year.  That is truly incredible and it's no wonder that Chicago is as good as they are.  On the UST side, a happy and proud Head Coach Ruth Sinn along with Langer and Renikoff were in the press conference room and Sinn talked about what a great game this was.  "That had to have been a great game if you were just a fan.  It was a game of plays.  It was a game of intense defense.  I give Chicago a lot of credit.  They're a great defensive team and they play so hard.  They did a lot of things that caused us to really look at and see how we were attacking and how we were going so it was a fun game......But I do give a lot of credit to our guards.  Lucia Renikoff and Maddie Wolkow did a great job of stepping up and keeping their poise.....and looking to drive and 'kick' and Kaitlin (Langer) did a great job at the end."  Sinn also said that Chicago gave her squad the hardest defensive pressure they've faced all season and thought that her squad did a much better job in the second half of handling the pressure that the Maroons were putting on them.  I asked Renikoff about the game-changing moment in that fourth period with 3:54 left when she snared an offensive rebound for a putback that really seemed to turn the tide in UST's favor.  "I think energy plays like that are what get our defense going; especially we're communicating more.....we got that energy on defense and I think it became more of a 'we need to get stops' and that's what we did....Just finding a way on the defensive end."

One of the things that helped UST on this night was an incredibly balanced scoring attack that saw three players in double-figures scoring-wise.  A fantastic night for Langer as she not only led the way with 19 points but also had 10 rebounds in the process for a "double-double".  A solid night for Renikoff as well as she tallied 17 points and Wolkow chipped in with 12 points.  Chicago, too, had a balanced scoring attack on this night as well.  Nordstrom also recorded a "double-double" with 18 points and 12 rebounds while both Obi and Farrell chipped in with 10 points.  Rebounds were nearly dead-even with the Maroons holding a 36-35 edge but Chicago had more turnovers than UST did at 18-14.  One item that may haunt Chicago's Sain Knoche and her players for some nights to come was free throw shooting where the Maroons shot only 11-20 for 55% for the game compared to UST's 26-32 for 81.3%.  In a close game such as this; especially in an NCAA Tournament game with everything hanging in the balance, that will more often than not come back to bite you in the end.