NCAA Tournament 1st Round Game - Wartburg vs Chicago 3-3-17

Made my way over to Schoenecker Arena on the campus of UST on this late Friday afternoon to take in the first round games of the 2017 Women's NCAA Tournament.  The first game on this Friday evening would feature an interesting contest as Wartburg, the champions of the IIAC and sporting a solid 25-2 record taking on Chicago out of the University Athletic Association sporting an 18-7 record.  The Knights shocked the entire Division III world last season making it all the way to the Final Four before falling to Tufts.  This time around, Wartburg wouldn't have the luxury of sneaking up on anybody and now had adopted the role of the hunted rather than the hunter.

The Knights would jump out to an early 4-0 lead thanks to a lay-up by junior guard Kristie Sommer at the 9:46 mark and a jumper in the lane by fellow junior guard Morgan Nuendorf at the 8:29 mark but Chicago would soon take the initiative and embark on a 9-0 push.  Freshman reserve guard Mia Farrell connected with a short jumper from the left side at the 7:22 mark and two free throws by freshman reserve guard/forward Taylor Lake at the 7:05 mark tied the contest.  The Maroons got their nose out in front on a "3" from the left wing area by senior guard Stephanie Anderson at the 6:25 mark and an offensive rebound by senior forward Britta Nordstrom at the 5:44 mark capped the run for a 9-4 Chicago advantage.  Sophomore reserve post Adriene Boettger helped Wartburg close the gap to two points as she scored in the paint at the 5:15 mark and drew a foul in the process and the resulting "and one" made it a 9-7 game.  But the Maroons would step on the gas pedal again as a "3" by Lake from the left corner with 4:56 left and a lay-up by freshman guard Miranda Burt with 4:30 left doubled up the Knights at 14-7.  Nordstrom's lay-up with 4:03 left upped the lead to 16-7 before Wartburg could slice into the deficit on a "3" by freshman reserve forward Emma Gerdes with 3:27 left that trimmed the Maroon lead down to 16-10.  But Chicago's three-point show was just getting started as Burt put a hurt on the Knights with back-to-back treys - one from the right top area with 3:07 left and another from the top of the key with 2:30 left that suddenly gave the Maroons a double-digit lead at 22-10.  Wartburg was able to get back into single-digit range before the end of the opening period on two free throws by junior post Aryn Jones with 1:55 left and a lay-up in transition by junior guard Katie Sommer with :26 left in the opening period but, trailing 22-14, the Knights had a lot of work in front of them and had to find a way to slow this red-hot Chicago team.

Wartburg looked as if it were in the process of closing the gap further (albeit slowly) in the opening moments of the second period.  Jones knocked down one free throw at the 9:49 mark and a short, pull-up jumper by Nuendorf at the 9:18 mark cut the Maroons lead down to 24-17.  Two Jones' free throws at the 8:38 mark now had the deficit down to five points at 24-19 but Chicago would find a way to widen the margin again.  Burt uncorked another three-point bomb - this one from the left top area at the 8:10 mark and an offensive rebound and putback by Anderson that also drew a foul and her "and one" at the 7:06 mark got the lead back up to nine points at 30-21.  Junior guard Elizabeth Nye found her touch from behind the arc as she uncorked a "3" from the right corner at the 5:32 mark that gave the Maroons a double-digit lead at 30-23 and then Burt delivered another back-breaking "3" - this one from the top of the key at the 5:09 mark - that expanded Chicago's lead to 36-23 and the Knights were right back at Square One again.  Wartburg would find a way to get back into single-digit range again on a 5-0 push as junior forward Miranda Murphy knocked down a jumper from the left elbow area with 4:52 left and also sank one freebie with 3:59 left getting things back into the ten-point range 36-26.  Kristie Sommer's lay-up in transition with 3:41 left cut Chicago's lead down to 36-28 and it looked as if the Knights might get things very close again before the half.  But the Maroons kept going bombs away from behind the arc.  Burt nailed another one with 3:28 left from the top of the key and sophomore reserve guard Jamie Kockenmeister drained one from the right corner with 2:43 left for a 42-30 Chicago lead.  The Knights would again get the deficit back down to eight points down the stretch before the halftime buzzer as Jones got into the paint for a score with 2:24 left and Nuendorf connected with a short, turnaround jumper with :22 left as both teams headed to the locker room for the halftime intermission.  Chicago seemed to have all the momentum on its side and shooting 9-16 from behind the arc for 56.3% in that first half certainly played a big part in that.  While the Knights did hold a slim 16-15 edge on the boards in the first half, the fact that they shot only 1-7 from behind the arc for a measly 14.3% seemed to offset that and Wartburg Head Coach Bob Amsberry and his staff were going to have to find some answers to cool off that hot Maroon three-point shooting.  Another bothersome first half number that likely had to grab Amsberry's attention as well:  The Knights were guilty of 16 first half turnovers.

Wartburg appeared to be on the verge of closing space in the opening moments of the third period as a score in the paint by Murphy at the 7:12 mark and a Katie Sommer lay-up at the 6:07 mark whittled the Maroon lead down to 43-38.  But getting back to a single possession anytime soon proved to be a tough endeavor for the Knights as Chicago was able to create more breathing room for itself. Nordstrom connected on a pretty reverse lay-up at the 5:40 mark and although the Scottsdale, Arizona native would get tagged with her third foul a bit later, Burt increased the Maroons lead to nine points at 47-38 with her lay-up after a steal with 4:17 left.  Wartburg responded with a 5-0 burst as a score in the paint by Jones with 3:05 left and a "3" from the left corner by Murphy with 1:19 left cut the deficit down to four points at 47-43.  One free throw by Boettger with just :02.8 left in the period kept the deficit at four points at 48-44 so, on the one hand, while the Knights were able to choke off the three-point slaying that did them in the first half, they were still missing out on opportunities that could have brought them even closer and assorted miscues here and there were not helping their cause either.

Wartburg finally got the game back to within a single possession at the 9:44 mark of the fourth and final period when Boettger snared an offensive rebound for a putback that made it a 48-46 ballgame. The Maroons got the lead back up to four points at 50-46 when Lake sneaked into the paint for a score but the Knights whittled things down to a single tantalizing point when Nuendorf unleashed a "3" from the right wing area at the 8:07 mark that made it a 50-49 game and many inside Schoenecker Arena (including your's truly) thought that this would be where Wartburg would regain control of things after bumbling and stumbling around for so long.  But a cool and collected Chicago team righted itself and got itself some more breathing room again.  Nordstrom; riding those three fouls, connected on a pretty one-handed shot in the lane at the 6:56 mark and two free throws by sophomore forward Olariche Obi at the 6:19 mark increased the Maroon's safety net with a 54-49 lead.  Undaunted, Wartburg again attempted to usurp control.  Jones got into the paint for a score with 4:57 left and a Katie Sommer lay-up in transition with 4:22 left again cut things down to a single scant point at 54-53.  Chicago would respond on a score in the paint by Obi with 3:53 left and two charity stripe shots by Nye with 3:00 left got the lead back up to 58-53 but the Knights had another charge left in them.  Nuendorf knocked down a jumper along the left baseline with 2:48 left and a drive and finish by Murphy with 2:11 left once again had things down to a single point at 58-57.  Finally, finally, after much ado, Katie Sommer allowed Wartburg to poke its nose out in front for the first time in the contest since the early moments of the first period when she connected with a lay-up with 1:42 left that gave the Knights a 59-58 advantage and Chicago Head Coach Carissa Sain Knoche called a timeout to get her squad calmed down.  That stoppage in play not only allowed the Maroons to catch their breath but clear their heads as well and they recovered to retake and keep the lead.  Obi snared an offensive rebound of her own miss for a putback with 1:25 left that put Chicago back in front 60-59 and then on the ensuing Knight possession, Burt was able to snare a steal and dash the other way for a lay-up with 1:01 left to increase the Maroon lead to 62-59.  Wartburg's Amsberry called a timeout and though the Knights were still certainly within striking distance in a one-possession ballgame, the brief euphoria they enjoyed when they got the lead quickly vanished and now they were in a fight for their tournament life.  Jones helped Wartburg close the gap to a single point again with her offensive rebound and putback with :43 left but the Knights would never get closer again.  Chicago's Obi was fouled with :33.4 left and got the back-end of the two-shot attempt to go down for a 63-61 lead.  Still with a chance, the Knights were forced to call a timeout with :23.4 left when they were unable to get off the inbounds pass in time.  Though they were able to inbounds the ball on the next try, Murphy's three-point attempt with :19 left missed its intended mark and Burt was there for the rebound for the Maroons.  The Knoxville, Tennessee native was promptly fouled and she trotted the other way to the line for two dagger free throws that made it a 65-61 game with :18.2 left.  Down two possessions, Wartburg needed some sort of miracle but it simply wasn't there for them on this night.  Katie Sommer was fouled with :07.7 left and she sank two free throws that cut the deficit down to two points at 65-63 but again they needed to get a quick stop or a steal.  Chicago's Sain Knoche called another timeout to get her squad readied and Nye was quickly fouled with :06.4 left.  The junior from Chicago calmly dropped two critical freebies that made it 67-63 and the Knights were out of any tricks to pull as the buzzer sounded ending their season.

Wartburg's Amsberry was quick to the point in the press conference afterward.  "We ran into a very good team and I knew that coming in" he said.  "We tried to simulate their pressure in practice but that was impossible" he added.  Amsberry was also quick to take responsibility for the three-point barrage that got his squad into a hole in the first half.  "I made a huge mistake......I thought in the first half I stayed in a zone too long and they hit a bunch of three's on us and we should have pulled out of that earlier."  But Amsberry praised his squad with how they were able to tighten things up on the defensive front after the halftime break.  "I was really proud of how we defended in the third quarter....held them to six points."  About the tail end of the game when things went awry for his squad, "We take the lead and then they had big-time players make big-time plays."  I asked Amsberry specifically about the the spotty three-point shooting on this night (going 3-17 for 17.6%) and problematic free throw shooting as well (12-18 for 66.7%).  "I think when we got some open looks behind the three-point line, we may have rushed it a little bit."  I also asked Amsberry about if the approach to this year's NCAA Tournament might have been a bit different than last year's approach given the circumstances and the fact that the Knights didn't have the luxury of being able to sneak up on anyone this time around given that (I thought anyway) they were now wearing a target on their back.  But Amsberry quickly pooh-poohed that notion.  "Everybody has a target on their back in the NCAA Tournament" he replied.  I also asked Katie Sommer about being part of a pretty solid core group of juniors coming back next year and how this game makes them hungry for next year.  "We're really excited about next year" she said.  "We're ready to go but coach (Amsberry) said we need to take a break so we'll rest for a little bit and get back after it."  Chicago's Sain Knoche said afterward that "I'm just really proud of how our team competed.......We've had a heck of a lot of tests and this was another one."  Sain Knoche also thought that her team handled things well down the stretch when things got tight and the Knights took a brief one-point lead.  I asked her about her squad's hot three-point shooting effort in the first half and she actually credited her squad's defensive efforts that helped lead to those subsequent three-point bombs.  "They dropped back into that zone and we were able to get three's out of it......We just had the right people in the right spots."  Sain Knoche was also asked if there was ever any sense of panic when Wartburg took that one-point lead late.  "This team has been there before - a lot" she said.  "We've come out on the wrong side of these a few times before so this is where I'm most proud tonight."

Not surprisingly it was the freshman, Burt, who led the way for the Maroons on this night with her 23 points with most of the damage being from downtown as she was 5-6 from behind the arc on this night - and the only Chicago player in double-figures scoring-wise.  Wartburg on the other hand had a very balanced attack with four players in double-figures.  Jones and Nuendorf each scored 13 points while Murphy and Katie Sommer each chipped in with 12 points a piece.  Obviously, the spotty three-point shooting and somewhat dismal performance from the charity stripe did in the Knights on this night.  Surprisingly, Chicago only outrebounded Wartburg by only two at 40-38 but it seemed like a lot more.  One statistic that often doesn't get pointed out is steals and the Maroons had a solid night on this front getting 12 steals while Wartburg could only force half as many.