Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League Results For Wednesday 6-21-17

Here are the results from last night's action at the Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League.  First, I want to apologize for not being able to get the action from the previous Wednesday night (6-14) as I had a good buddy of mine who was experiencing sciatic nerve issues in his back and had to take him to the hospital.  He's doing much better now.  :)


5:00 P.M. Games

Winona State - 63
Southwest Minnesota State - 37

Luther - 58
NIACC - 55


5:55 P.M. Games

Winona State - 57
GAC Black - 33

Bethel - 69
UW-River Falls #2 - 45


6:50 P.M. Games

Hamline - 33
St. Olaf - 28

UW-River Falls #1 - 50
SMU - 47  OT


7:45 P.M. Games

UST Alumni - 35
St. Kate's - 31

GAC Gold - 39
Lady Hawks - 17


8:40 P.M. Games

Concordia St. Paul - 42
Augsburg - 31

B Ballers - 62
Retirees - 32


In the 5:00 P.M. slot over on Court 1, a battle between two NSIC rivals was raging as the Winona State team was able to build a 16-10 advantage by the end of the first period and although the Southwest Minnesota State team briefly closed within a single possession at 19-17 midway through the second period, things quickly snowballed from there as the Winona State team closed out the second period on a 19-2 blitz for a 33-19 lead by the half and they cruised from then on.  Over on Court 2, the two teams from Iowa were going at it as the NIACC team was able to get a 16-12 lead by the end of the first period on the Luther team.  The NIACC team was able to forge a 19-14 advantage midway through the second period but the Luther team was able to close the gap down to a single point trailing 28-27 at the half.  The Luther team tied the contest at 34 a piece midway through the third period and held a 37-35 advantage shortly thereafter but the NIACC team recovered just enough to regain the lead at 39-37 going into the fourth period.  This back-and-forth affair went Luther's way in the fourth period as they held a 46-44 edge midway through the fourth period and they increased that lead to 51-44 a bit later but some fabulous three-point shooting brought the NIACC team back to within a single possession trailing 58-55 late in the game but the Luther team was able to run out the clock.

The Winona State team was doing double-duty on this night as they took on the GAC Black team over on Court 1 in the 5:55 P.M. slot.  Here, the GAC Black team jumped out to an early 6-0 lead but the Winona State team was able to reduce that deficit to a single point at 8-7 by the end of the first period.  Superior size and a big rebounding edge allowed the Winona State team to go on a 10-0 run to open the second period for an 18-7 lead and they held a 20-10 advantage midway through the second period and they held a comfortable 32-17 lead by the half.  The GAC Black team was able to reduce the deficit back down to ten points at 36-26 midway through the third period but the Winona State team wasted little time building the cushion back up to fourteen points at 42-28 by the end of the third period and had things in cruise control the rest of the way.  Over on Court 2, the Bethel team jumped out to a 9-2 lead on some hot three-point shooting against the UW-River Falls #2 team in a MIAC-WIAC clash but the UW-River Falls #2 team was able to bring things back down to a single solitary point trailing 13-12 and they were still within a single possession trailing 17-14 by the end of the first period.  An 11-2 run by the Bethel team to begin the second period changed things for good in this one as they held a 28-16 lead midway through the second period and followed that up with a 12-0 blitz to hold a commanding 40-16 lead by the half.  The UW-River Falls #2 team could never really recover from that as the Bethel team was up 52-28 by the end of the third period and they rolled from there.

An all MIAC-clash was underway over on Court 1 in the 6:50 P.M. slot as the Hamline team jumped out to an 8-1 lead on a cold-shooting St. Olaf team by the end of the first period and a swarming and pesky trapping defense led by junior-to-be Alaina Quaranta made life miserable for the St. Olaf team as they struggled through much of the second period trying to find their shooting touch.  Quaranta drained a "3" midway through the second period that had the Hamline team up 11-6 but the St. Olaf team finally found some offense late in the second period to close the gap to two points at 13-11 and the Hamline team held a somewhat tenuous 17-13 advantage by the halftime break.  The Hamline team maintained that four-point edge at 23-19 by the end of the third period and although the St. Olaf team had numerous opportunities to close the gap in the fourth period, they were again doomed with cold shooting as the Hamline team gradually built the lead up to eight points at 29-21 in the final period to get the win.  Meanwhile over on Court 2, one of the better games of the night was taking place as the UW-River Falls #1 team jumped out to a 7-2 lead on the SMU team but the SMU team recovered from that as they closed the gap to two points by the end of the first period trailing 10-8. The UW-River Falls #1 team stepped on the accelerator again in the second period to forge a 21-16 advantage and held a 27-20 lead by the halftime break.  But the SMU team was again able to stave off seeming disaster as they embarked on an 8-0 run to begin the third period to grab a 28-27 lead before the UW-River Falls #1 team could recover just enough to hold a slim 39-36 lead going into the fourth period.  The SMU team opened up the fourth period with a 7-0 run to claim a 43-39 lead but the UW-River Falls #1 team was able to knot the contest at 47 a piece late in the fourth quarter and both squads missed out on late opportunities to win the contest in regulation.  In the extra two-minute overtime session, a three-point shot by the UW-River Falls #1 team was the difference as they escaped with a narrow victory.

In the 7:45 P.M. slot, I was joined by St. Kate's Assistant Coach Tim Kjar as we watched the St. Kate's team battle an experienced UST Alumni team on Court 1 but that didn't seem to deter the St. Kate's team as they were deadlocked at 5-all midway through the first period and were right in the thick of things trailing 14-10 going into the second period.  Things would stay tight in the second period as the St. Kate's team was able to tie the contest at 14 a piece midway through the second period and only a late free throw by recently graduated All-American post Kaitlin Langer allowed the UST Alumni team to hold a 19-18 lead by the halftime break.  The St. Kate's team was able to grab their first lead of the contest at 20-19 on a jumper by senior-to-be Alexis Garcia and a Garcia "3" had this game knotted at 27 a piece going into the fourth period.  But, just as she did during her UST career, Langer took over this game in the fourth period when the UST Alumni team needed her the most as they escaped with a tough four-point win.  Over on Court 2, the GAC Gold team took on the Lady Hawks team and the GAC Gold team led by juniors-to-be Brooke Lemke and Justine Lee shut down the Lady Hawks team as they got out to a 10-4 lead by the end of the first period and methodically increased the lead to eight points at 14-6 midway through the second period and 20-12 by the half.  The GAC Gold team got the lead 27-14 at the end of the third period and held the Lady Hawks team to just three points in the fourth and final period.

In the 8:40 P.M. slot, the Concordia St. Paul team was battling the Augsburg team on Court one in a NSIC-MIAC clash and the Concordia St. Paul team was able to use its size and rebounding advantage to hold a 10-5 lead by the end of the first period.  A 10-1 run by the Concordia St. Paul team pushed that lead to 20-6 late in the second period and they looked to be firmly in control of things up 24-9 by the halftime break.  The Augsburg team was able to trim the deficit down to eleven points at 27-16 midway through the third period and still was within distance trailing 30-18 going into the fourth period.  The Augsburg team with its free-wheeling and up-tempo style had things down to ten points trailing 35-25 late in the contest but they could never find that one burst that may have changed the complexion of things as the Concordia St. Paul team held on for the win.  Meanwhile over on Court 2, the B Ballers team; made up mostly of former Southwest Minnesota State players, was making quick work on the Retirees team which is made up of mostly former Northwestern players as the B Ballers used their size and rebounding advantage to take an 8-3 lead midway through the first period and held a 17-6 lead going into the second period.  The B Ballers team's led ballooned to 27-9 late in the second period and although the Retirees team was able to cut into that deficit somewhat, the B Ballers team still held a 33-19 lead by the half and were up 50-20 by the end of the third period as they waltzed to an easy win.

Don't forget that another full night of action awaits next week Wednesday night (6-28) at the Midtown YWCA so do plan to come on down if you can.