Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League Results For Wednesday 6-7-17

Here are the results for last night's action on the second night of the Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League:


5:00 P.M. Games

Concordia St. Paul - 46
Winona State - 44

SMU - 56
Luther - 53


5:55 P.M. Games

Winona State - 43
UST #1 - 40

Lady Hawks - 56
NIACC - 55  OT


6:50 P.M. Games

GAC Black - 53
Southwest Minnesota State - 49

UW-River Falls - 68
NIACC - 60


7:45 P.M. Games

UST #2 - 65
St. Olaf - 42

GAC Gold -46
Bethel - 29


8:40 P.M. Games

Augsburg - 36
B Ballers - 35

Hamline - 61
St. Kate's - 34


9:35 P.M. Game

UST Alumni - 52
Augsburg - 40


There were definitely some nail-biters in last night's action; particularly in the 5:00 P.M. slot that had a couple of fun ones to watch.  The traffic and construction work on I-94 slowed my trip and I didn't get in until after the third periods were going on but it was plain to see that both of these were very good games.  Over on Court 1, the Winona State team was clinging to a 31-27 lead but a resourceful Concordia St. Paul team knotted things up at 36 a piece by the end of the third period.  The Winona State team managed to poke its nose out in front again at 42-39 with 6:00 left but the Concordia St. Paul team had all the answers down the stretch and eeked out a tough win against a bitter NSIC rival.  Court 2 was an IIAC-MIAC matchup as the Luther team managed to grab a 38-37 lead in a see-saw affair with the SMU team and going into the fourth and final period, it was the SMU team that had a slight 45-44 edge.  The SMU team would hold a one-possession advantage a 55-53 with :20 left in regulation but the Luther team had one last chance.  With scant seconds remaining, one of the players on the Luther team launched a desperation "3" but it wouldn't fall and the SMU team hung on for a thrilling win.

That trend continued into the 5:55 P.M. slot as the Winona State team was back at it again; this time taking on the UST #1 team in an interesting NSIC-MIAC clash.  The Winona State team bolted out to a 7-3 lead early on but the UST #1 team responded with a 17-2 blitz that gave them some breathing room at the end of the first period with a 20-9 lead.  A three-point bomb by junior-to-be McKenna DuBois to start the second period extended the UST #1 team's lead to 23-9 before the Winona State team recovered enough to trim the deficit down to ten points at 30-20 at the half.  While the Winona State team indeed appear buried during the first half, they weren't about to let the disappointment of the loss in the 5:00 P.M. slot do them in this time around.  They chipped away and managed to get back into single-digit range trailing 32-25 midway through the third period and managed to get back to within a single possession trailing 34-31 going into the fourth period.  The UST #1 team tried valiantly to stave off this comeback attempt but the Winona State team seemed to have all the momentum its way as the fourth period progressed as they cut the deficit down to one point early in the fourth period and then took a 37-36 lead with 6:30 left.  The UST #1 team managed to stay within a single possession down the stretch but could never get out in front again.  Another tough battle ensued over on Court 2 between the Lady Hawks team and the NIACC team.  Both squads battled to an 8-all deadlock early on but the Lady Hawks team managed a 4-0 push late in the opening period to hold a 12-8 advantage going into the second period.  That trend continued in the second period as the Lady Hawks team held a 19-17 lead midway through the second period and clung to a 27-25 lead at the half.  The NIACC team was able to turn the tables a bit in the third period as they assumed a 34-32 lead midway through the third period and held a 40-36 advantage going into the fourth period.  But the heat was only beginning to get turned up once the fourth period got underway.  The Lady Hawks team managed to regain the advantage at 47-44 midway through the fourth period and still held that three-point advantage at 51-48 with 1:30 left in regulation but the NIACC team managed a 5-0 push that suddenly thrust them out in front by a 53-51 count with only :35 left in regulation.  But the Lady Hawks team regained its composure and managed to tie the game on two free throws that sent this one into overtime.  In the extra two minute session, the NIACC team managed to grab a 55-53 lead on a pretty transition play but the Lady Hawks team managed to up the ante with a three-point bomb for a 56-55 lead.  The NIACC team had one last chance to steal victory from the jaws of defeat but a last-second desperation "3" wouldn't fall in what was arguably the game of the night.  Even recent Anoka-Ramsey grad Rashonna Thomas; a member of the victorious Lady Hawks team said to me afterward, "That was a rough one!"

The 6:50 P.M. slot wasn't without its share of drama either.  On Court 1, the GAC Black team jumped out to a 9-3 lead on the Southwest Minnesota State team in another one of those MIAC-NSIC clashes and the GAC Black team still held a relatively comfortable 20-11 lead going into the second period.  The Southwest Minnesota State team cut the deficit down to seven points briefly in the second period but the GAC Black team still managed to regain that nine-point cushion at 29-20 by the halftime break.  A three-point bomb by senior-to-be Miranda Rice early on in the third period got the GAC Black team's lead up to 37-22 and they appeared to have things well in hand by that point but the Southwest Minnesota State team was far from finished.  Trailing 42-31 going into the fourth period, the Southwest Minnesota State team embarked on a 10-3 run that cut the deficit down to four points at 45-41 but alas, they could never get closer as the GAC Black team hung on for the win.  Over on Court 2, the NIACC team, likely feeling a bit of a hangover effect from that OT loss in the previous time slot, did manage to play the UW-River Falls team tough early on as the game was deadlocked at 8-all midway through the first period.  But the UW-River Falls team then used its size and strength to go on a 10-3 push to grab an 18-11 lead going into the second period.  The NIACC team, however, somehow managed to find a second wind as they chopped the deficit down to a scant point at 25-24 and briefly held a one-point 29-28 lead before the UW-River Falls team could answer the challenge with a late score before the intermission to regain the lead at 30-29.  The NIACC team appeared to run out of gas once the third period got underway and the UW-River Falls team managed to extend its lead to 49-38 in the latter stages of the third period and still held a 56-47 lead once the fourth period got underway.  Incredibly, the NIACC team managed to trim the deficit down to six points at 66-60 late in regulation before the UW-River Falls team could ice this one away for good.

The 7:45 P.M. slot was an all-MIAC affair as over on Court 1 the UST #2 team took on the St. Olaf team.  Things were going the UST #2 team's way early on as they raced out to an early 8-0 lead and held a 17-8 advantage by the end of the first period.  But the St. Olaf team managed to hunker down and went on a 12-3 spurt to suddenly tie the contest at 20-all midway through the second period.  However, the UST #2 team responded with a 15-6 run to grab a seemingly safe 35-26 halftime lead.  The UST #2 team managed to maintain that fifteen point cushion at 46-31 by the end of the third period but the St. Olaf team managed to throw one more scare as they went on a 9-0 run early on in the fourth period to cut the deficit down to six points at 46-40.  It was here, however, that the UST #2 team put this one away for good as they responded with a 17-0 blitzkrieg to take a 63-40 lead that helped close things out.  Over on Court 2, the Bethel team was taking on the GAC Gold team and things were tight early on with the score deadlocked at 6-all but the GAC Gold team used a key 8-0 run to take a 14-6 lead going into the second period.  The Bethel team struggled offensively as the GAC Gold team; powered by Rice and junior-to-be Kendall Thompson and sophomore-to-be Lexi Weierke owned the glass in this one that allowed several second- and third-chances on the offensive end while the Bethel team was limited to a one-chance situation and, as such, the GAC team was able to increase its lead to 25-10 by the halftime break.  Not much changed once the second half got underway and despite the fact that the Bethel team managed to trim the deficit down to eleven points at 31-20 by the start of the fourth period, the GAC Gold team rolled in the fourth and final period for a comfortable win.

The evening crowd was treated to another dandy game over on Court 1 in the 8:40 P.M. slot that saw the B Ballers team; an alumni squad of mostly Southwest Minnesota State players, taking on the Augsburg team.  The fast and athletic Augsburg team held a 13-10 lead by the end of the first period and saw that lead increase to 18-12 midway through the second period and seemed to be in full control a short time later with a ten-point 24-14 lead a short time later but an experienced B Baller squad with a lot of size to boot seemed to regain confidence going into the third period down 30-21.  They used their size on the glass and slowly chipped away as they managed to trim the deficit down to five points at 33-28 by the end of the third period.  The B Ballers team; twice in the fourth period, got tantalizingly close as they cut the deficit down to a single point and trailed 36-35 with under a minute left.  But just when you thought that the B Ballers squad might find a way to steal the win, the Augsburg team with its trademark pesky defense, managed to force a late turnover and avoid disaster in the final seconds.  No such drama over on Court 2 as the Hamline team jumped all over the St. Kate's team which was without its normal chain-gang of players (Audra Clark, Meg Clark, Alexis Garcia, Kanani Asuncion) and instead had to rely mostly on its younger group.  The Hamline team got out to a 16-9 lead by the end of the first period and although the St. Kate's team had the deficit down to five points briefly in the second period, the Hamline team stretched its advantage to 28-19 by the half and then ballooned its lead to 41-22 by the end of the third period enroute to an easy win.

Finally, in the 9:35 P.M. slot, the Augsburg team; fresh off its exciting win over the B Ballers, had to take on another experienced and very good alumni squad - the UST Alumni team.  The Augsburg team managed to have the upper hand early on building a 12-8 lead but this UST Alumni squad with players such as Jen Dockter, Kellie Brandenberg, Anna Smith and Laura Margarit used their size and experience to knot the contest at 12-all going into the second period.  Looking every bit as good as they were in their college days, the UST Alumni team then proceeded to go on a 19-0 blitz for a 31-12 advantage limiting the Augsburg team to a single three-pointer for a 31-15 halftime advantage.  Just as they did at times during the regular season, the Augsburg team managed to respond once the third period got underway with a 7-0 burst that helped close the gap to single digits at 31-22 but the UST Alumni squad quickly countered and managed to build its cushion back up to double-digits at 42-26 by the end of the third period.  The UST Alumni squad manged to get the lead to as many as twenty points at 50-30 midway through the fourth and final period before Augsburg could manage a 10-2 run to close the gap to twelve points at 52-40 but they simply would not have enough in the end to catch the UST Alumni squad on this night.

Don't forget that this next week the Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League will again run on both Tuesday and Wednesday evenings (6-13 and 6-14) and a lot of good games will be on tap so do plan to come on down if you can.