Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League Results For Wednesday 7-19-17

Here are the results from last night's action at the Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League:


5:00 P.M. Game

St. Kate's - 50
Hamline - 41


5:55 P.M. Games

GAC Gold - 52
St. Olaf - 27

SMU - 48
Southwest Minnesota State - 34


6:50 P.M. Games

NIAC - 66
UW-River Falls #1 - 44

SMU - 55
GAC Black - 45


7:45 P.M. Games

UST #2 - 57
Bethel - 55

B Ballers - 61
GAC Black - 43

Augsburg - 48
UST Alumni - 45


8:40 P.M. Games

Concordia St. Paul - 49
Luther - 26

UST #1 - 69
Retirees - 60

Augsburg - 67
UW-River Falls #2 - 54


I had to battle a lot of traffic and delays on I-94 on my way down from Brooklyn Center but got settled in during the midway point of the second period of the St. Kate's - Hamline game in the 5:00 P.M. slot and was joined by both new Hamline Head Coach Alex Focke and St. Kate's Assistant Coach Tim Kjar and enjoyed good conversation with both.  The St. Kate's team was up at the midway point of the second period 26-18 but a lay-up in transition by junior-to-be Alaina Quaranta helped the Hamline team cut the deficit to six points at 27-21 and a score in the paint by sophomore-to-be Reilly Geistfeld allowed the Hamline team to stay within single-digit range trailing 32-23 at the half.  The St. Kate's team would step on the gas again once the third period got underway and a lay-up in transition by senior-to-be Alexis Garcia helped get the lead back up to double-digits but the Hamline team again was able to creep back into single-digit range trailing 34-27 late in the third period but the St. Kate's team was able to respond to the challenge and upped their lead to ten points at 39-29 going into the fourth period.  The Hamline team again made a determined push early in the fourth period and whittled the deficit down to six points at 39-33 but Garcia and fellow senior-to-be Meg Clark led the way down the stretch for the St. Kate's team as they built their lead to 45-33 midway through the fourth period and never looked back.

The normal two-game offering was back on tap in the 5:55 P.M. slot and over on Court 1, the GAC Gold team jumped out to 10-4 lead on a struggling St. Olaf team having a variety of issues on offense and the GAC Gold team's lead expanded to 18-9 by the end of the first period.  While the St. Olaf team could get some scores in the paint from junior-to-be Meg Andersen and sophomore-to-be Britta Koenen and a ton of rebounds from graduated senior Betsey Daly (who will be sorely missed next season), getting shots from the perimeter to fall was another story entirely and, as such, the GAC Gold team slowly but surely grew its lead to 27-13 midway through the second period and held a comfortable eighteen-point cushion at 31-13 by the half.  The GAC Gold team had a 34-17 advantage midway through the third period and by the start of the fourth period there was no doubt as to how this one was going to end with the GAC Gold team up 43-18.  Over on Court 2, an interesting MIAC-NSIC battle was taking place as the SMU team grabbed a 7-3 lead midway through the first period but the Southwest Minnesota State team; a bit shorthanded on this night, appeared to be in the thick of things down only 12-9 by the start of the second period.  But the SMU team which has looked pretty decent throughout most of this year's summer league, got the lead back up to six points in the latter stages of the second period at 19-13 and held a 20-14 lead by the halftime break.  The SMU team used a big burst in the early going of the third period to get the lead to twenty points at 36-16 and they were up 38-18 at the start of the fourth period and had things in cruise control the rest of the way.

In the 6:50 P.M. slot, things appeared tight early on between the NIACC team and the UW-River Falls team with things knotted at 9 a piece midway through the first period and the NIACC team was nursing a slim 18-17 advantage by the start of the second period.  But the roof caved in on the UW-River Falls #1 team in the second period as the NIACC team went on a game-changing 11-0 run for a 29-17 lead before the UW-River Falls #1 team could respond.  The NIACC team repeatedly got into fast-break transition opportunities that led to easy scores and the UW-River Falls team was unable to stop the bleeding as they were down 34-22 at the half.  The NIACC team got the lead up to 39-24 late in the third period and was up 42-28 at the start of the fourth period as they rolled to an easy win.  A somewhat closer contest was ensuing over on Court 2 between the SMU team; doing double-duty on this night and the GAC Black team.  The SMU team jumped out to an early 8-2 lead but the GAC Black team was able to storm back and grab a brief 11-10 advantage before the SMU team reclaimed the lead at 13-11 by the end of the first period.  The GAC Black team gradually chipped away as the second period progressed and two scores by senior-to-be Miranda Rice had the GAC Black team up 23-20 late in the second period and the GAC Black team still held a 29-27 advantage by the halftime break.  The GAC Black team still clung to a 33-32 lead midway through the third period but the SMU team reclaimed the advantage at 39-37 by the end of the third period and they were able to build some more breathing room with a 43-38 lead midway through the fourth period enroute to a ten-point win.

A busy time in the 7:45 P.M. slot with three games going on.  The game of the night arguably took place over on Court 1 between the Bethel team and the UST #2 team as these squads were deadlocked at 6 a piece early on.  A "3" by senior-to-be sharpshooter Jasmin Bretoi helped propel a run by the Bethel team that found them up 22-12 by the end of the first period.  The Bethel team maintained the double-digit advantage at 29-18 midway through the second period and they enjoyed a 34-26 lead at the half.  But you knew that the UST #2 team was far from finished and they slowly but surely worked themselves right back into the thick of things once the third period got going and had themselves back to within a single possession trailing 37-34 midway through the third period. The UST #2 team got its nose out in front by a 39-37 count a short time later before the Bethel team was able to regroup and get the lead back at 46-42 by the end of the third period.  Things were neck-and-neck in the fourth period with the game tied at 50 a piece midway through the fourth period and with Bethel holding a 55-54 lead late in regulation, junior-to-be Hannah Spaulding's score in the paint pushed the UST #2 team into the lead for good.  Meanwhile over on Court 2, the GAC Black team was doing double-duty on this night as well and they had the misfortune of running into the B Ballers team; a squad comprised mainly of former Southwest Minnesota State players.  Still, the GAC Black team hung close in the early going trailing only 16-11 by the end of the first period.  But the B Ballers team's size eventually wore down its opponent and though their lead was only 27-20 by the halftime break, they were able to get that lead into double-digits by the midway point of the third period at 38-24 and held a 48-30 lead at the start of the fourth period as they cruised to yet another easy win.  Over on Court 3, the Augsburg team was taking on the UST Alumni team and the Augsburg team seemed to have most of the answers early on in this one as they held an 18-11 lead by the end of the first period.  But an experienced and savvy UST Alumni team was able to cut the deficit down to two points at 19-17 on a pretty jumper by former UST standout Hannah Hughes and a lay-up by former UST standout Elaine Warner that drew a foul and resulted in an "and one" pushed the UST Alumni team out in front by a 20-19 count late in the second period.  But the Augsburg team was able to retake the lead by a 27-24 count midway through the third period and a three-point bomb by sophomore-to-be Aiza Wilson helped the Augsburg team push their lead to 32-24 a bit later.  Things were looking fairly good for the Augsburg team coming down the stretch but you knew the UST Alumni team had a few tricks left up their sleeve before everything was said and done.  Two free throws by former UST standout Jen Dockter cut the Augsburg team's lead down to 43-40 late in regulation and the UST Alumni team was able to knot the game at 43-all a short time later but Wilson was able to uncork yet another "3" that pushed the Augsburg team back in front by a 46-43 count with a little over a minute left.  Dockter got the UST Alumni team closer with two free throws with :30 left but Wilson was able to give the Augsburg team a bit more breathing room - and a path to the finish line with a 48-45 lead with her two free throws.  But the wily veteran Dockter gave the UST Alumni team one last glimmer of hope when she was fouled behind the arc with just :03 left but could not cash in from the charity stripe.

Finally, in the 8:40 P.M. slot, the Concordia St. Paul team worked its way to a 14-10 lead over the Luther team by the end of the first period on Court 1 but they gradually grew that lead to 20-12 late in the second period and a three-point bomb by newcomer and former Park Center standout Danielle Schaub from the right corner had the Concordia St. Paul team up 23-13 at the half.  The Concordia St. Paul team expanded the lead to fifteen points at 35-20 late in the third period and another buzzer-beating three-point dagger by Schaub - again from the right corner - had the Concordia St. Paul team up 43-20 by the start of the fourth quarter as they steamrolled to an easy win.  A very interesting battle took place over on Court 2 between the Retirees team and the UST #1 team; a rematch from their late June battle when the Retirees team won at the buzzer.  This one looked to be a doozy again as the Retirees were up 14-13 late in the first period and the teams were deadlocked at 18 a piece by the start of the second period.  The Retirees team; comprised of former Northwestern players, held a 29-26 advantage midway through the second period but the UST #1 team was able to go on a push to grab a 36-32 lead late in the second period although the Retirees team closed to within a single possession by the halftime break trailing 36-34.  The UST #1 team held a 44-40 lead midway through the third period but the Retirees team was still in the thick of things down by only a possession at 52-49 once the fourth period got underway.  A three-point bomb by junior-to-be McKenna DuBois seemed to give the UST #1 team new life as that pushed their lead to 55-49 early in the fourth period and a lay-up in transition by Spaulding a bit later pushed the UST #1 team's lead to 57-51.  The UST #1 team got a double-digit advantage at 63-51 midway through the fourth period and there would be no deja vu on this night.  Over on Court 3, the Augsburg team was doing double-duty on this night as well and they certainly didn't show any wear and tear from their earlier battle in the 7:45 P.M. slot as they held a 9-3 advantage on the UW-River Falls #2 team midway through the first period and were up 25-18 midway through the second period.  A lay-up by senior-to-be Bridget Bednar upped the Augsburg team's lead to 27-18 and when Wilson connected with a short jumper a bit later, the Augsburg team appeared to be in full control of things up 29-18.  Another Wilson three-point bomb down the stretch of the period helped the Augsburg team build a 42-27 lead by the halftime break and the UW-River Falls #2 team indeed appeared buried.  But the UW-River Falls team was nowhere near ready to wave the white flag just yet and they chipped and chucked away and got themselves back to single-digit range trailing 50-42 by the end of the third period.  The Augsburg team, however, was in no mood to relinquish its lead and a jumper by Bednar early in the fourth period pumped new life into the Augsburg squad as they got a double-digit win to close out a good night for them.

Playoff action starts next week at the Midtown YWCA Women's College summer league and you can bet that things will really start heating up so do plan to come on down if you can.