Carleton vs St. Kate's 12-2-17

Had to hustle over to Butler Center on the campus of St. Kate's from Hopkins' Lindbergh Center to take in an important 3:00 P.M. clash between visiting Carleton and host St. Kate's.  This would be my first look at the Knights this season and I was very interested to see how much improved they were over last season.  Carleton was coming off a tough home loss to highly-regarded Calvin at home over the Thanksgiving holiday while the Wildcats were coming off a big non-conference win over Northland on the road.

It would be the Knights getting off to a great start in this one.  Sophomore point guard Katie Chavez buried a "3" from the top of the key at the 9:40 mark of the first period and one lay-up by senior forward Sarah "Waffles" Waldfogel at the 9:07 mark and a jumper from the left elbow area by senior forward Anne Hamilton at the 8:26 mark had Carleton up 7-1 and new Wildcat Head Coach Don Mulhern; not liking at all what he was seeing, called a halt to the action to discuss things with his squad.  But a Waldfogel jumper in the lane at the 6:53 mark helped the Knights maintain that six-point edge at 9-3 before St. Kate's was able to get untracked.  Senior guard Audra Clark nailed a "3" from the left wing area at the 6:21 mark and one Audra Clark free throw with 4:10 left closed the gap to two points at 9-7.  Then it was lanky freshman reserve forward Kaitlyn Struemke dropping a three-point bomb from the right wing area with 3:25 left that pushed the 'Cats out in front by a score of 10-9.  Carleton would be quick to regain the edge, however, as Katie Chavez buried another "3" from the top of the key with 3:05 left for a 12-10 Knight lead and a third three-point bomb by Katie Chavez from the top of the key with 2:40 left gave Carleton a 15-12 lead.  And Katie Chavez; the Westminster, Colorado native let loose with another three-point dagger with 1:46 left - this one coming from the left wing area that now had the Knights up 18-12.  Pairs of free throws by St. Kate's - two by senior guard Meg Clark with :39 left and two more by freshman forward Megan Kurth with :24.2 left - drew the Wildcats closer trailing 18-16 but overcoming a hot-shooting Carleton team was proving to become problematic. 

The Knights managed to retain a small edge in the opening moments of the second period as two free throws by junior forward Cece Leone at the 9:37 mark and a lay-up by freshman reserve point guard Nia Harris at the 8:52 mark had Carleton up 22-18 but the Wildcats would embark on a 10-0 run to usurp the advantage.  Audra Clark connected with a short shot off the glass at the 7:36 mark and then it was twin sister Meg Clark connecting with a lay-up in transition that also drew a foul and the resulting "and one" pushed St. Kate's out in front 23-22.  A pretty drive and finish by Audra Clark at the 6:41 mark and an offensive rebound and putback by sophomore guard Jackie Radford at the 5:56 mark upped the lead to 27-22.  One Radford freebie after she was fouled in a transition opportunity at the 5:28 mark capped the run before the Knights could pick up the pieces.  Waldfogel connected with a lay-up and was fouled in the process and the obligatory free throw had Carleton back to within a single possession trailing 28-25.  Keeping Katie Chavez covered was proving to be quite a task and she burned St. Kate's with yet another three-point dagger from the right top area with 4:50 left that cut the Wildcat lead down to two points at 30-28.  St. Kate's would manage to open up a little more breathing room as Struemke knocked down a short jumper with 4:22 left and an Audra Clark drive and finish with :58 left pushed the 'Cat lead to 34-28.  Carleton would manage to get back within single-possession range just before the end of the first half as a Harris drive and finish with :48 left and a Harris lay-up that drew a foul and resulted in an "and one" with just :05 left had the deficit down to a much more manageable three points at 36-33.  A check of the first half box shows that the Knights did indeed shoot well in the first half; shooting 40% from FG range and 45.5% from three-point land - thanks in large part to Katie Chavez going 5-6 from behind the arc).  St. Kate's held a sizable edge in the rebounding department, however, with a 24-17 advantage while turnovers were almost even - Carleton with seven and St. Kate's with six.

The Knights would slowly regain the edge as the third period got underway as a score in the paint by strong sophomore forward Samantha Cooke at the 9:48 mark and another one by Hamilton at the 9:02 mark cut the deficit down to a scant point at 38-37.  Carleton's hopes may have taken a bit of a hit at this point, however, as Katie Chavez took an inadvertent blow to the midsection and was forced to the bench to recover but the Knights were still able to press on.  Harris made good on a drive for a finish at the 7:51 mark to put Carleton back out in front 39-38 and a Leone drive and finish at the 6:01 mark had the lead up to three at 41-38.  A jumper from the right wing area by senior reserve guard Lindsey Chavez at the 5:22 mark maintained the three-point edge at 43-40 before St. Kate's was able to light another fire.  Struemke was able to snare an offensive rebound for a putback with 4:51 left that ignited an 11-0 Wildcat run.  Radford got into the paint for a score with 3:54 left and was fouled in the process and the resulting "and one" now had St. Kate's up 45-43.  Then it was senior sharp-shooting guard Alexis Garcia draining a "3" from the left corner with 3:14 left to get the lead out to five points at 48-43 and a Struemke "3" from the left wing with 1:59 left now had the Wildcats in very good shape up 51-43.  Perhaps the only downer in all of this from a St. Kate's perspective was that Audra Clark suffered an apparent knee injury with 2:17 left and she would not return.  Carleton tried to recover on yet another Katie Chavez three-point bomb from the top of the key with 1:41 left but a Meg Clark drive and finish with 1:18 left had the Wildcats seemingly in control with a 53-46 lead going into the fourth period.

The Knights showed the sense of urgency needed in the opening moments of the fourth period embarking on a 7-0 push to knot the contest.  Leone connected with a lay-up in transition at the 9:42 mark and Cooke used her big frame to get into the paint for a score at the 8:56 mark to get Carleton back to within a single possession trailing 53-50.  Cooke would strike again in the paint at the 7:12 mark and drew a foul in the process and the obligatory free throw by the Chesterfield, Missouri native had this one tied up at 53-all.  Defense would reign supreme over the next four minutes as both sides tried desperately to gain any advantage; looking for any nooks or crannies to penetrate and there were few to be found.  Radford would give St. Kate's a one-point edge at 54-53 with 3:37 left on a charity stripe shot but it wasn't until with 1:23 left on the clock that the Knights were able to make a decisive move that would point the way to ultimate victory.  Hamilton; not necessarily known for her three-point shooting prowess, got open in the right corner with 1:23 left and unleashed a dagger that put Carleton up 56-54.  The Wildcats would manage to tie the game up on two free throws by Kurth with 1:08 left but they never were able to regain any edge.  With :48 left, Cooke was able to connect on a short, turnaround jumper to put the Knights back out in front 58-56 and Mulhern called a timeout to try and set up a play.  But a tough Carleton defense stifled the Wildcats on their possession and although Knight Head Coach Cassie Kosiba was forced to use a timeout with :24.7 left to avoid a five-second call on an attempted inbounds pass, Harris would be fouled with :18.7 left and the former Blake standout got one free throw to go down to get the Carleton lead to 59-56.  Mulhern would call another timeout as St. Kate's still had a chance for a three-point shot but on the subsequent possession, the 'Cats lost the ball out of bounds; effectively killing their chances.  Harris would be fouled with :04.8 left and she got two free throws to go down this time as the Knights secured a precious road win by a 61-56 count. 

Both Kosiba and Assistant Coach Chris Dalhed admitted afterward that this squad is still a work in progress and Dahled went as far to say "We have a long way to go."  Still, this is an important first step in taking this Knight program forward.  More importantly, Kosiba finally has what she has been seeking in her eighth season in Northfield:  size on the front line, solid backcourt play and some depth at each position to back it up.  How this all translates in the long-run remains to be seen but I couldn't help but like what I saw today.  If the Knights can stay healthy and keep a reasonable amount of consistency going, there's no reason why they shouldn't be in play for a MIAC playoff spot come February.  Meanwhile, an incredibly disappointing setback for St. Kate's that had its chances at the end.  And even more disappointing for Audra Clark whose injury and status remains uncertain as of this writing and with a trip up U.S. Highway 10 and the BNSF's Staples Sub mainline to Moorhead and a date with Concordia on Wednesday (12-6) looming, this could be some tough sledding for the 'Cats.  If I had to give out game balls, one of them for sure would go to the Knights' Katie Chavez who easily led all scorers on this afternoon with her 20 points with many of those coming from behind the three-point line.  Cooke also had 11 points and Hamilton; although she had only seven points on this day, did grab 12 rebounds.  St. Kate's had two players in double figures scoring-wise as Audra Clark had 14 points and Radford had a "double-double" with 11 points and 15 rebounds.  Oddly enough, St. Kate's won the rebounding battle on this day by a 43-33 count but also suffered 17 turnovers in the process and Carleton had a 17-11 edge in points off of turnovers.  St. Kate's did have the edge in second-chance points at 14-6 and also an edge in points in the paint at 24-22.