UM-Morris vs St. Kate's 12-30-17

Made my way over to Butler Center on the campus of St. Catherine's University on this sunny but frigid, sub-zero Saturday afternoon to take in another interesting UMAC-MIAC non-conference clash betweeen visiting UM-Morris and host St. Kate's.  The Cougars were coming into this contest with a subpar 2-8 record that included losses to three different MIAC teams - Concordia, CSB and SMU - so this would be a fourth crack for Head Coach Tim Grove's squad to try and down a MIAC team.  The Wildcats meanwhile were battling their own set of problems including injuries and were saddled with a so-so 4-6 record and were hoping to grab one more non-conference win to provide a bit of a launching pad of momentum into the meat of the MIAC season after the first of the year.

Things would be tight in the opening minutes with both teams employing a man-to-man defense.  After UM-Morris lanky sophomore forward/post Abby Van Kempen got her squad on the board first with her score in the paint at the 9:46 mark, the Wildcats would assume a 4-2 advantage as sophomore guard Jackie Radford connected with a lay-up at the 9:36 mark and freshman guard/forward Morgan Kurth got into the paint for another score at the 7:06 mark.  A Van Kempen offensive rebound and putback at the 6:50 mark allowed the Cougars to knot the score at 4 a piece but St. Kate's got a bit more breathing room as a lay-up by senior guard Meg Clark at the 6:32 mark and a Radford drive and finish at the 5:50 mark had the 'Cats up 8-4.  A Radford lay-up with 4:42 left maintained that four-point edge at 10-6 and a "3" from the left wing area by Meg Clark with 3:35 left now gave St. Kate's a six-point lead at 13-7.  The Cougars closed the gap, however, as sophomore reserve guard Emma Atkinson drilled a "3" from the right wing area with 3:01 left and junior guard and former Sauk Centre standout Mauren Thiesen's jumper in the lane with 1:44 left in the opening period made it a one-point game at 13-12.  The 'Cats would finish this first period on a 7-2 push as freshman reserve forward Kaitlyn Struemke knocked down a short turnaround jumper off the glass with 1:20 left and a "3" from the left corner by freshman guard Ashley Fosness with :17 left had St. Kate's up 18-14.  That earlier six-point edge was re-established just before the period-ending buzzer when Fosness was able to tip-in a missed shot by sophomore reserve guard Sam Skwarek giving the Wildcats a 20-14 lead going into the second period.

Two free throws by senior guard/forward Alexis Garcia at the 9:18 mark of the second period maintained the six-point lead for the Wildcats at 22-16 but it was here that UM-Morris was able to make inroads.  Thiesen connected with a short jumper from the left side at the 8:24 mark and an offensive rebound and putback by strong junior forward Kendra Raths at the 7:23 mark trimmed the deficit down to two points at 22-20.  A jumper from the right wing area by junior guard Bailey Miller at the 6:54 mark completed this somewhat unlikely 6-0 Cougar push to forge a 22-all deadlock.  A Miller drive along the right baseline and finish at the 6:03 mark kept the game deadlocked at 24 a piece and one free throw by Atkinson with 4:38 left and an Atkinson "3" from the right corner with 3:37 left finally propelled UM-Morris back into the lead since the opening moments of the first period at 28-26.  A Thiesen lay-up in transition maintained the Cougars two-point lead at 30-28 with 1:34 left and although Garcia got St. Kate's deficit down to a single point with one free throw with :50.3 left, things seemed very much up in the air as both teams headed to the locker room for the halftime break.  A check of the first half box score indicates how tight this contest was up to this point.  The Wildcats held a small 26-24 edge on the rebounding front and turnovers were nearly even with UM-Morris committing 12 and St. Kat'es 10.  Neither side shot the lights out in the first half either as the Cougars went 13-32 for 40.6% from FG range and 2-12 from behind the arc for 16.7% while the Wildcats were 12-40 for 30% from FG range and the same 2-12 for for 16.7% from behind the arc.

Both teams traded the lead in the opening moments of the third period as a Garcia lay-up at the 9:37 mark pushed St. Kate's back out in front by a 31-30 count but a short pull-up jumper by diminutive sophomore guard Becca Holland at the 8:01 mark and an offensive rebound and putback by Van Kempen at the 7:20 mark allowed the Cougars to take a three-point lead at 34-31.  But the 'Cats rose to this challenge as a "3" from the right wing area by Struemke at the 6:59 mark not only knotted the game at 34-all but ignited an 8-0 Wildcat push.  One Garcia freebie at the 6:06 mark pushed St. Kate's back out in front and two more by the former Hopkins standout helped the Wildcats get a 37-34 lead at the 5:08 mark.  Sophomore reserve forward Jaelyn Miltz's lay-up with 3:06 left capped this run for St. Kate's to make it a 39-34 ballgame but the Cougars would at least manage to cut the deficit to one point.  Miller knocked down a short jumper with 2:03 left and a score in the paint by Raths with 1:31 left had UM-Morris down only one at 39-38.  But the Wildcats would step on the gas pedal one more time before the close of the third period with a 6-0 push.  Struemke connected with a lay-up with 1:11 left and two Meg Clark free throws got St. Kate's lead up to five at 43-38.  Two Struemke charity stripe shots with :20.8 left got the Wildcats some more space up 45-38 going into the fourth period.

While a seven-point lead for St. Kate's wasn't necessarily insurmountable by any stretch, a Garcia "3" from the top of the key at the 9:41 mark of the fourth and final period pushed that lead to ten points and now the Cougars had to really work to try and get this one close again.  UM-Morris tried to respond quickly on a "3" from the right wing by Atkinson at the 9:10 mark but another 8-0 Wildcat push wouldn't allow that.  Meg Clark made a hard drive into traffic for a finish at the 8:46 mark and Garcia did likewise at the 8:21 mark that now had St. Kate's lead up to eleven at 52-41.  Two Garcia free throws at the 7:45 mark pushed the lead to thirteen at 54-41 and two more by Meg Clark at the 7:07 mark how had the Wildcats up 56-41.  UM-Morris tried to close the gap a bit as Holland unleashed a "3" from the left corner at the 6:26 mark and a Miller lay-up in transition at the 5:14 mark had the deficit back down to ten points at 56-46 and the Cougar's Grove called a thirty-second timeout to hopefully get his squad refreshed for a home stretch charge.  But UM-Morris' hopes for that comeback died a quick death as the Wildcats were doing a very good job defensively; getting into the passing lanes and disrupting the Cougars' half-court offensive sets.  An offensive rebound and putback by Garcia with 4:30 left and two Fosness free throws with 4:00 left provided enough of a safety net down the home stretch with St. Kate's now up 60-46.  Raths would get a "3" from the right wing to go down for the Cougars but they could never find that same offensive punch.  Holland was able to add a lay-up with 1:49 left and Van Kempen connected with another lay-up with :46.2 left but it was St. Kate's getting a 63-53 win to close out 2017.

I managed to catch up with the St. Kate's coaching contingent afterward and I mentioned to Associate Head Coach Tim Kjar that I thought that the Wildcats took a big step forward with their defense on this day.  Kjar agreed but maintained the position that a lot more work still needs to be done on that front.  Head Coach Don Mulhern was in agreement when I mentioned to him that a lot of his younger players such as Kurth, Fosness, Struemke along with freshman reserve guard Brooke Torvik, freshman reserve guard Bailee Sillman and the sophomore Miltz  are getting quality minutes and along with that, some valuable experience as well.  That could pay dividends down the road for St. Kate's with senior guard Audra Clark out for the season with a knee injury and sophomore guard Danica Cambrice recovering from her ankle injury.  They'll need to raise the level of their play as their first three opponents in 2018 include SMU, Bethel and CSB.  A solid day for Garcia as she led all scorers with 21 points while Meg Clark recorded a "double-double"; 14 points and 11 rebounds to help lead the way.  UM-Morris had three players with ten points a piece - Miller, Van Kempen and Atkinson.  Ultimately, Grove will likely point to the 21 total turnovers on this day along with getting outrebounded by St. Kate's by a 51-37 count as the culprits for his squad's demise in this contest.