UST vs GAC 12-13-17

Was a bit of a snowy drive late yesterday afternoon down U.S. Highway 169 and the Union Pacific's Mankato Sub portion of the famed "Omaha Route" mainline but got down to St. Peter okay to take in this huge early-season clash between visiting and 11th-ranked UST and host #12 GAC in what could be termed the MIAC Women's Hoops Game of the Century Part II.  While this one may not have had quite they hype and pomp and circumstance of the original back on February 1 of last season, this still had all the makings of a big game and one that could certainly loom large in MIAC playoff seedings as well as NCAA Tournament implications as well.  I got settled in early to catch some of the JV game that was won by the Gusties before the main event.

Things were on a very even basis in the opening minutes of the first period with both teams in man-to-man defense.  GAC senior forward Miranda Rice and UST lanky junior post Hannah Spaulding traded early scores and a lay-up by Gustie junior guard Taylor Anderson at the 8:31 mark gave the home team a 4-2 lead.  The Tommies would manage to knot the game up at 4-all on a short shot off the glass by senior guard/forward Lauren Fischer at the 7:16 mark but the GAC answer would be a strong offensive rebound and putback by junior forward Kendall Thompson a bit later at the 6:30 mark.  UST would again manage to tie the game a 6-all when Spaulding slithered inside for a score at the 6:14 mark before the Tommies could put together a 4-0 push.  A drive and finish by sophomore reserve guard Sarah Krynski with 4:45 left and two Spaulding free throws with 3:53 left had UST up 10-6 but the Gusties would answer this challenge 10-0 run to end the opening period.  Surprising freshman reserve point guard Ava Gonsorowski out of Esko connected with a lay-up with 3:39 left and dropped two free throws with 2:35 left to knot the game at 10 a piece.  A jumper from the right wing by Rice with 2:11 left pushed GAC back out in front and a pretty drive and finish by Thompson with 1:32 left now had the Gusties up 14-10.  Senior point guard Mikayla Miller polished off this late first period run with a jumper from the left elbow area with :40 left that gave GAC a 16-10 lead going into the second period.

A Rice lay-up at the 9:29 mark of the second period gave the Gusties more breathing room with an 18-10 advantage and when Taylor Anderson drained a "3" from the right wing area at the 8:26 mark, GAC had its biggest lead at 21-12.  Curiously however, the Gustie drive began stalling out right when they seemingly had the Tommies on the ropes and UST slowly but surely got out of a bad spot.  Two free throws by junior guard Kaylie Brazil at the 8:12 mark and an offensive rebound and putback by Spaulding at the 7:49 mark sliced the deficit down to five points at 21-16 and a drive and finish by junior guard Lucia Renikoff at the 7:18 mark kept the Tommies in that five-point range at 23-18.  Then it was Spaulding knocking down two freebies at the 6:43 mark to make further inroads and when Renikoff; the former Washburn standout, drilled a "3" from the left corner at the 6:15 mark, the game was suddenly tied at 23-all before a shocked crowd in Lund Arena.  UST was far from finished as two Spaulding free throws at the 5:18 mark got the Tommies out in front and then it was Renikoff again unleashing terror from three-point land as she banged home another bomb - this one from the left wing area with 3:56 left - that now had UST up by five at 28-23.  A shell-shocked Gustie squad tried to respond as Miller was able to connect with a lay-up in transition with 3:07 left that momentarily had GAC back to within a single possession trailing 28-25 but the Tommies decided to stretch things out further.  Lanky sophomore reserve post Elsa Anderson connected with a lay-up with 2:55 left and a lay-up in transition by senior guard Maddie Wolkow with 2:33 left before the half was all that Gustie Head Coach Laurie Kelly needed to see to know that a timeout was warranted with GAC now trailing by seven at 32-25.  But even that stoppage in play did not deter the Tommies from further extending their lead.  Krynski was sent to the charity stripe with 1:51 left where she promptly dropped two free throws and a "3" from the top of the key by rising freshman reserve guard/forward Kaia Porter with 1:22 left now had UST up by tean at 37-27 and Renikoff added one last stab before the half with a dagger jumper in the lane with just one tick left on the clock as the Tommies went whooping and hollering into the locker room with a 39-27 lead while GAC's Kelly and her staff were still trying to figure out how they gave up a 27-6 UST onslaught to end the second period.  Just a quick glance of the second period box score alone must have raised Kelly's blood pressure as she would have seen that her squad was outrebounded by UST by a 12-2 count and although the Tommies committed five turnovers to the Gusties one, UST was able to offset that by shooting 9-11 from FG range and 3-4 from behind the arc while GAC shot a paltry 4-14 from FG range and that one "3" from Taylor Anderson was all that the Gusties could produce from behind the arc.

GAC managed to cut into this double-digit deficit in the early moments of the third period as two Rice free throws at the 9:37 mark and a lay-up by junior guard Brooke Lemke at the 8:54 mark trimmed the deficit back to ten points at 41-31 and a Lemke lay-up in transition a bit later at the 8:33 mark provided some light at the end of the tunnel as the Gusties were now back in single-digit range trailing 41-33.  But UST would be able to keep its host in check for the time being as Wolkow unleashed a "3" from the right top area at the 8:09 mark and then Fischer's three-point bomb at the 7:21 mark helped re-establish the double-digit advantage at 47-36.  It wasn't until nearly a minute later that the Gusties seemed to fully recover from that second period disaster and make a move to get themselves on an even basis with its arch-rival; thanks largely in part to Miller, the former Goodhue standout.  The strong 5'8" guard banged home a "3" from the right top area at the 6:26 mark and then muscled into the paint for a score at the 5:42 mark that suddenly reduced the UST lead down to six at 47-41 and caused enough concern from Tommie Head Coach Ruth Sinn to prompt a thirty-second timeout being called.  But that short stoppage in play did not cool off GAC one bit as Miller would uncork another three-point bomb - this one from the top of the key off of an inbounds pass at the 5:16 mark - that got the Gusties back in single-possession range trailing 47-44.  A lay-up by freshman reserve forward Paige Richert with 4:21 left reduced the deficit down to a single point at 47-46 and a hard drive and tough scoop lay-up by Miller with 3:31 left capped this unlikely 12-0 run that allowed GAC to push its nose back out in front by a 48-47 count.  Somewhat alarmed by this latest development, the Tommies responded with a 6-0 push.  Porter knocked down a jumper in the lane with 2:59 left and Wolkow connected with a lay-up with 2:11 left that had UST back out in front by a 51-48 count.  That lead would increase to five as Brazil connected with a lay-up with 1:33 left.  The Gusties would get things back to a single possession as Rice snared an offensive rebound for a putback with 1:16 left but UST would get the lead to six by the end of the third period as Elsa Anderson snared an offensive rebound for a putback with :46 left and Brazil would drain a three-point dagger from the right wing with just one tick left on the clock that had the Tommies up by six at 58-52 so it was something of a good news/bad news proposition for GAC:  Yes, they did get on a nice run to take the lead and even though they were down by only six, the deficit was much more manageable this time around.  Yet, it was disappointing, too because once again, they let the Tommies off the hook when they really could have put them in a bad spot going into the fourth and final period.

The Gusties seemed to have some momentum going into the fourth period but whatever hopes the home crowd had were quickly dashed as UST went right to work.  Wolkow uncorked a "3" from the left wing area at the 9:22 mark that got the lead up to nine points at 61-52 and GAC would have to work very hard now to try and bring this back.  Rice would connect with a lay-up at the 9:04 mark and a short jumper from the left side in a transition opportunity by junior reserve guard Justine Lee at the 6:53 mark got the deficit back down to five points at 61-56 but the Gusties were unable for the time being to draw closer.  Renikoff would drop one free throw at the 5:12 mark as would Brazil with 4:32 left that upped UST's lead to 63-56 and the Gusties' Kelly would call a thirty-second timeout to try and draw up a plan for one last push.  But GAC would be foiled on its subsequent possession and would be unable to stop Spaulding's offensive rebound for a putback with 4:02 left that got the Tommie lead up to nine at 65-56.  The Gusties would take another crack at trying to claw their way back as Miller; in her senior season, tried to put her team on her back.  She dropped two free throws with 3:43 left and after Thompson did the same with 3:31 left that cut the deficit back down to five points at 65-60, Miller would make another trip to the charity stripe with 2:54 left where she got one freebie to go down and with 2:33 left, Miller would be sent to the line again where she would drop two more free throws that get GAC tantalizingly close trailing 67-63 with still plenty of time left.  UST would get the lead back up to six at 69-63 when Brazil got loose for a lay-up with 2:20 left but the Gusties' Miller still had some more heroics left when she connected with a tough lay-up with 1:57 left that again made it a four-point game at 69-65.  Kelly would call another thirty-second timeout as there was still some hope left but those dreams would vanish into the dark, cold night shortly thereafter.  Thompson was unable to get a lay-up attempt to cooperate and go down and Renikoff would be fouled on the defensive rebound with :40 left and she calmly dropped two free throws to up the Tommie lead to six at 71-65.  GAC still had a chance but Miller would be unable to get a three-point shot attempt to go down when the Gusties needed it most with :27 left.  The Tommies' Porter would be fouled with :19.2 left and the former Roseville standout got one of the attempts to go down for a 72-65 UST lead.  The Gusties would get one last ghost of a chance when Lemke was sent to the line for two free throws with :12.8 left but the former Delano standout was unable to get either attempt to go down that finally sealed GAC's fate.  Brazil dropped two insurance free throws for the Tommies with :08.3 left as UST was able to escape Lund Arena with a hard-fought 74-66 victory.

I was able to eventually catch up with GAC's Kelly afterward and, although upbeat about the big picture, she couldn't help but express disappointment at this latest setback to arch-rival UST.  The main culprits for this loss in her mind were some untimely defensive lapses that allowed some dagger three-pointers to be dropped on her team or drives into the lane that caused headaches.  Indeed, that critical second period where the Tommies took control of things seemed to bother her the most and that's where the Gusties were on the wrong end of a 12-6 count on points in the paint.  Though the Gusties would make amends for that in both the third and fourth periods, the damage had been done and that brief one-point lead that GAC took in the third period was very short-lived.  Moreover, Kelly pointed out that her team just needs more exposure; more opportunities in these big games against elite opponents before they finally figure out how to handle the situation better.  When I look at this rivalry between UST and GAC, I can't help but think about the time some years ago when my LA Rams were mired in a long-losing streak to arch-rival San Francisco and famed ESPN analyst Chris Berman would say somewhat half-jokingly (I think!) "Same old Forty-Niners.  Same old Rams."  It does seem sometimes that you could substitute Tommies for Forty-Niners and Gusties for Rams  doesn't it?  Especially when you consider the fact that the last time GAC beat UST was back in 2010 which seems like ages ago now.  But Kelly is determined to get her squad to the next level and the only way to do that is to get more opportunities against these elite teams.  They'll have their chance to do just that not far down the road.  Up next, the Gusties have one home game right before the Christmas break; against Coe out of the IIAC where, presumably anyway, they should be able to take care of business.  But right before the end of the year, they head down to Waverly, Iowa to take part in the Wartburg Holiday Tournament that will also feature UW-Whitewater, UW-Superior and IIAC powerhouse and fourth-ranked host Wartburg.  They'll take on WIAC powerhouse UW-Whitewater on 12-29 and the winner of that game will get the winner of the UW-Superior - Wartburg tilt the next day (12-30).  This get-together definitely has an NCAA Tournament-feel to it and is a great opportunity for GAC to establish itself as a regional power.  In any event, on this contest, UST had an incredibly balanced scoring attack with four players in double figures scoring-wise.  Renikoff led the way with 15 points and Spaulding was right behind with her 14 points.  Brazil would collect 12 points on this night and Wolkow was not far behind with 10 points.  GAC meanwhile relied on a fabulous scoring night by Miller who led all scorers with 24 points.  Rice added 14 points while Thompson had 11 points.