Hamline vs St. Kate's 2-10-18

Another Saturday and yet another trip over to the St. Paul side of town to Butler Center on the campus of St. Catherine University for a late regular season matchup between visiting Hamline which made the short trek down from the north side of town to take on host St. Kate's.  This has been a long season for the Pipers who were coming into this contest with a 3-12 record in MIAC play and 4-18 overall with little to play for but pride.  At the same time, however, don't let their subpar record fool you.  This is a team with a lot of skill and young talent and they weren't about to lay down for anyone.  For St. Kate's, they've suddenly found themselves thrust right back into the playoff mix for that coveted sixth spot and they desperately needed to hold serve at home to keep their flickering playoff hopes alive.  This was also senior day at St. Kate's as well and senior guard Meg Clark and senior guard/forward Alexis Garcia were honored before the start of the game in fitting fashion.

Given that both teams have the ability to push the ball up the floor, I had a sneaking suspicion that this one could be a difficult one to keep up with from a reporting standpoint and my suspicions were soon confirmed.  Plus the fact that strange things always seem to happen when these two teams square off I knew full and well would make me glad I had two pens ready to go just in case.  The Wilcats got off to a quick 4-0 lead as a lay-up by sophomore guard Jackie Radford connected with a lay-up at the 9:16 mark and fellow sophomore guard Danica Cambrice got a lay-up to go down in transition at the 8:53 mark.  Hamline would come right back, however, as junior guard Alaina Quaranta caught fire from the get-go.  The Eau Claire, Wisconsin native first drained a "3" from the right wing area at the 7:40 mark and soon followed that up with one of her specialties - snaring a steal in the backcourt and getting an easy lay-up out of it - which is exactly what she did at the 7:28 for a 5-4 Piper lead.  The 'Cats would regain the lead on two Cambrice free throws after she was fouled in a transition opportunity at the 7:20 mark but Hamline's Quaranta would make her presence felt again at the 6:56 mark when she banged home a "3" from the left wing off of the glass to propel the Pipers back out in front again at 8-6.  St. Kate's would then go on a 7-0 push as freshman guard Morgan Kurth connected with a lay-up at the 6:32 mark and a Radford "3" from the left wing area at the 6:00 mark gave the Wildcats an 11-8 lead.  A steal and lay-up by Cambrice capped this run for a 13-8 St. Kate's advantage but that lead didn't last long.  The Pipers' Quaranta struck again with a jumper along the right baseline and a "3" from the left wing area off of an inbounds pass by sophomore reserve guard Kaeli Stayer with 4:24 left knotted this contest at 13 a piece.  Fellow sophomore guard Morgen Coleman was able to snare a steal in the backcourt and get a lay-up out of it with 4:11 left and a lay-up by Quaranta with 2:58 lead had Hamline up 17-13.  A Quaranta jumper from the left wing area with 2:34 left maintained that four-point edge for the Pipers at 19-15 but now it was the 'Cats turn to take back the advantage.  Radford buried her second trey of the afternoon from the right wing area with 2:26 left to cut the deficit to one point at 19-18 and a short jumper from the left side by Cambrice with 1:31 left put St. Kate's back out in front 20-19.  Right back came the Pipers as two free throws by freshman guard Molly Wampler with 1:10 left and another steal and lay-up by the wily Quaranta with 1:03 left now had Hamline into the lead again at 23-20.  Kurth would help the 'Cats cut the deficit down to a single point at 23-22 when she snared an offensive rebound for a putback with :51 left and a Cambrice lay-up with :30 left kept St. Kate's in that single-point range down 25-24 to end a rather wild first period.

The Wildcats would try and take the initiative in the early moments of the second period as Meg Clark got one free throw to go down after getting fouled at the 8:58 mark to tie the game at 25 a piece and Cambrice made a drive into the lane for a finish a bit later at the 8:35 mark and drew a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" got St. Kate's out in front once again by a 28-25 score.  Freshman reserve forward Mackenzie Dettman connected with a lay-up at the 7:36 mark to help the Wildcats maintain the three-point edge at 30-27 and a drive and finish by Meg Clark at the 6:17 mark had St. Kate's up by four points at 32-28.  When Cambrice was able to snare an offensive rebound for a putback at the 5:24 mark to maintain the four-point edge at 34-30, it appeared as if the 'Cats had pretty much settled into their routine and were ready to gradually start pulling away.  But Hamline had vastly different ideas in mind and they proceeded to go on a 12-5 push to end the first half.  Sophomore forward Reilly Geistfeld uncorked a "3" from the top of the key at the 5:02 mark to reduce the deficit to a scant point and a short time later the Wildcats turned the ball over and Quaranta was able to get a lay-up out of that to propel the Pipers back out in front by a 35-34 count.  Then it was Stayer; the Coppell, Texas native draining a "3" from the left corner with 3:05 left and a score in the paint by Geistfeld with 2:31 left gave Hamline a four-point pad of their own at 40-36.  Cambrice would bring the Wildcats back to a single-point with her three-point bomb from the right top area with 1:33 left but the Pipers' Geistfeld ended the first half scoring with a lay-up with :47 left that allowed Hamline to take a 42-39 lead into the locker room at the half.  So while the 'Cats were down by only a single possession, it seemed like a lot of wind had been taken out of their sail in the last half of the second period.  Both teams shot surprisingly well in the first half.  St. Kate's was 16-32 from FG range for a straight 50% and they weren't bad from behind the arc either; going 3-5 for 60%.  Hamline was with nearly similar numbers as they shot 16-30 from FG range for 53.3% and were 5-10 from behind the arc for 50%.  The individual numbers were even more startling as both teams had not one but TWO players in double-figures already.  Cambrice with 20 and Radford with 10 for St. Kate's and and Quaranta with 18 and Geistfeld with 12 for Hamline.  The Pipers had the edge on the boards in the first half by a 19-11 count but also had more turnovers as well at 13-8.

Hamline managed to hang on to their edge for the duration of the third period and an early 6-2 push had the Pipers in decent shape.  Quaranta; doing what she does best, snared a steal and whizzed the other way for a lay-up at the 9:25 mark.  At the 8:07 mark, Quaranta would get fouled behind the arc and although she could only get one of the three free throw attempts to go down, Geistfeld made up for that when she buried her second three-point bomb of the afternoon at the 6:55 mark for a 48-41 Hamline lead.  The Wildcats would cut into that cushion thanks to Cambrice as the former St. Croix Lutheran standout connected with a jumper from the free throw line off of an inbounds pass at the 6:17 mark and then got into the paint for another score at the 5:27 mark that brought St. Kate's back to within a single possession down 48-45.  Both teams would hit a momentary dry patch but the Pipers would manage to step on the gas pedal again as Wampler drained a "3" from the top of the key with 2:21 left and a short jumper from the left side with the shot clock winding down by Coleman with 1:32 left gave Hamline some more breathing room with a 53-47 advantage.  The 'Cats would get closer on a drive and finish by Radford with 1:06 left but considering all the missed easy shots that St. Kate's had in the third period alone they were likely pretty fortunate to be down only four at 53-49 going into the fourth period.

The Pipers right away in the fourth period looked to build their cushion again and a lay-up by Quaranta after a St. Kate's turnover at the 9:41 mark got the lead back to six at 55-49.  A bit later at the 9:19 mark after another Wildcat boo-boo, Quaranta was cherry-picking on the other end and was  the recipient of a long baseball pass and she got an easy short jumper out of it that made it a 57-49 ballgame and a concerned St. Kate's Head Coach Don Mulhern decided it was time for a stoppage in play to discuss things with his team.  Perhaps the Wildcats heeded whatever advice or admonishing the received in the huddle during the timeout but two quick St. Kate's scores got the 'Cats right back into the thick of things.  Radford got into the paint for one score at the 7:37 as did Kurth at the 6:53 mark that reduced the Piper lead to 57-53 and now it was Hamline Head Coach Alex Focke's turn to be clamoring for a timeout.  The Pipers' fortunes, however, took another hit a bit later when Quaranta was tagged with her fourth foul of the afternoon with 4:52 left and one free throw by St. Kate's Kurth got one of two free throw attempts to go down that brought the 'Cats back into single possession range down 57-54.  Hamline freshman reserve forward Violet Kennedy briefly increased the Piper safety net when she got sent to the charity stripe with 3:24 left to drop two free throws to make it a 59-54 game but things continued to trend downward for the visitors from the north side of St. Paul.  The Wildcats got back to within a single possession again when Cambrice connected with a lay-up with 2:59 left and after an untimely Hamline turnover, Meg Clark would get fouled with 2:43 left and the former Kenyon-Wanamingo standout got both freebies to go down that now left St. Kate's dangling down by a scant point at 59-58.  Hamline's Wampler couldn't get her three-point shot attempt to go down on the ensuing Piper possession and with 2:22 left, the Wildcats' Meg Clark would get fouled again on a hard drive to the hole.  She promptly dropped both free throw attempts to push St. Kate's back out in front by a 60-59 count for the first time since the second period.  Hamline's Focke called for another timeout but by this time the Pipers' fortunes had shifted for the worse as the 'Cats continued to scratch and claw.  Hamline suffered yet another turnover on their next possession and now St. Kate's had a chance to establish a bit of breathing room.  Cambrice connected with a lay-up with 1:49 left and although the Wildcats were still not out of the woods by any stretch, the Pipers could not find the bottom of the net when they needed it most.  Geistfeld was unable to connect with a short jumper on the next Hamline possession and with 1:08 left, the Wildcats added one more point to their total on a Meg Clark free throw to make it a two-possession game at 63-59.  Wampler finally ended some of the Pipers' miseries when she was fouled with 1:01 left and she knocked down both free throw attempts to get Hamline back to within a single possession down 63-61 and a real chance to get this one knotted again.  In fact, with just under :50 left it looked as if the Pipers might get that chance when the Wildcats suffered a turnover but then Hamline promptly squandered that very chance a bit later with a turnover of their own.  With :33.3 left, St. Kate's freshman guard Ashley Fosness would get sent to the charity stripe but she could only get one of the two free throw attempts to go down for a 64-61 Wildcat lead which still left the door partially open for Hamline.  But this last real chance for the Pipers managed to slip through their fingers once again when Geistfeld; perhaps rushing a bit too much with her move and drive to the basket, inadvertently lost the ball off of her right leg with :14.2 left.  The Wildcat's Mulhern called a thirty-second timeout to set up strategy to try and protect their slim lead and with :12.9 left, Kurth would be fouled and the former Hutchinson standout would make no mistake here getting both charity stripe attempts to go down to make it a 66-61 game.  The Pipers were left in desperation mode now and with :06.3 left, Stayer's three-point shot attempt missed its mark and Cambrice was there for the defensive rebound for the Wildcats.  She was promptly fouled and she got both free throws to go down as St. Kate's saved the day - and their playoff chances as well - with a hard-fought 68-61 victory.

A disappointed Focke of Hamline admitted afterward that this one clearly came down to turnovers and rebounding by his squad and he knows that this young group has to get better in those two areas.  Still, it's easy to see why Focke and his staff have to feel good about the big picture because this is an incredibly young team dominated by freshmen and sophomores and they should only be that much better next season; particularly with Alaina Quaranta as a senior.  Quaranta has quite a knack for coming out of nowhere to snare steals and create havoc on the defensive end and, as was the case today, she can score as well and Hamline is awfully lucky to have her.  Overall, their guard play is very strong and there's few teams in the MIAC with guard play as good as Hamline's.  As St. Kate's Assistant Coach Tim Kjar told me afterward, "They're probably the best four-win team around....A LOT better than their record."  Meanwhile for St. Kate's, they again find a way to survive and they may indeed have more than the nine lives of your average house cat.  Again, I think the encouraging thing for Mulhern and his staff as that he's been digging deeper and deeper into his bench with his young players and they've been responding with quality minutes on both end of the floor.  And essentially he's not left with much of a choice at the moment with both Garcia and fellow senior Audra Clark out with injuries.  While Audra Clark is out for the rest of this season with her knee injury and is a hopeful returner for next season, it's uncertain at the moment whether or not Garcia can return to finish things up.  And when you consider the fact that now the Wildcats have their season on the line with the big game this next Wednesday over at Augsburg which is basically an elimination game for that coveted sixth spot for both squads, you would feel infinitely better about their chances with a healthy Garcia in the line-up.  Then again, you know Mulhern and his staff will have this team as well-prepared as possible for Wednesday night's game and they'll roll the dice and lay it all out there.  It's what you play for.  One thing that Mulhern CAN feel good about is Cambrice and it's no secret that her fantastic "double-double" of 30 points and 12 rebounds saved St. Kate's on this day.  Radford finished with a solid 16 points and Kurth had a nice day as well finishing with 11 points.  On the Hamline side, Quaranta cooled off a bit in the second half after basically carrying the team on her shoulders in the first half as she finished with 25 points while Geistfeld was the only other Piper in double figures with her 15 points.  One of the things that helped turn this game around for St. Kate's is that they simply owned the boards in the second half by a 31-15 count alone and finished with a 42-34 edge for the game.  And Hamline's Focke no doubt could only shake his head about the 26 turnovers his squad suffered in this game with the most critical ones coming down the stretch when they still had a chance.  One item that might have brightened Focke's outlook on this late afternoon was that the Pipers did have a 15-8 edge in those all-important "second chance" points.