MIAC Championship Game - GAC vs UST 2-24-18

Made a relatively quick trip on I-94 over to the St. Paul side of town on this early afternoon (much quicker than it would be coming back with the snow) to get a good parking spot and get settled into Schoenecker Arena on the campus of UST for the MIAC Championship Game between visiting GAC which made its way to town on U.S. Highway 169 and the Mankato Sub portion of Union Pacific's "Omaha Route" mainline to face host UST.  The Gusties advanced to this championship game by virtue of their quarterfinal win over St. Kate's and a big upset on the road of second-seeded CSB on Thursday night while the top-seeded Tommies got here by virtue of their semifinal win over SMU on Thursday night.  You could feel the anticipation in the air for this game as this would be a rematch of the 2017 MIAC Championship Game and although UST has had its way with GAC for the last eight seasons, anything can happen and the Gusties came into this contest with the hope that they could spring another upset and steal the AQ for the MIAC.

One of the big questions for UST coming into this game was the availability of junior post Hannah Spaulding who suffered a concussion in the regular season finale against CSB.  Understudy sophomore post Elsa Anderson was shoved into the starting role on Thursday night against SMU and came through with flying colors; scoring 15 points to lead the way and snared 10 rebounds to record a "double-double" and Tommie Head Coach Ruth Sinn had every bit of confidence with her going into this game.  Yet the Gusties showed a lot of confidence against CSB and owned the boards on that night and were hoping to do the same on this day.  Both teams would be foiled on their initial two possessions but GAC finally broke the ice on a score in the paint by senior forward Miranda Rice at the 7:33 mark.  UST would knot the score in a short jumper in the lane by junior guard Lucia Renikoff at the 7:17 mark but a 4-0 Gustie push thanks to surprising freshman point guard Ava Gonsorowski gave GAC a bit of an edge.  The former Esko standout made a drive for a finish at the 5:55 mark and connected with a lay-up at the 5:25 mark to make it a 6-2 game.  The Tommies would close the gap to one point when freshman reserve guard Kaia Porter muscled into the paint for a score and drew a foul in the process and made good on the ensuing "and one" at the 5:08 mark.  A Porter lay-up with 3:51 left kept UST in that one-point range down 8-7 but the Gusties would respond with a 5-0 push to get some breathing space.  Senior reserve forward Emee Udo snared an offensive rebound for a putback with 3:32 left and a three-point bomb from the left wing by junior reserve guard Taylor Anderson with 1:25 left gave GAC a 13-7 lead and things definitely appeared to be going the Gusties way in getting a good start just as they had against CSB.  But the Tommies would manage to crawl back to within a single possession before the end of the opening period.  Junior guard Kaylie Brazil dropped one free throw after getting fouled with 1:11 left and a score in the paint by Elsa Anderson with :32.7 left cut GAC's lead down to two points at 13-11.  Throw in the fact that the Gusties' Rice was tagged with her second foul with :46.7 left and suddenly things weren't looking quite so rosy.

UST junior guard Lucia Renikoff's "3" from the right top area at the 9:25 mark of the second period propelled the Tommies out in front for the first time on this afternoon but it looked as if the Gusties had quickly righted the ship when junior forward Kendall Thompson connected with a lay-up at the 8:07 mark that drew a foul in the process and sank the obligatory free throw to shove GAC back out in front by a 16-14 count.  It was here, however, where the Tommies made their first decisive move of the day with a 7-0 run.  Freshman reserve guard Madi Radtke connected with a short one-handed shot as the shot clock was expiring at the 7:36 mark to tie the game and a three-point bomb by senior forward Lauren Fischer from the left corner at the 7:06 mark had UST in front 19-16.  That lead expanded to 21-16 when Elsa Anderson got into a paint for a score at the 6:05 mark and Gustie Head Coach Laurie Kelly called a timeout in hopes of cooling off the Tommies.  GAC managed to get back to within a single possession when Taylor Anderson drilled her second trey of the game - this one coming from the left wing as well that tightened things up at 21-19.  But the Gusties had to absorb some more bad luck when Udo was slapped with her second foul with 4:34 left.  Then Tommie senior guard Maddie Wolkow banged home a "3" from the right top area with 4:24 left and twenty seconds later, GAC's Udo picked up her third foul of the afternoon.  UST's Elsa Anderson; showing her versatility, drained a "3" from the right wing area with 3:52 left to expand the lead to eight points at 27-19 before the Gusties could cut into things a bit.  Thompson dropped two free throws after getting fouled with 3:41 left and a steal and short jumper in transition by senior guard Mikayla Miller with 3:14 left cut the deficit down to four points at 27-23.  UST would get the lead stretched back to seven points as Wolkow drained her second trey of the afternoon from the left top area with 2:49 left and a lay-up by Radtke with 1:09 left maintained the seven-point edge at 32-25.  GAC would cut into that cushion again as Thompson drilled a "3" from the left wing area with :55 left but the Tommies increased their safety net when Porter knocked down a jumper from the left elbow off of an inbounds pass with :32 seconds and both teams shuffled off to their respective locker rooms with UST holding a 34-28 edge at the halftime buzzer.  It was something of a good news/bad news proposition for the Gusties as yes, they got off to a good start and were still very much in this thing down by only six and they had a definite edge on the boards after the first period at 9-4.  The bad news?  They missed several lay-ups and "bunny" shots in the first two periods and they also could not stop the Tommies from knocking down three-point bombs courtesy of Wolkow, Renikoff and Anderson.  In fact, GAC shot only 4-14 from FG range in the second period alone for 28.6% which gives you an idea of how much they struggled after getting an early lead.

The Gusties frustrations continued in the opening moments of the third period as they were unable to cash in on their first two possessions.  Gonsorowski was finally able to snare a steal with just over 8:00 left and she dashed the other way for a lay-up attempt only to rush the attempt a bit much.  Fortunately for GAC, Miller was right behind to bail out the youngster and her putback at the 7:58 mark trimmed the deficit to four points at 34-30.  At the 6:04 mark, Rice was able to snare a tough offensive rebound and get a putback out of it that now had the Gusties right where they wanted to be - down by only two and almost two full quarters to play.  But UST; not willing to let its opponent sniff an opportunity, went on a key 8-2 run.  Renikoff drained one of her patented three-point bombs from the left corner at the 5:50 mark and a short jumper from the right side by Brazil with 3:51 left got the Tommie lead to 39-32.  Then it was Brazil; the former Norwood-Young America standout showing her prowess from behind the arc as her bomb from the left top area with 3:03 left had UST up by eight at 42-34.  Dazed perhaps but not fazed, the Gusties made another attempt to close the gap.  Rice drained a "3" from the top of the key with 2:30 left and another three-point bomb by junior guard Justine Lee from the right wing area with 1:37 left had GAC right back in the thick of things down by only two again at 42-40.  Maddie Wolkow to the rescue for the Tommies as she knocked down a jumper from the right elbow area with 1:20 left and then banged home a "3" from the right top area with :30 left to increase UST's safety net to seven points at 47-40.  Lee would get one free throw to go down with :09.6 left in the third period but it seemed like the Gusties didn't have a lot to show for their efforts after twice getting back to within a single possession. 

Two Rice free throws at the 8:16 mark of the fourth period pulled GAC a bit closer down four at 47-43 but the Tommies again set out to stretch their lead.  Brazil drilled a "3" from the right corner at the 8:01 mark and one Brazil freebie at the 5:52 mark had the UST lead back up to eight points at 51-43.  Undaunted, the Gusties would make another run.  Thompson connected with a lay-up at the 5:15 mark and a "3" by Taylor Anderson from the right wing area with 3:43 left had the deficit down to five points at 53-48.  Less than a minute later with 3:19 left Taylor Anderson struck again with a lay-up in transition that again had GAC in great position down by only two points at 53-51 and the Tommies' Sinn called a thirty-second timeout to re-evaluate things.  That short stoppage in play seemed to not only allow UST to catch their collective breaths but also gave their leaders a chance to save their team.  Wolkow got an open look from behind the arc at the right top area and she brazenly drained a cold-blooded "3" with 2:52 left that pushed the Tommie lead to six points at 56-50.  The Gusties would make another bid and although Miller couldn't connect on either free throw attempt when she was sent to the charity stripe with 2:39 left, Rice was able to muscle out her defender and she snared the back end attempt and got a putback out of it with 2:30 left to reduce the deficit to four points at 56-52.  Guess who came to the rescue for UST?  Why Wolkow, of course, and on the ensuing Tommie possession she got another free look from that same right top area and drained yet another routine three-point bomb to get the UST lead back to seven points at 59-52 with 2:03 left.  With time now becoming a factor, the Gusties attempted one more comeback bid.  Rice muscled into the paint for one score with 1:41 left and after a foiled UST possession, Gonsorowski got a jumper to go down from the left wing area with :57 left that now had GAC back to within single-possession range once again down 59-56.  The Gusties' Kelly called a thirty-second timeout to set up defensive strategy and now it was paramount for GAC to get a stop.  So on the ensuing Tommie possession, UST worked the ball carefully around the perimeter in hopes of not only burning as much time off the clock as possible but hoping to get a foul as well.  With :32.8 left, Renikoff got just enough room where she was able to make a drive and although she wasn't able to get her shot attempt to go down, she did draw a foul and now the Tommies were in the bonus as well.  She skillfully sank both free throw attempts to get UST's lead up to 61-56 and now the Gusties needed something good and something fast but unfortunately for them, they could never find the magic.  Gonsorowski couldn't connect on her lay-up attempt with :18 left and now GAC was forced to foul.  The Tommies' Renikoff got one free throw to go down with :12.8 left and the Gusties lifelines were all used up.  Miller's three-point attempt with :03 left missed its mark and UST won its seventh straight MIAC Championship Game by a final score of 62-56. 

Jubilation was abundant on the UST side afterward as the team and coaches cut down the net on their end.  I caught up with Sinn with the net around her neck to congratulate her and her team on this latest victory.  I asked her about the availability of Spaulding going forward and she said that she'd be ready and cleared by tomorrow (Sunday 2-25); that she had to go through a five-day protocol to get cleared but everything appears to be okay which is definitely good news for her and the Tommies.  Sinn told me that she explained to the team earlier in the week that Spaulding likely wouldn't be available during MIAC Playoff week and that others needed to step up to the plate.  Not that they had to do something spectacular or anything like that but be able to contribute on both ends of the floor.  I think we saw that on this day.  Elsa Anderson held her own down low and Sinn also got contributions from more than just her normal chain gang.  Porter, Radtke and junior reserve guard McKenna DuBois were able to come in and provide valuable minutes on both ends of the floor.  I asked both Sinn and Assistant Coach Brian Silk about this next week wrt the first and second rounds of the upcoming NCAA Tournament and both feel confident that UST will get to host a pod beginning this next Friday evening and we'll get the details come Monday afternoon.  So while the Tommies were a "lock" anyway for the Dance regardless, the same cannot be said for GAC which now must play the excruciating waiting game for Monday's NCAA Tournament pairings.  I still personally feel that they're in given their record and their SOS (strength of schedule) but there's other things that come into play in this; particularly with how the other conference tournaments in the West Region go.  Assuming that things go to form without a lot of upsets here and there, the Gusties SHOULD be in decent shape.  I'll have a lot more to say about this on Sunday night/Monday morning when more information becomes available; particularly from the wonks at D3Hoops.com.  Meanwhile, as far as this game is concerned, it's another case of coulda/shoulda/woulda for GAC.  I really felt that this game was out there for them to take and they just couldn't quite get the important things done to get them over the top.  Just too many missed lay-ups or "bunnies" that you've got to convert on.  And they gave up WAY too many three-point shots - especially at important times when they managed to get within a single-possession.  And the Tommies did a good job in blanketing Miller who finished with only four points on this day.  Until GAC can change this, it's likely going to continue to be a frustrating experience for them in playing UST.  The Tommies' balanced attack was on of their keys to victory on this day.  Wolkow led the way with her 17 points and she was 5-8 from behind the arc as well.  Renikoff finished with 13 points and Brazil had a solid day with 11 points.  Rice led the way for GAC on this day with her 13 points and Thompson had a "double-double" of 12 points and 10 rebounds.  Gonsorowski was the only other player for the Gusties in double-figures with her 10 points.  Again, I point to the fact that GAC shot only 19-59 from FG range for 32.2% on this day and that's simply not going to get the job done against a great team like UST that will make you pay in spades for every misstep you make.  It just goes to show you how incredibly small your margin for error is when you play the Tommies.  On a positive note for Kelly and her staff, the Gusties owned the boards on this day by a 42-27 count but they also had more turnovers than the Tommies did at 15-11.  Interestingly enough, GAC did hold the edge in points in the paint by a 20-12 margin and they also held a decided edge in those all-important "second-chance" points by a 16-5 count.