MIAC Playoff Quarterfinal Game - SMU vs Bethel 2-20-18

Made my way over to Robertson Center on the campus of Bethel University on this Tuesday evening to take in one of the two MIAC Playoff Quarterfinal Games taking place on this night; this one featuring visiting SMU which made its way up U.S. Highway 61 and the CP Rail River Sub mainline up to the Twin Cities to face host Bethel.  Unlike last year, the Cardinals finished down the stretch of the season strong; winning four of their last five games for a 15-10 overall record to get the number-five seed in the MIAC Playoffs and were arguably much more experienced than they were last year.  The Royals as well finished reasonably strong down the stretch, winning five of their last seven to finish with an 18-8 overall record and snared the number-four spot.  Just judging on the numbers you had to figure that this one had the making of a very good contest and the crowd inside Robertson Center on this night would get their money's worth.

For a young team like SMU on the road in a post-season game and being under pressure where the intensity is raised a few notches, it's definitely important to get off to a good start and not get yourself into a hole early on and Cardinal Head Coach Brent Pollari likely could not have been more proud of his young squad in how they started off this game; bolting out to an early 11-2 lead.  Junior guard Kirsten Keefe was able to grab the opening tip and dash in for an easy lay-up at the 9:51 mark to start things off and a "3" from the right top area by Shayley Vesel at the 8:13 mark had SMU on top 5-0.  Willowy junior post Hannah Johnson finally got the Royals on the board with a lay-up in transition at the 7:16 mark but three consecutive scores by SMU standout junior forward Brandi Blattner put Bethel in a real hole early on.  The former Dover-Eyota standout first knocked down a short jumper at the 6:55 mark and followed that up with a short jumper in the lane at the 6:16 mark to push the Cardinals lead to 9-2.  Then Blattner connected with a pretty reverse lay-up at the 5:44 mark to push SMU's lead to 11-2 and two free throws by senior guard Alexa Huisman at the 5:04 mark maintained the nine-point edge at 13-4 before Bethel could finally get untracked a bit.  A Johnson lay-up with 4:48 left in the first period along with a drive and finish by senior guard Abby Miller with 3:41 left trimmed the deficit down to five points at 13-8.  The Cardinals' Huisman stretched her team's lead to eight points with her three-point bomb from the left top area with 3:16 left but the Royals would manage to close to within a single possession as a lay-up by sophomore forward Taite Anderson with 2:58 left and one free throw by freshman reserve forward Lainie Cox with 2:02 left undid the earlier damage and then Anderson was able to connect with a lay-up with 1:02 left that also drew a foul and her ensuing "and one" cut the deficit down to two points at 16-14.  SMU though would close out the first period on another push as Huisman made good on a drive and finish with :28 left and a tough offensive rebound for a putback by Blattner with just :00.1 left in the opening period got the Cardinals more breathing space with a 20-14 edge.

A Huisman lay-up at the 9:34 mark of the second period stretched SMU's lead to eight at 22-14 and although Blattner picked up her second foul of the evening a bit later at the 8:00 mark, the Cardinals' Pollari decided to roll the dice and keep Blattner in the game and she responded with a hard drive along the left baseline for a finish at the 7:35 mark that allowed SMU to enjoy a ten-point 24-14 advantage.  The Royals; who had struggled offensively thus far finally got things going again as Johnson got into the paint for a score at the 7:21 mark and an Anderson score in the paint at the 6:01 mark cut the deficit down to six points at 24-18.  But getting things tight again was proving to be problematic for Bethel and the Cardinals made a move to widen the gap again.  Vesel connected with a lay-up in transition at the 5:26 mark and was fouled in the process and her ensuing "and one" got the lead back to nine at 27-18.  Two Blattner free throws with 4:11 left maintained the nine-point advantage at 29-20 and a Blattner score in the paint with 3:22 left kept the gap at nine points at 31-22.  Finally, after having struggled and stumbled offensively for much of the first half, Bethel finally put together a substantial run to make things tight.  Johnson connected with a short one-handed shot with 3:11 left to cut the deficit to seven points at 31-24 and then senior reserve guard Jasmin Bretoi made her presence felt.  The former Centennial standout drained a "3" from the left corner with 1:37 left that cut the gap to four points at 31-27 and with just :00.5 left, Johnson connected with a short turnaround jumper in the lane to get the Royals back to within a single possession down 31-29 as both teams headed to the locker room for the halftime break.  Considering the fact that the Royals had struggled mightily throughout both the first and second periods, just getting things back to a single-possession again was a huge accomplishment and probably sapped some of the initial enthusiasm that SMU was enjoying early on.  A check of the first half box score shows that the Cardinals, as a team anyway, didn't shoot all that great as they were 12-33 from FG range for 36.4% and 2-12 from behind the arc for 16.7%; hardly setting the world on fire.  But Blattner without question carried this team and she had already recorded 14 points and SMU did enjoy a slight edge on the boards by a 21-18 count.  Bethel actually shot better from FG range going 12-30 for 40% and was 1-5 from behind the arc (thanks to Bretoi) for 20%.  Again, the important thing for Bethel Head Coach Jon Herbrechtsmeyer and his staff was that they appeared to steal the momentum away from the Cardinals just before the halftime break and being down by only two points was not that big of a deal now.

SMU's Huisman tried to revive the Cardinals seemingly sagging fortunes with her short fadeaway jumper at the 9:17 mark of the third period but Bethel appeared ready to take the initiative.  Johnson connected with a short turnaround jumper at the 7:59 mark and after the Cardinals' Huisman was tagged with her third foul of the night at the 6:22 mark, the Royals kept poking away.  Two free throws by senior guard Angie Kirchoff at the 5:56 mark tied the game at 33 a piece and a score in the paint by Anderson a bit later at the 5:24 mark finally propelled Bethel into the lead for the first time on this night at 35-33.  SMU; perhaps alarmed by this development, rallied behind Blattner as she sank two freebies at the 5:08 mark to tie the game and then Blattner connected with a short turnaround jumper off the glass with 4:39 left to sneak the Cardinals back out in front by a 37-35 count.  Kirchoff would come to the rescue for the Royals with her "3" from the right wing area with 4:20 left to put Bethel back out in front 38-37 but SMU would not wither when the pressure was on and instead responded with an 8-2 push down the stretch of this third period.  Keefe connected with a running, one-handed jumper as the shot clock was expiring with 2:17 left to get the Cardinals back out in front at 39-38 and one Blattner free throw with 1:32 left made it a 40-38 ballgame.  Blattner would then snare an offensive rebound for a putback with 1:06 left and with just :03 left on the clock, Huisman drained a cold-blooded "3" from the left wing area to expand SMU's lead to five at 45-40 and it seemed like a lot of the wind that Bethel had in their sail early on in this period had suddenly gone out.

In fact, the Royals' hopes took another hit in the early moments of the fourth period when Cardinal freshman post Abby Winter uncorked a three-point bomb that rattled off the rim and kissed just perfectly off the glass at the 9:25 mark that widened SMU's lead to 48-40 and a Blattner jumper from the left elbow area at the 7:14 mark maintained that eight-point edge at 50-42.  Given the Royals predicament with where they stood with regards to their NCAA Tournament hopes, they finally began to feel the sense of urgency that was so needed at the moment and they slowly carved their way back.  Bretoi connected with a jumper from the free throw line at the 6:46 mark and a coast-to-coast lay-up by Anderson at the 5:10 mark now had the deficit down to four points at 50-46 and given the fact that SMU's Blattner had collected her fourth foul of the evening by this time and that the Royals were looking to make another run, the Cardinals' Pollari called a timeout to try and get his squad calmed down.  Still, Bethel managed to cut the deficit down to one point as Anderson connected with a lay-up with 4:21 left and one Miller free throw with 3:42 left had the Royals right back in the thick of things dangling by a single point down 50-49.  SMU's Vesel gave her squad a bit more breathing room with her two free throws with 3:19 left but on the ensuing Bethel possession, Bretoi got an open look at the top of the key from behind the arc and her bomb found nothing but cotton that suddenly tied the contest at 52-all.  A Johnson jumper from the left elbow area with 2:10 left gave the Royals the lead at 54-52 and the partisan Bethel crowd at Robertson Center was going wild by this point.  The Cardinals could have easily faltered right then and there but instead they kept their cool and refused to wilt under pressure.  With 1:48 left and the pressure on, Blattner muscled into the lane for a jumper that tied the contest at 54 a piece and SMU's Pollari called a timeout to set up strategy.  The Royals still appeared to be in good shape; primed to recapture the lead on their ensuing possession but with 1:36 left, disaster struck as Anderson; trying to split a screen that was set on her, was tagged with her fifth foul of the night and was sent to the pine.  That blow really seemed to suck all the momentum that Bethel had built up in the home stretch of the fourth period.  The Royals still managed to foil the subsequent SMU possession but the next Bethel chance went out the window when senior reserve guard Hannah Simpson couldn't get her three-point attempt to go down.  On the ensuing Cardinal possession, Blattner; the heroine of the night for the Winona gang, muscled into the paint for a score with :24 left to get SMU back out in front by a 56-54 count.  The Royals' Herbrechtsmeyer called a timeout to set up a play that would hopefully get this one sent to an extra session.  Bethel carefully worked the ball around and with time ticking down, they got the ball inside to Johnson who tried to maneuver inside but her shot attempt with :09 left refused to cooperate with the rim and SMU's Keefe was there for the defensive rebound.  The Royals still had one foul to give, however, and the Cardinals' Vesel would get fouled again with :04.5 left where she would go to the charity stripe and sink both attempts to now make it a two-possession game at 58-54.  Bethel had one last gasp hope left and Miller tried launching a "3" with :02 left and hoped to draw a foul as well but neither happened and SMU had recorded a huge upset in MIAC Playoff play to advance to the semifinals. 

I caught up with a relieved Pollari afterward who looked like he had the weight of the world lifted from his shoulders.  I had to tell him that I felt like I made a mistake by underestimating his squad and that they showed their mettle on this night.  Pollari was greatly appreciative of my remark and I asked him how his young team managed to stay so calm under pressure.  He talked about in one of the last timeouts he took that he just just told his squad to take some deep breaths.  "Calm down" he said.  And they responded.  Moreover, he talked about his emphasis toward effort in practice; just working on the little things like setting screens, working on passing and rebounding and the like and I think those efforts paid off on this night.  There's no question in my mind that this team has definitely made great strides since I saw them shortly after the first of the year when they lost at St. Kate's.  Meanwhile for Bethel, it's an incredibly excruciating end to an incredibly disappointing season where hopes were so high and the potential was so great.  And to see the red eyes of the seniors like Miller, Kirchoff, Bretoi and Simpson who poured their hearts into this program and this season and to have it all come to a crashing halt in such unpredictable fashion was tough to take.  They definitely had their chances in this game and they simply ran into a team that played better than they did on this night.  Even Bethel's Herbrechtsmeyer told me afterward that he felt that they simply did not play their best basketball down the stretch of this season and, unlike last year, he felt that they didn't respond to adversity - for whatever reasons - as well as they could have or should have.  No doubt that having Anderson foul out when she did was a blow as well.  What can you say about SMU's Blattner on this night?  She was simply spectacular at times and she led all scorers with her 27 points and recorded a "double-double" as well with her 11 total rebounds.  Huisman was solid as well with her 14 points and Vesel finished with 10 points.  Johnson paced Bethel on this night with her 20 points and she recorded a "double-double" as well with 17 rebounds.  Anderson was the only other player for the Royals in double-figures with her 13 points.  Rebounds actually were pretty even on this night with SMU holding a 38-37 advantage and although Bethel's Herbrechtsmeyer and his staff can likely take some cold comfort with the 10 blocked shots they had on this night, they probably weren't happy in knowing that SMU had a 6-3 edge in those all-important "second-chance" points.