Exhibition Game - UST vs Concordia St. Paul 11-1-18

Fought some heavy traffic on the way over on I-94 but got over to Gangelhoff Center on the campus of Concordia St. Paul University in plenty of time to get settled in for this enticing non-conference exhibition clash between defending MIAC champ UST and host Concordia St. Paul.  This was a bit of an odd set of circumstances because for the Tommies, this game would be considered an exhibition game for them and for Concordia St. Paul it would be considered a scrimmage.  The bottom line is that the sun would come up the next day for both squads no matter the outcome and, more importantly, it was a chance for both teams to iron out some kinks before things start for real.

Both teams started out in man-to-man defense but neither team looked particularly sharp in the early moments.  The Golden Bears were finally able to break the ice at the 8:25 mark of the opening period thanks to senior point guard Anna Schmitt as she first connected with a short jumper in the lane at the 8:25 mark and followed that up with a "3" from the right wing area at the 7:49 mark to give Concordia St. Paul a 5-0 lead.  But the Tommies had no intentions of being fazed by their DII opponent and a 9-0 UST burst was a good indication of that.  Sophomore guard/forward Kaia Porter's score in the paint at the 7:26 mark and a lay-up by senior guard Lucia Renikoff at the 6:04 mark cut the deficit to one point and a score in the paint by senior All-American post Hannah Spaulding that also drew a foul and resulted in the obligatory "and one" pushed UST out in front by a 7-5 count.  Sophomore reserve guard Macy Hatlestad's lay-up with 4:30 left in the first period completed this run before the Golden Bears could finally shake off the doldrums.  Schmitt knocked down two freebies after getting fouled with 4:05 left and also got a score in the paint with 2:52 left that helped pull her squad back within a single possession down 11-9 but it had to be a bit unsettling for Concordia St. Paul Head Coach Amanda Johnson to see that her squad was thus far getting offensive production from only the Waconia native and when freshmen phenom forward Riley Wheatcraft went down after an inadvertent collision with 1:47 left, there may have been a tendency towards full-fledged panic.  Fortunately for the Golden Bears, Wheatcraft was able to get up and walk off under her own power and a score in the paint by senior guard Hanna Vidlund with :14 left kept Concordia St. Paul down by only two at 13-11 at the end of the first period.

The Golden Bears got things even-steven at 13 a piece at the 9:37 mark of the second period when senior post Lindsay Dorr connected with a lay-up but UST would respond with a 7-2 push.  Porter; the former Roseville standout, started this foray with a "3" from the right corner at the 9:19 mark and followed that up for a jumper from the left corner just inside the arc at the 8:26 mark for an 18-15 Tommie advantage.  A routine Spaulding score in the paint at the 7:58 mark pushed the lead to 20-15 before Concordia St. Paul could respond.  Vidlund breezed along the right baseline for a finish at the 7:41 mark and then Wheatcraft; who was earlier on the floor with an apparent injury, was able to connect with a lay-up in transition at the 7:22 mark that also drew a foul and her ensuing free throw had this contest tied up again at 20-all. Tommie junior point guard Sarah Krynski put her team back up on top with her three-point bomb from the right wing area at the 7:04 mark but Concordia St. Paul's Schmitt got a lay-up in transition at the 6:24 mark to cut the deficit to one point at 23-22 and when senior guard Lexi Lee drained a "3" from the left top area at the 6:06 mark to give the Golden Bears the lead back at 25-23, it looked as if maybe Concordia St. Paul might be in position to take this game over.  The Tommies held strong, however, as pairs of free throws by Krynski at the 5:53 and 5:39 marks had UST back out in front 27-25 and one more by Porter at the 5:09 mark increased the lead to 28-25.  The Golden Bears would come back to tie the game when Wheatcraft connected with a lay-up and drew a foul in the process and her ensuing free throw had things deadlocked again at 28 a piece.  A drive into the lane by Schmitt with 4:03 left did likewise to make it 30-all and one lay-up by senior guard and former Anoka standout Kyrah Fredenburg with 2:43 left and one in transition by Wheatcraft with 1:38 left had things tied at 34 so at this point it appeared that the worst-case scenario for Concordia St. Paul would be going into the locker room tied up or down a single-possession.  But the Tommies have always prided themselves on getting one last burst before the halftime break and they were able to do that on this night.  One Renikoff free throw with 1:24 left nudged UST back out in front 35-34 and then senior guard Kaylie Brazil made a pretty little spin move near the top of the key and drove into the lane for a one-handed finish to push the Tommie lead to 37-34.  Then it was Spaulding's score in the paint with :26.5 left to push the lead to five at 39-34 before Concordia St. Paul could trim the deficit back down to four points on one free throw by Schmitt with :05.2 left.  Though being down by only four points at the half was certainly not insurmountable by any stretch, it did seem to take some of the wind out of the Golden Bears sail.

Concordia St. Paul set out in the opening moments of the third period to right the wrong of the last few moments of the second period.  Dorr connected with a lay-up at the 9:26 mark that cut the deficit down to two points at 40-38 and then a hard drive along the baseline and finish by Schmitt at the 7:41 mark kept the Golden Bears in that two-point range down 42-40.  Then Dorr connected with a lay-up at the 7:25 mark and drew a foul in the process and her ensuing free throw now had Concordia St. Paul down by only one at 44-43 and seemingly in great position to make a move.  However, it would be the Tommies who would now make a move and put some more space between them and their opponent.  First, Brazil with her deft touch connected with another short jumper in the lane at the 6:55 mark and then Porter unleashed her second three-point bomb of the night - this one from the left corner off of an inbounds pass at the 6:37 mark that now pushed UST's lead to six at 49-43.  Put back at Square One again, the Golden Bears chipped away at the cushion.  Dorr got inside for another score and drew a foul in the process and the obligatory free throw had Concordia St. Paul back to within a single possession down 49-46.  One more Dorr freebie at the 5:23 mark and two more by Schmitt at the 5:10 mark cut the deficit down to just two points at 51-49.  The Golden Bears; now making it a priority to get the ball inside to their senior post from Otsego, got Dorr to the charity stripe with 2:35 left in the third period and the former Rogers standout dropped two more free throws that once again now had Concordia St. Paul in prime position to make a move down only by one at 53-52.  And once again, they were promptly denied by the Tommies.  Krynski drilled a "3" from the right top area with 1:06 left and one free throw by freshman reserve post Brynne Rolland with :42.8 left got the lead back up to five at 57-52.  Then it was lanky sophomore reserve guard Madi Radtke delivering a stunning blow as the southpaw from Lester Prairie nailed a savage three-point bomb from the left wing as the shot clock expired with just :02 left as UST ended this wild third period with their largest lead so far at 60-52.

The Golden Bears made a determined effort to cut into that UST cushion in the opening moments of the fourth period.  1 Dorr freebie at the 9:41 mark and another Lee "3" - this one from the right wing area at the 9:07 mark - certainly had Concordia St. Paul right back in the thick of things down only four at 60-56 with a mountain of time left.  But UST would never allow the Golden Bears to get into position to retake the lead and did everything possible to grow that cushion.  Another Spaulding score in the paint at the 8:20 mark got the lead up to six at 62-56 and then Spaulding; not necessarily known for her three-point prowess, let loose with a dagger "3" from the right top area at the 7:13 mark that grew the lead to seven at 65-58 and the Golden Bears' Johnson had seen enough to know that a timeout was needed to get her troops reorganized.  UST's Spaulding, however, refused to be cooled off after the impromptu break in the action as she got into the paint again for one score at the 6:30 mark and then connected with a lay-up at the 5:51 mark that gave the Tommies their biggest lead of the night at nine points at 69-58.  Concordia St. Paul made one last strong attempt to narrow the gap with Dorr going to work.  One score in the paint at the 5:37 mark and an offensive rebound for a putback with 4:52 left got the deficit down to eight at 70-62.  Two Schmitt free throws with 4:44 left allowed the Golden Bears to get a bit closer down 70-64 and then Fredenburg uncorked a "3" from the left corner with 4:08 left that suddenly got Concordia St. Paul back to within a single possession one more time down 70-67.  Alas, the wisp of hope the Golden Bears may have had at that point vanished quietly into the dark early November night as UST would find a way to slam the door shut when it counted.  Two scores by Porter - a lay-up with 3:42 left and an offensive rebound and putback of her own miss with 2:59 left - pushed the Tommie lead to seven at 74-67 and there was really no looking back from there.  Renikoff would sink insurance freebies with :22.2 left and Brazil got one to go down with :15.6 left for a 77-71 UST lead.  Two more Renikoff free throws with :08.5 sealed the deal and although Lee would get an obligatory lay-up with :04.7 left for the Golden Bears, UST would walk out of Gangelhoff Center with a 79-74 victory.

Because this was considered a scrimmage from a Concordia St. Paul standpoint, I didn't have the benefit to rely on any stats afterward; much less keep track of fouls or know who had how many points.  But it was easy to see that the Golden Bears will be relying heavily on both Dorr and Schmitt for point production this season and while both can certainly be counted on, it's also something of a fragile proposition as well.  The other thing that raised a few red flags on this night from a Golden Bear standpoint was that I felt that their defense was a bit suspect at times.  That's one area that they'll need to shore up before delving into NSIC play.  While it's too early to crown UST as MIAC champions again just yet, I think Head Coach Ruth Sinn had to feel pretty good for the most part about how her team performed on this night.  Defensively, I felt that they were simply outstanding at times and they really made life difficult for the Concordia St. Paul backcourt.  Spaulding is as every bit as good as everyone thought that she would be and I like how both Radtke and Hatlestad are coming off the bench and making contributions on both ends of the floor.