Northwestern vs Hamline 11-14-18

Was over at venerable Hutton Arena on this Wednesday night of Beat SC week to take in another intriguing UMAC-MIAC women's hoops matchup - this one featuring visiting Northwestern which made its way down Snelling Avenue to take on host Hamline.  The Eagles had to survive an overtime scare against St. Kate's at home two nights ago while the Pipers had cruised to an easy win against Crown just five days before.  This would be my first look at this incredibly young Hamline team that features three freshman starters and a host of youngsters coming off the bench. 

Northwestern would strike first in this contest on a lay-up by junior forward Rio Landers at the 9:26 mark of the opening period but the Pipers would poke their nose out in front on a three-point bomb by freshman guard Ayanna Gardner at the 8:16 mark.  The Eagles would answer that with another Landers lay-up at the 7:45 mark for a 4-3 Northwestern lead.  But one that was becoming evident early on even to the most casual observer was that this would be a contrast between styles with the Eagles preference for a slower, half-court game and the fast, up-tempo style favored by Hamline and it became quite clear over the next few minutes that the speed and athleticism of this young Piper team would be a handful and then some for Northwestern and it was here that the Pipers made their first significant move of the game in the form of an eye-popping 19-2 run.  Freshman guard and former Cretin-Derham Hall standout Chan'el Anderson-Manning drained a "3" from the right wing area at the 6:12 mark and one free throw by junior forward Reilly Geistfeld a bit later at the 5:58 mark had Hamline up 7-4.  A "3" from the right wing area by junior reserve guard Morgen Coleman at the 5:22 mark pushed the Piper lead to 10-4 and then fellow junior reserve guard Kaeli Stayer banged home a "3" from the same right wing area with 4:56 left that suddenly had Hamline up 13-4.  The Eagles temporarily halted this run on a lay-up by sophomore forward Miranda Crenshaw with 2:56 left but the Pipers were just getting started.  Freshman guard Sophie Findell drilled "3" from the left top area with 2:36 left and then Gardner drained her second trey of the night from the left top area with 2:10 left for a 19-6 Hamline lead and Eagle Head Coach Aaron Kahl had seen enough to know a full timeout was warranted.  Still, the Pipers were able to close out the first period on one more Geistfeld freebie with 1:40 left and then Gardner snared a steal and got a lay-up out of it and drew a foul in the process and although the former DeLaSalle standout couldn't cash in on the "and one", Hamline was holding a sizable 22-6 advantage to start the second period. 

Northwestern needed desperately to get off on the right foot once the second period got going and a jumper from the top of the key just inside the arc by willowy freshman reserve guard Brooklyn DeKam at the 9:43 mark was certainly a step in the right direction but the Eagles needed to sustain a run of their own to significantly close the gap and that proved to be a daunting task.  Hamline would increase its lead to 26-8 on a lay-up by sophomore reserve guard Molly Wampler at the 8:42 mark and a Stayer jumper from the left elbow area at the 8:22 mark.  Eagle freshman guard Kelsea Lund drained a "3" from the left wing area at the 8:01 mark and a lay-up in transition by junior guard Jazinae Patterson with 4:09 left had the deficit down to fifteen at 28-13 but Hamline would proceed to bury its UMAC opponent again.  A Geistfeld score in the paint with 3:46 left and a lay-up after a steal by Anderson-Manning with 3:35 left got the Piper lead to 32-13 and Northwestern's Kahl was forced to take a match to another timeout.  The Eagles would manage to get on a 6-0 push to try and tighten things up as Patterson connected with a lay-up off of an inbounds pass with 2:31 left and two lay-ups by senior guard Amy Berglund - one with 2:07 left and another with 1:56 left - had the deficit down to thirteen points at 32-19 but Hamline's Coleman would put an exclamation point on this surprising Piper first half with a three-point bomb from the left wing area with :39 left as both teams went into the locker room at the half with Hamline up by a sizable 35-19 count.  It had to have been a doom and gloom atmosphere in the Northwestern locker room once Kahl and his staff got a hold of the first half box score that revealed that the Eagles shot only 9-26 from FG range for 34.6% and only 1-4 from behind the arc for 25%.  But what likely made Kahl reach for the Rolaids was the fact that the Eagles were guilty of 17 turnovers in the first half alone.  It wasn't that Hamline was necessarily shooting that much better but they definitely put up more shots than their opponent and the percentages worked in their favor as they went 13-40 from FG range for 32.5% and were 7-15 from behind the arc for 46.7%.  Plus the fact that the Pipers committed only five turnovers in that first half was a big number as well along with 11 steals to boot.

And things just seemed to go from bad to worse for the Eagles once the third period got underway.  One free throw by Findell at the 8:30 mark and another three-point dagger by Stayer - this one from the right corner at the 6:38 mark - gave the Pipers a twenty-point cushion at 39-19 and Northwestern's Kahl could clearly see that his team was awfully close to the point of no return (if it wasn't there already).  Hamline freshman reserve guard Isy Obiazor knocked down a jumper from the left top area in transition at the 6:10 mark and a lay-up by sophomore reserve forward Violet Kennedy with 3:41 left gave the Pipers a 43-21 lead and two Gardner free throws with 3:02 left after she was fouled in transition pushed the lead to 45-21.  Northwestern would make an attempt to cut into the cushion as Landers connected with a lay-up with 2:40 left and Lund made good on a drive and finish with 1:28 left and drew a foul in the process and her ensuing free throw briefly got the Eagles inside that twenty-point range at 45-26.  But the Pipers wasted little time in pushing their lead beyond the twenty-point range again as one free throw by junior forward Aly Sartain with 1:19 left and a steal and lay-up the other way by the versatile Geistfeld had Hamline up 48-26.  And the Pipers would cap this third period with a score in the paint by freshman reserve forward Sarah Loken with just :13 left to give Hamline an almost insurmountable 50-26 advantage. 

And if there was any doubt about how this one was going to end up, the Pipers embarked on a 15-0 blitz to start the fourth and final period.  Coleman unleashed a "3" from the left top area at the 9:31 mark and the North Branch native followed that up with a lay-up at the 8:34 mark that also drew a foul and her "and one" now had Hamline up by thirty at 56-26.  Stayer would knock down two free throws after getting fouled in a transition opportunity at the 8:16 mark and then Coleman knocked down a jumper from the left elbow area at the 7:48 mark.  Stayer connected with a short jumper in transition at the 7:02 mark and then Kennedy capped this run when she scored inside and drew a foul in the process and her obligatory free throw ballooned the lead to 65-26.  DeKam finally ended this extended drought for Northwestern with two free throws with 4:21 left but any hopes the Eagles may have had about coming back in this one had long gone out the window by this point.  De Kam would also connect with a jumper from the right wing area with 2:59 left and a nifty steal and lay-up the other way by sophomore reserve guard Jordan Suave with 1:02 left added to Northwestern's total.  Eagle reserve guard Megan Stubbs also added two charity stripe shots with :36.3 left but Hamline sophomore reserve forward Jayda Bagstad wrote the final chapter of this book with her offensive rebound for a putback with :24 left as the Pipers rolled to a resounding 71-33 victory. 

I managed to catch up with Hamline second-year Head Coach Alex Focke afterward to congratulate him and his squad on the big win on this night and I mentioned to him that I didn't know if his team was trying to make a statement on this night but given the lopsided victory, it sure seemed like they did.  "I really didn't know what to expect" he replied.  "We could have won by twenty or we could have lost by twenty."  But a beaming Focke had every reason to feel optimistic after what he witnessed on this night from his team and he was in agreement when I mentioned the next big challenge is to try and find some consistency which is always a big task for a young team such as Hamline.  I also managed to catch up with Northwestern Assistant Coach Katie DeWitt-Severson afterward as well and while this game certainly seemed like a big step backwards for a squad that had such high hopes coming into the season, she was in agreement when I said that championships are not won or lost in November.  I think the Eagles can certainly be in the thick of things in the UMAC race but they can ill-afford to have totally off-nights like this.  What may have pleased Focke on this night more than anything is that he got contributions from so many different players on this night.  And it would be the Texas native; Stayer, leading the way for Hamline on this night with her 12 points while Coleman was right behind with 11 points and Gardner had 10 points.  Northwestern on the other hand had no player in double-figures scoring wise as Berglund, Lund and Landers had six points a piece on this dismal outing.  Hamline outrebounded the Eagles on this night by a 48-38 count but the 33 total turnovers that Northwestern had on this night likely made Kahl look for that ubiquitous bottle of Tylenol PM when he got home that night.