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Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Park Center Holiday Showcase - Minnetonka vs Park Center 12-27-19


Made the quick run over to Park Center on this Friday evening to take in the marquee match-up on this first day of the Park Center Holiday Showcase that featured Minnetonka out of the always-tough Lake Conference going up against host Park Center out of the equally-tough Northwest Suburban Conference.  This would be my first look at the Skippers this season under Head Coach Leah Dasovich who has had considerable success at the helm of this Minnetonka program.  Park Center meanwhile was trying to keep its unblemished record intact and tonight had all the makings of a pretty good contest.

The Skippers certainly started out strong enough in the opening minutes of the first half as lanky eighth-grade forward Emma Dasovich connected with a lay-up at the 17:45 mark and Emma Dasovich would strike again a minute later at the 16:45 mark when she snared an offensive rebound for a putback and drew a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" had Minnetonka up 5-4.  That lead would grow to 7-4 when equally-lanky 6'3" junior forward Sophie Haydon connected with a lay-up in transition at the 15:57 mark.  The Skippers; employing a 2-1-2 zone defense in hopes of keeping the high-octane Park Center team out of the paint seemed to work initially anyway but it wouldn't be long before the Pirates started getting into their groove.  Diminutive senior point guard Aaliyah Ragulen's "3" from the left wing area at the 15:27 mark pushed Park Center back out in front 8-7 and one free throw by do-everything junior guard/forward Adalia McKenzie at the 14:52 mark and a McKenzie drive and finish at the 14:32 mark got the Pirate lead to 11-7.  One free throw by fellow junior forward T'Naye Griffin at the 14:22 mark and a pretty coast-to-coast lay-up by McKenzie at the 13:31 mark coupled with a McKenzie lay-up in transition at the 12:56 mark capped this startling 12-0 Park Center push before the Skippers could stop some of the bleeding when sophomore guard Desiree Ware made a hard drive for a finish at the 12:56 mark that drew a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" cut the deficit to 16-10.  Minnetonka crept to within a single possession when junior guard Piper Terry drained a "3" from the left wing area at the 11:57 mark down 16-13.  One Ware freebie at the 10:07 mark and an offensive rebound and putback by Haydon at the 9:23 mark kept the Skippers in good shape down 18-16 and a lay-up in transition by the deceptively quick Ware with 8:13 left had this game tied at 18 so, at least for the moment anyway, Minnetonka had weathered the first storm it encountered.

The Skippers would keep this one deadlocked at 20 when Haydon snared an offensive rebound and putback of her own miss with 6:50 left and although Park Center's McKenzie pushed her team ahead at 22-20 with her drive and finish with 6:24 left, this Minnetonka team was proving to be quite resourceful as one Ware free throw with 6:11 left and two more by Emma Dasovich when she was fouled with 5:02 left pushed the Skippers out in front 23-22 and two more by Ware when she was fouled in a transition opportunity with 3:56 left had Minnetonka up 25-24.  With 2:33 left, Ware uncorked a "3" from the left wing area to give the Skippers a 28-26 lead before Park Center finally got things going again and closed out this first half with a 7-0 push.  Senior sharp-shooting guard Lauren Frost drained a "3" from the right wing area with 2:02 left to get the Pirates back out in front 29-28 and with 1:36 left, Frost would strike again as she snared a steal and dashed the other way for a lay-up to get the lead to 31-28.  With just :00.6 left, McKenzie connected with a short jumper in the lane that had Park Center feeling a little bit better about itself as they took a 33-28 lead into the locker room at the half.

The Skippers had thus far anyway of staying within striking distance and certainly a five-point deficit was hardly an insurmountable gap to conquer.  But Park Center wasted little time once the second half got underway of widening this gap.  A routine lay-up in transition by McKenzie at the 17:30 mark of the second half got the lead to six at 35-29 and that lead increased to seven when McKenzie drained a "3' from the left corner at the 16:49 mark.  Frost would snare another steal and dash the other way for a lay-up at the 16:00 mark and a "3" from the top of the key by Griffin at the 15:22 mark got the Pirate lead to nine at 43-34.  Minnetonka would momentarily close the gap back to seven when Piper Terry made a hard drive for a finish at the 15:08 mark but then Park Center would get consecutive scores to push the lead to double-digits.  Ragulen unleashed a "3" from the right wing area at the 14:31 mark and a lay-up in transition by Griffin at the 14:02 mark pushed the lead to 48-36 and the Skippers' Leah Dasovich clearly saw this one getting away from her team and called for a halt to the action to try and make some quick adjustments.  Minnetonka was able to come out of this stoppage in play and got the deficit down to ten points at 48-38 when Ware connected with a short jumper in the lane off the glass at the 12:54 mark but the Skippers would have to absorb some more blows from Park Center.  McKenzie drilled a "3" from the right wing area at the 12:14 mark and Frost would connect with a lay-up after a steal in the backcourt at the 10:25 mark to get the Pirate lead to 53-39 before Minnetonka could make some more inroads again.  Junior reserve forward Molly Oehme got into the paint for a score at the 10:02 mark and then Ware gave the Pirates a dose of their own medicine when she craftily snared a steal and dashed the other way for a lay-up at the 9:33 mark to reduce the deficit to ten at 53-43 and the Skippers would finally manage to get back into single-digit range when eighth-grade reserve guard Tori McKinney connected with a jumper from the free throw line area off the glass with 8:58 left and Ware would make a hard drive into the lane for a finish with 8:26 left to at least give the Minnetonka faithful a glimmer of hope down 56-47.     

The Skippers managed to give themselves at least a fighting chance staying in single-digit range as one Emma Dasovich freebie with 7:32 left and a Piper Terry jumper from the left elbow area off the glass with 6:53 left reduced the deficit to seven at 57-50.  But it was here where Park Center stepped on the accelerator again and put this one out of reach for good.  Two McKenzie free throws with 6:40 left and a lay-up in transition by Frost with 5:08 left increased the Pirates safety net to eleven at 61-50 and when McKenzie got one of her trademark steals and lay-up the other way with 4:46 left to make it 63-50, Minnetonka's Leah Dasovich clearly saw the handwriting on the wall and called a timeout in hopes of preventing the inevitable.  But Park Center would embark on a 10-2 run over the next three minutes to put the daisy on this one for good.  Frost was able to snare an offensive rebound of her own miss for a putback with 3:55 left and a McKenzie "3" from the right wing area with 3:35 left got the Pirate lead to 68-52.  A Frost lay-up in transition with 2:22 left and a "3" from the left top area by senior guard Kayla Cox off of an inbounds pass with 1:43 left pretty much sealed the deal with Park Center enjoying a 73-52 lead.  The Skippers would get three late scores as a McKinney lay-up with 1:20 left and two more by Emma Dasovich - one with :56 left and another with :22 left helped make some dents but the Pirates would walk off the floor with a 75-58 victory in their pocket. 

A look at the box score reveals that McKenzie's 34 points on this night led the way for Park Center (what else is new?) while Frost added a pretty spectacular night as well pouring in 22 points.  On the Minnetonka side, the Skippers leaned heavily on Ware with her 21 points to lead the Skippers on this night while Emma Dasovich added 12 points and Haydon tallied 10 points.   

Saturday, December 28, 2019

Dubuque vs Northwestern 12-21-19


My last game before the holiday break took me over to Roseville and Ericksen Center on the campus of the University of Northwestern for an intriguing non-conference matchup between visiting Dubuque out of the American Rivers Conference which made its way up the Canadian Pacific Marquette and River Sub mainlines up to the Twin Cities to take on host Northwestern of the UMAC.  This incredibly young Spartan team; dominated by freshman, sophomores and juniors with just one senior, was sporting a so-so 4-4 record coming into this contest.  It was much the same story on the Northwestern side with the Eagles coming in at 6-6 after starting this season 0-4 so it was an opportunity for both squads to build a little bit of momentum going into the holiday break.

Northwestern appeared to be loose and full of fun coming into this game as Head Coach Aaron Kahl and his staff were all dressed in Christmas sweaters or outfits and even though things were tight early on, the Eagles appeared to have an edge.  Dubuque got on the board first as sophomore forward Mimi Smith got into the paint for a finish at the 9:16 mark of the opening period despite the fact that Northwestern's Kahl was employing his trademark 2-3 "matchup" zone defense from the outset.  After the Eagles claimed the lead on a "3" from the right corner by senior forward Rio Landers at the 8:56 mark, Dubuque came right back as freshman forward Tabria Thomas snared a steal and dashed the other way for a lay-up at the 7:48 mark.  The Eagles reclaimed the lead at 6-4 when junior guard Jordan Sauve drained a "3" from the left corner at the 7:17 mark but Dubuque again responded as athletic freshman guard Kennedy Litvinoff got a tip-in to go down at the 6:42 mark that tied this game at 6 a piece.  Northwestern's Landers came up with her second three-point bomb on this Saturday afternoon from the left wing area at the 6:31 mark that pushed the home team back out in front 9-6 and Spartans Head Coach Mark Noll; perhaps a bit concerned at Northwestern's ability to knock down three-pointers, called a thirty-second timeout to try and make some quick defensive adjustments.  Dubuque would cut the deficit down to one point when junior reserve forward Jaden Kelley connected with a lay-up at the 6:04 mark but right back came the Eagles with still another three-point dagger - this one from slender sophomore guard Brooklyn Dekam at the 5:18 mark to push Northwestern out to a 12-8 advantage.  The Spartans stayed determined, however, as Kelley connected with another lay-up with 4:51 left and junior reserve forward Alli Bailey was able to snare an offensive rebound for a putback with 3:23 left to get this game deadlocked again at 12-all.  Litvinoff would do the same with 1:13 left to keep the game tied at 14 and Dubuque would take the lead when freshman reserve guard Gianna Ellis connected with a lay-up in transition with :56 left.  Fittingly, however, the Eagles reclaimed the lead when spunky sophomore point guard Kelsea Lund drained a "3" from the left corner off of an inbounds pass with :30 left to give Northwestern a 17-16 lead going into the second period.  Considering that the Spartans had to absorb five three-point bombs in just the first period alone and were down by only one on the road, Noll and his staff probably were more than willing to take that.

Dubuque managed to stay within a single possession in the early minutes of the second period as one free throw by Kelley at the 8:42 mark and a Bailey lay-up at the 6:58 mark had the deficit at two points down 21-19.  It was here, however, where the Eagles were able to open up some more space on their opponent.  Three pairs of free throws by DeKam - two at the 6:13 mark and two more at the 5:39 mark - not only upped Northwestern's lead to 25-19 but the Eagles were now in the bonus as well.  The third pair came with 2:56 left that upped Northwestern's lead to 27-20 as the Spartans struggled with their half-court offense.  Then Lund inflicted more damage from downtown when she uncorked a "3" from the right wing area with 2:29 left to give the Eagles their first double-digit lead of the day at 30-20.  With 1:58 left, Lund; the former Lac qui Parle Valley standout, unleashed another dagger "3" - this one from the left wing area - that got the lead to 33-22 and two Lund freebies after she was fouled with 1:28 left upped the lead to 35-22.  Dubuque finally stopped some of the bleeding with 1:19 left when senior reserve guard Josephine Thomas banged home a "3" from the right corner with 1:19 left and one free throw by junior reserve guard Chelsea Jackson with :45.1 left and two more by Kelley with :22.1 left had the Spartans back in single-digit range again down 35-28 and a three-point bomb with just :01.3 left by junior reserve guard Morgan Meerstein from the right wing area had Dubuque down by only six at 37-31 as both teams retreated to the locker room for the halftime break. 

Despite Northwestern's Sauve draining a "3" from the left corner at the 9:46 mark of the third period to up the Eagle lead to nine at 40-31, the Spartans were able to stay within striking distance early on as a lay-up by sophomore guard Abigail Zurcher at the 9:25 mark and a steal and lay-up the other way by Litvinoff at the 9:09 mark kept the deficit at five points at 40-35 and Dubuque appeared to still be right in the thick of things.  But the Eagles made their first significant push of this second half with a key 11-0 run that would point the way to ultimate victory.  Lund drained her fourth trey of this ballgame - this one from the left corner at the 8:45 mark - to start the run and less than a minute later, Lund would snare a steal and dash the other way for a lay-up and drew a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" now had Northwestern back up by double digits again at 46-35.  Then it would be DeKam drilling a "3" from the top of the key at the 7:26 mark to expand the lead to 49-35 and Dubuque's Noll was clamoring for a full timeout by this point knowing full and well that his squad was close to the point of no return.  Freshman reserve forward Hailey Paup would complete the run for the Eagles with her lay-up off of an inbounds pass at the 5:19 mark before the Spartans could begin the arduous process of trying to cut into this deficit.  Kelley would make a key contribution as she was able to score in the paint off of an inbounds pass with 4:34 left and drew a foul in the process and her obligatory free throw had the deficit down to thirteen points at 51-38.  Bailey's two free throws after she was fouled in a transition opportunity with 4:08 left provided a glimmer of hope for the Dubuque faithful but reality would soon set in as the Eagles quickly went back to work.  Sophomore reserve guard Grace Langmade connected with a short running jumper from the left side with 3:57 left and a lay-up in transition by sophomore reserve forward Megan Roberts with 2:53 left along with a Roberts freebie with 2:30 left increased Northwestern's lead to 56-40.  Two score by DeKam - a hard drive and finish with 1:38 left and a "3" from the right corner with :58 left - pushed the lead to nineteen at 61-42.  Landers would add more insurance before this third period ended as she dropped two free throws after getting fouled with :31.4 left and connected with a short shot off the glass with just :01.3 left as the Eagles took a sizable 65-42 lead going into the fourth period. 

Dubuque was clearly in desperation mode once the fourth period got underway and although one free throw by Kelley at the 9:07 mark and an offensive rebound and putback by freshman guard Kathleen Mathias at the 8:15 mark made a bit of a dent in the deficit, they would need a substantial run to get back into this and that wasn't happening on this day as the Eagles started to consolidate on their lead.  Strong junior forward Miranda Crenshaw muscled into the paint for a score at the 8:04 mark and a Sauve lay-up at the 6:27 mark kept the lead in the twenty-plus range at 71-48.  A Roberts score in the paint at the 5:56 mark and another Sauve lay-up at the 5:29 mark upped the lead to 75-51 before the Spartans could respond with consecutive scores.  Two Zurcher free throws after she was fouled in a transition opportunity with 4:59 left and a Litvinoff lay-up in transition with 4:32 left again cut into the deficit but Dubuque was still down plenty at 75-55.  The Eagles started putting the finishing touches on this game as a Paup lay-up with 3:51 left got the lead to 77-55 and then Landers would connect with a lay-up and draw a foul in the process with 3:25 left and her ensuing free throw pushed the lead to 80-55.  Dubuque would get late scores as Josephine Thomas drained a "3" from the right wing area with 3:01 left and a short jumper in the lane by Mathias with 1:48 left had the deficit back down to twenty at 80-60 and a drive and finish by Tabria Thomas with 1:12 left along with a Bailey lay-up with :11 left helped but Northwestern took a sizable win going into the holiday break with an 81-64 victory. 

I couldn't help but kid Northwestern's Kahl afterward that maybe he and his staff should wear their ugly Christmas sweaters for every outing as I remarked that his team just looked loose and looked like it was having fun today.  He laughed and agreed and added that it was definitely a good win to take into the holiday break before they delve into the meat of the UMAC schedule after the first of the year.  Perhaps the only "downer" from this outing was that the Eagles had 26 turnovers compared to Dubuque's 18 on this day but everything else they did seemed to negate that negative stat.  Northwestern had a 37-33 edge on the glass on this day - largely in part to the fabulous outing that Landers had with her "double-double" of 13 points and 10 rebounds.  The Eagles shot a solid 25-50 from FG range for a straight 50% and weren't too shabby from downtown either going 11-28 for 39.3%  Meanwhile, it was just a miserable day for the Spartans as they went 23-71 from FG range for 32.4% and only 5-20 from behind the arc for 25%.  Another stat that may have been overlooked on this day:  Landers also swatted eight shots away as well.  Indeed, it was an incredibly balanced scoring attack for the Eagles as Lund, doing a lot of damage from downtown, led the way with her 21 points and DeKam wasn't far behind with 19 points.  Landers, of course, had the "double-double" of 13 points and 10 rebounds (along with those eight blocked shots) and Sauve tallied 10 points on this day.  Dubuque was led by Kelley's 13 points while Bailey had 10 points. 

Wednesday, December 25, 2019

Park Center vs Osseo 12-20-19


Made the run out to Osseo High School on this night to take in the game between visiting Park Center; looking to keep its unblemished record intact going up against host Osseo which was sporting a so-so 3-4 record.  This would be my first look at this young Orioles team but, more importantly on this night, Osseo was honoring the 2000 team that won it all that year and it was incredibly cool to see several members of that team show up for the game on this night.  I was lucky to get to speak with both Lauren Podratz and Hana Peljto who were members of that great 2000 team.

Osseo Head Coach Doug Erlien was employing a 2-1-2 zone defense in hopes of clogging up the middle to force the Pirates to take their chances from behind the arc.  But that certainly didn't seem to faze Park Center as they raced out to an early 17-1 lead.  Lanky junior forward T'Naye Griffin started things off when she was able to snare an offensive rebound for a putback at the 17:08 mark of the first half and a lay-up in transition by junior do-everything guard/forward Adalia McKenzie at the 16:18 mark made it 4-0.  Another McKenzie lay-up in transition at the 16:01 mark and two more by Griffin - once at the 15:55 mark and again at the 15:31 mark - made it a 10-1 ballgame and the Orioles Erlien called for a thirty-second halt to the action to hopefully cool off this Pirate team and work up some strategy for his squad on transition defense.  Still, Park Center continued with their offensive.  Two McKenzie free throws at the 15:15 mark and a jumper by diminutive senior point guard Aaliyah Ragulen from the left elbow area after a steal in the backcourt at the 15:10 mark made it 14-1.  An offensive rebound and putback by McKenzie at the 14:50 mark pushed the lead to 16-1 and by this juncture, Osseo looked totally discombobulated on both ends of the floor which Erlien was quick to realize and he took a match to a full timeout knowing his team needed it.  The Pirates capped this early tear on one Griffin free throw at the 13:59 mark after she was fouled in a transition opportunity before Osseo finally got its first field goal on this night in the form of a lay-up by freshman guard Aalayah Wilson at the 13:26 mark.  That only prompted an 8-0 push by Park Center as two McKenzie free throws at the 12:50 mark and a "3" from the left wing area by Griffin at the 12:06 mark made it 22-3.  Then eighth-grade guard Alivia McGill; starting tonight for the Pirates as senior sharp-shooting guard Lauren Frost was held out because of a virus, snared a steal and whizzed the other way for a lay-up and drew a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" ballooned the Park Center lead to 25-3.

The Orioles finally found some semblance of offensive life around the midway point of this first half when they embarked on an 8-0 push that at least cut some of the fat off of this deficit.  One free throw by senior forward Jasmine Choi at the 10:34 mark and two more by eighth-grade guard Ava Holman at the 10:08 mark had the deficit down to nineteen at 25-6 and a Jasmine Choi lay-up at the 9:33 mark had it down to seventeen at 25-8.  Then senior guard Jaiden Kline uncorked a "3" from the left top area with 8:32 left to make even more inroads on this deficit down 25-11.  This little burst seemed to get Park Center's attention as they went back to work to widen up their safety net again.  An offensive rebound for a putback by Griffin with 7:40 left and a routine lay-up by McKenzie with 7:11 left got the lead back up to 29-12 and an offensive rebound and putback by junior reserve guard/forward Chloe Cink got the Pirate lead to 31-15.  McKenzie would add a lay-up in transition with 6:04 left along with a three-point bomb from the left wing area with 4:57 left to get the lead to twenty at 37-17 before Osseo could find some more offensive production.  Kline connected with a lay-up with 4:39 left and a Jasmine Choi lay-up in transition with 3:50 left had the deficit down to sixteen at 37-21.  Kline would also snare an offensive rebound for a putback with 3:22 left and with 1:45 left, Kline would strike again when she made a hard drive for a finish and drew a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" had the deficit down to fourteen points at 40-26.  Sophomore reserve guard Lyric Walters would drain a "3" from the top of the key with 1:27 left and although the Pirates' McKenzie would score on a tip-in with just :00.3 left on the clock that still gave Park Center a somewhat comfy 44-29 lead at the halftime break, the Orioles were staying pesky and weren't going away anytime soon.

Park Center appeared to have things well in hand - at least initially anyway - once the second half got underway.  A McKenzie drive and finish at the 16:43 mark and a short shot by McGill at the 16:11 mark got the Pirate lead to 48-31 and a short running jumper in the lane by Griffin at the 15:49 mark grew the lead to nineteen at 50-31.  Whether it was a false sense of security with a sizable lead or just a natural letdown isn't quite sure but this young and determined Osseo team was able to throw a bit of a scare into their heavily-favored opponent over the next four and a half minutes.  A Kline lay-up at the 14:56 mark got the lead down to seventeen and a "3" from the right wing area by Wilson at the 14:20 mark cut further inroads into this deficit with the Orioles down 51-36.  One Jasmine Choi freebie at the 13:47 mark and two more by Kline at the 13:36 mark had the deficit down to fourteen at 53-39 and Kline would inflict more damage when she banged home a "3" from the left corner at the 13:04 mark that reduced the deficit down to eleven at 53-42.  A Jasmine Choi lay-up at the 12:16 mark kept Osseo in that eleven-point range down 55-44 and one free throw by Holman who was fouled at the 11:09 mark slashed this once-sizable deficit down to ten points at 55-45 and hope suddenly grew for the home team and their fans and the members of the 2000 state championship team in attendance as well. 

This nice run by the Orioles, however, quickly got the attention of Park Center as the Pirates swiftly dug in their heels at this point and slowly but surely built their safety net back up.  An offensive rebound and putback by McKenzie at the 10:56 mark sparked a key 11-1 Park Center run that effectively killed off any hopes the Orioles may have had at this point.  Griffin would connect with a lay-up after a steal in the backcourt and draw a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" upped the Pirate lead to fifteen at 60-45.  Two McKenzie charity stripe shots at the 9:08 mark and a drive and lay-up with 8:17 left grew the lead to eighteen at 64-46 and two Ragulen free throws after she was fouled in a transition opportunity with 7:57 left got the lead to twenty at 66-46.  McKenzie would then go to work to widen the gap even more.  One free throw with 7:07 left and two more after she was fouled in a transition opportunity with 6:19 left had the lead at 69-48 and a McKenzie steal and lay-up the other way with 6:03 left now had the lead at 71-48.  Griffin would add two free throws after getting fouled with 5:39 left and another routine lay-up in transition by McKenzie with 5:01 left now had the lead to twenty-five at 75-50.  Sophomore reserve forward Shadaizhalynn Chatman also got some quality minutes down the stretch for Park Center as well as she would drop one free throw after getting fouled with 4:10 left and would also snare an offensive rebound for a putback with 3:31 left to get the Pirates lead to 78-52.  One last hurrah for McKenzie on this night with her steal and lay-up in the backcourt with 2:44 left as Park Center was able to patch up a rough spot midway through this second half and put it in cruise control the rest of the way for an 80-58 victory. 

When I caught up with Park Center Head Coach Barb Metcalfe afterward, I asked her if she was ever concerned once Osseo managed to reduce the deficit down to ten points midway through the second half.  "No, but we've been battling a 'bug' all week and we didn't even practice yesterday.....I just wanted them to take the day off."  Indeed, Frost was held out of action on this night as pointed out earlier and despite the hiccup the Pirates experienced midway through the second half, they managed to find a second wind and close the deal when things were arguably a little dangerous for them.  Meanwhile for Osseo, Erlien admitted to me right off the bat that this team of his is incredibly young for the most part but you have to admire how they kept fighting even after they got down so big early on.  They're not "there" - yet anyway - but I have a feeling that this is going to be an incredibly dangerous team in the Northwest Suburban Conference and a group you will not want to take lightly and woe to the opponent who looks at this Orioles team and chalks up an automatic "W" on paper.  It's no surprise when you look at the box score for this one and see that it was McKenzie's whopping 40 points that not only easily led all scorers but paced the Pirate attack on this night as well.  Griffin, too, had a very good evening as she tallied 23 points.  Osseo leaned heavily on Kline as she led the way for the Orioles on this night with her 18 points while Jasmine Choi finished with 13 points and Wilson was right behind with her 12 points. 

Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Wayzata vs Park Center 12-18-19


Made the short hop over to Park Center High School on this Wednesday night for the highly-anticipated non-conference matchup between visiting Wayzata and host Park Center.  The Trojans; coached by Mike Schumacher, certainly didn't need any introductions coming into this game out of the incredibly tough Lake Conference undefeated at 8-0 while the Pirates out of the equally tough Northwest Suburban Conference were coming into this contest with an unblemished record as well so it was no surprise that Park Center Gymnasium had an electric atmosphere on this night.

Much to the delight of the home crowd, Park Center certainly got off to the start it had hoped for as they jumped out to an early 8-2 lead.  Junior guard/forward Adalia McKenzie got things started with a three-point bomb from the top of the key at the 17:46 mark of the first half and another "3" added by senior guard Kayla Cox from the left wing area at the 16:57 mark had the Pirates up 6-2.  An  Adalia McKenzie lay-up a bit later at the 16:38 mark capped this early run before Wayzata reduced the deficit to four on a score in the paint by lanky junior forward Jenna Johnson at the 16:14 mark.  Still, Park Center would stretch its lead to seven on another three-point bomb - this one unleashed by diminutive senior point guard Aaliyah Ragulen from the left top area at the 15:39 mark to make it a 11-4 ballgame before the Trojans could make their first meaningful run of this contest.  Senior forward Annika Stewart was able to get into the paint for a score off of an inbounds pass at the 15:22 mark and a jumper from the left wing by fellow senior guard Lydia Hay at the 14:48 mark had Wayzata back within a single possession down 11-8.  A Johnson lay-up at the 14:24 mark reduced the deficit to a scant point and the Trojans would assume their first lead of this game at the 13:27 mark when senior reserve guard Alivia Arnebeck was able to snare an offensive rebound for a putback.  But Wayzata's lead didn't last long as the Pirates got their high-octane offense clicking again.  Cox drained her second trey of this game - this one from the left top area - at the 13:08 mark to put Park Center back out in front 14-12 and a lay-up in transition by Adalia McKenzie at the 12:41 mark gave the Pirates a 16-12 lead.  Wayzata, however, was not fazed one bit as they came right back in this back-and-forth affair.  Johnson got into the paint for another score at the 12:33 mark and a lay-up in transition by freshman guard Abby Krzewinski at the 11:01 mark had this game knotted at 16 a piece.  The Trojans would poke their nose out in front when Johnson connected with a lay-up at the 10:28 mark but the two teams would trade small leads over the next two minutes or so.  A "3" by Park Center junior forward T'Naye Griffin from the right wing area put the Pirates back out in front 19-18 but then Wayzata answered on a Johnson lay-up at the 9:23 mark.  The Pirates' Adalia McKenzie would put her team back out in front 21-20 with a routine lay-up in transition at the 9:02 mark but then the Trojans would match that on a pretty back-door lay-up by sophomore guard Mara Braun with 8:46 left and take a 22-21 advantage.  The first serious sign of trouble for Park Center would come with 7:55 left when Adalia McKenzie; a bit too aggressive on the defensive end, was slapped with her third foul of the ballgame and Head Coach Barb Metcalfe took no chances and had to yank her primary scoring threat off the floor for preservation purposes.

Wayzata appeared prime to take advantage at this juncture and they were able to establish some breathing room.  Stewart would connect with a short jumper with 6:07 left and would follow that up with 3:53 left when she was able to use her 6'4" frame to snare an offensive rebound for a putback that put the Trojans up 26-21 and seemingly in good shape.  But right back came this Park Center team with a nice response in the form of a 7-2 push.  Griffin slithered into the paint for a score with 3:53 left and a short, pull-up jumper by eighth-grade reserve guard Alivia McGill with 2:57 left had the deficit reduced to a scant point at 26-25.  Wayzata's Krzewinski would get her team's safety net back up to three points with her short shot with 2:39 left but then Pirate senior sharp-shooting guard Lauren Frost, who had thus far struggled with her shooting touch, finally found her groove from the right corner with 2:22 left with a bomb that found nothing but cotton that had this game deadlocked at 28.  The Trojans took the lead back on two free throws by Braun with 2:09 left but Park Center would snatch the lead right back when freshman reserve guard/forward Aniyah Reuben drained a "3" from the right top area with 1:57 left to make it 31-30.  That took care of the scoring for the first half anyway in this rather wild back-and-forth battle as both teams headed to the locker room for the halftime break. 

Wayzata went on the offensive again in the early moments of the second half with a 6-0 push.  Stewart first scored in the paint at the 17:48 mark and two lay-ups by Johnson - one at the 16:40 mark and another at the 15:59 mark - had the Trojans up 36-31.  But Park Center quickly responded with a 9-0 run of their own.  Ragulen drained a "3" from the left corner at the 15:38 mark to start this push and then Griffin connected with a lay-up in transition at the 14:36 mark to get things even again at 36 a piece.  Adalia McKenzie connected on a short, turnaround jumper at the 14:00 mark and followed that up a minute later with a pretty lay-up in transition at the 13:02 mark to put the Pirates up 40-36.  Right back came Wayzata with a 6-0 push.  Johnson was able to grab the offensive rebound of her own miss for a putback at the 12:28 mark and a lay-up by Braun at the 12:03 mark had this game tied again at 40-all.  The Trojans would poke their nose out in front on a Johnson lay-up in transition at the 11:24 mark to make it a 42-40 game but here Wayzata was not so willing to give up its lead.  A Johnson score in the paint at the 10:09 mark had the lead at 44-41 and a long offensive rebound by Braun followed by a short jumper by the up-and-coming sophomore maintained the three point edge at 46-43 at the 9:31 mark.  Two free throws by Krzewinski with 8:33 left kept the lead at 48-45. 

The Pirates would close the gap to two point when Griffin grabbed an offensive rebound for a putback with 8:13 left but then Wayzata went on a 5-0 push that seemed to have the needle in their favor the rest of the way.  One Johnson freebie with 7:37 left after she was fouled in a transition opportunity and a jumper from the right elbow area by Stewart with 7:26 left gave the Trojans a 51-47 advantage.  That lead would grow to six when Braun connected with a lay-up with 6:52 left and by this point there was genuine concern amongst the Park Center faithful if this might be too much of a hurdle to overcome.  But it was perhaps here that this sometimes inconsistent Pirate team responded to the challenge and took the bull by the horns to take control of this game for good.  And, somewhat fittingly, it would be Adalia McKenzie leading the way.  She first knocked down two free throws after getting fouled with 6:25 left and followed that up with a lay-up in transition with 6:04 left that cut the deficit to two points at 53-51.  With 5:37 left, Frost practically brought the house down when she uncorked one of her trademark three-point bombs - this one coming from the right wing area - that suddenly pushed Park Center back into the lead at 54-53 and the Trojans' Schumacher; genuinely concerned that this latest development, called a timeout to try and get his squad settled down.  But the Pirates now felt the fire and had their game going again.  Adalia McKenzie snared a steal and dashed the other way for a lay-up with 5:05 left and one free throw by Griffin with 4:42 left capped this key 10-0 run that now had Wayzata on their collective heels.  The Trojans temporarily reduced the deficit to two points when Stewart connected with a short, turnaround jumper with 4:27 left but Park Center's Cox was left alone at the left top area a bit later with 3:55 left and she made the Trojans pay with a three-point dagger to grow the Pirate lead to 60-55.  Wayzata would try and counter again as an offensive rebound and putback by Stewart with 3:05 left and one Arnebeck charity stripe shot with 2:25 left had the Trojans back within a single possession down 60-58 but it was here that Park Center slowly but surely closed the door for good.  Another Adalia McKenzie lay-up with 2:13 left and one Griffin free throw with 1:33 left had the lead back at five points at 63-58 and Adalia McKenzie would drop two big free throws after getting fouled with 1:32 left to increase the lead to seven at 65-58.  Ragulen would drop pairs of insurance freebies - with 1:15 and :36.3 left - and Cox would knock down two more with :19.7 left for good measure as the Pirates scored a huge home non-conference win by a final score of 71-62.   

A check of the final box score of this game shows that it was indeed another fabulous outing for Park Center's Adalia McKenzie as she led all scorers with her 27 points.  Griffin finished with 11 points and both Cox and Ragulen tallied 10 points.  Frost may have finished with "only" six points on this night but that three-point bomb she drained with 5:37 left in the game was huge.  Wayzata, meanwhile, leaned heavily on Johnson as she led the way for the Trojans with her 23 points and Stewart added 18 points while Braun tallied 10 points in the losing effort. 

Monday, December 23, 2019

St. Scholastica vs Northwestern 12-14-19


After leaving St. Kate's Butler Center, I hurried over to the north side of town to Ericksen Center on the campus of the University of Northwestern for the game between visiting St. Scholastica and host Northwestern.  I got settled into Ericksen Center at the 5:05 mark of the first period with St. Scholastica holding an 8-6 advantage.

Northwestern would manage to grab the upper hand in this ballgame at the midway point of this opening period as junior reserve guard Courtney Schmidt would knock down two free throws after getting fouled at the 5:01 mark and two more by sophomore point guard Kelsea Lund with 4;23 left had the Eagles up 10-8.  That lead would expand to four at 12-8 when freshman reserve forward Hailey Paup maneuvered into the paint for a score with 3:52 left and suddenly things were looking good for the home team.  St. Scholastica, however, came right back in the form of two three-point bombs by sophomore forward Emma Schmidt to retake the lead.  The Alexandria native drained her first one from the left corner with 3:37 left and buried the second one from the left top area with 3:05 left.  The Saints, however, were unable to hold onto this lead for long as Northwestern came right back to take the lead back.  One Courtney Schmidt freebie with 2:21 left and two scores by by junior forward Miranda Crenshaw - a score in the paint with 1:55 left and an offensive rebound for a putback with 1:24 left - now had the Eagles back up by three at 17-14.  But St. Scholastica would get the best of this cat-and-mouse game going on in this first period thanks to junior guard Kaylee Kennedy as she would get a score in the paint with 1:0 left and would also connect with a lay-up with :38.6 left that also drew a foul and Kennedy's ensuing "and one" put the Saints back up by a 19-17 count going into the second period.

St. Scholastica was able to consolidate a bit on the small lead they had once the second period got underway as a "3" from the left corner by sophomore guard Karli Skog at the 7:27 mark got the Saints lead to four at 22-18 but the Eagles craftily came back and snared the advantage away.  Lund connected with a lay-up at the 6:45 mark and Courtney Schmidt was able to snare an offensive rebound for a putback at the 5:54 mark to get this game tied at 22 a piece.  Junior guard Jordan Sauve connected on a short, turnaround jumper in the lane with 2:01 left to push Northwestern back out in front 24-23 and an offensive rebound and putback by Crenshaw with 1:23 left allowed the Eagles to cling to that one-point edge up 26-25.  St. Scholastica would come right back, however, as junior reserve forward Lizzie Altendorf connected with a lay-up in transition with 1:02 left to put the Saints back out in front 27-26 and one free throw by Altendorf with :18.7 left increased the St. Scholastica lead to two at 28-26.  The Eagles were able to reduce the deficit to a scant point when Lund was able to get one free throw to go down with just :02.7 left and, considering how this game was very, very close from the outset, presumably Northwestern Head Coach Aaron Kahl and his staff had to feel reasonably good about things going into the locker room at the half down only by one.  A check of the first half box score shows that St. Scholastica shot reasonably well thus far; going 7-14 from FG range for 50% and 4-7 from downtown for 57.14%.  Northwestern was 6-14 from FG range for 42.86% but three-point shooting was another story as the Eagles were 0-5 from behind the arc and for a team that does have some good three-point shooters, this was going to have to improve if Northwestern was going to protect its home court on this day.

It's uncertain what St. Scholastica Head Coach Stacy Deadrick might have told her squad during the halftime break but whatever transpired certainly had a positive effect on this Saints squad as they came out in the third period with both barrels blazing.  Kennedy would get things going with her short running jumper from the right side at the 9:39 mark and a Kennedy jumper from the left elbow area at the 8:41 mark upped St. Scholastica's lead to five at 32-27.  Despite Kennedy picking up her third foul on this day at the 7:39 mark, the Saints did not step off the accelerator.  Two scores by Skog - a lay-up at the 7:21 mark and a short jumper from the left side at the 6:38 mark - now had St. Scholastica up by seven at 36-29 and the Eagles looked to be in a quite a fix.  Northwestern looked like they had things under control again as sophomore forward Megan Roberts banged home a "3" from the right corner with 4:23 left and then Lund would drain a "3" from the right wing area with 4:03 mark that brought the Eagles back to within a single possession down 38-35 and presumably right back in the thick of things.  It was here, however, where things quickly fell apart for Kahl's squad as St. Scholastica went on a 16-3 tear to close out this third period.  A Kennedy score in the paint with 3:51 left started this game-changing run and a "3" from the right wing area by senior guard Alison Huber with 3;23 left suddenly had the Saints up by eight at 43-35.  Another Kennedy score in the paint with 2:40 left now expanded the lead to double-digits at 45-35 and then Alison Huber unleashed a dagger "3" from that same right wing area with 2:07 left to get the lead to 48-36.  Altendorf would connect with a lay-up with 1:31 left and two Kennedy free throws with 1:14 left now had the lead at fourteen at 52-36.  Two Skog freebies with just :02.3 left in this game-changing third period gave St. Scholastica it's biggest lead thus far at 54-38 and it definitely seemed that the Eagles looked all but buried by this point.

But this Northwestern team astonished everyone inside Ericksen Center on this late Saturday afternoon by embarking on a 15-3 run in the opening minutes of the fourth period to get right back into this game.  Senior forward Rio Landers got a score in the paint at the 9:39 mark to get this run sparked and an offensive rebound and putback by Roberts of her own miss at the 9:09 mark had the deficit down to twelve points at 54-42.  At the 8:16 mark, Roberts would strike again, this time from behind the arc from the right corner pocket for her second trey of this ballgame that now had the Eagles back within single-digit range down 54-45 and suddenly a ton of momentum on their side to boot.  That notion was reinforced when the diminutive Lund made a hard drive for a finish and drew a foul in the process and sank the obligatory free throw to cut the deficit to six points at 54-48.  At the 7:05 mark, Lund; the Madison native and former Lac qui Parle Valley standout, banged home a "3" from the left top area to keep Northwestern in that six-point range down 57-51 and when Crenshaw muscled into the paint for a score a bit later at the 6:20 mark to reduce the deficit down to four at 57-53, it certainly seemed that the Eagles were right back in the thick of things.  Curiously, however, all the energy that Northwestern seemed to have suddenly hit a brick wall and the Saints recovered to take control of this one for good.  One Altendorf free throw at the 6:05 mark coupled with an Alison Huber lay-up at the 5:52 mark pushed the lead back to seven at 60-53 and then freshman reserve guard Amelia Zmuda drained a back-breaking "3" from the left wing area with 4:38 left to increase St. Scholastica's safety net to ten points at 65-55.  Then it was Emily Schmidt doing the same thing as she uncorked a three-point bomb from the top of the key with 2:51 left to make it 68-55.  The Eagles would make one last desperation push to cut into this sizable deficit as two Lund freebies with 2:42 left and a short, turnaround jumper in the lane by Landers with 2:20 left brought Northwestern back into single-digit range again down 68-59.  Landers would add a lay-up with 1:48 left and Sauve was able to snare a steal and dash the other way for a lay-up with 1:31 left to reduce the deficit to seven at 70-63.  Kahl would subsequently call a timeout to set up strategy for the home stretch but this last gap by the Eagles faltered.  St. Scholastica would close this game out.  Skog would haul in a baseball pass over the pressure defense the Eagles were employing and connect with a lay-up in transition with 1:27 left and two Kennedy free throws with 1:07 left got the Saints lead back to double-digits at 74-63.  Insurance free throws by both Alison Huber and Skog with :51.6 and :42.3 left, respectively, got the lead to thirteen at 78-65 and two more by Kennedy with :22.3 left allowed St. Scholastica to make an enjoyable trip back up to the Twin Ports with a big 80-67 road win. 

When I was able to catch up with Northwestern's Kahl afterward, I had to bring up the crucial 16-3 third period run that the Saints had and although his squad made a nice run in that fourth period to get back to within striking distance, they seemed to run out of gas at the worst possible time.  Kahl was in agreement, saying that, for whatever reason, his squad didn't seem to have that energy today or the sense of urgency that was needed.  Perhaps with finals coming up the following week may have had something to do with that but the fact that the Eagles were riding a three-game win streak coming into this game, it was a little surprising that that didn't carry over on this day.  St. Scholastica's Deadrick on the other hand was beaming after this win and was very proud of her squad for playing up to their potential today.  True, the Saints are only 3-7 after this win in - what so far anyway - is proving to be a difficult season but a big win on the road like this going into the holiday break can be a huge shot of confidence in the arm for this squad.  A check of the box score shows that while the Eagles commanded the glass on this day by a 38-27 count, not a lot else went right for them as Northwestern was guilty of a whopping 26 turnovers on this day and that figure alone will cost you big-time in most games plus the fact that the Saints got 24 points off of those turnovers as well.  The Eagles also shot only 22-57 from FG range for 38.6% and finished an icy 4-19 from downtown for only 21.1%.  The only other stat encouraging to Kahl and his staff was that Northwestern did have an advantage in points in the paint by a 36-18 count but that was somewhat negated by the fact that St. Scholastica had a sizable 24-5 advantage in fast break points.  Another encouraging trend for Deadrick and her staff on this day was that the Saints had an incredibly balanced scoring attack with four players in double figures scoring-wise on this day.  Kennedy's 21 points led all scorers and Emma Schmidt poured in 17 points as well.  Alison Huber had 14 points and Skog wasn't far behind as she finished with 13 points.  Northwestern leaned heavily on Lund on this day as she led the way for the Eagles with 20 points in the losing effort while Crenshaw tallied 12 points. 

Sunday, December 22, 2019

UW-Eau Claire vs St. Kate's 12-14-19


Made the run over to the St Paul side of town on this early Saturday afternoon to Butler Center on the campus of St. Catherine University to take in this interesting WIAC-MIAC match-up between visiting UW-Eau Claire and host St. Kate's.  The Blugolds were coming into this contest on a so-so note; sporting a 3-4 record but one of those wins was over another MIAC opponent - Carleton.  It was a similar story for the Wildcats as they were coming into this game with a somewhat disappointing 3-5 record and despite an exciting overtime win recently down in Winona against SMU, the 'Cats were coming in on a two-game losing streak as they had lost tough games on the road at St. Olaf and at home to conference powerhouse Bethel.  So this game; while not having any impact on conference standings, was certainly an opportunity for these teams to go into finals and the holiday break with a little bit of momentum.

Both teams struggled from the outset with poor shooting and turnovers galore.  UW-Eau Claire senior guard Hallee Hoeppner finally broke the ice at the 7:26 mark of the opening period with her short jumper along the right baseline but the Wildcats would strike back to claim a 4-2 advantage as freshman guard Bree Glynn made a hard drive along the right baseline for a finish off the glass at the 6:16 mark and athletic senior guard Danica Cambrice connected with a short, turnaround jumper off of an inbounds pass at the 5:36 mark.  Both teams came out in man-to-man defense and whether or not that was the reason for both teams going ice-cold over the next four minutes or so may not be known.  Finally, with 1:53 left, the Blugolds' Hoeppner was able to snare an offensive rebound for a putback to tie the game and the highlight of this otherwise uneventful first period came with 1:15 left when Hoeppner connected with a lay-up in transition that not only pushed UW-Eau Claire back into the lead but Blugolds Head Coach Tonja Englund called a thirty-second timeout as the team had a quick celebration to note Hoeppner's 1,000-career point at UW-Eau Claire.

With the struggles of the first period seemingly forgotten, both teams finally started showing some signs of life once the second period got underway.  St. Kate's got the upper hand early on as Cambrice would drain a "3" from the right wing area at the 9:41 mark and an offensive rebound and putback by freshman reserve forward Mary-Claire Francois at the 9:08 mark had the Wildcats back out in front by a 9-6 count.  UW-Eau Claire would come right back, however, as senior forward Anna Graaskamp banged home a "3" from the right top area at the 8:24 mark to knot this one at 9-all but then the 'Cats were able to embark on a key 12-4 push to get some separation over the next five minutes.  Cambrice started this run with a short jumper in the lane as the shot clock was winding down and a lay-up in transition by Glynn at the 6:53 mark gave St. Kate's a 13-9 advantage.  At the 5:07 mark, Glynn; the former Totino-Grace standout, would strike again with a three-point bomb from the left wing area to up the Wildcats lead to five at 16-11.  Another three-point bomb - this one from sophomore reserve guard Mackenzie Kurczek from the left top area with 4:11 left - increased the lead to six at 19-13 and then freshman reserve post Maggie Trnka muscled into the paint for a score to up the lead to eight points at 21-13.  UW-Eau Claire would reduce the lead to six as freshman reserve forward Megan Baer made a hard drive into the lane for a finish with 3:16 left but the 'Cats would have the upper hand down the home stretch before the halftime break.  Trnka would connect with a lay-up with 2:50 left to get the lead back to eight points at 23-15 and then senior guard Jackie Radford would make a drive into the lane and finish with an almost impossible reverse lay-up that almost looked as if she just deftly put the ball up over her head while facing the other way.  Glynn would add a score in the paint with :14 left to maintain the ten-point lead at 27-17 and although the Blugolds would get a late score on a score in the paint by junior guard Maizie Deihl with just :04 left, St. Kate's definitely looked sharper as both teams retreated to the locker room for the halftime break.  While rebounds were nearly even thus far, the fact that UW-Eau Claire shot only 25% in that dreadful first period didn't help nor did the 13 first half turnovers they were guilty of either.

While things were certainly still in doubt once the third period got underway, the Wildcats set out to erase any of those doubts from the outset.  Sophomore post Katie Benjamin; who was held scoreless in the first half, finally got untracked in the opening minutes of this third period.  The Walker, Minnesota native got into the paint for once score at the 9:11 mark and followed that up a little more than a minute later with a short, turnaround jumper in the lane off the glass as the shot clock was expiring at the 7:51 mark for a 31-19 St. Kate's lead.  Glynn would connect with a lay-up at the 7:22 mark and one free throw by Radford at the 6:25 mark pushed the Wildcat lead to 34-20.  Then freshman reserve forward Sarah Lavell let loose with the biggest dagger in this 12-1 tear by St. Kate's with her three-point bomb from the left corner with 4:34 left to make it a 37-20 ballgame.  Trnka's two freebies with 4:18 capped this game-changing run before UW-Eau Claire finally got something going again.  Graaskamp would drop one free throw after getting fouled with 4:12 left and would add a score in the paint with 3:56 left but the Blugolds needed to get some stops more than ever now and St. Kate's kept on with their offensive.  Glynn would connect with a lay-up in transition with 3:17 left and then Cambrice would inflict more damage as the former St. Croix Lutheran standout knocked down two charity stripe shots after getting fouled with 2:47 left and would also get a short, turnaround jumper to go down as well as the shot clock was expiring with 1:37 left to make it 45-23.  With just :00.2 left in this third period, Glynn would inflict the final blow in the form of a lay-up in transition as the Wildcats took a sizable 47-24 lead going into the fourth period.

UW-Eau Claire tried desperately to make some inroads on this deficit once the fourth period got underway as Hoeppner would connect with a lay-up in transition at the 9:22 mark and junior reserve guard Katelyn Morgan would drop one freebie after getting fouled in a transition opportunity at the 9:06 mark that had the deficit down to twenty at 47-27.  Hoeppner would add two more scores as she would finish in the paint at the 5:55 mark and would also connect with a lay-up at the 5:00 mark to keep the deficit at twenty down 51-31.  Graaskamp would bury a "3" from the right top area with 4:30 left that reduced the deficit to nineteen points at 53-34 and a drive and finish by junior reserve post Katie Essen with 3:20 left got the deficit down to seventeen at 53-36 but some of the frustrations that the Blugolds were feeling on this day spilled over with 3:02 left when both Hoeppner and St. Kate's Cambrice were called for dual technical fouls and UW-Eau Claire could never get closer than fourteen points down the stretch.  The Blugolds' Essen got one free throw to go down after getting fouled with 1:51 left and would get two more to go down with 1:16 left to cut the deficit to fourteen at 55-41 but the Wildcats would put the finishing touches on this game as junior reserve guard Brooke Torvik dropped two insurance free throws with :47.1 left and freshman guard Cierra Ahlf would drop two more for good measure as St. Kate's scored a big non-conference win with a 59-43 victory. 

A check of the final box score in this day shows that it was indeed a horrific day of shooting for this UW-Eau Claire squad.  Going 15-41 for 36.6% from FG range and an icy 2-13 from downtown is just not going to win you a lot of games.  Throw in 23 total turnovers and getting beat on the glass by a 30-23 count only adds to the misery for Englund and her staff.  At the same time, I think you have to give St. Kate's Head Coach Don Mulhern and his staff a lot of credit for the great defensive effort his squad showed on this day.  They really made things tough on the Blugolds in the half court and were able to get 19 points off of those turnovers they created on this afternoon.  Another stat that stands out on this day was the fact that the Wildcats had a 28-20 edge in points in the paint and considering that St. Kate's now has to rely heavily on both Benjamin and Trnka for production down low with sophomore forward Sam Orth out with an ACL injury, that shows you how far both Benjamin and Trnka have improved in a relatively short time.  Glynn's 16 points paced St. Kate's on this day while Cambrice wasn't far behind with her 13 points.  UW-Eau Claire's Hoeppner led all scorers with 18 points but she was the only Blugolds player in double figures scoring-wise on this day. 

Thursday, December 19, 2019

Coon Rapids vs Park Center Recap 12-13-19


Got my first look at this Park Center team on this Friday evening as they prepared to take on visiting Coon Rapids in an early Northwest Suburban Conference match-up.  The Pirates were coming into this 2019-20 season with that loss to Spring Lake Park in the Section 5AAAA semifinals fresh on their mind and were looking to make amends this season.  Coon Rapids meanwhile was coming into this season in a rebuilding mode with an incredibly young team (just one senior); dominated by a junior class and looking to play spoiler this season.

Cardinal Head Coach Tom Weko was employing a 2-3 zone defense in hopes of clogging up the middle and forcing Park Center to take their chances from behind the arc; with mixed results at best.  With the game tied at 2-all, however, the Pirates started opening things up with their transition game that also opened up things behind the three-point line as well.  Lanky junior guard/forward T'Naye Griffin's "3" from the right wing at the 16:31 mark ignited a 19-0 run; highlighted by three-point bombs by both senior guard Lauren Frost at the 15:08 mark and by fellow senior guard Kayla Cox at the 14:49 mark.  Frost would snare a steal and dash the other way for a lay-up at the 14:23 mark and would also connect with a lay-up in transition at the 14:02 mark to make it 19-2 and then junior do-everything guard/forward Adalia McKenzie capped the run with a lay-up at the 13:38 mark that got the Pirate lead to 21-2 and Coon Rapids' Weko had no choice but to call a halt to the action to stop the avalanche his team was getting buried by.  The Cardinals were able to bite into the deficit a bit as a score in the paint by junior forward Macy Holland at the 13:22 mark and an offensive rebound and putback by fellow junior guard Syd Kehr at the 11:00 mark made things look a bit more respectable for the moment down 25-6 but then Park Center mounted another offensive in the form of a 10-0 run to widen the gap even more.  McKenzie started it off with an offensive rebound for a putback that drew a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" at the 10:32 mark and a lay-up by diminutive senior point guard Aaliyah Ragulen at the 9:31 mark made it 31-6.  Frost would add a drive and lay-up with 8:49 left and a pretty tip-in by the incredibly athletic McKenzie with 8:17 left capped this run before Coon Rapids could get on the board again on a score in the paint by junior forward Ella Giorgi with 7:45 left.  The Cardinals' sophomore reserve forward Jenny Ntambwe would add a score in the paint as well with 7:08 left but this game for Coon Rapids was getting to be a lot like the "I Love Lucy" scene were Lucy has a hard time keeping up with the candy conveyor belt of chocolate-covered cherries.  The Pirates would unleash another run with eighth-grade reserve guard Alivia McGill and junior reserve guard Chloe Cink getting scores in a 13-3 blitz over the course of a little over four minutes as Park Center's lead bulged to 50-13.  To their credit, the Cardinals would get four late scores before the halftime break as junior guard Beni Kalala drained a "3" from the right wing area with 3:37 left and Holland would connect with a lay-up with 2:48 left as well.  Kehr would bang home a "3" from the top of the key with 1:21 left and a short, turnaround jumper by junior forward Nicole Post with :29 left was something of consolation for Coon Rapids but Weko and his staff were still on the wrong end of a bloated 54-23 score as both teams retreated to their respective locker rooms for the intermission.

As if there was any lingering doubt as to how this one was going to turn out, the Pirates quickly took care of that with a 9-2 push to begin the second half.  One free throw by Griffin at the 17:23 mark and a Frost lay-up in transition at the 16:58 mark got the Park Center lead to 57-23.  Griffin would add a lay-up of her own at the 14:56 mark and a routine lay-up in transition by McKenzie at the 14:30 mark made it 61-25.  Then Frost would snare a steal and whiz the other way for a lay-up at the 14:00 mark to make it 63-25 and the Cardinals' Weko called a timeout to try and stop this avalanche that was engulfing his squad.  Interestingly, Coon Rapids came out of this latest stoppage in play with some resolve.  Post would connect with a lay-up at the 13:41 mark and a score in the paint by Giorgi at the 12:29 mark gave the Cardinal faithful a little something to cheer about on this bleak night.  But with the Pirates safely up 63-29 by this point, now it was a matter of closing in on running time and Park Center continued with the deluge.  Griffin would drain a "3" from the left top area at the 12:08 mark and would follow that up a bit later with a score in the paint at the 11:17 mark to make it 68-29.  Two scores by McKenzie - an offensive rebound for a putback at the 10:52 mark and a lay-up at the 10:17 mark made it 72-29.  With 8:23 left, McGill added a lay-up in transition to make it 74-31 before running time finally kicked in with 8:00 left.  Down the stretch, the athletic McGill would add two more scores - a pretty, one-handed shot in the lane with 6:21 left and a steal and lay-up the other way with 5:27 left to make it 80-33.  Coon Rapids would also get some scores down the stretch as well.  Ntambwe got into the paint for a score with 4:50 left and Kehr would add one freebie after getting fouled with 4:02 left.  Giorgi would knock down a short jumper with 1:40 left and would add a lay-up in transition with :23 left but the Pirates took no prisoners on this night as they cruised to an 82-40 victory. 

The final box score on this night shows that it was another stellar scoring performance for Park Center's McKenzie as she led the way with her 29 points and Frost wasn't far behind with her 19 points.  Griffin tallied 13 points on this night and somewhat surprisingly, McGill finished in double figures as well with her 10 points.  Coon Rapids' Kehr was the only Cardinal in double figures with her 10 points on this night. 
           

Saturday, December 14, 2019

Augsburg vs UST 12-11-19


Was back over on the St Paul-side of town at UST's Anderson Athletic Complex and Schoeneker Arena on this cold December Wednesday night to take in another big matchup between visiting Augsburg and host UST.  The Tommies, of course, were looking to right the ship after having their 77-game MIAC win streak come to a screeching halt this last Saturday at home against GAC.  Augsburg meanwhile had won three straight (including two conference games against St. Olaf and Carleton) after getting bounced out in the Pacific Northwest over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend by Puget Sound.  Both teams came into this season ranked in the D3hoops.com poll and were the top two teams in the conference last year so there was arguably a lot riding in this early season clash on this night.

Just like this last Saturday, UST got off to the start it wanted; building an early 6-2 lead.  Sophomore post Brynne Rolland got a score in the paint at the 9:30 mark of the opening period to start things off and a lay-up by freshman guard Madi Schirmer at the 8:47 mark made it 4-0.  Fellow freshman reserve guard Abby Mackenthun would connect on a lay-up as well to give the Tommies their aforementioned lead at the 6:33 mark.  Augsburg on the other hand struggled with their half-court offense early on and despite free throws by senior guard Tamira McLemore at the 6:23 and 5:08 marks, the Auggies initially looked sluggish and perhaps even worse, they had some early defensive lapses as well.  After UST sophomore reserve post Allie Spaulding increased the Tommie lead to 8-4 with 4:57 left on her lay-up, Augsburg finally started showing signs of life.  Senior forward Camryn Speese maneuvered into the paint for one score with 4:39 left and fellow senior reserve guard K'aezha Wubben snared a steal in the backcourt and got a lay-up out of it with 2:51 left to get this game deadlocked at 8 a piece.  A score in the paint by sophomore reserve forward Jen Masello with 1:57 left kept the game tied at 10-all and the Auggies would take their first lead of the game with :52.8 left in the first period when Speese made a quick burst and connected with a lay-up and drew a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" put Augsburg out in front 13-10.  The Tommies, however, returned the favor when sophomore reserve guard Ellie Wolkow banged home a "3" from the left corner with just :00.8 left so going into the second period tied at 13 a piece, you could just tell there were going to be fireworks in this contest tonight. 

UST would again establish some breathing room in the early minutes of the second period as two Mackenthun "3's" - one from the right wing area at the 8:42 mark and another one from the left wing area at the 8:01 mark - had the Tommies up 19-15 and a steal and lay-up the other way by sophomore guard Shayla Wallin at the 5:37 mark had things looking good for the home team up 21-16 by this point.  Augsburg would have a second awakening, however, and it didn't take them long to forge another tie.  Junior forward Jazmyn Solseth would make a drive and a pretty spin move in traffic for a finish with 4:50 left and then McLemore would unleash one of her trademark three-point bombs - this one coming from the right wing with 4:20 left that again had this contest in a draw at 21 a piece.  A concerned UST Head Coach Ruth Sinn would call a thirty-second timeout to discuss her team's sudden defensive shortcomings and the Tommies appeared to come out of this short stoppage refocused.  Mackenthun muscled into the paint for one score with 3:12 left and although the Auggies' would get the game tied again at 23-all on two Solseth free throws with 1:38 left, UST would get two late scores that would allow them to take the lead into the locker room at the half.  Rolland would connect with a lay-up with 1:27 left and draw a foul in the process and her obligatory free throw had the Tommies up 26-23.  With just :21 left, Rolland would strike again with a jumper from the free throw line off the glass to make it 28-23 and, considering how hard the Auggies had to work just force a couple of ties in this game thus far, it seemed like their defensive lapses had taken some of the air out of their balloon.

Both teams came out of the locker room with both barrels blazing in the early moments of the third period.  UST's Rolland started it off with another jumper from the free throw line area at the 8:45 mark but the Auggies' Solseth came right back on Augsburg's ensuing possession and drained a cold-blooded "3" from the right wing area at the 8:21 mark.  On the Tommies' next possession, Rolland would strike again with a lay-up to give UST a 32-26 lead but right back came the Auggies' Solseth at the 7:56 mark with a lay-up that reduced the deficit to four points at 32-28.  While many within the UST faithful were hoping for some semblance of order to be restored, Augsburg one-upped their host with a push that put the visitors into the lead.  At the 7:28 mark, Solseth connected with a short, turnaround jumper in the lane to bring the Auggies back within a single possession down 32-30 and a bit later at the 6:49 mark, McLemore uncorked another one of her trademark three-point bombs - this one from the right wing off of an inbounds pass that suddenly pushed Augsburg back out in front 33-32.  This quickly got the attention of the Tommies who responded with an 11-0 run.  Rolland would drop two freebies after getting fouled at the 6:34 mark to put UST back up again 34-33 and that lead would grow to 36-33 when Rolland knocked down a jumper from the free throw line area at the 5:59 mark.  Then sophomore guard Amber Darge drilled a "3" from the left wing area at the 5:16 mark that pushed the lead to six at 39-33 and Auggie Head Coach Ted Riverso now felt compelled to call for a thirty-second stoppage in the action to try and get his troops re-assembled.  Still, the Tommies would cap this run a bit later with 4:45 left when Spaulding connected with a lay-up with 4:45 left along with one Schirmer free throw with 3:05 left and one by Mackenthun with 1:50 left before Augsburg could finally get something going again with a 6-2 push down the home stretch of the third period.  Wubben would get into the paint for a score with 1:31 left and Solseth would wheel and deal to get into the paint for a score with :56 left to reduce the deficit to eight at 45-37.  Then senior sharpshooting guard Aiza Wilson; who had struggeld thus far with her shooting touch, finally found the range from behind the arc when she unleashed a trey from the left top area off of the glass no less with just :11 left that brought the Auggies back within striking distance again down five at 45-40 going into the fourth period.

Augsburg would draw back to within a single possession early in the fourth period when Speese connected with a lay-up at the 9:29 mark that also drew a foul in the process.  Her ensuing "and one" now had the deficit down to two points at 45-43 but the Auggies' situation would be complicated a bit later at the 7:07 mark when Speese would also get tagged with her fourth foul of the night and Riverso had no choice but to yank one of his big playmakers off the floor to sit for a spell.  Trailing 47-43, the Auggies again made a splash when Solseth uncorked a rare "3" from the right corner at the 6:22 mark to cut the deficit to one point but on the ensuing UST possession, Solseth would pick up her fourth foul of the night as well and Riverso again had to yank another potential big scorer off of the floor for preservation.  The Tommies' Rolland would get both free throw attempts to go down with 6:05 left to give UST a bit more breathing room up by three at 49-46.  But you could tell at the beginning of this fourth period that Augsburg came out with a renewed sense of energy and being down three points was not going to be enough to keep the Auggies at bay on this night.  Things brightened considerably for Augsburg when they got into the bonus at the 5:53 mark  and at the 5:36 mark, senior point guard Ari Jones got a look behind the arc from the left top area and drained a "3" to get this game tied at 49.  The Tommies tried to counter as Wallin got to the charity stripe to drop two free throws to give UST the lead at 51-49 but then the Auggies would explode on a key 9-0 tear.  Jones would strike again with 4:32 left when she snared a steal and dashed the other way for a lay-up and drew a foul in the process and her obligatory free throw pushed Augsburg into the lead at 52-51.  Then Wilson drained a cold-blooded "3" from the left top area with 4:13 left that grew the Auggie lead to four at 55-51 and now the Tommies' Sinn was clamoring for a thirty-second timeout to try and cool down this suddenly hot opponent.  But when Speese - now back in the game - got one free throw to go down with 3:30 left and Masello connected with a lay-up with 3:11 left to give the Auggies a 58-51 lead, UST's fate seemed pretty much sealed at this point.

Or at least it SEEMED that way.  Right when the Auggies had UST behind the 8-ball, they mysteriously and shockingly let them get out of jail.  On the ensuing Tommie possession, Schirmer would get fouled with 2:52 left and promptly knocked down both free throw attempts to cut the deficit down to five points at 58-53.  On the next Augsburg possession, both Masello and McLemore were unable to connect on lay-up attempts and although UST turned the ball over on the defensive rebound, the Auggies' Solseth couldn't get a jumper attempt to cooperate.  The Tommies were unable to cash in on their ensuing possession so when Augsburg got the defensive rebound, it seemed like this is where they would likely close the door for good.  Instead, the Auggies' Solseth couldn't connect on her lay-up attempt and with 1:06 left, UST's Sinn called a timeout to set up strategy.  With :54.9 left, Wallin got a look behind the arc from the right top area and unleashed a "3" that had the UST faithful cheering loudly down 58-56.  On Augsburg's next possession, the Tommies' Schirmer got a steal and she quickly got the ball to Wallin who promptly connected on a lay-up in transition with :20 left that suddenly had this game tied at 58-all.  The Auggies' Riverso now called timeout in hopes of setting up one last play for the winning basket.  And when Augsburg inbounded the ball at the half-court line, it seemed like they had set things up beautifully when Wilson got the ball and appeared to have a clear path to the hole for the potential game-winner.  Her scoop shot, however, completely missed its intended mark and UST's Rolland was there for the rebound.  Sinn quickly called timeout for one last chance now given to her team.  But the Tommies suffered a turnover with just :02.7 left and Augsburg's Jones was unable to get up a shot before the buzzer so off to the extra session we went tied at 58. 

The Tommies definitely got the start they were seeking in the overtime period as junior point guard Macy Hatlestad drilled a "3" from the left wing area at the 4:35 mark to put UST up 61-58 and two Rolland free throws at the 3:27 mark not only maintained the three-point edge at 63-60, but now the Auggies' Solseth had fouled out and had to watch the rest of the one unfold from the bench.  But just when Augsburg seemed the most vulnerable at quite possibly the worst time, they somehow found a way to reach down and finally get this thing done after it appeared that they had blown their best chance late in the 4th period.  First, Masello was able get into the paint for a score at the 2:52 mark to reduce the deficit to one at 63-62.  The Auggies then were able to get a stop on the other end and on their next possession, Wubben blew by her defender for a lay-up with 2:09 left to push Augsburg into the lead for good at 64-63.  UST would then come up empty on their next possession and the Auggies' Masello would get fouled with 1:15 left and although she couldn't get the front-end freebie to go down, the back-end attempt was true to get the Augsburg lead to 65-63.  Still plenty of time for UST to counter down by only two but on their next ensuing possession, Wolkow suffered an untimely turnover and Augsburg was quick to capitalize as Wubben would connect with a lay-up with :53 left.  Still time left for the Tommies but now their room for error was no more and when a Rolland lay-up attempt down low missed its mark, UST's last chance had come and gone as the Auggies' Masello was there to grab the rebound.  With :18.1 left, McLemore would get fouled and she put both free throw attempts down to make it a 69-63 game that effectively sealed UST's fate.  The Tommies' Sinn would call another timeout to set something up but there would be no repeat of Lauren Fischer's miracle from two years ago.  Hatlestad would make a drive along the left baseline for a finish off the glass with :08.3 left and UST would immediately foul the Auggies' Jones with :07.7 left.  Even though Jones missed on both free throw attempts, the Tommies couldn't get a good look and the Augsburg contingent inside Schoenecker Arena exploded when the buzzer sounded with the Auggies triumphant in a 69-65 overtime victory. 

When I was able to finally catch up with Augsburg's Riverso in the post-game melee as he was being congratulated by several for this triumph over his former employer, he was quick to give his team a lot of credit for hanging tough after seeing their lead fall apart down the stretch of the fourth period.  At the same time, he also pointed out that he knows full and well that this UST team will be much, much better come late January when the Tommies come over to Si Melby Hall on 1-29-20 for the rematch.  And Riverso was in quick agreement when I asked him about his squad's shaky free throw shooting on this night (they finished 12-21 from the charity stripe for the game) and although they got away with it this time, they have to know that it's living dangerously at best and could cost them mightily at worst.  Still, like GAC, it has to be a shot of confidence to FINALLY have this monkey off of your back when it comes to playing UST.  I was also able to catch up with UST's Sinn outside the locker room a bit later and although disappointed with the outcome on this night, she was proud of how hard her team fought in this one.  Unlike Saturday against GAC, I thought the Tommies did a better job of attacking in this game but still had lapses in the critical moments.  "We're very young" Sinn replied and "it's a step-by-step process."  Again, without junior forward/post Kaia Porter on the floor, this is a much different Tommie team and it's quite possible that Porter won't be able to play again this season.  At the same time, we've seen UST teams before under Sinn in years past struggle some at the beginning of the season but come late January/early February, they're hitting their stride and at some point this core group of young players will "get it".  While UST wasn't much better than Augsburg from the charity stripe finishing 13-19 on that front, they did own the boards on this night by a 45-35 count.  But here's where some of the numbers begin to turn ugly for UST.  23 turnovers (compared to Augsburg's 12) and going 6-25 from behind the arc for 24% which is almost unheard of for any UST team.  Then you look at those turnovers and see that the Auggies had 25 points off of those turnovers compared to UST's nine points off turnovers.  Also, Augsburg held a 36-30 edge in points in the paint and held a 9-4 edge in those all-important "second-chance" points.  It was a fantastic night for Augsburg's Solseth as she led the way with 19 points while McLemore tallied 12 points.  UST's Rolland finished with a double-double on this night with 19 points at 15 rebounds to boot while Mackenthun finished with 11 points.       

Sunday, December 8, 2019

GAC vs UST 12-7-19


With that rotten cold I had earlier in the week getting more and more into the rear-view mirror, I made my way over to the St Paul side of town to Anderson Athletic Complex on the campus of UST for this early-season clash between visiting GAC and host UST.  After losing to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps over the Thanksgiving weekend out in the Motherland, the Gusties rebounded nicely on Wednesday night bouncing Hamline on the road but now faced their long-time nemesis - and arguably their kryptonite - in UST.  The Tommies meanwhile were coming in with a 6-0 record; their latest victim being Macalester just down the street on Summit Avenue on Wednesday night.

You had to go back to 2010 when GAC last beat UST and the way this one started, it appeared as if the Tommies would keep this long-standing streak going.  Sophomore post Brynne Rolland would snare an offensive rebound and get a reverse lay-up out of it at the 9:29 mark of the opening period and another offensive rebound and putback by fellow sophomore guard Amber Darge at the 8:55 mark made it a 4-0 game.  GAC momentarily cut into this deficit when freshman sensation forward Caitlin Rorman connected on a lay-up at the 8:24 mark but a 7-1 push by UST gave them some more separation.  A score in the paint by Rolland at the 8:01 mark and a hard drive and pretty reverse lay-up by Darge at the 5:30 mark made it 8-3.  Freshman reserve guard Madi Schirmer connected with a short jumper and drew a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" got the lead to 11-3 before the Gusties could finally stop some of the bleeding when junior point guard Ava Gonsorowski drained a "3" from the left corner with 3:54 left.  Still, UST would get their lead to double-digit range with another push.  Schirmer knocked down a jumper from the right elbow area with 3:39 left and a routine Rolland score in the paint with 2:33 left had the Tommies up by nine at 15-6.  Then Schirmer, the Mapleton native who was having a splendid first period, connected with a short jumper from the left side with 1:38 left to give the home team the aforementioned double-digit advantage at 17-6.  GAC was at least able to trim the deficit back into single-digit range again on two three-point bombs - one by freshman reserve guard Anna Sanders from the left top area with 1:19 left and another one from the left wing area by freshman reserve guard Maddy Rice with :21 left - but still trailing by a 19-12 count going into the second period, you couldn't help but wonder if the Gustie faithful were going through another one of those "Here we go again" feelings. 

But any feelings of dread that the Gusties or their fans may have been feeling after that first period brightened considerably once the second period got underway as GAC started attacking the Tommies.  Rorman first connected with a lay-up in transition at the 9:36 mark and few a foul in the process and although she couldn't cash in on the ensuing "and one", it seemed to give the Gusties a shot of confidence and fresh air.  A little more than a minute later at the 8:26 mark, Rice would bury her second trey of the afternoon; this one from the right wing area that suddenly reduced the deficit down to four points at 21-17 and then Rorman would again make a big play with a drive and finish at the 7:54 mark; again drawing a foul and this time getting the obligatory free throw to go down that now had the deficit whittled down to a single point at 21-20.  Then Sanders would bang home a "3" from the left wing area at the 6:48 mark to push GAC ahead for the first time in this contest at 23-21 and an alarmed Tommie Head Coach Ruth Sinn called for a thirty-second timeout to try and quickly assess the damage done by this 11-2 tear that the visitors from St. Peter put on them.  Still, GAC's Rorman was just getting warmed up as she would make another daring drive into the heart of the Tommie defense for a finish with 4:40 left to make it a 25-21 ballgame before UST was able to dial up some offense behind Rolland as she would get a score in the paint with 4:18 left and connect with a short shot in the lane with 3:40 left that at least had the deficit back down to two points at 27-25 and the Tommies still in the thick of things.  GAC, however, would ignite another offensive outburst just before the halftime break.  Two free throws by Sanders with 1:43 left and a jumper by lanky junior forward Paige Richert with :55 left allowed the Gusties to take a surprising 31-25 lead into the locker room at the half.  A check of the box score by the halftime break shows that the normally efficient UST offense had been bogged down by two major factors:  (1) 11 first half turnovers and (2) going 0-5 from behind the arc which is almost unheard of from a Tommie standpoint.  Throw in the fact that UST saw their FG shooting dip from 9-14 in the first period for 64.3% to only 3-15 for 20% in the second period and you can see why the Tommies looked curiously out of sync while the Gusties seemed to flourish; outscoring UST 19-6 just in the second period alone.  Still, GAC Head Coach Laurie Kelly still had to be concerned about the rebounding front where UST had a 20-14 advantage. 

The Gusties were able to keep their opponent at bay in the first few minutes of the third period as an offensive rebound and putback by Richert at the 9:09 mark and a Richert score in the paint at the 8:19 mark maintained the six-point edge at 35-29.  UST, however, slyly tightened things up with an offensive push and some big stops on the other end.  Freshman reserve guard Abby Mackenthun made a pretty drive for a finish off of an inbounds pass at the 8:01 mark and a Rolland lay-up in transition at the 7:32 mark had the the Tommies back within a single possession down 35-33.  GAC's Richert would temporarily increase the Gusties' safety net with another score in the paint at the 7:05 mark but UST continued their push.  Sophomore reserve post Allie Spaulding got into the paint for a score at the 6:13 mark and then Mackenthun would connect with a lay-up at the 5:28 mark that brough the Tommies back on even terms with their opponent tied up at 37 and it was here where many inside Schoenecker Arena expected UST to take over while the Gusties would promptly falter.  This time, however, GAC promptly responded as Rorman would snare a steal and dash the other way for a lay-up with 4:14 left that put the Gusties back out in front 39-37 and then Gonsorowski made a slick drive into the lane for a finish off the glass with 3:34 left that got GAC's lead up to four points at 41-37.  Tommie junior point guard Macy Hatlestad; who had thus far struggled with her shooting touch, finally found the range from behind the arc from the left corner with 2:21 left that drew UST back to single possession range again down by one at 41-40 before the Gusties stepped on the gas pedal again.  Rorman would score in the paint with 1:54 left and then junior guard Gabby Bowlin connected with a tough left-handed lay-up with 1:17 left that again increased the GAC safety net to five points at 45-40.  But the Tommies would again crawl back to a one-point deficit before the end of this third period as two Hatelstad free throws with :59.5 left and a lay-up by freshman reserve guard Jordyn Glynn with :28 left reduced the Gustie lead to an uncertain 45-44 count going into the fourth period. 

Again, there were probably many inside Schoenecker Arena on this Saturday afternoon that probably thought that the pressure the Gusties were facing in trying to hold off their long-time nemesis would force them to finally fold and give in.  Instead, this GAC team showed a lot of resolve and character and responded to the challenge before them.  Bowlin started this fourth period off with a three-point bomb from the right top area at the 9:28 mark and a Rorman score in the paint at the 8:48 mark had the Gustie lead back to four points at 50-46.  Two Richert freebies after the Comfrey native was fouled at the 8:04 mark gave GAC some breathing room up by six again at 52-46.  Now it was the Tommies' turn to respond and they would first go through Rolland who would connect with a lay-up at the 7:45 mark and then muscle into the paint for a score at the 5:59 mark to get UST right back in the thick of things down by two at 52-50.  Then Schirmer would connect with a short jumper in the lane at the 5:18 mark that had this one knotted at 52 a piece and two free throws by sophomore guard Shayla Wallin with 4:08 left kept this one deadlocked at 54 and again you had to wonder if the weight of the burden that the Gusties were facing from not having beaten UST in recent memory would force this young team to crumble from the pressure.  But I think this is exactly where you saw this young team finally stand up and say, "No more" when everything could have arguably gone kablooey for them.  Instead of playing cautiously and not to lose, they kept attacking.  Gonsorowski would get sent to the charity stripe after making a hard drive with 3:45 left and the Esko native calmly dropped two free throws to give GAC the lead back and then it was Rorman making a daring steal and dashing the other way for a lay-up with 2:52 left to increase the Gustie lead to 58-54.  Richert would get sent to the free throw line with 2;14 left and got one to go down to up the lead to 59-54 but GAC was still not completely out of the woods just yet.  The Tommies again slimmed the deficit down to a single possession as one Rolland free throw with 1:32 left and a Schirmer drive and finish with :58 left made it a 59-57 ballgame and on the ensuing Gustie possession, Kelly would call a thirty-second timeout to set up strategy to protect this delicate lead.  Rorman would put up a lay-up attempt a bit later with :24.5 left and although she couldn't get the shot attempt to cooperate, she showed enough saavy to snare the offensive rebound and get fouled in the process and got the front end attempt to go down to make it 60-57.  UST's Sinn would call a timeout of her own in hopes of perhaps getting the tying three-pointer but with :17.2 left, a Schirmer three-point attempt missed its mark and the Gusties' Bowlin was there for the rebound and would be promptly fouled with :15.2 left.  Bowlin could only get the front end of the two-shot opportunity to go down so there was still a very small window left open for UST.  But that window was closed for good when a Rolland lay-up attempt missed its mark and Gonsorowski was there for the rebound for GAC and would get promptly fouled with :07.7 left.  Gonsorowski would get the back end freebie to go down to give the Gusties the safety net they needed and when the buzzer finally sounded, GAC had not only recorded its first victory over UST since February 17, 2010 but also snapped UST's 77-game MIAC winning streak in the process and the jubilation from the Gustie bench was real when they rushed the court to embrace each other. 

It was easy to see how incredibly proud GAC's Kelly was of her young squad in holding firm coming down the stretch when things were still very uncertain when I caught up with her in the postgame melee.  In a funny kind of way, I think a lot of it had to do with how the young new faces on this squad really showed up and made valuable contributions and weren't affected at all in the history of how things have gone since that last win.  Kelly told me how Rorman may very well be the next "big" thing at GAC since Mikayla Miller ('18) and how humble she is in everything and she definitely made some big plays today.  Richert, too, picked up her game in the second half after a relatively uneventful first half and Gonsorowski I thought really steadied the ship in that fourth period when she had to.  Meanwhile, it was much more somber on the UST side of things and when I finally caught up with Sinn afterward, the disappointment on this day was clearly etched on her face and in her voice.  "We're a young team" she said and explained that it's a step-by-step process for this young group of hers.  "We have a lot of young players who just aren't ready to step into the new roles they have and they were apprehensive at times".  But she was quick to give credit where credit was due to GAC on this day and how they kept attacking.  One big piece of the puzzle that was missing for UST on this day was junior forward/post Kaia Porter who has been experiencing some knee issues as of late and further tests will need to be done to determine how serious those issues are and whether she'll be able to come back this season or not.  Obviously, without her, that's an incredibly huge blow to UST's hopes for another MIAC title and it's easy to see that this is simply not the same Tommie team that we've been accustomed to over the last few years.  Then again, this certainly isn't Kelly's best team at GAC by any stretch either.  They're still very young, of course, and they've got some injury issues of their own to deal with; most notably with 6'5" sophomore post Betsy Schoenrock who suffered an ACL injury and is out for the year.  It's funny when you hark back to that 2009-10 Gustie team that won a share of the MIAC regular season that last beat UST over at Concordia St. Paul's Ganglehoff Arena while the new Anderson Athletic Complex was under construction that featured the likes of Bri Radtke, Julia Schultz, Katie Layman along with youngsters Molly Geske, Ava Perry and Abby Rothenbuehler among others that were able to enjoy that victory.  A lot of players have come and gone since then and it's been a long time coming.  But this group finally did it. 

Just another outstanding outing for GAC's Rorman on this day as she led the way with 20 points while Richert stepped up in that second half and finished with 12 points and Gonsorowski finished with 10 points but, more importantly, was the glue that held the team together down the stretch.  Rolland led the way for UST with 21 points while Schirmer had 11 points and Wallin had 10 points.  Again, the glaring stat on this day was that the Tommies finished this game by going only 1-11 from downtown for 9.1% which is simply unheard of for a team that normally has the ability to slaughter opponents from three-point land.  21 turnovers; with several traveling calls mixed in also doomed UST on this day and that's just so uncharacteristic of a Sinn-coached team.  GAC didn't necessarily shoot the lights out on this day as they were 21-46 from FG range for 45.7% and 6-15 from behind the arc for 40%.  They did get to the free throw line more often however and finished going 14-20 from the charity stripe for 70%; a number that likely needs to get better.  Also, GAC did get outrebounded on this day by a 32-26 count and that's something that perturbed Kelly and she told me that she emphasized to her squad that they had to rebound on this day so consider her frustration when on the first two possessions of the game where UST got second chances on the offensive end.  Still in all, the Gusties found a way when not many expected them to.     

Wednesday, December 4, 2019

Wednesday Games Recap 12-4-19


Instead of heading over to Hutton Arena tonight to catch the GAC - Hamline game as I had hoped, I was bottled up here at home as I came down with a rather nasty cold early in the week that relegated me to watching games online as best I could.  For the most part, I concentrated on the GAC - Hamline game; a game that the Gusties won convincingly after being up only 37-32 at the half.  A quick 8-0 run by GAC to start the third period turned the tide as the Gusties cruised to a comfortable 76-57 win.  Juniors Ava Gonsorowski, Marisa Gustafson, and Paige Richert all finished in double-figures on the night as did freshman newcomer Caitlin Rorman.  Freshman Maddy Rice also looked good tonight so the Gusties still look solid despite the loss to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps this last Saturday out in the Motherland (aka Southern California).

Without question, the wildest game on this night was down in Winona between visiting St. Kate's and host SMU where the Wildcats finally got the job done in double OT by a final score of 79-77 (yes, it was as wild and weird as it sounds).  You have to tip your hat to Head Coach Don Mulhern and this team for finding a way to get a cherished road win and the trip back up U.S. Highway 61 and the Canadian Pacific Railway River Sub mainline to the Twin Cities will be a little more enjoyable for the Wildcats tonight.  Meanwhile on the SMU side, they're continually finding ways to lose games and the Cardinals still do not have any marks to put on the good side of the ledger which almost makes Saturday's game with Concordia a "must" win for SMU and it's not even Christmas yet. 

Elsewhere, things pretty much went as expected.  Augsburg beat St. Olaf at home in Si Melby Hall 76-61 while CSB had a relatively easy win over Concordia tonight 82-67 at home in St. Joe.  Bethel likewise held serve at home in Robertson Center against Carleton comfortably enough 67-44 and UST made the quick run on Summit over to Macalester where they unceremoniously dropped the Scots 74-53. 

Hopefully by Saturday I'll be over this damn cold and back at it again.  :)   

Friday, November 29, 2019

Augsburg vs St. Kate's 11-26-19


Made the journey over to the St Paul side of town on this Tuesday evening even as Winter Storm Dorothy had the Twin Cities in her sights to take in early-season MIAC clash over at Butler Center on the campus of St. Catherine's University as visiting Augsburg prepared to take on host St. Kate's.  The Auggies were coming into this contest 4-0 with the latest win coming up in Moorhead last Saturday against Concordia.  The Wildcats meanwhile were 2-2 coming into this game and had come out on the short end of the stick against UST last Saturday so facing another top MIAC team was not going to be an easy chore for St. Kate's.

Wildcats Head Coach Don Mulhern probably couldn't have asked for a better start by his team as they bolted out to a quick 6-0 lead.  Sophomore post Katie Benjamin got into the paint for a finish at the 9:36 mark of the opening period and a pretty lay-up by senior guard Danica Cambrice off of an inbounds pass at the 8:59 mark made it 4-0.  Benjamin would finish off this opening burst with a lay-up at the 8:44 mark and things were certainly looking good for the home team at the moment.  The thing of it was, despite the sluggish start by Augsburg, they responded to this early hole by going on a 15-0 tear.  Senior forward Camryn Speese started this eye-opening run with a score in the paint at the 8:25 mark and would follow that up a few seconds later with a lay-up in transition after a Wildcat turnover at the 8:01 mark.  Fellow senior guard Aiza Wilson then drained one of her trademark three-point bombs - this one coming from the right corner - at the 7:24 mark to put the Auggies out in front 7-6 and a hard drive into the lane and finish off the glass by junior forward Jazmyn Solseth at the 6:38 mark got the lead to three points at 9-6.  Speese would strike again at the 5:57 mark with a burst that ended in a lay-up and a Solseth jumper along the right baseline at the 5:25 mark now made it 13-6 and St. Kate's Mulhern decided that it was time for a halt to the action to try and get his troops reorganized.  Still, Speese would cap this opening Auggie run with a lay-up with 4:15 left to get the lead to 15-6 before the Wildcats could finally dust off the cobwebs forming on their basket on 2 free throws by sophomore guard Mackenzie Kurczek with 3:49 left.  Augsburg would keep padding their lead, however, as senior guard Tamira McLemore drilled a "3" from the left corner with 3:40 left to make it a ten-point game at 18-8 and a lay-up by sophomore reserve forward Jen Masello with 3:06 left maintained the ten-point edge at 20-10.  Then McLemore would unleash another three-point bomb - this one from the right corner with 2:12 left - that made it 23-10.  Pairs of free throws by McLemore with 1:48 left and by senior reserve guard K'aezha Wubben with 1:22 left made it 27-10 and although the Wildcats' Cambrice would finish off this first period with a pretty spin and lay-up finish with :56 left, the early advantage that St. Kate's opened up with had long vanished into thin air.

Nothing seemed to change too much once the second period got underway as the Auggies continued to look sharp.  Speese whizzed downcourt for a lay-up in transition at the 9:02 mark and McLemore would finish off a transition opportunity with a short jumper at the 7:15 mark that gave Augsburg a somewhat cozy 31-14 advantage.  The 'Cats, however, finally started to figure out a few things and would slowly close the gap.  Senior guard Jackie Radford would bang home a "3" from the left top area at the 6:36 mark and one Benjamin freebie after she was fouled at the 6:10 mark had the deficit down to thirteen at 31-18.  Cambrice would then connect with a lay-up with 4:38 left and then Radford unleashed her second trey of this ballgame from the left top area with 4:04 left that reduced the deficit even more to eleven points at 34-23.  A somewhat alarmed Augsburg team quickly went back to work to pad their safety net.  McLemore would split a double-team and connect with a lay-up with 3:23 left and an offensive rebound and putback by the athletic Speese with 2:03 left had the lead back up to fifteen points again at 38-23.  One more McLemore free throw with 1:34 left increased the lead to 39-23 before St. Kate's could cut into that deficit again as Benjamin would sink two free throws after getting fouled with 1:17 left and one more by freshman reserve guard Cierra Ahlf with :42.1 left allowed the Wildcats to get the deficit down to thirteen points again down 39-26 as both teams retreated to the locker room for the halftime break. 

St. Kate's would make an early bid to crawl back into single-digit range in the early moments of the third period.  Two scores by Benjamin - a lay-up at the 9:17 mark and a score in the paint at the 8:44 mark - coupled with a lay-up by freshman forward Bree Glynn at the 6:27 mark gave some hope to the Wildcat faithful as they had now cut the deficit to nine points at 41-32.  But Augsburg quickly dashed these hopes as they proceeded to go on a 9-0 run to widen the margin again.  Solseth would first get one free throw to go down after getting fouled at the 6:08 mark and then freshman reserve forward Jayley Coplin would bang home a killer "3" from the right wing area at the 5:57 mark that had the Auggie lead up to thirteen again at 45-32.  Speese; like a thief in the night, would then snare a steal and whiz downcourt for a lay-up at the 5:22 mark and a strong drive and finish by McLemore with 3:48 left made it 49-32 and once again the Wildcats' Mulhern was clamoring for a timeout.  Masello would cap this important third period run with one freebie after getting fouled with 3:11 left before St. Kate's was able to pull itself up off the floor and respond with an 11-2 run that restored some faith among the partisan home crowd.  Cambrice would make a drive into trafiic and finish with a short jumper off the glass with 2:55 left to get things going and a Benjamin lay-up with 2:05 left had the deficit down to fourteen points at 50-36.  Two free throws by junior reserve guard Brooke Torvik with 1:34 left and a lay-up by freshman reserve forward Mary-Claire Francois with 1:03 left now had the deficit reduced to ten points at 50-40.  The Auggies seemed to get their safety net built back up when Masello snared an offensive rebound for a putback with just :06 left but on the 'Cats ensuing possession, Masello would foul Cambrice behind the arc which allowed the former St. Croix Lutheran standout to get three free throws to go down with just :00.2 left.  Granted, St. Kate's had done it the hard way but the Wildcats were back in single-digit range again down 52-43 heading into the fourth period. 

Augsburg hoped to quash this comeback attempt for good in the early minutes of the fourth period as a Speese lay-up at the 8:22 mark had the Auggies back up by eleven at 54-43 and hurting the Wildcats' hopes at this juncture was that Glynn had picked up her fourth foul of the evening as well.  But this gritty and never-say-die St. Kate's team showed a lot of spunk and brought themselves back from the brink.  Ahlf would connect with a lay-up at the 7:13 mark to get the 'Cats back to within single-digit range again down 54-45 and then Kurczek would drain a "3" from the left corner at the 6:16 mark that suddenly reduced the lead to six at 54-48 and Augsburg Head Coach Ted Riverso; now genuinely concerned about how his team's lead was quickly shrinking, called a timeout in hopes off cooling off this hot Wildcat team.  But not only were the Auggies now finding themselves in a battle, the hot shooting they were enjoying not so long ago had now seemingly betrayed them as St. Kate's started to draw dangerously close.  Benjamin muscled into the paint for a score at the 5:14 mark to reduce the deficit to a tantalizing four points at 54-50 and making matters worse for Riverseo and the Auggies was that Speese had collected her fourth foul of the night with 4:28 left.  With 4:17 left, Butler Center practically exploded when Ahlf snared a steal in the backcourt and got the ball to Radford who connected with a lay-up with 4:17 left that now had St. Kate's back to within a single possession down 54-52 with a mountain of time left.  Things arguably could have gone totally kablooey for Augsburg right then and there.  Riverso, however, called another timeout to try and get his squad calmed down and they came out of the stoppage in play cool and collected and righted the ship in this storm.  With 2:55 left, McLemore got an open look from behind the arc from the left top area and drained a cold-blooded "3" to get the lead back to five at 57-52 and a little more than a minute later, Wilson would unleash a back-breaking "3" of her own from the right wing area with 1:53 left to make it a 60-52 game that seemed to take a lot of the air out of Butler Center.  Still, an undaunted Wildcat team would make one last push to try and bring this one back.  Benjamin would bang home a "3" from the left top area with 1:22 left and after St. Kate's Mulhern called a timeout, Cambrice would snare an offensive rebound for a putback with just :25 left that drew the Wildcats back to within a single possession one more time down 60-57.  Mulhern would call another timeout to set up strategy but on the Auggies' ensuing possession, Solseth would get free on a fast break lay-up with :17 left to increase the lead to five at 62-57 and Cambrice would misfire from behind the arc on St. Kate's ensuing possession as Augsburg escaped Butler Center with a hard-earned and cherished road win. 

When I look back on this, I thought the one thing that stood out to me more than anything was how the Auggies showed a lot of character and resolve when things weren't going their way in that fourth period.  Instead of panicking, their seniors stayed calm and got the big shots from both McLemore and Wilson when they needed them.  On the other side of the coin, you can't help but admire how St. Kate's kept battling back when all hope seemed to be gone.  Early on in the contest, it was basically Cambrice and Benjamin shouldering the load but as the game progressed, you saw other players stepping up and contributing which is a good sign for this young team.  The next step obviously is finding a way to snatch the "W" in these types of games.  One downer, however, is that sophomore forward Sam Orth is lost for the season with an ACL injury and not having her on the floor takes away an important piece of the puzzle for Mulhern and his staff and he'll need others to continue to step up.  Certainly a big night for Augsburg's McLemore as she led all scorers with 21 points; the biggest being that last three-point bomb that she sunk.  Speese, too, had a solid night with her 16 points.  On the St. Kate's side, Benjamin was seemingly the go-to player down low and she led the Wildcat effort with her 20 points while Cambrice tallied 15 points.  Again, I've mentioned before how Augsburg relies heavily on their three-point shooting and they weren't great at it on this night going only 6-22 for 27.3% but perhaps more alarming for Riverso and his staff was the fact that the Auggies were beaten decisively on the glass this night by a 39-27 count and they've got to do a better job on the rebounding front going forward.  On the plus side for Augsburg, they suffered only 12 turnovers to St. Kate's 17.  Free throw shooting was another iffy area for the Auggies as they were only 8-16 from the charity stripe while the Wildcats did a much better job going 11-13 for 84.6%.  Two big numbers that likely played a big part in Augsburg's escape on this night was that they had 32 points in the paint compared to St. Kate's 26 and had 18 points off of turnovers compared to the Wildcats 12.