Bethel vs UST 1-16-19

Made my way over to the St. Paul side of town on this Wednesday evening to take in this big MIAC clash between visiting Bethel and host UST.  After a tough loss at home to Augsburg the week before, the Royals took out their frustrations on Concordia up in Moorhead last weekend and were hoping to ride that wave into this contest tonight.  The Tommies meanwhile had won four straight after the somewhat shocking setback at Wartburg just before the first of the year and also appeared to have a chokehold on the MIAC again after the big win at Augsburg last Saturday.  Still, I had the feeling that Bethel would be up for this game tonight and that they might actually play the Tommies better on the road than they would at home.

Bethel would draw first blood in this contest as willowy senior post Hannah Johnson unleashed a "3" from the left top area at the 9:18 mark of the opening period but the Tommies would respond with a 7-0 push.  Senior guard Lucia Renikoff first connected with a lay-up at the 8:55 mark and then the former Minneapolis Washburn standout drained a "3" from the left top area at the 7:21 mark that had UST ahead 5-3.  Fellow senior guard Kaylie Brazil connected with a lay-up at the 6:39 to cap this opening push and make it a 7-3 ballgame before the Royals could close the gap to two points and a short turnaround jumper by sophomore forward Makenna Pearson at the 6:21 mark.  Still, the Tommies would spread the gap to seven points as another Renikoff lay-up at the 5:57 mark and a three-point bomb by Brazil from the left wing area at the 5:18 mark made it 12-5.  Bethel would then mount a resourceful 7-0 push of their own.  Junior forward Taite Anderson snared an offensive rebound for a putback with 4:51 left and a score in the paint by Johnson with 4:28 left had the Royals back within a single possession down 12-9.  Two free throws by Johnson with 3:51 left reduced the deficit to a scant point and one more by Taite Anderson with 3:16 left in the first period after she was fouled in a transition opportunity had this one knotted at 12.  A Taite Anderson score in the paint with 2:31 left tied things again at 14 and one by sophomore reserve forward Elizabeth Schwarz with 1:51 left had the game tied at 16-all before UST could manage two scores before the end of this first period.  Sophomore guard/forward Kaia Porter connected with a jumper from the left top area with 1:32 left and a jumper by Renikoff from the free throw line area with :33 gave the Tommies a four-point pad at 20-16 but it felt closer than that. 

Bethel would stay right in the thick of things as well in the early moments of the second period.  A score in the paint by Johnson at the 9:40 mark closed the gap to two points at 20-18 and then a drive into the lane and a pretty one-handed finish by Pearson at the 8:56 mark kept the Royals in that two-point range down 22-20.  A Taite Anderson lay-up at the 8:02 mark tied the contest at 22 before UST could recover somewhat as sophomore reserve guard Madi Radtke snared a steal and made a spectacular off-balance reverse lay-up at the 7:44 mark and drew a foul in the process and her obligatory free throw propelled the Tommies back out in front again at 25-22.  A jumper from the free throw line by Brazil and her deft touch at the 7:16 mark maintained that three-point edge at 27-24 but Bethel started turning up the heat on defense which also gave them opportunities on the other end and a 7-0 push got everyone's attention.  Sophomore guard Bella Williams dropped two free throws after getting fouled at the 6:48 mark to close the gap to one point and the Royals took a 29-27 lead when freshman reserve guard Tessah Anderson drained a "3" from the top of the key at the 6:07 mark.  Less than a minute later Tessah Anderson would strike again as she connected with a lay-up in transition at the 5:44 mark to make it a 31-27 ballgame and UST Head Coach Ruth Sinn; likely startled by this development, called a thirty-second timeout to get her team calmed down and re-directed.  That short stoppage in play allowed the Tommies to catch their collective breaths and get refocused again for the stretch run before the halftime break.  Still, they had to withstand Bethel junior point guard Haylee Barker growing the Royal lead to six points when she made a drive for a finish with 3:22 left.  But the Tommies would put together an 8-3 spurt to gain the upper hand again.  Senior All-American post Hannah Spaulding; hounded by the Royals thus far, got to the charity stripe with 2:39 left after getting fouled where she dropped one free throw and with 2:08 left Spaulding got into the paint for a score and also drew a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" got the deficit down to two points at 33-31.  Bethel got a bit more breathing space when Tessah Anderson knocked down a short jumper off the glass with 1:41 left but the Tommies' Renikoff would drop one free throw after getting fouled with 1:06 left and then Radtke came up with another big moment as she banged home one of her patented lefty three-point bombs from the right corner with :27.5 left to tie the contest at 35 and although the Royals would take a one-point lead into the locker room when Taite Anderson knocked down one free throw with :01.3 left, UST had to feel a bit better about itself than it did perhaps five minutes beforehand.  A check of the first half box score gives some indication as to why the Tommies struggled somewhat as they were guilty of nine turnovers thus far due to Bethel's suffocating defense and although UST had a 17-12 edge on the boards, those turnovers seemed to negate that edge.  The Tommies did shoot reasonably well from FG range as they were 13-25  for 52% but struggled from behind the arc; going 3-10 for 30%.  Bethel was 14-30 from FG range for 46.7% but like UST they struggled from downtown going only 2-7 for 28.6%. 

The Tommies went right back to work in the opening moments of the third period as Spaulding got one free throw to go down with 9:49 left to tie the game at 36-all and a Porter lay-up at the 8:42 mark got UST the lead again at 38-36.  The Royals would tie the game on a Taite Anderson lay-up at the 8:28 mark but then they made the mistake of leaving UST's Renikoff open from downtown and she buried a "3" from the right top area at the 6:48 mark to give the Tommies a 41-38 lead.  Then Spaulding would come up big as the former Annandale standout got into the paint for a score at the 6:21 mark and drew a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" pushed UST's lead to six at 44-38.  The Royals would try and counter with a Taite Anderson lay-up at the 6:03 mark but then Brazil would come up big for the Tommies at the 5:36 mark when she drained a "3' from the right top area to grow UST's lead to seven at 47-40.  Bethel would answer this as Johnson unleashed a "3" of her own from the right top area with 4:34 left but the Tommies would end this third key period with a 5-0 push.  Freshman reserve post Brynne Rolland knocked down a jumper along the right baseline with 2:38 left and a score in the paint by Spaulding with 1:58 left now had UST up 51-43.  Rolland would add one free throw with 1:07 left to push the lead to nine points at 52-43 and although Bethel was still very much in this game, the earlier momentum they had was now gone. 

The Royals started the arduous comeback process once the fourth period got underway as Johnson made a graceful move for a lay-up at the 9:07 mark and a "3" from the right corner by Pearson at the 8:22 mark had the deficit down to six points at 54-48.  UST got the lead back to nine points when Spaulding was left alone at the right top area behind the arc and she drained a "3" at the 7:49 mark but it looked as if Bethel would promptly answer when Taite Anderson was in position to connect with a lay-up with 6:29 left and although she couldn't cash in, she got the rebound and appeared to be fouled in trying to go up again.  But the officials whistled Taite Anderson for the foul and the former White Bear Lake standout's reaction to the call did not please the officials and she was promptly whistled for a technical foul.  UST's Porter got one free throw out of that to not only push the Tommie lead to ten points at 58-48 but now Taite Anderson thanks to the untimely technical had garnered her fourth foul of the night.  Bethel Head Coach Jon Herbrechtsmeyer called a timeout to try and get his squad settled down.  To their credit, the Royals indeed settled down, regrouped and battled back.  Pearson drained a "3" from the top of the key at the 5:52 mark and followed that up less than two minutes later with a short turnaround jumper off the glass after a steal with 4:18 left that had the deficit down to six points at 59-53.  Herbrechtsmeyer would subsequently call a thirty-second timeout to set up some strategy for the home stretch.  With 3:31 left, Schwarz was able to knock down two free throws to get the deficit down to four points at 59-55 but Bethel needed to get critical stops as well and that was proving to be tough to do.  The Tommies' Spaulding got into the paint for an important score with 3:08 left to make it 61-55 and one Renikoff free throw with 2:27 left maintained the six-point edge at 62-56 plus the fact by now that UST was in the bonus.  Still, the Royals were able to get tantalizingly close one last time.  Taite Anderson would knock down two free throws after getting fouled with 2:16 left and after a foiled Tommie possession, Schwarz was able to get into the paint for a score with :56 left that now had Bethel back within a single possession down 62-60.  The Tommies' Brazil would be fouled on their next possession but she could only get the back end of the two-shot deal to go down that kept the Royals within a single possession down 63-60.  Herbrecthsmeyer would call a thirty-second timeout and with :22 left, Schwarz was able to maneuver in for a lay-up that now had the deficit down to a single scant point at 63-62.  On UST's subsequent possession, junior point guard Sarah Krynski would get fouled with :19.4 left and she dropped both free throw attempts to make it 65-62.  Bethel's Herbrechtsmeyer would call a timeout to set up a three-point play but on their subsequent possession, a three-point shot attempt by Pearson from the right corner was blocked and stolen away by UST's Porter.  The Tommies' Sinn would call a timeout to make sure her squad had the ducks in order and with :01.3 left, Renikoff would be fouled and she was able to get one free throw to go down for good measure and UST earned a tough, hard-fought 66-62 win to stay all alone at the top in the MIAC. 

When I caught up with Bethel's Herbrechtsmeyer afterward, I had to congratulate him on his team's great effort and the tremendous defense his squad played on this night.  I personally don't think there's any team in the MIAC - not even UST - that plays defense as well as Bethel does.  It was one of the reasons the Royals were able to get themselves into position to steal a huge win on the road and although they didn't on this night, you can't discount the fact that they were right there.  I pointed out to Herbrechtsmeyer that I thought his team played a lot "looser'" on this night unlike when they played UST at Robertson Center.  He admitted that they were tight in that game and said that coming into this contest, he tried to keep things "lighter"; if such a term could be used.  It was serious, of course, but he managed to keep the mood lightened up a little and you could just tell that the Royals played so much better in this outing.  It was still a disappointing outcome for Herbrechtsmeyer and his staff and naturally they hope they can get another shot at UST in the MIAC Playoffs next month.  I was also able to touch base with a greatly relieved Sinn of UST as well.  She pointed out that the third period where the Tommies outscored Bethel 17-7 was the key.  "We got the separation there" she said.  One of the adjustments that Sinn and her staff had to make at the half was to try and choke off the lane where the Royals were getting points in the paint and lay-ups and that helped them get some breathing room in that third period.  Sinn was not happy, however, with the 21 turnovers that her squad was guilty of tonight (compared to Bethel's nine) and muttered "We gotta stop turning the ball over."  The Tommie attack was paced by three different players on this night:  Renikoff led all scorers with her 17 points and Spaulding recorded a "double-double" of 15 points and 15 rebounds while Brazil had a solid night as well with her 13 points.  It was a similar situation with Bethel as Taite Anderson's 15 points led the way while Hannah Johnson was right behind with 14 points and both players just missed out on recording "double-doubles" as well as they both had nine rebounds.  And Pearson had 12 points on this night.  Bethel cooled off somewhat in the second half as they finished the game going 23-59 for 39% from FG range and 5-18 from downtown for 27.8% and Herbrechtsmeyer lamented on some of the easy missed opportunities they had in that critical third period that could have easily changed things.  UST meanwhile finished shooting 22-44 for a straight 50% from FG range and 6-15 from behind the arc for 40% so overall they didn't dip too much.  Bethel did have the edge in points in the paint by a 32-22 count but UST had a sizable edge in overall rebounds by a 39-24 count.