Trinity vs UST Synopsis 12-16-18

Made the trip over to the St. Paul side of town on this mid-December Sunday to take in another big SCAC - MIAC women's hoops match-up featuring Trinity; fresh off of their victory over Augsburg yesterday going up against third-ranked host UST.  The Tommies were 8-0 on the year so far and hopeful to keep their record unblemished while the Tigers were hoping the win yesterday over Augsburg would prove to be something of a mental boost for them going into this contest.

Trinity, in fact, did get off to a very good start in this one as sophomore guard Julia Ackerman's "3" from the top of the key at the 9:43 mark of the opening period had the Tigers up 3-0 and a lay-up by junior forward Abby Holland at the 9:06 mark had Trinity up 5-2.  Holland would connect with another lay-up at the 7:21 mark to maintain the Tigers' three-point edge at 7-4.  But one thing that Trinity Head Coach Cam Hill probably couldn't have prepared his team for; especially with such a short turnaround, is how the Tommies can seemingly smother you on both ends of the floor and it didn't take long for UST to take control of this one.  Sophomore guard/forward Kaia Porter knocked down a short jumper in the lane at the 7:08 mark to start an 11-0 run.  Senior guard Lucia Renikoff buried a "3" from the left top area at the 5:41 mark and senior All-American post Hannah Spaulding got into the paint for a score with 4:35 left and a "3" from the left corner by senior reserve guard Bobbi Brendefur with 3:39 left suddenly doubled-up the visitor by a 14-7 count.  One Renikoff free throw with 2:54 left capped this run before the Tigers could close the gap some on a three-point bomb by freshman reserve forward Abbey Wilson with 2:34 left.  A lay-up by freshman reserve forward/post Hailey Coleman with 1:57 left kept Trinity in that five-point range down 17-12 and a jumper along the left baseline by sophomore guard Emily Daniel with 1:41 left offered up some hope for the Trinity faithful down a single possession at 17-14.  The Tommies, however, widened their gap a bit before the end of the opening period thanks to Spaulding.  The former Annandale standout got into the paint for one score with 1:20 left and also connected with a lay-up with :53 left to give UST a 21-14 lead going into the second period.   

The Tommies put Trinity in an even bigger hole in the opening minutes of the second period as a short jumper in the lane in transition by senior guard Kaylie Brazil at the 9:28 mark and a short, one-handed shot in the lane by Spaulding at the 8:37 mark increased the lead to ten points at 25-15 and a score in the paint by Porter at the 7:21 mark put UST up by a dozen at 27-15.  Then junior point guard Sarah Krynski drained a "3" from the left top area at the 6:40 mark that expanded the lead to fifteen points at 30-15.  Surprisingly, however, the Tigers didn't flinch and instead embarked on an 8-0 push that tightened things up again.  Holland connected with a lay-up at the 6:12 mark and a jumper from the left wing area by Daniel at the 5:46 mark had the deficit down to eleven points at 30-19.  Sophomore reserve guard Annie Wise connected with a lay-up in transition at the 5:21 mark and a jumper from the right wing area by freshman reserve forward/post Kelly Simmons with 4:48 left suddenly had the deficit down to seven points at 30-23 and UST Head Coach Ruth Sinn; not liking at all how her squad was responding on defense, called for a thirty-second timeout to discuss things with her team.  That short stoppage in play allowed the Tommies to refocus and they gradually widened the lead again down the stretch of the second period.  A routine Spaulding score in the paint with 4:28 left got the lead to nine points at 32-23 and a Porter "3" from the left top area with 2:43 left grew the lead back to double digits at 35-25.  A short shot off the glass off of an inbounds pass with 1:21 left by Porter maintained the ten-point edge at 37-27 and although Trinity would momentarily cut into that deficit on a "3" from the top of the key by Ackerman with 1:00 left, UST would get two more scores before the halftime buzzer.  Another Spaulding score in the paint with :43 left and two Renikoff freebies with :06.6 left allowed the Tommies to take a 41-30 lead into the locker room at the half. 

Being down by eleven at the half on the road to the number three team in the country was a daunting enough aspect for the Tigers but they had no idea what awaited them once the third period got underway as UST opened up on an 11-2 run.  Two scores by Brazil - a short running one-handed jumper in the lane at the 9:53 mark and a jumper along the left baseline at the 8:24 mark - got the Tommie lead to 45-32 and a Spaulding lay-up at the 7:20 mark pushed the lead to fifteen at 47-32.  Then Krynski; the former Lakeville North standout, got into the act.  She first connected with a lay-up at the 6:53 mark and then followed that up with a three-point bomb from the right top area at the 6:16 mark that suddenly had the lead at twenty at 52-32.  Trinity tried desperately to cut into this lead as Coleman snuck into the paint for one score at the 5:58 mark and one free throw by sophomore guard Jordan Rudd at the 5:06 mark had the Tigers within twenty down 54-35 but the Tommies blew out the lead even more with a 16--5 run down the stretch of the period.  One three-point bomb by Porter from the left top area with 4:42 left and another one by lanky sophomore reserve guard Madi Radtke from the left corner with 4:17 left got UST's lead to 60-35 and a short jumper by Brazil in transition with 3:23 left maintained the twenty-five point edge at 62-37.  A short shot by Porter with 2:46 left did the same at 64-39 and a score in the paint by freshman reserve post Brynne Rolland with 1:06 left increased the lead to 66-39.  Porter would knock down a jumper from the left elbow with :38 left and a lay-up by sophomore reserve guard and former Elk River standout Kelsie Cox with just :02 left in the third period made it a 70-40 game and by now the Tigers were beyond the point of no return.

And things weren't going to get any better for Trinity anytime soon either as the Tommies opened up the fourth period with an 8-2 push.  Cox uncorked a "3" from the right corner at the 8:56 mark and a Krynski lay-up at the 8:02 mark made it a 75-42 game and then Brazil found her touch behind the arc when she drained a bomb from the right top area at the 5:31 mark to make it 78-42.  The Tigers got a bit of a reprieve from this onslaught when freshman reserve guard Anna Gilliatt connected with a lay-up with 4:50 left and also drew a foul in the process and she was able to convert on the "and one".  But the best moment for UST on this day was about to come.  Brazil drained her second trey of the game - this one from the right top area with 4:29 left and then Spaulding connected with a short shot with 3:42 left and with that score the Annandale native had eclipsed the 1,000-point mark in her career and the contest momentarily halted as she received a standing ovation from her teammates and the Schoenecker Arena fans in attendance.  With the Tommies up 83-45, both Sinn and Trinity's Hill were unable to unload their benches in the closing minutes.  Rolland would connect with a lay-up with 2:15 left and Cox would drain another "3" - this one from the right top area with :51.6 left.  Rolland would get one more score on a lay-up with :37 left as UST rolled to a 92-50 blowout win.

A few stats are eye-catching in the final box score of this one.  UST shot 39-67 for 58.2% from FG range and 11-21 from downtown for 52.4% compared to Trinity's 21-63 for 33.3% from FG range and 3-17 from behind the arc for 17.6% - yikes.  The Tommies also had a substantial advantage on the boards on this day as well by a 44-31 count.  UST's Sinn told me afterward that there's still some defensive items her squad needs to improve on but you know whatever issues those are, they'll get straightened out.  Fittingly, Spaulding led the way for UST on this afternoon with her 22 points and 14 rebounds for a "double-double" and Porter wasn't far behind with her 20 points.  Brazil had a solid day with her 14 points and Krynski added 10.  Holland led the way for Trinity with her nine points.