Bethel vs St. Kate's 2-2-19

After surviving the Polar Vortex that left me and many residents of the Twin Cities hunkered down in their homes for a good chunk of the week, I was able to venture out on this much, much nicer and sunnier Saturday over to the St. Paul side of town to Butler Center on the campus of St. Kate's to take in the contest between visiting Bethel and host St. Kate's.  The Royals were coming off an upset loss on the road on Thursday night at the hands of CSB while the Wildcats recorded a big home win on that same Thursday night against Concordia and a win today would keep their fading playoff hopes alive.  This was also Parents Appreciation Day at St. Kate's as the parents of the Wildcat players were recognized before the game.

St. Kate's would try to gain the upper hand in the early moments as two free throws by senior guard Audra Clark at the 9:24 mark of the opening period and one more by flashy junior guard Danica Cambrice had the 'Cats up 3-2 at the 8:47 mark.  Bethel would answer this early wake-up call as junior forward Taite Anderson's lay-up at the 8:31 mark along with a three-point bomb from the left wing area by sophomore forward Makenna Pearson at the 8:03 mark now had the Royals up 7-3.  St. Kate's would respond with their up-tempo game as one lay-up by freshman forward Sam Orth at the 7:45 mark and another one by the wily Clark at the 7:20 mark knotted the game at 7-7 and another lay-up by up-and-coming freshman reserve post Katie Benjamin had this one tied at 9-all.  The Royals would open some a bit of breathing space again as willowy senior post Hannah Johnson maneuvered down low for a score in the paint at the 5:12 mark as did Pearson with 4:34 left to put Bethel up 13-9.  One free throw by sophomore reserve guard Michaela Craigan maintained that four-point edge at 14-10 with 3:33 left but St. Kate's closed the gap to one point on a Clark lay-up with 3:26 left along with an Orth freebie with 2:43 left that made it a 14-13 game.  A score in the paint by Cambrice with 1:39 left kept the 'Cats in that one-point range down 16-15 but the Royals would close out this first period with a 4-0 push as freshman reserve guard Tessah Anderson got two free throws to go down after getting fouled with :43.4 left and an offensive rebound and putback by sophomore forward Elizabeth Schwarz with just :00.1 left on the clock had Bethel up 20-15 as things morphed into the second period.

St. Kate's was able to close the gap to a single possession early on in the second period when Benjamin slithered into the paint for a score at the 9:44 mark but the Royals quickly stepped on the gas to get some separation and breathing room.  Hannah Johnson made a drive for a finish at the 9:26 mark that sparked a key 12-2 Bethel run.  Pearson drained her second trey of the afternoon - this one from the left corner - at the 9:04 mark and a short turnaround jumper by Taite Anderson at the 7:38 mark made it 27-19.  A Tessah Anderson score in the paint at the 7:02 mark now gave the Royals a ten-point advantage at 29-19 and St. Kate's Head Coach Don Mulhern; not at all liking what he was seeing unfold before his eyes, called a timeout to try and rectify this situation.  But another three-point bomb by the Royals' Pearson - this one from the right top area at the 6:21 mark - had Bethel in excellent shape up 32-19 before the Wildcats' Benjamin could finally get into the paint for a score at the 6:08 mark.  The Royals, however, would get the lead back up to thirteen points again as Hannah Johnson got into the paint for a score at the 5:06 mark and another offensive rebound and putback by Schwarz with 4:26 left had Bethel up 36-23 and it seemed unlikely that St. Kate's would be able to get back to within striking distance again.  But the Wildcats' Clark came to the forefront for her team as she raced coast-to-coast for a lay-up with 3:14 left and although Cambrice would get whistled for her third foul of the day with 2:24 left and had to sit out the rest of the period, Clark would strike again less than a minute later when the former Kenyon-Wanamingo standout was fouled behind the arc with 1:46 left and she got all three free throw attempts to go down that pulled St. Kate's back to within sing-digit range down 36-28.  The Royals' Tessah Anderson tried to stall this comeback attempt with her "3" from the left corner with 1:35 left but St. Kate's freshman guard Taylor Johnson answered this with a "3" of her own from the left wing area with 1:09 left that pulled the 'Cats back in the eight-point range again down 39-31 and the momentum seemed to have shifted back to the home team but a short time later with :53.9 left, the St. Kate's bench was called for a technical foul after a questionable no-call and the Royals' Hannah Johnson got one free throw out of the deal to extend Bethel's lead back to nine points at 40-31 as the teams headed to the locker room for the half.  A check of the first half box score showed Bethel with the advantage in two important categories as they had a 23-17 edge in the rebounding department and also committed only eight turnovers to St. Kate's 12.  The Royals also had eight steals to the Wildcats four and Bethel did a decent job at the charity stripe as well; going 6-8 for 75%.  Both teams had similar numbers shooting from FG range (Bethel 16-38 for 42.1% and St. Kate's 12-29 for 41.4%).  The only area where Bethel was lacking thus far was shooting behind the arc where the Royals were an ice-cold 1-10 for 10%.

Bethel moved quickly in the opening moments of the third period to try and put the 'Cats behind the 8-ball and open up some more distance as well.  Hannah Johnson connected with a pretty, one-handed shot and drew a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" pushed the Royals lead to double digits at 43-31.  Pearson connected with a jumper from the left elbow area at the 9:08 mark and although St. Kate's Cambrice would counter with a "3" from the left wing area at the 8:48 mark, Pearson would stick another three-point dagger into the heart of Wildcat nation with a bomb from the left wing area at the 8:32 mark that now had Bethel up 48-34 and the Wildcat's Mulhern had no choice at this point but to take a match to a timeout to get his squad settled down and reorganized.  St. Kate's seemed to come out of that stoppage in play with a renewed purpose as they went on a 6-0 push.  Cambrice knocked down a jumper from the right elbow area at the 8:12 mark and a little more than a minute later she connected with a short jumper in the lane at the 7:07 mark that got the deficit down to ten points at 48-38.  Then the 'Cats got a quick steal and Clark found herself in the right place at the right time and got a lay-up out of it and suddenly the Wildcats were knocking on the door again down eight at 48-40 and now it was Bethel Head Coach Jon Herbrechtsmeyer's turn to burn a timeout in hopes of getting adjustments done on defense to halt this invasion.  It took the Royals a bit but they managed to build up their safety net again much to the relief of Herbrechtsmeyer and his staff.  Two Schwarz free throws not only upped Bethel's lead to ten at 50-40 but, worse for the Wildcats was that Cambrice; their leading scorer and playmaker, was now saddled with her fourth foul of the afternoon and Mulhern had no choice but to sit the former St. Croix Lutheran standout.  With Cambrice out of the line-up for the time being, the Royals were able to establish some much-desired breathing room.  Pearson would get fouled behind the arc with 3:16 left and got two free throws out of the deal to make it 52-41 and then Pearson would drain yet another three-point bomb - this one from the left top area with 2:06 left - to make it 55-42.  Taite Anderson made a tough drive for a finish with 1:40 left and Pearson would get one free throw to go down after getting fouled with 1:13 left to make it 58-43.  St. Kate's would get one more score before the end of the period when Clark connected with a tough turnaround jumper with :55 left in this third period but, down 58-45, the Wildcats had a lot of making up to do again. 

A Schwarz offensive rebound for a putback at the 8:34 mark of the fourth period seemingly had Bethel in a very good spot up 60-45 but there would still be some headaches for Herbrechtsmeyer and his staff that they would have to weather.  The Wildcats' Orth would connect with a lay-up in transition at the 8:05 mark and drew a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" not only reduced the deficit to twelve at 60-48 but now the Royals' Hannah Johnson was tagged with her fourth foul of the day.  Hannah Johnson made up for that when she got into the paint for a score at the 7:54 mark to increase Bethel's lead to 62-48 but a bit later more misfortune hit the Royals as Pearson picked up her fourth foul of the afternoon as well.  As such, St. Kate's took their cue and went on another push.  Cambrice snared an offensive rebound for a putback at the 7:32 mark and then Clark would drain a "3" from the right top area at the 6:44 mark that suddenly had the 'Cats back in single digit range again down 62-53 and a concerned Herbrechtsmeyer had to take a timeout in hopes of snuffing out this latest Wildcat comeback attempt.  The Royals responded from that stoppage in play like the veteran, experienced team that they are and began the process of closing out this contest although they would have to endure a few more dips.  A Schwarz score in the paint at the 6:21 mark got the lead back up to eleven at 64-53 and although Taite Anderson would pick up her fourth foul of the afternoon at the 6:07 mark, Bethel would not falter.  St. Kate's would close to within single digits again when Cambrice made a hard drive into the lane for a finish at the 5:47 mark but that was met by a score in the paint by the Royals' Schwarz at the 5:25 mark and a lay-up in transition by freshman reserve guard Sydney Blandin at the 5:02 mark that made it 68-55.  The Wildcats still refused to give up the ship as one free throw by Benjamin with 4:46 left and a "3" from the left corner by freshman reserve guard Grace Amacher with 4:05 left along with a Benjamin lay-up with 3:31 left left the door ajar just enough to give the St. Kate's faithful one last ray of hope down 68-61.  But this was where the Royals closed the door on this one for good as they went down the home stretch with an impressive 17-1 blitz that left no mistake.  A Taite Anderson lay-up with 2:50 left and a pretty drive and lay-up by senior point guard Haylee Barker with 2:20 left had Bethel up 72-61.  Tessah Anderson would connect with a lay-up in transition with 1:59 left and Taite Anderson would get one free throw to go down after getting fouled after a steal and got one free throw out of it that not only increased Bethel's lead to 75-61 but the Wildcats' Cambrice was now done for the day with her fifth and final foul.  Hannah Johnson snared an offensive rebound and got a pretty, one-handed putback with 1:14 left and would follow-up with two charity stripe shots after getting fouled with 1:05 left that made it 79-62.  Barker would get a lay-up after a steal with :55 left and would also connect with a lay-up in transition with :33 left to make it 83-62.  A Pearson lay-up in transition with :08 left put the feather on the cap for this ballgame and the Royals secured a solid 85-62 road victory.

Herbrechtsmeyer and staff had to feel good after responding with a solid win after the setback on Thursday evening at the hands of CSB and although she played a very limited role on this day, sophomore guard Bella Williams was at least back in uniform and back in action after being out with a bad case of the flu for a good chunk of this last week and you could tell by just looking at her face that she had been through quite an ordeal over the last several days.  Herbrechtsmeyer indicated to me that he had a lot of faith in his squad even when St. Kate's threatened to close the gap in that fourth period twice and, presumably anyway, they gave him good reason to maintain that faith.  I also spoke with St. Kate's Mulhern and he was in agreement with me that a few missed shots here and a couple of missed free throws there could have easily changed the complexion of this one greatly.  A check of the final box score reveals that the Royals finished this day with a sizable edge on the boards by a 42-33 count and probably the only thing that Herbrechtsmeyer and his staff had to wince at in the final analysis  were the 22 turnovers they were guilty of on this day; many of them caused by an equally-pesky Wildcat defense.  But, thanks to Johnson and Schwarz, Bethel enjoyed a whopping 52-32 edge in points in the paint and had a 14-4 edge in fast-break points.  And the Royals shot decently from FG range on this day as well going 33-69 for 47.8% compared to the 21-58 for 36.2% that St. Kate's had.  It was indeed a fabulous day for Pearson as she easily led all scorers with 24 points and was 5-9 from downtown on this day as well.  Yet another "double-double" for Hannah Johnson as she tallied 16 points and pulled down 13 rebounds as well and Schwarz had a "double-double" on this day as well with her 16 points and 10 rebounds.  St. Kate's was paced by Clark's 18 points while Cambrice had 14 points and Benjamin had a solid day with her 12 points.