Macalester vs St. Kate's 2-16-19

Made the trip back over to the St. Paul side of town on this sunny Saturday morning to get over to Butler Center on the campus of St. Kate's as the host Wildcats prepared to host neighboring Macalester in the season finale for both teams. While the Scots were knocked out of the playoff race early in the season, St. Kate's chances hinged on their road game at SMU on Wednesday night; a game that the Wildcats lost 71-56 that knocked them out of the playoff race.  But despite the playoffs no longer being a factor for both teams, there was still a lot of pride for both sides coming into this contest and Macalester was certainly proving to be no pushover as they had won two out of their last three games.  Just as important, it was Senior Day at St. Kate's for senior point guard Audra Clark who was able to come back for a fifth year after suffering an injury in the previous season and she was duly honored before the game. 

The 'Cats indeed got off to a solid start in this one; building a 7-2 lead early on in the opening period.  Freshman forward Sam Orth connected with a short jumper from the left side and also got into the paint for another score at the 9:01 mark that had St. Kate's up 4-2.  Then it was flashy junior forward Danica Cambrice nailing a "3" from the right corner at the 8:40 mark before the Scots were able to close the gap to two points at 7-5 when junior guard Tyana Loiselle drained a "3' of her own from the left top area at the 7:34 mark.  The Wildcats again spread their lead to five points when Clark banged home a "3" from the right wing area at the 6:43 mark but Macalester was still hanging touch as junior guard Holly Hull connected with a lay-up at the 6:07 mark that saw the Scots within a single possession down 10-7.  St. Kate's this time pushed their lead to seven points thanks to Orth as she first connected with a short shot from the left side at the 5:12 mark and then snared a steal of a Scot inbounds pass and dashed the other way for a lay-up with 4:25 left that now had the 'Cats up 14-7.  But right back came Macalester as sophomore guard Justine Barraza drained a "3" from the top of the key with 4:00 left and a lay-up in transition by sophomore reserve forward Katherine Podoll with 1:46 left closed the gap to two points at 14-12 and it appeared that things would be tight going into the second period.  But this is exactly where the wheels started coming off for the Scots as they gave up a 9-1 run by St. Kate's to close out this wildly unpredictable first period.  With 1:14 left, freshman reserve guard Grace Amacher unleashed a "3" from the right top area and, after an untimely turnover by the Scots, fellow freshman reserve guard Lauren Isaacson connected with a short shot off the glass with 1:02 left to get the Wildcat lead to seven again at 19-12.  With :36 left it was the wily Clark striking again; this time on a drive into traffic for a finish that also drew a foul and the ensuing "and one" by the former Kenyon-Wanamingo standout got the lead to nine at 22-13.  With :12 left, Orth connected with another lay-up in transition to get the lead to double digits at 24-13 and Macalester; which appeared to be right in the thick of things just a minute ago, looked like it got hit by a Mack truck. 

And things continued to worsen for the Scots in the opening moments of the second period as St. Kate's took charge.  At the 9:43 mark, Clark; the lone senior on this team and leaving it all out on the floor today, got an opening from three-point land at the right top area and let loose with a bomb that found its mark that not only increased the lead to 27-13 but Wildcats Head Coach Don Mulhern quickly called a timeout as the St. Kate's bench and fans erupted as Clark had just set a new all-time career record in points; eclipsing the mark set by LaShay Holt just a few short years ago.  After play resumed, Macalester tried desperately to bring this one back as two free throws by Barraza at the 9:08 mark and two more by Hull at the 8:48 mark got the deficit down to twelve points and when Hull connected with a lay-up after a steal at the 7:36 mark getting the Scots back in that ten-point range down 29-19, there was some renewed hope among the Macalester faithful in the stands.  But those hopes quickly soured thanks to the Wildcats' Cambrice as back-to-back scores by the former St. Croix Lutheran standout - a lay-up in transition at the 6:27 mark and a score in the paint at the 5:46 mark - pushed St. Kate's lead back to fourteen at 33-19 and first-year Scot Head Coach Pamela Findlay called a timeout in hopes of choking off this latest Wildcat charge.  To its credit, Macalester did find a bit of a second wind as sophomore reserve forward Kayla Togneri knocked down a jumper from the right elbow area at the 5:20 mark and a "3" from the left wing area by fellow sophomore reserve guard Luci Swift with 4:27 left reduced the deficit to eleven at 35-24 and hopes were momentarily renewed on the Scot side.  St. Kate's, however, took up another charge as a score in the paint by freshman reserve post Katie Benjamin with 4:10 left and a Cambrice lay-up with 3:26 left got the lead to fifteen at 39-24.  Again the Scots tried to counter as one free throw by freshman reserve guard Celine Sabbagh with 3:09 left and a "3" from the left top area by Loiselle with 2:40 left brought the deficit back down to eleven points at 39-28 and there was every reason to think that Macalester could bring things back into single-digit range again.  But those hopes again went up in smoke as the Wildcats ended this second period much like they did the first period - with a big spurt.  Isaacson snared an offensive rebound for a putback with 2:16 left and the Faribault native followed that up with a tough score in the paint with 1:48 left to get the lead back to fifteen at 43-28.  Then freshman guard Taylor Johnson finally got untracked and nailed a "3" from the left wing area with 1:12 left to get the lead to eighteen at 46-28 and the lead would grow to twenty when Benjamin was sent to the charity stripe after getting fouled with :17.1 left in this second period that saw St. Kate's take a sizable 48-28 advantage into the locker room at the half.  Looking at the stats provided online, the Wildcats had an 18-13 edge on the boards thus far but the Scots simply were not shooting the ball well from FG range - going 4-14 from FG range in the second period alone for 28.6 % and they obviously were not getting the job done on defense either as St. Kate's wound up getting two big runs in the last minute of both the first and second periods.  Probably just as important for the 'Cats was that they were getting contributions from a lot of different players as well.

And St. Kate's sought out to make sure nothing was left to chance as the third period got underway by going on a 9-2 push that provided even more separation.  Clark; showing the experience of the veteran she is, made a hard drive into the lane and got a finish off the glass at the 9:46 mark to start things and one Cambrice free throw after she was fouled in a transition opportunity at the 7:03 mark got the lead to 51-28.  Benjamin connected with a lay-up in transition at the 6:12 mark and the versatile Orth knocked down a jumper along the right baseline at the 5:24 mark to push the lead to 55-28.  A drive into the lane and finish by junior guard Jackie Radford with 3:56 left made it 57-30 before the Scots could finally get some more points on the board as Podoll was able to snare an offensive rebound of her own miss for a putback with 3:38 left.  Still, the Wildcats would close out this third period as a drive and lay-up by Radford with 2:25 left and two free throws by sophomore reserve post Kassidy Jenkins with just :25.2 left saw St. Kate's taking an insurmountable 61-34 lead into the fourth period. 

Perhaps one of the reasons that the Wildcats were playing so well on this day was because all the pressure was off of them now that the MIAC Playoffs were no longer there for them and because they were playing for pure pride - and perhaps also to give their lone senior; Clark, one to remember as well.  A short, turnaround jumper in the lane by Radford at the 8:59 mark of the fourth and final period helped spark a 14-3 run by St. Kate's.  Orth would get a score in the paint at the 8:15 mark to make it a 65-34 game.  The Scots' Barraza would try to counter with a three-point bomb from the right wing area at the 7:54 mark but Orth would get the 'Cats rolling again with another score in the paint at the 7:34 mark to make it 67-37.  Radford would get another drive for a finish at the 7:12 mark and then St. Kate's would get back-to-back three-point bombs - one by Isaacson from the left corner at the 6:48 mark and another one by freshman reserve guard Mackenzie Kurczek at the 6:21 mark - that suddenly ballooned the lead to 75-37.  Macalester's Podoll would answer with a "3" of her own from the left top area at the 5:24 mark but the Scots' hopes of bringing this one back had gone out the window a long time ago.  St. Kate's Isaacson continued to make big plays on this day and with 4:57 left she snared a steal and raced the other way for a lay-up.  With a 78-42 lead, Wildcat Head Coach Don Mulhern now saw the perfect opportunity with 3:04 left in the contest to bring Clark to the bench where she was saluted by her teammates and fans with a big round of applause.  But it also gave the younger players; particularly Kurczek to shine in the last couple of minutes.  Two free throws by the Ripon, Wisconsin native with 2:20 left and a coast-to-coast lay-up with 1:04 left put St. Kate's up 40 at 82-42 and Kurczek would also get a lay-up as well with :32 left.  Macalester would get one last score on a Togneri "3" from the left wing area with :10 left and Wildcat freshman reserve post Sophie Willems got into the books as well with her jumper from the left elbow as St. Kate's ended the 2018-19 season on a high note at least with a resounding 86-47 victory. 

When I met up with both Mulhern and Assistant Coach Tim Kjar afterward, I told them that the only disappointment on this day was that the Wildcats - without question - looked like a playoff team after today's performance.  Both were in quick agreement with my observation and I think the encouraging thing for Mulhern and his staff going forward into this offseason is how they got a lot of contributions from their young players on this day.  Mulhern has started to assemble a lot of talent on this team - young talent for sure - but players who will grow and mature and I think they've got the ability to take St. Kate's to the next level.  And it's not an easy thing to do in an incredibly tough conference like the MIAC.  Meanwhile, a flat performance by the Scots on this day and it was apparent that they simply didn't come out with a lot of energy on this day.  Like St. Kate's, Macalester is an incredibly young team as well with no seniors and - presumably anyway - everybody will be back for next season.  Despite the loss on this day, this Scot team is no slouch and they've had some good moments this season as they took the first game from St. Kate's over at Leonard Center back in January and also got wins over Northwestern of the UMAC in the early part of the season and, even more impressive, got a big come-from-behind win over SMU the previous weekend at home.  Improving on the core of players that they already have and getting some consistency on both ends of the floor will be the big challenge for Findlay and her staff.  Fittingly, Clark's 15 points on this day led all scorers as she closed out a fabulous career at St. Kate's and it's always an emotional thing when a senior plays their last game - thank you SO MUCH Audra for everything you've done and the memories!  Orth is only going to get better with time as she gains more experience and gets stronger as well and she definitely had a strong performance on this day with her 14 points.  Cambrice should have a stellar senior season next year and she had another solid day with her 12 points and Isaacson continues to impress as she finished with 11 points.  Podoll paced the Macalester effort on this day with her 13 points while both Barraza and Hull finished with ten points.