MIAC Playoff Quarterfinal Game - SMU vs Bethel 2-19-19

Made my way over to Robertson Center on the campus of Bethel University on this sunny late Tuesday afternoon to take in the 5:00 P.M. contest between visiting SMU which once again made its way up U.S. Highway 61 and the Canadian Pacific Railway River Sub mainline to take on host Bethel in one of the MIAC Playoff Quarterfinal Games taking place on this Tuesday night.  It was just a year ago when this same SMU team came up here and ruined Bethel's hopes in the MIAC Playoffs last year and even though the Royals handily beat the Cardinals almost two weeks ago here in this same venue, Bethel could ill-afford to take this SMU team lightly - especially now in playoff time when the intensity levels are dramatically increased.

The Cardinals came out in a 2-3 "match-up" zone defense on this night but that didn't seem to bother Bethel -at least early on anyway.  Sophomore forward Makenna Pearson started things off with a three-point bomb from the right top area at the 9:10 mark of this first period and a score in the paint by junior forward Taite Anderson at the 8:29 mark had the Royals up 5-2.  That lead increased to 7-2 when junior point guard Haylee Barker connected with a lay-up in transition before SMU could tighten things up.  Freshman guard Brooklyn Paulson made a hard drive into the lane in transition for a finish at the 6:05 mark and two free throws by senior forward Brandi Blattner at the 5:27 mark reduced the deficit to a single point at 7-6.  Then the Cardinals assumed their first lead of this ballgame when sophomore reserve forward Rachel Kedl muscled into the paint for a score with 4:26 left to make it 8-7 before Bethel could get its nose poked out in front again.  Freshman reserve guard Tessah Anderson connected with a lay-up off of an inbounds pass with 3:32 left to give the Royals the lead back at 9-8 and two Taite Anderson free throws with 2:07 left after she was fouled got the lead to 11-8.  Still, SMU managed to close the gap to one point Blattner was fouled with 1:11 left as the game morphed into the second period.

The Royals tried to establish some more breathing room in the early moments of the second period as a lay-up by Taite Anderson at the 9:10 mark that also drew a foul and resulted in the ensuing "and one" got the lead to 14-10 and a "3" from the left wing by Barker at the 7:38 mark pushed the lead to five points at 17-12.  But this pesky SMU team was not going away anytime soon.  Paulson made a hard drive into the lane and got a finish off the glass at the 7:17 mark and followed that up with a lay-up at the 5:56 mark that had the deficit cut down to a scant point again at 17-16.  Bethel would get their lead back up to three points again when sophomore reserve forward Elizabeth Schwarz snared an offensive rebound for a putback at the 5:39 mark but right back came the Cardinals as one Blattner free throw at the 5:23 mark got the deficit back down to two points at 19-17 and then senior guard Kirsten Keefe made a drive into the lane for a finish and drew a foul in the process and the obligatory free throw that followed suddenly pushed SMU into the lead at 20-19.  Perhaps alarmed by this latest development, the Royals quickly struck back to reclaim their lead and grow it a bit as well.  Proving to be a big spark off the bench once again, freshman reserve guard Tessah Anderson snared a steal and raced the other way for a lay-up with 4:28 left that allowed Bethel to reclaim the lead at 21-20.  With 3:51 left, Tessah Anderson would strike again with another steal and lay-up the other way; this time drawing a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" got the Royals' lead to 24-20.  Barker would strike again from three-point land with 2:44 left with a bomb coming from the right top area and would also add one free throw after getting fouled with 1:58 left that now had Bethel up 28-21.  Then Pearson would get a lay-up off of an inbounds pass with 1:09 left that gave the Royals their largest lead in the game so far at 30-21 and the Cardinals could have arguably been in a tough spot right then and there.  But this SMU team managed to get back to within striking distance before the halftime break.  Kedl made an impressive drive along the right baseline for a finish with :44 left and two Keefe freebies with just :10.2 left had the visitors from Winona feeling a bit better about themselves down only 30-25 as both teams retreated to the locker room for the halftime intermission.  A check of the first half box score shows that SMU actually shot better in this first half than Bethel did as the Cardinals went 8-18 from FG range for 44% compared to the Royals 11-29 for 37.9%.  Perhaps the only downer for SMU up to this point was the fact that they were 0-5 from downtown although that was somewhat made up for at the charity stripe where they were 9-11.  And although the Royals had a decisive edge on the boards by a 16-9 count, Bethel Head Coach Jon Herbrechtsmeyer and his staff had to be concerned by the fact that they had committed an almost unheard of 17 first half turnovers and that SMU had pretty much given the Royals a taste of their own medicine as they snared 13 first half steals. 

And the Cardinals went right to work once the third period got underway to tighten up things again.  Sophomore guard Claire Patterson started things off with a lay-up at the 9:21 mark to reduce the deficit to three points and a Paulson "3" from the right top area at the 7:30 mark cut the deficit down to two points at 32-30.  At the 5:29 mark, Paulson would strike again from behind the arc - this bomb coming from the left wing area - that cut this deficit down to a single solitary point at 34-33.  With 4:09 left, tension in the atmosphere inside Robertson Center grew considerably when SMU's Blattner banged home a "3" from the left top area that pushed the Cardinals back out in front at 36-34 and the vision of what happened last year against this same SMU team probably was dancing through the minds of many.  But this Royals team is a year older and more experienced and more mature than last year's group and instead of panicking, they hunkered down and went right back to work themselves.  A Taite Anderson score in the paint with 3:54 left tied the game at 36 and then Pearson unleashed a "3" from the right wing area with 2:20 left that had Bethel back out in front again at 39-36.  The Cardinals would reduce that lead to one when Blattner muscled into the paint for a score with 1:21 left but then Bethel would get the lead back to three points when willowy senior post Hannah Johnson; bottled up for this game for the most part by a stingy SMU defense, snared an offensive rebound for a putback with 1:02 left as the Royals took a 41-38 lead into the fourth period. 

One Taite Anderson free throw at the 9:09 mark of the fourth period pushed Bethel's lead to 42-38 but the Royals were certainly not out of the woods just yet as SMU's Paulson was fouled at the 8:45 mark and the Holmen, Wisconsin native got both of the obligatory free throws to go down that had the Cardinals right back in the thick of things down just 42-40 with a mountain of time left in this one.  It was here, however, where Bethel finally got the separation they had been looking for all game long with a key 8-0 push.  Johnson started this key run with a short, one-handed jumper in the lane at the 8:04 mark and then Pearson came up big-time with her three-point bomb from the right corner at the 7:35 mark that now had the Royals up 47-40.  Another key sequence took place when Taite Anderson was fouled at the 7:02 mark.  She got the front end to go down but the back end of the deal missed its mark.  SMU, however, neglected to box out Pearson who snared the offensive rebound and promptly got the ball to Taite Anderson who proceeded to get a tough score in the paint at the 6:54 mark that now had the Royals up by ten at 50-40 which drastically changed the complexion and the strategy going forward for the Cardinals the rest of the way.  SMU got the deficit down to seven points as Keefe would unleash a "3" from the left top area at the 6:30 mark and two charity stripe shots by Blattner after she was fouled at the 5:23 mark kept the Cardinals in that seven-point range down 52-45.  But the roof would soon cave in for the visitors from Winona as Bethel's Barker got back-to-back scores - a "3" from the top of the key at the 5:00 mark and a lay-up after a steal shortly thereafter with 4:49 left - that had the Bethel crowd roaring in approval with a 57-45 lead and now Cardinal first-year Head Coach David Foley was clamoring for a timeout with his SMU squad now down double-digits and the sands of time running out on his team.  The Cardinals would attempt one last foray of a comeback as Blattner would get one free throw to go down with 4:16 left after getting fouled and a lay-up in transition by Keefe with 3:41 left briefly had SMU back in single-digit range again down 57-48.  But that last ray of hope for the Cardinals vanished into the cold night as Bethel started putting on the finishing touches on this one to close things out for good.  Tessah Anderson uncorked a dagger "3" from the top of the key with 3:23 left to get the lead to twelve at 60-48 and one Johnson free throw with 2:26 left and a Taite Anderson score in the paint with 1:48 left had the lead to thirteen at 63-50.  Barker would connect with a lay-up in transition with 1:28 left and Johnson would add one insurance freebie with 1:10 left as the Royals advanced to the MIAC Playoff Semifinals with a 66-52 victory. 

When I was able to catch up with a relieved Herbrechtsmeyer afterward in the lounge area of Robertson Center, I had to congratulate him on a hard fought win and was impressed with how his team responded when they found themselves embroiled in a tight battle with a pesky SMU team; a team they had beaten convincingly just a couple of short weeks ago that had adjusted and made some tweaks for this contest.  I think Herbrechtsmeyer was as well and the only disappointment he expressed was the amount of unforced errors his squad committed when I brought up the subject of the Cardinals using a 2-3 zone on his team.  Yet this team was good enough to overcome that in the second half by making some adjustments of their own.  When I review the final box score on this one, the one thing that stands out to me is what a true team effort this really was on the Bethel side.  Taite Anderson led the way with her 17 points and Barker was right behind with her 16 points.  The former Maple Grove standout had "only" four steals but one of those steals came at a crucial time when things were still hanging in the balance somewhat during the Royals' key run right after Barker had nailed a "3" and Barker was able to get a score off of that steal to increase Bethel's safety net.  Pearson netted 11 points on this night and her ability to nail those big three-point bombs at crucial times are so vitally important to the success of this team.  And how about Tessah Anderson?  What a spark she is coming off the bench on both ends of the floor and she finished with ten points on this night.  Johnson, who struggled for most of the contest as she was corralled and pushed around by a stingy Cardinal defense, refused to get frustrated and although she finished with "only" six points, she was a monster on the boards with her 16 rebounds; 13 of those coming on the defensive end that snuffed out a lot of SMU opportunities.  Indeed, the Royals owned the boards on this night thanks largely in part to Johnson by a 36-22 margin and that's so important in playoff basketball.  And, as Herbrechtsmeyer pointed out to me afterward as well, the Royals cut down on their turnovers in the second half as well as they committed 11.  When you look at things from an SMU standpoint, I think Foley can be proud of the fact that his squad snared 20 steals on this night and they did in fact have the edge in points off of turnovers by a 27-25 margin.  I mentioned the rebounding aspect where the Royals controlled the boards on this night but here's one other stat to throw out that will undoubtedly keep Foley and his team wondering what might have been:  Bethel had a decided edge in those points in the paint by a 36-22 margin.  One other stat to throw out there as well:  The Royals also had an 11-2 advantage in those all-important "second chance" points which, in a close game for the most part, are incredibly huge.  Not surprisingly, Blattner finished out her fabulous career at SMU leading the way with her 18 points to lead all scorers and Paulson came alive from three-point land in the second half to finish with 14 points.  Keefe finished out her SMU career with ten points.