Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League Results For Wednesday 6-5-19

Another busy night on the second night of the Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League:


5:00 P.M. Games

UNW/Defenders - 68
Macalester - 64

Bethel - 46
GAC Black - 45


5:55 P.M. Games

Southwest Minnesota State - 61
Hamline - 31

NIACC - 54
Anoka-Ramsey - 45

UST Purple - 52
St. Kate's - 37


6:50 P.M. Games

Southwest Minnesota State - 45
UST Black - 37

GAC Gold - 51
Twin City Swish - 49  OT

Rusty Pipes - 53
GAC Alumni - 46


7:45 P.M. Games

Concordia St. Paul - 57
UW-River Falls - 38

Augsburg - 78
St. Olaf - 52

Minnesota's Best - 48
Millenials - 46


Had to battle another round of heavy rush-hour traffic over to the Midtown YWCA but did manage to get settled in during the halftime breaks of both games in the 5:00 P.M. slot.  A very good and tight battle was ensuing on Court 1 as the UNW/Defenders team was clinging to a one-point 32-31 lead on the Macalester team at the break.  The UNW/Defenders team managed to get on a bit of a push once the third period got underway and established a 38-33 advantage but the Macalester team battled right back and soon closed to within a single possession.  Another push by the UNW/Defenders team allowed them to grab a 47-39 lead with 2:15 left in the third period and they still enjoyed that nine-point cushion at 53-44 by the start of the fourth period.  The Macalester team, however, didn't wilt in the face of this deficit and stayed within single-digit range down 58-50 with 7:00 left in the fourth period and had the deficit down to six points at 61-55 midway through the fourth period.  The Macalester team fought and scratched their way to cutting the deficit to a single scant point at 63-62 with just 2:31 left and seemed to be in a prime position to steal this one late.  Down 67-64 in the closing seconds, the Macalester team had one last chance to set up for a game-tying three-point shot opportunity but the UNW/Defenders team never allowed them to get the look they wanted as they escaped with a hard-fought victory.  Another tight battle was ensuing over on Court 2 between the Bethel team and the GAC Black team and although the Bethel team was up by nine at 29-20 at the half and led 31-21 early on in the third period, the GAC Black team finally shook off its sluggish ways offensively and began to cut into this pad.  They closed the gap to six points at 33-27 midway through the third period and a short, pull-up jumper by junior-to-be Alison Hinck helped the GAC Black team cut the deficit to just one point at 33-32 to end the third period.  The Bethel team found a sense of urgency and got their lead back up to five points at 39-34 with 6:50 left in the third period but the GAC Black team responded with a 5-0 push that soon had this one knotted at 39-all with 4:13 left and with 3:33 left the GAC Black team finally poked its nose out in front at 40-39.  With 1:25 left, a score in the paint by senior-to-be Taite Anderson puts the Bethel team out in front at 44-42 but the GAC Black team soon had their nose out in front again by a 45-44 count.  Yet it was the Bethel team having the last laugh at the end as they earned the hard-fought win in one of the better games of this night.

Three games in the 5:55 P.M. slot had me busy again roaming from court to court to try and keep up with it all.  On Court 1, the Southwest Minnesota State team was taking on the Hamline team in an NSIC-MIAC clash and the Southwest Minnesota State team held a 5-2 lead midway through the first period and extended that lead to ten points at 18-8 by the start of the second period.  The Southwest Minnesota State team maintained the ten-point edge at 23-13 with 6:00 left in the second period and although the young Hamline team tried desperately to keep up with a bigger and more experienced squad, they soon saw themselves down by sixteen at 39-23 at the halftime break.  The Southwest Minnesota State team soon extended that lead to twenty points at 45-25 midway through the third period and led 53-27 midway through the fourth period enroute to an easy win.  An interesting battle took place on Court 2 during this time slot of two highly-regarded junior college squads with the local Anoka-Ramsey team taking on the NIACC team out of Mason City, IA.  Things stayed tight early on with the Anoka-Ramsey team holding a 4-3 lead midway through the opening period and things were knotted at 9-all by the start of the second period.  Things changed drastically, however, once the second period got underway as the NIACC team exploded with an 11-0 burst to grab a 20-9 advantage with 7:05 left and they enjoyed at 25-13 lead at the halftime break.  NIACC still enjoyed a double-digit 34-22 lead midway through the third period but a resourceful Anoka-Ramsey team managed to get on an 8-0 run themselves and had the gap closed to four points at  34-30 and were down only 36-33 by the start of the fourth period.  But the Anoka-Ramsey team's fortunes went south early on in the fourth period as they soon found themselves down by double-digits again at 46-35 early on in the fourth period and never could quite recover from that.  A friendly neighborhood rivalry was taking place over on Court 3 in this time slot between the St. Kate's team and the UST Purple team.  The UST Purple team had the edge in this one early on up 14-8 late in the first period and up 15-10 by the start of the second period.  The UST Purple team extended that lead to 21-13 early on in the second period but the St. Kate's team got on a push and closed the gap to five at 23-18 with 2:00 left in the second period and less than a minute later they closed to one point at 23-22 which is the way things stood at the halftime break.  The St. Kate's team managed to take their first lead of the contest at 24-23 early on in the third period and a "3" by senior-to-be Danica Cambrice a bit later pushed that lead to 27-23.  But the UST Purple team never reached for the panic button and quickly recovered and got the lead back at 32-30 late in the third period and led 36-30 early on in the fourth period enroute to a tough victory. 

Three more games in the 6:50 P.M. slot followed.  Court 1 featured a much-anticipated match-up between the Southwest Minnesota State team and the UST Black team in an NSIC-MIAC tilt.  The UST Black team got off to a good start in this one; holding an 8-4 lead by the end of the first period and they were able to expand on that lead at 20-11 midway through the second period.  The Southwest Minnesota State team was able to cut into that deficit once the third period got underway as they pulled to five points down 24-19 early on in the third period and then went on a key run to gain the lead at 28-27 with 3:00 left in the third period and got the lead to five at 34-29 by the start of the fourth period.  The UST Black team managed to stay within striking distance but never could find that one push that might have allowed them to take the lead again.  Another MIAC team was in action over on Court 2 in this time slot as the GAC Gold team was taking on the Twin City Swish squad and this proved to be the thriller of the evening.  The GAC Gold team held a 7-4 lead midway through the opening period and then proceeded to go on a 10-0 run to take a surprising 17-4 lead by the end of the first period.  The GAC Gold team kept this double-digit cushion up 24-10 midway through the second period and enjoyed a 29-17 lead at the halftime break.  The Twin City Swish team was gradually able to trim the deficit to single digits in the third period but the GAC Gold team still held a 34-26 lead going into the fourth period.  It was here that the Twin City Swish team was finally able to turn things around with a big run late in regulation and they gained a 47-45 lead late but the GAC Gold team still manage to force overtime with the game tied at 47.  In the extra two minute session, both teams traded baskets but the clincher for the GAC Gold team came at the end when they were able to take advantage of a defensive lapse by the Twin City Swish team and junior-to-be Gabby Bowlin connected on a lay-up in transition for an exciting finish.  Another fun game was taking place over on Court 3 with the Rusty Pipes team taking on the GAC Alumni team.  The GAC Alumni team got off to a great start in this one; grabbing a 13-3 lead by the start of the second period but the Rusty Pipes team was able to shake off the early cobwebs and get on a roll in the second period and the eventually had the contest tied at 19-all with 3:10 left in the second period and finished the last few minutes of this second period with an 8-3 push that had them up 27-22 at the halftime break.  The GAC Alumni team tried desperately to regain the momentum it had early on the contest and a score by former Gustie Taylor Anderson had the GAC Alumni team within a single possession down 31-28 midway through the third period.  But the Rusty Pipes team would never let their foot off the gas pedal on this night and they held a 39-35 lead early on in the fourth period enroute to a tough win.

Three games in the 7:45 P.M. slot kept me hopping as well from court to court.  Over on Court 1, the Concordia St. Paul team was taking on the UW-River Falls team in something of an NSIC-WIAC clash but the Concordia St. Paul team wasted little time in taking control of this game as they forged a 10-3 lead early on in the opening period and by the start of the second period, that lead bulged to 24-6.  The Concordia St. Paul team still led 29-16 late in the second period but, to their credit, the UW-River Falls team made a late push just before the halftime break that had them back in single-digit range down 31-23 by the halftime break.  But the Concordia St. Paul team was not going to be upstaged on this night as they had the lead back up to double-digits at 43-32 late in the third period and led 45-36 at the beginning of the fourth period as they would pull away from their to gain the win.  Not much drama over on Court 2 in an all-MIAC affair with the Augsburg team taking on the St. Olaf team.  Senior-to-be Tamira McLemore's "3" helped the Augsburg team take a 9-5 lead early on in the first period and that lead would grow to ten points at 18-8 by the start of the second period.  Things quickly went south for the St. Olaf team as they found themselves down 31-12 late in the second period and the Augsburg team increased that lead to 36-12 by the halftime break.  The Augsburg team was up 43-18 early on in the third period and although the St. Olaf team was able to get a few things going offensively, the hill would prove to be too high to climb on this night as the Augsburg team rolled to an easy win.  The best game in this time slot was easily the contest over on Court 3 which saw the Minnesota's Best team taking on the Millennials team.  The Millennials team couldn't have asked for a better start in this contest; taking a commanding 14-2 lead late in the first period but the Minnesota's Best team found their stride before the end of the opening period to cut the deficit down to six points at 14-8.  The Millennials would at least maintain this six-point edge up 20-14 late in the second period but the Minnesota's Best team would manage to cut the deficit to four by the halftime break down 22-18.  The Millennials Team still manage to hang on to this four-point edge up 31-27 midway through the third period and still had the lead at 36-33 by the start of the fourth period.  But the Minnesota's Best team gradually started taking over things in the fourth period and held a 43-41 lead with 2:30 left but the Millennials still had some life left late in the contest as a "3" by Tiffany Stubbs (Northwestern '17) had them within a single-possession down 48-46 but they could never find another magic trick after that.

There will be games on both Tuesday and Wednesday night this next week at the Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League so make sure you come down to catch all the fun action!