Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League Results For Wednesday 7-17-19

Here are the results of the first night of playoff action at the Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League:


5:00 P.M. Games

Macalester - 45
UW-River Falls - 35

NIACC - 60
Hamline - 57

Bethel - 58
Millennials - 34


5:55 P.M. Games

Macalester - 56
UST Purple - 54

UST Black - 43
NIACC - 20

GAC Black - 47
UNW/Defenders - 44


6:50 P.M. Games

Superhoopers - 49
GAC Alumni - 40

St. Kate's - 46
Anoka-Ramsey - 38

Minnesota's Best - 62
GAC Gold - 51


7:45 P.M. Games

Superhoopers - 53
Southwest Minnesota State - 47

College Girls - 47
St. Olaf - 42

Twin City Swish - 35
GAC Black - 29


Darn rush hour traffic prevented me from getting over to the Midtown YWCA early enough to catch the first half of action in the 5:00 P.M. slot but did get most of the second half action.  On Court 1, the Macalester team had built up a nice little cushion on the UW-River Falls team up 31-17 midway through the third period and the Macalester team still enjoyed a nine-point edge up 34-25 by the start of the fourth period.  But the UW-River Falls team made a nice little push once the fourth period got underway and had the deficit reduced to a mere five points at 36-31 early on in the period and crawled to within a single possession down 38-35 midway through the fourth period.  The Macalester team, however, quickly regained control of things from that point on and closed the dooor on this comeback attempt to get the win and advance.  Over on Court 2, the NIACC team held a 43-28 lead on the Hamline team with 7:00 left in the third period but they too saw their cushion slowly whittled down as the Hamline team closed the gap to six points at 49-43 by the end of the third period.  A jumper by senior-to-be Kaeli Stayer had the Hamline team within striking distance down 52-47 midway through the fourth period and with just 1:30 left, the NIACC team was clinging to a three-point lead at 60-57.  Alas, the Hamline team was unable to complete their comeback bid.  Court 3 had none of the drama that the other two courts had as the Bethel team was rolling against the Millennials team; enjoying a 42-13 lead midway through the third period and up 46-18 by the start of the fourth period as they cruised to an easy win against a squad that has had a fair amount of success in this year's summer league.

Am still not sure if it was purely the luck (or lack thereof depending upon your point of view) of the draw that created the rematch on Court 1 between the Macalester team and the UST Purple team that just a mere week before saw the Macalester team pull off a huge upset of the UST Purple team.  But these two were at it again - and ironically enough - in the same 5:55 P.M. slot as last week. The game on this evening would be tied at 4-all early on and the Macalester team would hold a 7-4 lead midway through the first period but the UST Purple team would get the tables turned a bit to go on a push and hold a 12-11 lead by the end of the first period.  The UST Purple team got a bit more breathing room as the second period progressed and a lay-up by junior-to-be Madi Radtke had the UST Purple team up 20-15 midway through the 2nd period.  The Macalester team was able to cut into that cushion as they were back to within a single possession down 23-21 late in the second period and 25-23 at the half.  A jumper by senior-to-be Holly Hull enabled the Macalester team to get this one tied at 25 a piece early on in the third period but here again the UST Purple team got on a push to hold a 37-30 lead midway through the third period and by the end of the third period the UST Purple team had increased their lead to nine at 45-36.  So once the fourth period got underway, the hopes of the Macalester team to pull off another stunner looked dim at best.  But just when you thought they were down and out, they hunkered down and went on a push of their own and had the deficit reduced to a scant point at 49-48 midway through the fourth period.  Shortly thereafter, a three-point bomb by one of their younger players (and I apologize for the lack of identification) pushed the Macalester team out in front 51-49.  The UST Purple team would have the game tied up at 54-all with 2:00 left and once again the spectators inside the Midtown YWCA were in suspense for another dramatic ending.  With the Macalester team up 56-54 with :14 left, the UST Purple team got one more chance on their last possession.  They worked the ball carefully around the perimeter and with the last seconds counting down, Radtke would get the ball and make a short drive and put up a shot but it rolled off the rim and the Macalester team held on for the 56-54 victory and pulled off yet another huge upset against this UST Purple team in one of the best games of the night.  Meanwhile, over on Court 2, the other Tommie team in action; the UST Black team, was taking on the NIACC team which was fresh off of its narrow victory in the earlier time slot.  The UST Black team would grab a 6-1 lead midway through the opening period and had a 12-3 lead by the end of the first period.  The UST Black team's lead stretched out to 21-5 midway through the second period and by the halftime break they were up 23-6.  The UST Black team's lead would be 31-8 midway through the third period and by the start of the fourth period it was 37-10.  The NIACC team would finally get some offensive production once the fourth period was underway down 39-20 midway through the final period but bringing this one back was out of the question.  The other game of the night was taking place over on Court 3 between the GAC Black team and the UNW/Defenders team as the latter held a 9-7 lead late in the first period and things would be knotted at 9-all once the second period got underway.  The UNW/Defenders team would be up 14-11 midway through the second period and fittingly this one would be tied at 19-all at the halftime break.  The UNW/Defenders team would hold a 24-23 edge midway through the third period but would get on a bit of a push to hold a 33-29 lead by the start of the fourth period.  Up 39-33 early on in the fourth period, things were looking good for the UNW/Defenders team and they still held a 42-37 lead with 3:00 left in regulation.  But the GAC Black team would reduce the deficit to two points down 42-40 with 1:20 left and would have this one tied at 44-all with under a minute to play.  With time running out, the GAC Black team had possession and junior-to-be Hailey Sorenson unleashed a cold-blooded three-point buzzer-beater to win it for the GAC Black team. 

In the 6:50 P.M. slot, the GAC Alumni team took on the Superhoopers team and the latter would hold an early 7-4 edge and the Superhoopers team would increase that lead to 14-7 by the end of the first period.  That lead would increase to ten points at 25-15 late in the second period and would grow even more to 30-18 by the halftime break.  The Superhoopers team would be up 37-28 midway through the third period and although the GAC Alumni team would get a bit of a boost on a three-point bomb by Kelsey Carpenter (GAC '17), they simply could not get a burst going that would have closed this gap significantly.  The Superhoopers team would be up 41-31 by the start of the fourth period and would hold a 47-36 lead midway through the fourth period enroute to the victory.  Over on Court 2, the St. Kate's team was squaring off against the young Anoka-Ramsey team and the St. Kate's team would get off to a good start in this one up 14-4 midway through the first period but the Anoka-Ramsey team would slice that lead down to 16-10 once the second period got underway.  The St. Kate's team got the ship steered straight again midway through the second period up 22-12 and they enjoyed that lead at the halftime break.  The St. Kate's team would hold a 27-19 lead midway through the third period and would still have a cushion up 33-24 by the start of the fourth period.  The Anoka-Ramsey team would still make things dangerous as they had that lead reduced to 42-38 with 2:15 left but the St. Kate's team would manage to hold on for the win.  Court 3 saw an interesting battle between the GAC Gold team and the Minnesota's Best team.  The GAC Gold team would have a 13-11 lead midway through the first period but the Minnesota's Best team would have a 19-18 lead once the second period got underway.  This back-and-forth battle would continue with the GAC Gold team up 27-26 midway through the second period but the Minnesota's Best team would go on a key run to grab a 36-29 lead by the halftime break.  The Minnesota's Best team would be up 43-38 midway through the third period and hold a 48-41 advantage by the start of the fourth period.  They would hold a 54-49 lead midway through the fourth quarter and gradually increase that cushion down the stretch.

The 7:45 P.M. time slot saw the Southwest Minnesota State team taking on the Superhoopers team over on Court 1 and the latter would hold a 6-5 edge midway through the first period and the Superhoopers team would be up 20-17 by the start of the second period.  The Southwest Minnesota State team behind junior-to-be Erin Baxter would get on a push and hold a 23-21 edge midway through the second period but the Superhoopers would get a big boost from Breanna Salley (Seattle U) with her steal and lay-up the other way as they held a 24-23 lead at the halftime break.  The Superhoopers team would hold a 36-32 lead midway through the third period and would hold a 39-36 advantage by the start of the fourth period.  The Superhoopers team would be up 47-42 midway through the fourth period but the Southwest Minnesota State team would be within a single possession down 47-44 with 2:20 left.  The Superhoopers team would get their lead to four points on a lay-up by Jenna Smith (Illinois '10) with 1:45 left and would be clinging to a 49-47 lead with :39 left.  Two Salley free throws would get the lead back to four points at 51-47 and two more by Smith a bit later helped save the day for the Superhoopers team.  Court 2 saw the St. Olaf team face off against the College Girls team and the latter would grab a 5-0 lead midway through the opening period and the College Girls team would still enjoy that five-point edge up 14-9 by the end of the first period.  The St. Olaf team, however, would battle back and have things tied up at 17-all midway through the second period and they would be down by only one by the halftime break at 23-22.  The College Girls team though would get on a push once the third period got underway and would hold a 36-24 advantage midway through the third period and enjoy a 41-28 lead by the end of the third period.  The College Girls team would hold a ten-point 44-34 lead midway through the fourth period and although the St. Olaf team would cut into that down the stretch, they would not have enough to complete the comeback bid.  Court 3 saw the GAC Black team taking on the Twin City Swish team and this one would be knotted at 6-all midway through the first period and the Twin City Swish team would hold a narrow 8-6 edge by the end of the first period.  The GAC Black team would come back to hold a 14-11 lead late in the second period and would be up 14-13 by the halftime break.  Things would be tied up again at 18 a piece midway through the third period and by the start of the fourth period it would be deadlocked at 20-all.  But the Twin City Swish team would gain the upper hand once the fourth period got going and would hold a 33-27 late in the game enroute to the victory.

There were games going on in the 8:40 P.M. slot but I had to head home to get my beauty rest for another workday.  Playoff action continues this next week so make sure you head down to the Midtown YWCA to catch all the action.