GAC vs UST 12-7-19

With that rotten cold I had earlier in the week getting more and more into the rear-view mirror, I made my way over to the St Paul side of town to Anderson Athletic Complex on the campus of UST for this early-season clash between visiting GAC and host UST.  After losing to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps over the Thanksgiving weekend out in the Motherland, the Gusties rebounded nicely on Wednesday night bouncing Hamline on the road but now faced their long-time nemesis - and arguably their kryptonite - in UST.  The Tommies meanwhile were coming in with a 6-0 record; their latest victim being Macalester just down the street on Summit Avenue on Wednesday night.

You had to go back to 2010 when GAC last beat UST and the way this one started, it appeared as if the Tommies would keep this long-standing streak going.  Sophomore post Brynne Rolland would snare an offensive rebound and get a reverse lay-up out of it at the 9:29 mark of the opening period and another offensive rebound and putback by fellow sophomore guard Amber Darge at the 8:55 mark made it a 4-0 game.  GAC momentarily cut into this deficit when freshman sensation forward Caitlin Rorman connected on a lay-up at the 8:24 mark but a 7-1 push by UST gave them some more separation.  A score in the paint by Rolland at the 8:01 mark and a hard drive and pretty reverse lay-up by Darge at the 5:30 mark made it 8-3.  Freshman reserve guard Madi Schirmer connected with a short jumper and drew a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" got the lead to 11-3 before the Gusties could finally stop some of the bleeding when junior point guard Ava Gonsorowski drained a "3" from the left corner with 3:54 left.  Still, UST would get their lead to double-digit range with another push.  Schirmer knocked down a jumper from the right elbow area with 3:39 left and a routine Rolland score in the paint with 2:33 left had the Tommies up by nine at 15-6.  Then Schirmer, the Mapleton native who was having a splendid first period, connected with a short jumper from the left side with 1:38 left to give the home team the aforementioned double-digit advantage at 17-6.  GAC was at least able to trim the deficit back into single-digit range again on two three-point bombs - one by freshman reserve guard Anna Sanders from the left top area with 1:19 left and another one from the left wing area by freshman reserve guard Maddy Rice with :21 left - but still trailing by a 19-12 count going into the second period, you couldn't help but wonder if the Gustie faithful were going through another one of those "Here we go again" feelings. 

But any feelings of dread that the Gusties or their fans may have been feeling after that first period brightened considerably once the second period got underway as GAC started attacking the Tommies.  Rorman first connected with a lay-up in transition at the 9:36 mark and few a foul in the process and although she couldn't cash in on the ensuing "and one", it seemed to give the Gusties a shot of confidence and fresh air.  A little more than a minute later at the 8:26 mark, Rice would bury her second trey of the afternoon; this one from the right wing area that suddenly reduced the deficit down to four points at 21-17 and then Rorman would again make a big play with a drive and finish at the 7:54 mark; again drawing a foul and this time getting the obligatory free throw to go down that now had the deficit whittled down to a single point at 21-20.  Then Sanders would bang home a "3" from the left wing area at the 6:48 mark to push GAC ahead for the first time in this contest at 23-21 and an alarmed Tommie Head Coach Ruth Sinn called for a thirty-second timeout to try and quickly assess the damage done by this 11-2 tear that the visitors from St. Peter put on them.  Still, GAC's Rorman was just getting warmed up as she would make another daring drive into the heart of the Tommie defense for a finish with 4:40 left to make it a 25-21 ballgame before UST was able to dial up some offense behind Rolland as she would get a score in the paint with 4:18 left and connect with a short shot in the lane with 3:40 left that at least had the deficit back down to two points at 27-25 and the Tommies still in the thick of things.  GAC, however, would ignite another offensive outburst just before the halftime break.  Two free throws by Sanders with 1:43 left and a jumper by lanky junior forward Paige Richert with :55 left allowed the Gusties to take a surprising 31-25 lead into the locker room at the half.  A check of the box score by the halftime break shows that the normally efficient UST offense had been bogged down by two major factors:  (1) 11 first half turnovers and (2) going 0-5 from behind the arc which is almost unheard of from a Tommie standpoint.  Throw in the fact that UST saw their FG shooting dip from 9-14 in the first period for 64.3% to only 3-15 for 20% in the second period and you can see why the Tommies looked curiously out of sync while the Gusties seemed to flourish; outscoring UST 19-6 just in the second period alone.  Still, GAC Head Coach Laurie Kelly still had to be concerned about the rebounding front where UST had a 20-14 advantage. 

The Gusties were able to keep their opponent at bay in the first few minutes of the third period as an offensive rebound and putback by Richert at the 9:09 mark and a Richert score in the paint at the 8:19 mark maintained the six-point edge at 35-29.  UST, however, slyly tightened things up with an offensive push and some big stops on the other end.  Freshman reserve guard Abby Mackenthun made a pretty drive for a finish off of an inbounds pass at the 8:01 mark and a Rolland lay-up in transition at the 7:32 mark had the the Tommies back within a single possession down 35-33.  GAC's Richert would temporarily increase the Gusties' safety net with another score in the paint at the 7:05 mark but UST continued their push.  Sophomore reserve post Allie Spaulding got into the paint for a score at the 6:13 mark and then Mackenthun would connect with a lay-up at the 5:28 mark that brough the Tommies back on even terms with their opponent tied up at 37 and it was here where many inside Schoenecker Arena expected UST to take over while the Gusties would promptly falter.  This time, however, GAC promptly responded as Rorman would snare a steal and dash the other way for a lay-up with 4:14 left that put the Gusties back out in front 39-37 and then Gonsorowski made a slick drive into the lane for a finish off the glass with 3:34 left that got GAC's lead up to four points at 41-37.  Tommie junior point guard Macy Hatlestad; who had thus far struggled with her shooting touch, finally found the range from behind the arc from the left corner with 2:21 left that drew UST back to single possession range again down by one at 41-40 before the Gusties stepped on the gas pedal again.  Rorman would score in the paint with 1:54 left and then junior guard Gabby Bowlin connected with a tough left-handed lay-up with 1:17 left that again increased the GAC safety net to five points at 45-40.  But the Tommies would again crawl back to a one-point deficit before the end of this third period as two Hatelstad free throws with :59.5 left and a lay-up by freshman reserve guard Jordyn Glynn with :28 left reduced the Gustie lead to an uncertain 45-44 count going into the fourth period. 

Again, there were probably many inside Schoenecker Arena on this Saturday afternoon that probably thought that the pressure the Gusties were facing in trying to hold off their long-time nemesis would force them to finally fold and give in.  Instead, this GAC team showed a lot of resolve and character and responded to the challenge before them.  Bowlin started this fourth period off with a three-point bomb from the right top area at the 9:28 mark and a Rorman score in the paint at the 8:48 mark had the Gustie lead back to four points at 50-46.  Two Richert freebies after the Comfrey native was fouled at the 8:04 mark gave GAC some breathing room up by six again at 52-46.  Now it was the Tommies' turn to respond and they would first go through Rolland who would connect with a lay-up at the 7:45 mark and then muscle into the paint for a score at the 5:59 mark to get UST right back in the thick of things down by two at 52-50.  Then Schirmer would connect with a short jumper in the lane at the 5:18 mark that had this one knotted at 52 a piece and two free throws by sophomore guard Shayla Wallin with 4:08 left kept this one deadlocked at 54 and again you had to wonder if the weight of the burden that the Gusties were facing from not having beaten UST in recent memory would force this young team to crumble from the pressure.  But I think this is exactly where you saw this young team finally stand up and say, "No more" when everything could have arguably gone kablooey for them.  Instead of playing cautiously and not to lose, they kept attacking.  Gonsorowski would get sent to the charity stripe after making a hard drive with 3:45 left and the Esko native calmly dropped two free throws to give GAC the lead back and then it was Rorman making a daring steal and dashing the other way for a lay-up with 2:52 left to increase the Gustie lead to 58-54.  Richert would get sent to the free throw line with 2;14 left and got one to go down to up the lead to 59-54 but GAC was still not completely out of the woods just yet.  The Tommies again slimmed the deficit down to a single possession as one Rolland free throw with 1:32 left and a Schirmer drive and finish with :58 left made it a 59-57 ballgame and on the ensuing Gustie possession, Kelly would call a thirty-second timeout to set up strategy to protect this delicate lead.  Rorman would put up a lay-up attempt a bit later with :24.5 left and although she couldn't get the shot attempt to cooperate, she showed enough saavy to snare the offensive rebound and get fouled in the process and got the front end attempt to go down to make it 60-57.  UST's Sinn would call a timeout of her own in hopes of perhaps getting the tying three-pointer but with :17.2 left, a Schirmer three-point attempt missed its mark and the Gusties' Bowlin was there for the rebound and would be promptly fouled with :15.2 left.  Bowlin could only get the front end of the two-shot opportunity to go down so there was still a very small window left open for UST.  But that window was closed for good when a Rolland lay-up attempt missed its mark and Gonsorowski was there for the rebound for GAC and would get promptly fouled with :07.7 left.  Gonsorowski would get the back end freebie to go down to give the Gusties the safety net they needed and when the buzzer finally sounded, GAC had not only recorded its first victory over UST since February 17, 2010 but also snapped UST's 77-game MIAC winning streak in the process and the jubilation from the Gustie bench was real when they rushed the court to embrace each other. 

It was easy to see how incredibly proud GAC's Kelly was of her young squad in holding firm coming down the stretch when things were still very uncertain when I caught up with her in the postgame melee.  In a funny kind of way, I think a lot of it had to do with how the young new faces on this squad really showed up and made valuable contributions and weren't affected at all in the history of how things have gone since that last win.  Kelly told me how Rorman may very well be the next "big" thing at GAC since Mikayla Miller ('18) and how humble she is in everything and she definitely made some big plays today.  Richert, too, picked up her game in the second half after a relatively uneventful first half and Gonsorowski I thought really steadied the ship in that fourth period when she had to.  Meanwhile, it was much more somber on the UST side of things and when I finally caught up with Sinn afterward, the disappointment on this day was clearly etched on her face and in her voice.  "We're a young team" she said and explained that it's a step-by-step process for this young group of hers.  "We have a lot of young players who just aren't ready to step into the new roles they have and they were apprehensive at times".  But she was quick to give credit where credit was due to GAC on this day and how they kept attacking.  One big piece of the puzzle that was missing for UST on this day was junior forward/post Kaia Porter who has been experiencing some knee issues as of late and further tests will need to be done to determine how serious those issues are and whether she'll be able to come back this season or not.  Obviously, without her, that's an incredibly huge blow to UST's hopes for another MIAC title and it's easy to see that this is simply not the same Tommie team that we've been accustomed to over the last few years.  Then again, this certainly isn't Kelly's best team at GAC by any stretch either.  They're still very young, of course, and they've got some injury issues of their own to deal with; most notably with 6'5" sophomore post Betsy Schoenrock who suffered an ACL injury and is out for the year.  It's funny when you hark back to that 2009-10 Gustie team that won a share of the MIAC regular season that last beat UST over at Concordia St. Paul's Ganglehoff Arena while the new Anderson Athletic Complex was under construction that featured the likes of Bri Radtke, Julia Schultz, Katie Layman along with youngsters Molly Geske, Ava Perry and Abby Rothenbuehler among others that were able to enjoy that victory.  A lot of players have come and gone since then and it's been a long time coming.  But this group finally did it. 

Just another outstanding outing for GAC's Rorman on this day as she led the way with 20 points while Richert stepped up in that second half and finished with 12 points and Gonsorowski finished with 10 points but, more importantly, was the glue that held the team together down the stretch.  Rolland led the way for UST with 21 points while Schirmer had 11 points and Wallin had 10 points.  Again, the glaring stat on this day was that the Tommies finished this game by going only 1-11 from downtown for 9.1% which is simply unheard of for a team that normally has the ability to slaughter opponents from three-point land.  21 turnovers; with several traveling calls mixed in also doomed UST on this day and that's just so uncharacteristic of a Sinn-coached team.  GAC didn't necessarily shoot the lights out on this day as they were 21-46 from FG range for 45.7% and 6-15 from behind the arc for 40%.  They did get to the free throw line more often however and finished going 14-20 from the charity stripe for 70%; a number that likely needs to get better.  Also, GAC did get outrebounded on this day by a 32-26 count and that's something that perturbed Kelly and she told me that she emphasized to her squad that they had to rebound on this day so consider her frustration when on the first two possessions of the game where UST got second chances on the offensive end.  Still in all, the Gusties found a way when not many expected them to.