MIAC Power Rankings For Sunday 1-26-20

Some more shifting in my latest Power Rankings release and although I was unable to get out to any games this last Wednesday night due to personal obligations, I did see enough to at least shed some light on the latest developments.  So, let's take a look, shall we?


1.  Bethel
2.  (tie) GAC, Augsburg & UST
3.  Hamline
4.  Concordia
5.  (tie) St. Kate's & St. Olaf
6.  Carleton
7.  CSB
8.  SMU
9.  Macalester


The Royals continue to rule this world but boy, did they EVER get a scare yesterday down Snelling Avenue at Hamline and although they escaped Hutton Arena with a 79-75 win, some might be left wondering if their grip on the top spot may be tenuous right now.  The good news for Bethel, however, is that this coming week shouldn't be too taxing with home games against St. Kate's on Wednesday night and Macalester next Saturday........I had made mention last week of the hot mess that existed in the middle-of-the- pack group.  While that has untangled a little bit, a new hot mess now exists in the upper echelon of the MIAC as I have GAC, Augsburg and UST packed in at the second spot.  I really thought about this a lot but felt like there was no other choice.  First, how can you not be impressed with how GAC responded after the embarrassing loss up in Moorhead to Concordia by reeling off three consecutive victories this last week - two of them at home against Augsburg and Hamline?  Then yesterday the Gusties were operating without their top scorer in Caitlin Rorman and still got a solid road win at Macalester.  This coming week, GAC gets a bit of a tuneup game as CSB comes to town on Wednesday night before UST comes to town looking for revenge next Saturday.  Augsburg recovered from the Sunday setback in St. Peter by dumping St. Olaf down in Northfield this last Wednesday night and getting a rather routine twenty-point victory against Concordia yesterday.  But now the Auggies have to face a revenge-minded UST on Wednesday night in Si Melby Hall before heading back down to Northfield next Saturday to take on Carleton.  With home wins over both Macalester this last Wednesday night and St. Kate's yesterday, the Tommies have now quietly reeled off seven straight wins but now this coming week is quite likely the biggest week for them this season with roadies at Augsburg on Wednesday night and then down U.S. Highway 169 and the Union Pacific's Mankato Sub mainline to St. Peter next Saturday to take on GAC.  Needless to say, something's got to give here. 

It was a rough, heartbreaking week for the Pipers with losses to both GAC this last Wednesday night and then letting Bethel off the hook yesterday in the comfy confines on Hutton Arena yesterday and although Hamline has to go on the road this week - to St. Olaf on Wednesday night and then to CSB next Saturday, those look winnable and they've got the third spot all to themselves so it could be a helluva lot worse.  Concordia meanwhile has assumed the fourth spot all to themselves and I'm not entirely sure how they did this.  Perhaps it was some good play at the right times, a bit of luck and a bit of divine intervention as well.  Nonetheless, they hung on for dear life in cavernous Memorial Auditorium this last Wednesday night against CSB before taking it on the chin yesterday at Augsburg.  This coming week, however, presents a huge opportunity for the Cobbers to consolidate on their latest gains as they make the long trip down to Northfield on Wednesday night to take on Carleton before getting a slumping SMU team back home in Moorhead next Saturday. 

St. Kate's was extremely fortunate to come away with a split this last week - holding off SMU at home this last Wednesday night before getting dough-popped in their neighborhood rivalry at UST yesterday.  With the regular season now in the home-stretch and their playoff lifelines dwindling, the 'Cats know full and well that they'll need to come away with at least a split this next week and even that's a daunting prospect now as they go to the north side of town to take on Bethel on Wednesday night before hosting a huge game with St. Olaf this next Saturday.  And speaking of the Oles, they too had a hairy week as they got popped by Augsburg this last Wednesday night before hanging on for dear life against SMU yesterday.  Hamline does come to Skoglund Center this Wednesday night before the aforementioned huge showdown with the Wildcats at Butler Center this next Saturday with the loser having their playoff hopes virtually extinguished. 

While this has been something of a learning year for Carleton, you have to be impressed with how they manage to keep coming at you.  True, they came out with scars when Bethel came to town this last Wednesday night but yet had enough in the tank to apply similar treatment to CSB yesterday.  I honestly can't think of two tougher teams to figure out than CSB and SMU.  A lot of talent there and yet, for some reason, they just can't seem to get over the top.  And it has to be especially excruciating for the Cardinals this last week as they dropped not one but TWO two-point games - at St. Kate's on Wednesday night and then at St. Olaf yesterday.  That's hard to do.  Macalester meanwhile doesn't have a lot to show for itself but they're definitely better than their 1-16 record would suggest. 

Fire away with thoughts.   

GAC vs Macalester 1-25-20

Made the drive over to the St Paul side of town on this warm but overcast Saturday to Leonard Center on the campus of Macalester College to take in the contest between visiting GAC which made its way up U.S. Highway 169 and the Union Pacific's Mankato Sub mainline into town to take on host Macalester.  The Gusties had responded nicely after dropping consecutive games to both Bethel and Concordia to snare big home wins against both Augsburg and Hamline to get to 8-2 in the conference and 12-3 overall.  The Scots meanwhile were just 1-15 on the year and winless thus far in the conference but sure weren't playing like a team with that kind of record and any team playing Macalester could ill-afford to take them lightly.

 The Scots would draw first blood in this contest when junior guard Katie Sowerby connected with a lay-up off of an inbounds pass at the 9:03 mark of the opening period but GAC would respond with a 5-0 push.  Junior point guard Ava Gonsorowski would make an explosive drive into traffic for a finish and would draw a foul in the process and the ensuing "and one" by the former Esko standout put the Gusties ahead 3-2.  Fellow junior backcourt mate Alison Hinck would muscle in to grab an offensive rebound and get a pretty reverse lay-up out of it at the 7:41 mark to give GAC that 5-2 lead before Macalester got things going again.  Senior guard Holly Hull would connect with a jumper along the left baseline at the 7:23 mark and a lay-up in transition by junior forward Kayla Togneri at the 6:35 mark pushed the Scots back out in front 6-5.  A lay-up by sophomore guard Celine Sabbagh at the 6:08 mark stretched that lead to 8-5 and one free throw by junior guard Justine Barraza at the 5:29 mark maintained the three point edge at 9-6.  A score in the paint by freshman reserve forward Emma LaFrenz with 4:33 left kept the lead at three points at 11-8 before the Gusties could get this one deadlocked at 11 a piece.  Two Gonsorowski freebies after she was fouled with 4:21 left and one more by Hinck after she was fouled with 3:56 left would deadlock this game but then Macalester would get their lead back to three again when junior reserve forward Katherine Podoll uncorked a "3" from the left top area with 3:45 mark to make it 14-11.  It was here where GAC seemed to settle down and get the upper hand.  Freshman guard Maddy Rice drained a huge "3" from the left corner with 1:57 left to tie the contest and two Gonsorowski free throws with 1:34 left had the Gusties out in front 16-14.  Then junior forward/post Paige Richert would make a pretty spin move down low to get a score in the paint with :51.1 left to make it 18-14 and although the Scots' Podoll would uncork her second trey of this ballgame with :23 left, GAC would have the perfect answer when Rice would drain a dagger "3" from the left top area with just :01.5 left as the Gusties took a 21-17 lead into the second period.

A jumper along the left baseline at the 8:47 mark of the second period by Gonsorowski helped spark a push by GAC to give them some more breathing space.  Junior guard Megan Gustafson would drop one free throw after getting fouled in a transition opportunity at the 7:34 mark to make it 24-17 and a jumper from the left elbow area by freshman reserve guard Anna Sanders at the 6:22 mark maintained the seven-point edge at 26-19.  A Gustafson lay-up at the 5:08 mark inched the lead up to eight points at 28-20 and two Gonsorowski charity stripe shots with 2:26 left maintained that eight-point lead at 30-22.  But this Macalester team as we have seen before is very stubborn and being in a hole certainly doesn't faze them and they clawed their way back.  Hull would snare an offensive rebound of her own miss for a putback with 2:04 left and then freshman reserve guard Solana Cushing would drill a "3" from the left wing area with 1:40 left that suddenly had the Scots back within a single possession down 30-27.  This caught the attention of the Gusties as they shifted gears to build their lead back up again.  Gonsorowski connected with a lay-up with 1:21 left as would Richert with :42 left to get the lead back to seven again at 34-27.  That seemed safe enough for the time being from a GAC standpoint but Gustie Head Coach Laurie Kelly could hardly feel good about things when Gonsorowski was tagged with her third foul of the afternoon that allowed Macalester's Barraza to sink two free throws with :21.8 left.  But, just as she had right before the end of the first period, Rice would come through for her team in a big way by banging home her third three-point bomb of this ballgame - this one from the right wing area with :06 left - as GAC took a 37-29 lead into the locker room at the half.  Though the Scots were on the wrong end of the ledger from a scoring standpoint, first-year Macalester Head Coach Katie Kollar and her staff had to be encouraged by the fact that the Scots had a sizable edge on the glass by a 26-17 count and although the Gusties shot marginally better; going 12-29 from FG range for 41.4% and 3-7 from downtown (all three by Rice) for 42.9%, Macalester was still very much in this game.

The Gusties were able to stretch their lead to twelve points in the early moments of the third period but there was a cost that came with that.  Richert was able to score inside off the glass at the 9:16 mark and a lay-up in transition by Rice after a steal gave GAC a seemingly comfy 41-29 advantage by the 8:55 mark.  The Scots though would immediately cut that back down though as Hull would snare an offensive rebound for a putback at the 8:19 mark to get the deficit down to ten and GAC's Gonsorowski would get tagged with her fourth foul of the afternoon at the 7:44 mark and Kelly didn't hesitate to yank her starting point guard to the bench for preservation purposes.  And Kelly probably became even more apprehensive when Macalester's Sabbagh made a hard drive for a finish at the 7:18 mark that shrunk the Gustie lead to single-digits at 41-33.  To their credit, however, this GAC team steadied the ship when the waters got a little choppy.  Richert would knock down a short jumper at the 6:59 mark and Gustafson would knock down two free throws after getting fouled in a transition opportunity at the 6:46 mark to give the Gusties a twelve-point advantage again at 45-33.  Richert would then proceed to knock down two charity stripe shots of her own after getting fouled at the 6:29 mark and the former Comfrey standout would add another score in the paint at the 5:59 mark to grow GAC's lead to sixteen at 49-33 and by this time things certainly looked safe for the Gustie faithful.  But the Scots responded with a flurry of three-point bombs that once again brought them back into single-digit range again.  Cushing would uncork her second trey of this game from the right top area at the 5:50 mark and Barraza would follow suit with a bomb from the left wing are with 4:57 left.  Then Sabbagh would drain one of her own "3's" from the left corner with 4:12 left and once again Macalester appeared to be threatening again down 51-42.  The Scots would stay in single-digit range when Hull made a hard drive for a finish with 3:41 left and when Cushing unloaded yet another three-point bomb - this one from the right wing area with 3:13 left - Macalester had effectively chopped the deficit to just six at 53-47.  Again, this quickly got the attention of the Gusties and they quickly went back to work to fix things up.  Hinck would connect with a lay-up with 3:01 left and freshman reserve guard Anna Sanders would make a hard drive for a finish with 1:56 left to get the GAC safety net back up to ten points at 57-47.  Richert would add a free throw with 1:16 left and then junior reserve guard Rachel Skyberg slithered into traffic to connect with a lay-up with :40.5 left to up the lead to thirteen at 60-47.  Still, Macalester was able to cut into this cushion before the third period concluded as Podoll would connect with a lay-up in transition and draw a foul in the process and the ensuing "and one" by the San Geronimo, California native had the deficit down to ten at 60-50.  Hull would add a score in the paint with just :00.4 left on the clock so while the Gusties took a 62-52 lead into the fourth period, they were by no means out of the woods just yet. 

The impressive thing about GAC on this day is that every time they were challenged, they always seemed to have an answer to counter and they did this again once the fourth period got underway.  Sophomore reserve guard Abby Goodno would start things off at the 9:34 mark with two free throws after she was fouled to get the lead to twelve at 64-52 and a short, one-handed shot in the lane off of an inbounds pass at the 8:21 mark by Gustafson maintained this twelve-point lead at 66-54.  Richert would get into the paint for another score at the 8:02 mark and then a "3" from the right corner by Gustafson at the 6:58 mark completed this key 9-2 push to make it 71-54 and the Scots' Kollar clearly saw this one slipping away for good and called for a halt to the action in hopes of stopping it.  But the Gusties had no intentions of letting this one slip away and now went to work to close the deal.  Gustafson would make a pretty drive for a finish with 4:51 left and one Richert freebie with 4:32 left had the GAC lead at 74-56.  Gonsorowski; riding those four fouls would sink two free throws of her own with 3:58 left and another Gustafson drive into the lane for a finish with 3:25 left made things pretty much academic at this point with the Gusties enjoying a 78-56 advantage.  Two Gonsorowski insurance lay-ups - one with 2:32 left and another with 2:05 left - gave GAC an 82-61 advantage and although Macalester would get late scores as Hull would make a drive and finish with 1:51 left and get fouled in the process and add the obligatory free throw and Barraza would add one free throw as well with 1:19 left, the Gusties pocketed an impressive 82-65 road victory to take back to St. Peter with them.

When I look back on this game, I think the thing that impressed me the most is that Kelly and her staff made things work - and work reasonably well - with a lot of different moving pieces.  This was necessitated when freshman sensation forward Caitlin Rorman was sidelined today with an injured shoulder.  You had a number of players stepping up today both in the starting lineup and off the bench.  Gustafson; who was huge in the previous wins against both Augsburg and Hamline, really brought her game in this second half and I have to plead guilty here simply because I wasn't so sure at the beginning of the year how effective she would be or how much she could actually bring to the table.  Well, she's convinced me that she's got what it takes to be a big scorer for this squad.  Gonsorowski, too, keeps displaying not only solid play on both ends of the floor but great leadership as well and this was on display today when she picked up her fourth foul relatively early in the third period.  But there were others as well.  Richert had a solid second half and Rice came up with some big three point bombs when the Gusties needed them.  Then you saw players such as Hinck, Skyberg and Goodno all contributing in some form or fashion on this day.  I had said earlier in my blog a few weeks ago that I felt that I needed to see more from the Gusties to be convinced that they're a legit title contender.  Well now, I'm convinced.  Other than the rebounding facet (more on that later), Kelly and her staff had to pleased with a lot of the numbers.  The Gusties were guilty of only nine turnovers on this day compared to 17 for Macalester and got 25 points off of those turnovers as well.  Just as impressive is that GAC had a whopping 48-30 advantage in points in the paint as well.  The Gusties also shot pretty decently on this day going 29-56 from FG range for 51.8% and 20-27 from the charity stripe for 74.1%.  Meanwhile, another disappointing setback for the Scots but Kollar and her staff can continue to take heart that this is a team that never quits or gives up despite the odds facing them.  One stat that Kollar can take some heart in is the rebounding front where the Scots held 38-33 edge and Macalester's Hull was a royal PITA for the Gusties on this day with her ability to get into the paint against bigger players to grab offensive rebounds.  GAC had an incredibly balanced scoring attack on this day with Gonsorowski leading all scorers with her 21 points and Gustafson wasn't far behind with her 18 points.  Richert finished with 16 points and Rice tallied 13 points.  Hull led Macalester on this day with her 18 points while Barraza finished with 11 points and Sabbagh added 10 points.       

MIAC Power Rankings For Sunday 1-19-20

Another interesting week in MIAC play so let's see hows things have shaken out thus far on this AFC and NFC Conference Championship Sunday:


1.  Bethel
2.  Augsburg
3.  UST
4.  GAC
5.  Hamline
6.  (tie) Concordia, St. Kate's & St. Olaf
7.  CSB
8.  Carleton
9.  SMU
10.  Macalester


No argument with the top spot as the Bethel Express keeps on a rollin'; 15-0 overall and 10-0 in the conference with its latest victims being St. Olaf on Wednesday night and CSB yesterday up in St. Joe.  The Royals stay on the road this week with a manageable game (on paper anyway) at Carleton on Wednesday night but this next Saturday's game down the road on Snelling Avenue at Hamline could be a tricky one where the Royals will have to be extra careful.  Augsburg meanwhile held off a determined St. Kate's team at home in Si Melby Hall but ran into Mother Nature's wrath in the form of Winter Storm Jacob that shoved the big tilt at GAC from Saturday to this afternoon down in St. Peter and it'll be interesting to see how the change of date affects the Auggies.  Augsburg won't get much in the way of time off after today's game as they'll head down to Northfield on Wednesday night to face off with St. Olaf before hosting Concordia in the friendly confines of Si Melby Hall next Saturday. 

UST quietly (or not so quietly, depending upon your point of view) slid up the ladder into the third spot today but they had to survive a scare from Carleton this last Wednesday night at home before thumping a slumping SMU team down in Winona yesterday.  The good news for Tommie Nation is that they should be able to keep the ship steady with home games this week with Macalester on Wednesday night and with neighborhood rival St. Kate's next Saturday.  Meanwhile, things aren't so rosy down U.S. Highway 169 and the Union Pacific's Mankato Sub mainline in St. Peter as the Gusties slipped down into the fourth spot; largely because of the upset loss they suffered at Concordia on Wednesday night.  Then Winter Storm Jacob unleashed its fury Friday and Saturday in the area and shoved the big tilt with Augsburg to later this afternoon at 3:00 P.M.  Had GAC been able to get out of Moorhead with the "W" like they should have, I wouldn't be looking at today's game as that critical.  Now, however, I almost feel like this game is an absolute "must" win for the Gusties if they want to avoid slipping further out of the title chase - more importantly, hosting a playoff game.  The reason for that is because the team in my fifth spot - Hamline - is currently nipping on their heels.  The Pipers easily dispatched Macalester on Wednesday night but, like GAC, saw Mother Nature wipe out the planned trip to Moorhead yesterday and effectively shove that game back to February 3rd.  That means this coming Wednesday night's game at GAC is huge for both teams.  Hamline may come back down to Earth a bit when Bethel makes the trip down Snelling Avenue this next Saturday but the Pipers are still in a good spot nonetheless. 

It's still a hot mess in the middle.  What am I supposed to do?  I think few expected Concordia to be in the spot they're currently in - certainly I didn't.  But the Cobbers scored a huge home upset win this last week Wednesday night by knocking off GAC.  In a funny kind of way, Mother Nature may have done Concordia a favor by shoving back the planned game with Hamline yesterday back to February 3rd.  That gives the Cobbers a little more time to prepare for hosting CSB on Wednesday night before coming down U.S. Highway 10 and the BNSF's Staples Sub mainline to the Twin Cities on Saturday to take on Augsburg and coming out with a split wouldn't be a terrible proposition for this team.  St. Kate's did come out with a split this last week but that's what was expected to happen as they lost at Augsburg this last Wednesday night before going down to Northfield yesterday where they took care of Carleton comfortably.  This coming week is a mixed bag for the 'Cats:  They get SMU at home on Wednesday night before making the short hop over to Schoenecker Arena this next Saturday to face UST and you have to think that another split is the most likely outcome for this group.  And it was much the same story for St. Olaf this last week as they took it on the chin at Bethel this last Wednesday night before surviving a late scare at Macalester yesterday.  This week will be very similar for the Oles as well as they make the run back up to the Cities on Wednesday night to take on Augsburg before SMU comes to town this next Saturday to take on the Oles at Skoglund Center.  Again, a split for this group would not be bad and will almost likely keep the middle of my Power Rankings what it is right now - a hot mess.

CSB also came away with a split this last week but, unfortunately for them, it really didn't help them very much as they're still on the outside looking in.  This coming week might be their best chance - indeed, perhaps their last chance - to get back into contention in the MIAC Playoff sweepstakes.  The Blazers get a rematch with SMU - a team they defeated down in Winona this last Wednesday - in the friendly confines of Claire Lynch Hall tomorrow night and then make the run up to Moorhead on Wednesday night to take on Concordia before running down to Northfield this next Saturday to take on Carleton.  It's quite possible that the Blazers go 3-0 this week.  I personally think they'll have to in order to keep their ever-fading playoff hopes alive but I think going two out of three will be the most likely outcome.  Speaking of the Knights, they lost a tough one at UST this last Wednesday night but their slim playoff hopes likely had the last rites administered to them when St. Kate's came to town yesterday and laid a thumping on this young group.  Things really don't get any easier for Carleton as Bethel comes to town this coming Wednesday and CSB pays a visit as well on Saturday. 

St. Olaf vs Macalester 1-18-20

Winter Storm Jacob effectively threw a monkey wrench into my original plans of traveling down to St Peter for the Augsburg - GAC game (now postponed until Sunday 1-19) so on this frigid Saturday afternoon. I set my sights on the St Paul side of town and Leonard Center on the campus of Macalester College as host Macalester prepared to take on visiting St. Olaf which braved the elements to head up north on I-35 and the Union Pacific "Spine Line" mainline into the Twin Cities.  The Oles were coming into this game with a so-so 6-8 overall record and 3-6 in conference play and had absorbed an 82-36 stomping at the hands of conference-leader Bethel on Wednesday night.  Macalester was only 1-13 overall and winless in conference play thus far and had absorbed a similar beatdown at Hamline on Wednesday night so naturally both teams were looking to make amends.  For St. Olaf, however, this game would be pivotal for their hopes of staying in the conference playoff chase.

The Scots would draw first blood in this contest on a jumper from the left corner just inside the arc by senior guard Holly Hull at the 9:30 mark of the opening period but St. Olaf would soon embark on a 7-0 push.  Junior guard Keegan Mulvihill would snare a steal of an inbounds pass and race the other way for a lay-up at the 8:56 mark and strong sophomore forward Camryn Scott would connect with a lay-up at the 8:12 mark to give the Oles a 4-2 advantage.  Senior guard Ella Skrien would then drain a "3" from the right corner at the 7:21 mark to put St. Olaf up 7-2 and although Macalester would get back to within a single possession at the 7:13 mark on two Hull free throws, the Oles would widen the gap even further.  A Scott score in the paint at the 6:04 mark and a "3" from the left corner by Mulvihill at the 5:34 mark had things looking good for St. Olaf at this point up 12-4.  The Scots, however, showed some spunk of their own and proceeded to go on an 8-0 run to get this game deadlocked.  Hull would knock down a jumper along the left baseline with 4:32 left and a "3" from the left corner by junior reserve guard Luci Swift with 4:02 left got Macalester back to within a single possession down 12-9.  Slender junior reserve forward Katherine Podoll tied this contest at 12 a piece with her three-point bomb from the right top area with 3:00 left to complete this run.  The Oles would stop some of the bleeding when freshman reserve forward Rachel Kelly connected with a lay-up in transition with 1:55 left that put St. Olaf back on top at 14-12 but the Scots continued to take the iniative as sophomore sensation guard Justine Barraza would make a sweet drive for a finish and draw a foul in the process and her obligatory free throw put Macalester back on top 15-14.  That lead would grow to 18-14 just before the end of this first period when freshman reserve guard Solana Cushing banged home a "3" from the right corner with just :03.5 left and first-year Scots Head Coach Katie Kollar had to feel somewhat good with her squad taking a four-point lead into the second period after the shaky start.

But those good feeling that Kollar had quickly faded once the second period got going as St. Olaf went on a key 17-3 run in the first seven minutes.  Lanky senior forward/post Britta Koenen started this run when she got into the paint for a score and drew a foul in the process and sank the ensuing free throw to reduce the deficit to a scant point at 18-17.  Freshman guard Cassie Fix pushed the Oles into the lead when she unleashed a dagger "3" from the left top area at the 8:18 mark at 20-18 and a short, turnaround jumper by Kelly at the 6:49 mark pushed the lead to four at 22-18.  An offensive rebound and putback by Kelly at the 6:19 mark maintained the four-point edge at 24-20 and two Kelly free throws at the 5:18 mark got St. Olaf a six-point lead at 26-20.  Mulvihill would uncork a "3" of her own from the right wing area with 3:59 left to make it 29-21 and Koenen would book-end this run with her score in the paint with 3:14 left before the Scots were able to get free throws from both junior guard Katie Sowerby with 2:44 left and another one by freshman reserve forward Emma LaFrenz with 2:24 left.  Still, the Oles would end this second period on another push to stretch their lead further.  Kelly would snare an offensive rebound of her own miss for a putback with 1:29 left and a Kelly score in the paint with 1:07 left gave St. Olaf a 35-23 lead.  One free throw by freshman reserve guard Grace Hegland with 43.1 left in this second period made it 36-23 before both teams headed to their locker room for the halftime recess.  A check of the first half box score reveals that, while the Oles didn't shoot all that great in the first half (14-33 from FG range for 42.4% and 4-11 from downtown for 36.4%), they had a sizable edge on the glass by a 23-15 count.  And Macalester's Kollar was not only going to have to find a way to get her squad to cut down the turnovers (12 to St. Olaf's 8), more importantly, she was going to have to find to neutralize the Oles' Kelly who did a lot of damage in the first half alone with her 12 points.

St. Olaf's Scott would add more cushion to her team's lead with a short, one-handed shot in the lane at the 8:56 mark of the third period to make it a 38-23 ballgame.  Both teams would endure a prolonged scoring drought but this would obviously hurt the Scots much more than the visitors from Northfield as we will see later as Macalester had several opportunities to cut into the deficit but couldn't cash in and suffered some untimely turnovers in the process as well.  The Oles' Kelly would finally dust off the cobwebs on her team's basket on her score in the paint at the 5:07 mark to make it 40-23 and then sophomore reserve guard K'Lynn Lewis would come up big for St. Olaf with two big three-point bombs - one from the left corner with 2:39 left and another one from the left top area with 1:48 left - to give the Oles a twenty-point cushion at 46-26.  Macalester was finally able to make some dents into this deficit as Hull would connect with a lay-up in transition with 1:38 left and two Hull free throws with :46.5 left and then Barraza would add one free throw with :23.1 left and two more after she was fouled in a transition opportunity with :07.2 left but with the Oles enjoying a 48-33 advantage going into the fourth period, perhaps the only downer for Head Coach Dave Stromme was that Koenen had picked up her fourth foul of the day late in this third period.

Indeed, things had gone so favorably for St. Olaf in that third period that it seemed quite unlikely that the Scots would be able to mount any kind of comeback attempt and the fact that it had been very difficult all game long for the Scots to do anything in the paint with the Oles length, it seemed like the only recourse was to just go bombs away from downtown and see what happens.  But one thing that's become apparent about this Macalester team is that they never give up; no matter what the circumstances are or how bleak things look.  After St. Olaf's Scott pushed her team's lead to 50-33 with a short jumper in the lane off the glass at the 9:24 mark of the fourth period, the Scots unleashed a 15-5 run that got them back into single-digit range again.  Junior forward Kayla Togneri connected with a jumper along the right baseline at the 9:05 mark and a Podoll "3" from the right wing area at the 8:31 mark had the deficit down to twelve at 50-38.  A pretty reverse lay-up by Swift at the 7:28 mark kept Macalester in that twelve-point range down 52-40 and a short jumper off the glass by sophomore guard Celine Sabbagh at the 6:38 mark reduced the deficit to ten points at 52-42.  An alarmed Ole team showed some pulse when Koenen; riding those four fouls, drained a "3" from the left top area at the 5:58 mark but even this did not deter the Scots.  Hull would muscle into traffic to snare an offensive rebound for a putback at the 5:03 mark and two free throws by Barraza with 4:01 left got Macalester back into single-digit range again down 55-46.  By this time, St. Olaf's Stromme could clearly see that his squad was getting a bit rattled by the pressure defense that the Scots were applying in this comeback attempt and called a timeout to get his squad calmed down a bit.  Still, the Scots created more uncertainty when Swift was able to knock down a jumper from the left wing off of an inbounds pass with 3:41 left that reduced the deficit to a tantalizing seven points at 55-48 before the Oles were finally able to dig in their heels and stop the bleeding and it would be Scott coming up with two big scores that finally righted the ship for St. Olaf.  The Lone Tree, Colorado native would connect with a lay-up with 3:16 left and, after the Oles snuffed out Macalester's last ditch attempts at this comeback bid, Scott would muscle into the paint for a score with :59 left to get the lead back up to double-digits at 59-48.  Stromme would call a thirty-second timeout to keep his squad on course and St. Olaf would finally close this one out.  Fix would knock down pairs of insurance free throws with :34.1 and :25.4 left and Mulvihill would snare a steal and dash the other way for a lay-up with just :08 left as the Oles escaped Leonard Center with a hard-fought 65-50 victory. 

I was able to catch up with St. Olaf's Stromme first after this game and had to ask him if he was concerned in the fourth period when the Scots made their run to get back into the game.  "Absolutely.....They've got some very good guards who are very athletic as well."  Still, I think from watching this Ole team today, I think it's safe to say that they've definitely taken some steps forward after struggling the last few years.  It's always good to pick up a hard-earned win on the road in this conference but, more importantly, St. Olaf is very much in the thick of things in the MIAC Playoff chase and the Ole's Skrien; who I was able to catch up with as well afterward, echoed those sentiments.  Meanwhile, another disappointing setback for this Macalester team that fought so hard in the fourth period to get back into it.  I mentioned to Kollar afterward that I thought that extended drought they had in the third period proved costly in more ways than one with all the missed opportunities and turnovers.  Had they been able to capitalize on some of those opportunities they had, we could have easily been looking at a much, much different ballgame when the Scots made their comeback attempt in the fourth period.  You have to admire, however, how this team keeps fighting when the chips are down and they're not a team that you'll ever want to take lightly - and that goes for the teams at or near the top such as Bethel, Augsburg, GAC and UST.  St. Olaf's Scott paced the team this day with her 16 points and although Kelly cooled off somewhat in the second half; finishing with "just" 14 points on this day, her big first half helped pave the way for the Oles.  Mulvihill also had some key moments in this game as well and finished with 10 points.  Over on the Macalester side, the Scots leaned heavily on Hull who also finished with 16 points and just missed out on a "double-double" with her nine rebounds.  Macalester's Kollar had to wince a bit at the box score that showed that St. Olaf owned the glass on this day by a 46-36 count and the fact that the Oles owned a whopping 34-10 advantage in points in the paint.  Throw in the fact that Macalester wound up shooting 15-59 from FG range for 25.4% and only 5-25 from downtown for 20% and you could see that their margin for error was incredibly small on this day.  One bright spot for Kollar and her staff, however:  The Scots did reasonably well from the stripe going 15-20 for a straight 75%.  Stromme as well had to have been pleased with his squad's free throw shooting as they were 10-13 for 76.9%.           

Macalester vs Hamline 1-15-20

Made my way over to the St Paul side of town on this cold, cold Wednesday January evening to venerable Hutton Arena on the campus of Hamline University to take in this matchup between visiting Macalester which ventured its way up Snelling Avenue to face off against host Hamline.  I was arguably long-overdue in catching this rising Piper team; coming into this game with a 10-3 overall record and 5-3 in the conference and were riding a six-game win streak coming into this game.  This also would be my first look at Macalester as well under new Head Coach Katie Kollar and although the Scots have struggled this year with a 1-12 overall record and 0-8 in the conference, this is a team that will always keep battling no matter the circumstances.

Hamline would get off to a solid start in this one; bolting out to an early 6-0 lead.  Freshman forward Lydia Lecher started things off with her lay-up in transition at the 8:46 mark of the opening period and then sophomore sensation guard Chan'el Anderson-Manning started heating up as she would connect with a lay-up at the 8:16 mark and two free throws by the former Cretin-Derham Hall standout after she was fouled at the 7:41 mark gave the Pipers their aforementioned early lead.  Macalester finally dusted off their basket when junior guard Justine Barraza went coast-to-coast for a lay-up at the 6:34 mark but the Scots still found themselves down 8-2 when Piper sophomore reserve forward Sarah Loken muscled into the paint for a score at the 6:11 mark.  Despite the sluggish start by this Macalester team, they were eventually able to get into a bit of a groove offensively and responded with an 8-0 push to poke their nose out in front.  Junior forward Katherine Podoll knocked down a jumper from the left corner just inside the arc with 4:58 left and a lay-up in transition by senior guard Holly Hull had the deficit down to two points at 8-6.  A lay-up by freshman reserve forward Emma LaFrenz with 2:49 left tied the game and the Scots took the lead when Hull connected with a lay-up in transition with 1:50 left.  Hull; the Overland Park, Kansas native, then gave the Scots a three-point advantage at 13-10 when she banged home a "3" from the left corner with 1:17 left before Hamline reduced the deficit down to one point on a drive and finish by freshman reserve guard Alyssa Williamson with :41 left.  Still, Macalester's Kollar and her staff had to feel encouraged about how their squad shook off a rusty start to take a one-point lead into the second period.

The Pipers would retake the lead early on in the second period thanks to senior forward Reilly Geistfeld as she would first sink a pair of free throws after getting fouled at the 9:33 mark and would drop in one more at the 9:03 mark to give Hamline a 15-13 advantage.  The Pipers would grow their lead to four as a jumper in the lane by Lecher at the 7:58 mark and a lay-up by sophomore guard Sophie Findell at the 7:30 made it a 19-15 ballgame.  Macalester, however, certainly had no plans to head back south on Snelling Avenue anytime soon and they would fight their way back into the lead.  Freshman reserve guard Solana Cushing would drain a "3" from the right wing area at the 6:59 mark and a lay-up in transition by sophomore guard Celine Sabbagh at the 5:45 mark put the Scots back out in front at 20-19.  Hamline would take the lead back when Loken bullied her way into the paint for another score at the 5:32 mark but this pesky Scot team would promptly take it right back when Barraza drilled a "3" from the left wing area to make it 23-21.  Macalester was able to maintain the two-point edge at 27-25 when LaFrenz snared an offensive rebound for a putback with 2:23 left.  The Pipers though had some answers for this down the home stretch before the halftime break.  Lecher would grab an offensive rebound for a putback with 2:08 left to tie the game and then Williamson was able to snare a steal and race the other way for a lay-up with 1:45 left to push Hamline back out in front at 27-25.  Freshman reserve forward Tess Hauer maneuvered into the paint for another score with 1:15 left to make it a four-point game at 29-25 and a Geistfeld lay-up with :45 left increased that lead to five at 31-26.  The Scots' Barraza got her team back within a single possession with her pretty drive and finish with :21.1 left and although the Pipers would up that lead to 32-28 by the halftime break on one freebie by senior reserve guard Heather Moore with :03.9 left, things didn't appear to be all that bad for Macalester down by just four as the teams headed to their respective locker rooms for the intermission.  The Scots shot reasonably well from both FG and three-point range thus far and although they left some points on the table from the charity stripe, they were still certainly within striking distance down by only four at the half.

But what Macalester's Kollar and her staff probably couldn't have counted on once the third period got going was the avalanche that would hit them as the Pipers reeled off a 13-0 run that changed things in this one for good.  Lecher started things off with a jumper from the free throw line area at the 9:22 mark and would follow that up with a jumper from the left elbow area a bit later at the 8:38 mark to make it 36-28.  Then sophomore guard Gabby Robinson would drain a back-breaking "3" from the right corner at the 7:41 mark to push Hamline's lead to double digits at 39-28 and the Scots' Kollar had seen enough to know that a full timeout was warranted.  Interestingly, Kollar had her squad in a 2-3 "match-up" zone to start this third period but it wasn't fazing this Piper team as they continued to roll.  Anderson-Manning made an explosive step for a drive and lay-up at the 6:29 mark and a Geistfeld lay-up at the 5:52 mark made it 43-28.  Then Loken would cash in a short, turnaround shot in the paint with 4:54 left to complete this run before Macalester finally ended their scoring drought on a lay-up by Barraza with 4:14 left.  Hamline, however, kept widening its lead as Geistfeld would drain a "3" from the top of the key with 4:00 left and the former Martin County West standout would follow that up with a pretty reverse lay-up with 3:31 left to give the Pipers a twenty-point cushion at 50-30.  Macalester would try and cut into this cushion as Barraza would drill a "3" from the left wing area with 3:12 left and junior forward Kayla Togneri would connect with a lay-up with 2:45 left to whittle the deficit down to seventeen at 52-35.  Togneri would also make a hard drive along the right baseline for a finish with 1:54 left and Hull would get one free throw to go down after getting fouled with :55.6 in the third period but the Scots needed an extended run of some sort to get back into this one down 59-38 going into the fourth period. 

Macalester's Barraza tried to give her team a spark in the opening moments of the fourth period when she snared a steal and dashed the other way for a lay-up at the 9:51 mark but the Pipers just weren't in a very charitable mood on this night as the set out to get more separation.  Findell would connect with a lay-up at the 8:54 mark and senior reserve guard Morgen Coleman made a hard drive into traffic and finished off the glass at the 8:23 mark to make it a 63-41 game.  Findell would unleash a dagger "3" from the left wing area at the 7:54 mark and a Robinson lay-up in transition at the 7:03 mark made it 68-41.  Loken would connect with a short, turnaround jumper in the lane at the 6:25 mark and a Lecher "3" from the left corner at the 5:58 mark ballooned Hamline's lead to 73-41.  Anderson-Manning would also get in on this offensive output as she would make another explosive drive into the lane for a finish at the 5:03 mark and drop two free throws as well after getting fouled with 4:51 left that made things pretty much academic for the Pipers with a sizable 77-42 advantage.  Macalester was still able to make some dents into this cushion down the stretch as Cushing nailed a "3" from the right corner with 4:38 left and a Podoll jumper from the left wing area off of an inbounds pass with 4:03 left had the deficit down to thirty at 77-47.  Cushing would also connect with a jumper from the right wing area with 3:05 left and LaFrenz would knock down two freebies after getting fouled with 2:51 left.  Hull would get one free throw of her own to go down after getting fouled with :46.4 left but the Pipers would have the last laugh in this rout as sophomore reserve guard Paige Condie would drain a "3" from the left wing area with :37.6 left and freshman reserve forward Iyanna Wieland would get one more score for Hamline as she connected with a lay-up with :00.2 left on the clock as the Pipers rolled to a resounding 84-55 victory. 

I was able to catch up with an introduce myself to Macalester's Kollar afterward and although she expressed disappointment with how things turned out for her team in that decisive third period, she can at least feel some satisfaction at how hard her team plays and how they never give up despite the overwhelming odds they currently face with a small roster and one player out with an injury.  They may not be the biggest or most physical team out there but they will play hard for 40 minutes - or more if necessary and you had better not take them for granted.  I also caught up with Hamline Assistant Coach Joshua Hersch afterward as well and he said that the difference in the second half - particularly that third period - was that they were able to clean up on some things they didn't do so well in the first half as he pointed out that the Pipers were 11-24 in the paint in the first half.  Hamline Head Coach Alex Focke; while happy with the win and liking where his team was sitting at the moment, was cautious about looking too far ahead or celebrating anything.  "We're basically in the same spot as we were a year ago" he noted and pointed out that they still have a lot of tough games ahead of them.  When you watch this team, it's easy to see how far they've progressed in a relatively short-period of time.  Even more interesting are all the moving pieces that Focke has to work with.  You still have the seniors - Geistfeld and Kaeli Stayer - leading the way but now there's a bunch of youngsters stepping up and providing quality minutes such as Lecher, Loken and Findell are able to do.  And Anderson-Manning can be an absolute terror if given room to drive.  At ll-3 overall and 6-3 in the conference, let's see what they can do.  Indeed, the Pipers did have a balanced scoring attack on this night with Lecher's 17 points leading all scorers while Anderson-Manning poured in 13 points and Geistfeld was right behind with her 12 points while Loken; doing much of her damage in the paint, tallied 10 points.  Macalester's Barraza was a one-person wrecking crew with the Scots with her 16 points.         

MIAC Power Rankings For Sunday 1-12-20

Some monumental games in the conference this last week to be sure but the end result has resulted in some rather massive logjams in my latest Power Rankings that will hopefully untangle in the coming weeks.  Let's take a look:


1.  Bethel
2.  (tie) Augsburg & GAC
3.  UST
4.  Hamline
5.  (tie) St. Olaf, St. Kate's & Concordia
6.  CSB
7.  Carleton
8.  SMU
9.  Macalester


Bethel has established itself - and rightfully so - as the king of the hill after getting two big Top-25  victories this last week; including the thriller at Si Melby Hall against Augsburg on Wednesday night.  On paper anyway, this coming week looks to be considerably less taxing with St. Olaf coming to town on Wednesday night before a trip to CSB next Saturday.  I felt it was necessary to keep both Augsburg and GAC welded together in that second spot after both fell victim to the Bethel Express this last week.  That'll almost certainly change after this next weekend when the Auggies and Gusties meet up at Lund Arena in St. Peter in yet another huge conference battle.  Before that, Augsburg will have to host an-always dangerous St. Kate's team on Wednesday night while the Gusties will have to make the long, dreaded trip up to Moorhead to face Concordia.  So accustomed as UST has been in controlling the top spot for the last several years that floating along in the third spot may seem a little odd at first.  Yet, that might be what Head Coach Ruth Sinn wants right now for her young team as they quietly recorded a victory on the road at St. Olaf on Wednesday night before holding off CSB yesterday in Schoenecker Arena to stay very much in the thick of things.  This next week is a huge opportunity for the Tommies to consolidate on what they've done so far as Carleton comes to town on Wednesday night before a trip down U.S. Highway 61 and the Canadian Pacific Railway River Sub mainline to Winona to take on SMU on Saturday.   

Goodness, how about this Hamline team?  They continue to impress if not also causing those with weak hearts some extreme distress as they got a nice win on the road at Carleton on Wednesday night before yesterday's ultra-thrilling overtime win at home in Hutton Arena over SMU.  Presumably anyway, the Pipers should be able to keep this train rolling with Macalester making the trip up Snelling Avenue on Wednesday night to Hutton Arena before Hamline makes that dreaded long trip up U.S. Highway 10 and the BNSF's Staples Sub mainline to Moorhead to face Concordia next Saturday.  Right below that, however, do we EVER have a logjam.  First, St. Olaf came away with a split this last week which wasn't bad at all; losing to UST on Wednesday night before getting the big crosstown rivalry win over Carleton yesterday.  That pattern will likely continue this next week as the Oles come up to the Twin Cities twice - first to take on Bethel on Wednesday night and then Macalester on Saturday.  Certainly an entirely doable proposition.  The Cobbers came away with a split this last week on two road games - beating Macalester on Wednesday night and then getting dough-popped by St. Kate's yesterday.  It's a good news/bad news proposition for Concordia this coming week as they DO have two home games.  The bad news?  The opponents are GAC (Wednesday night) and Hamline (Saturday afternoon).  I said last Sunday that the coming week was an almost "must" for St. Kate's - and they responded big-time with a huge win on the road at CSB on Wednesday night before yesterday's win over aforementioned Concordia team.  This coming week looks to be an iffy proposition as the 'Cats get on I-94 for the quick run over to Augsburg on Wednesday night before heading down to Northfield on Saturday to take on Carleton.  A split sure wouldn't be bad for them either.

Just not a good week at all for CSB as they absorbed a loss at home to St. Kate's on Wednesday night before playing UST tough yesterday but falling in the end.  The lifelines are quickly running out for the Blazers and if they don't find a way to get their act together soon, their playoff hopes will be toast.  They do have a chance to come away with at least a split this next week as they make the long roadie down to Winona to take on a slumping SMU team before Bethel comes a callin' on Saturday.  While the Knights are certainly improved from last year, I don't think anyone took them for a legitimate playoff threat yet and this last week underscored that notion as they were summarily dismissed by Hamline at home in West Gym on Wednesday night before losing a tough one yesterday across the river to crosstown rival St. Olaf.  This next week looks even more difficult as the Knights come up to the Twin Cities to take on UST Wednesday night before hosting St. Kate's this next Saturday.   

GAC vs Bethel 1-11-20

Made the relatively short drive over to Robertson Center on the campus of Bethel University on this sunny but cold Saturday afternoon for yet another huge MIAC showdown as GAC made the trek up U.S. Highway 169 and the Union Pacific's Mankato Sub mainline to the Twin Cities to take on host Bethel in another Top-25 matchup.  The Gusties had come off a win at home against SMU on Wednesday night and were sporting a 7-0 conference record and were 11-1 overall while the Royals, of course, were coming off the thrilling win at Augsburg on Wednesday night and were 7-0 as well in conference play and a perfect 12-0 overall.  This would be my first look at the Gusties since their big win at UST back in December and their first "big" game in the conference since then.  And it would be important from a Bethel standpoint as well as they could ill-afford any emotional letdown after Wednesday night. 

GAC would draw first blood in this game when freshman sensation forward Caitlin Rorman connected with a lay-up at the 9:28 mark of the opening period but the Royals would respond with a 5-0 push.  Senior forward Taite Anderson would get one of her trademark tough scores in the paint at the 9:06 mark and draw a foul in the process and cash in on the obligatory free throw as well.  Junior forward Makenna Pearson would then connect with a lay-up to make it 5-2 at the 7:35 mark.  The Gusties would respond with a nice little push of their own as Rorman would connect with a lay-up in transition at the 6:58 mark and junior point guard Ava Gonsorowski made a pretty drive into the lane for a finish off the glass at the 6:32 mark to propel GAC back out in front by a 6-5 count.  Another Rorman lay-up in transition protected that two-point edge at 8-6 with 4:53 left and freshman reserve guard Maddy Rice made a big splash early on in this contest when she swished a "3" from the left wing area with 4:23 left and things were looking good for the Gusties at the moment anyway with an 11-7 lead.  But Bethel; as we all know too well, has faced bigger deficits than this in recent games and a four-point deficit in the first half was not going to faze them.  Pearson would knock down two free throws after getting fouled with 3:29 left and then the former Blaine standout would drain a "3" from the left top area with 2:35 left to shove the Royals back out in front by a 12-11 count.  Taite Anderson would get one free throw to go down after getting fouled as well with 1:52 left but GAC appeared to have steadied the ship when Gonsorowski connected with a pretty reverse lay-up underneath with 1:35 left to tie the game at 13 a piece.  It was here, however, where Bethel junior guard Bella Williams came up big for the home team as her score in the paint with 1:12 left gave the Royals the lead back at 15-13 and then with just :02 left in this first period, the Zimmerman native uncorked a dagger "3" from the left wing area that gave Bethel an 18-13 lead going into the second period. 

Ordinarily, a five-point deficit - even on the road - isn't that big of a deal and shouldn't have been for GAC and Head Coach Laurie Kelly had even tweaked her defense at the start of the second period; opting for a 1-2-2 zone defense in hopes of clogging up the middle.  The only problem was that the Royals got to cooking offensively and turned that five-point deficit into an even bigger hole.  A Pearson "3" from the right top area at the 9:11 mark ignited a key 8-0 run that really turned this game.  Freshman guard Kat Brown-Erdal made the Gusties pay in spades when she unloaded a "3" of her own from the right corner at the 8:30 mark and the former Jordan standout followed that up with a steal in the backcourt and an easy lay-up out of it that suddenly had the Bethel lead at 26-13 and the Gusties' Kelly was clamoring for a timeout as she tried to get her team calmed down.  That stoppage in play did seem to get this GAC team calmed down a bit as they were able to at least nibble into this deficit.  Freshman reserve guard Anna Sanders knocked down one free throw after getting fouled at the 8:10 mark and two more by willowy junior guard Marisa Gustafson at the 7:32 mark had the deficit down to ten points at 26-16.  Gonsorowksi, too, would knock down two charity stripe shots after she was fouled at the 6:29 mark but the Gusties needed a significant push to get back to within striking distance and that just wasn't happening as Bethel embarked on another push .  Sophomore reserve guard Tessah Anderson made a hard drive along the left baseline for a finish at the 6:07 mark and one free throw by freshman reserve forward Emma Schultz at the 5:19 mark increased the Royals lead to 32-18.  Junior reserve forward Elizabeth Schwarz would add one free throw as well at the 5:11 mark as well and with 4:17 left, Tessah Anderson came up big again as she connected with a short, turnaround jumper that grew Bethel's lead to seventeen points at 35-18 but perhaps the amazing thing about this push by the Royals is that their defense simply shut down the Gusties' half-court offense; not allowing a field goal until Rorman finally got into the paint for a score with 3:53 left.  Bethel certainly didn't have any intentions of letting up off the gas pedal anytime soon as one Taite Anderson free throw with 3:29 left and a "3" by Brown-Erdal from the left corner with 3:09 left now gave the Royals a nineteen-point cushion at 39-20.  Taite Anderson would knock down one free throw after getting foueld with 2:38 left that not only maintained the nineteen-point lead at 40-21 but GAC's position was even more precarious now as Rorman had collected her third foul as well.  The Gusties finally did start showing some signs of offensive life late in this second period as Rice would connect with a lay-up with 1:29 left and would add two free throws after getting fouled with :57.7 left that had the deficit down to fifteen at 40-25.  Gonsorowski would also add a free throw of her own with :10.6 left but GAC was still staring at that fifteen-point deficit down 41-26 as both teams headed to the locker room for the half.  Just to illustrate how good Bethel was on defense in the second period alone, the Gusties shot only 2-7 from FG range for 28.57%. 

It would only get worse for GAC once the third period got underway as the Royals embarked on a quick 7-0 push.  Taite Anderson connected with a short, one-handed shot at the 9:22 mark and a long offensive rebound by Brown-Erdal and lay-up off of that pushed the Bethel lead to 45-26.  Pearson would inflict more damage when she connected with a lay-up at the 7:26 mark and drew a foul in the process and her obligatory free throw gave the Royals their biggest lead of the day at 48-26.  Taite Anderson would increase that when she banged home a "3" from the left wing area at the 6:42 mark to make it 51-28 before the Gusties finally started showing some signs of life again.  Junior guard Alison Hinck knocked down two freebies after getting fouled at the 6:07 mark and two more by Rorman at the 5:11 mark at least had the deficit back within twenty down 51-32.  Gonsorowski would add a drive and finish with 4:27 left that reduced the deficit to seventeen at 51-34 but again GAC needed a significant run with stops if they were going to get back into this thing and it just wasn't happening.  The Royals would increase their cushion again as Schultz connected with a lay-up in transition with 3:53 left as would Taite Anderson with 3:00 left to make it 55-34 and one Taite Anderson free throw with 2:11 left made it 56-34.  A Schultz lay-up with 1:42 left maintained the twenty-two point lead at 58-36 and although the Gusties' Rice would knock down a a jumper from the left elbow with 1:09 left, GAC was still on the wrong end of a 59-38 score going into the fourth period. 

Bethel would increase their lead to 61-38 at the 8:50 mark of the fourth period when Taite Anderson connected with a routine lay-up before the Gusties finally came alive offensively and started showing what they're capable of when clicking on all cylinders.  A score in the paint by junior forward Paige Richert at the 8:32 mark got things going and although Richert would foul out a bit later at the 8:12 mark, GAC certainly wasn't waving the white flag.  Rorman would slither into the paint for one score at the 7:45 mark and would follow that up with a pretty, one-handed shot off the glass at the 7:25 mark that reduced the deficit down to seventeen at 61-44.  Gustafson unleashed a "3' from the right wing area at the 6:13 mark and a Rorman lay-up at the 5:35 mark had the deficit down to fourteen points at 63-49.  Eyebrows were raised amongst the partisan Bethel crowd when the Gusties' Rice drained a "3" from the right corner at the 5:03 mark that suddenly shrunk the deficit down to eleven points at 63-52.  Gustafson would add a lay-up with 4:04 left to keep GAC in that eleven-point range down 65-54 and again, had the Gusties not dug such a deep hole for themselves in that second period, this fourth period run could have been incredibly significant.  As it was, the Royals managed to steady the ship before any Bethel fans inside Robertson Center decided to break out the proverbial panic button.  Two scores in the paint by Schwarz - one with 3:48 left and another one with 3:05 left - upped the lead to fifteen at 69-54 and Taite Anderson would add even more insurance with a three-point bomb from the left top area with 2:11 left that made it 72-56.  Brown-Erdal would connect with a short jumper in the lane with 1:02 left for good measure and the Royals pocketed yet another conference win over another Top-25 opponent by a 74-58 margin. 

It was easy to see the satisfaction on Bethel Head Coach Jon Herbrechtsmeyer's face afterward when I congratulated him on his squad's latest conquest.  His team did what it had to do defensively; turning the screws on that kept the Gusties without a field goal for a significant stretch in that second period.  For the time being anyway, the only thing that was irking Herbrechtsmeyer was that his team didn't seem to be getting the respect it deserved nationally although you would think that, now with victories over both Augsburg and GAC in the same week, that perception would change significantly among other coaches in the nation although privately, Herbrechtsmeyer may wish his squad could fly "under the radar" a bit longer.  But the way this team is playing as of late, they're too good for that.  I was able to catch up with GAC Assistant Coach Dan Wolfe afterward who had to tip his hat to Bethel saying "They're seniors on a mission."  He did say, however, that the Gusties learned some things after they lost to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps over the Thanksgiving holiday out in California and they came back to beat both Hamline and get their first victory over UST in ten years in reeling off seven straight victories before today.  Now they'll need to do it again.  One big piece of the puzzle for the Gusties - junior guard Gabby Bowlin - suffered a fractured hand recently and could be out as long as 6-7 weeks and whether she'll be able to contribute before the season is done or not is uncertain at the moment.  A check of the final box score shows that Bethel had the advantage in the categories you would have expected them to have - a sizable 33-20 edge on the boards and a 36-28 edge in points in the paint.  Throw in a 14-4 edge in those all-important "second chance" points and its easy to see why Bethel dominated this game for the most part.  Perhaps the only other irritant for Herbrechtsmeyer and his staff were the 20 turnovers his squad was guilty of on this day.  The Royals shot 25-54 from FG range for 46.3% and were 7-20 from downtown for 35% - not great but all the other areas they excelled in more or less negated that.  Free throw shooting was a bit of a problem area for the Royals on this day as they finished 17-27 for 63%.  GAC meanwhile was 18-42 from FG range for 42.9% and were miserable from behind the arc on this day going 3-16 for a paltry 18.8%.  One bright note for Kelly and her staff:  The Gusties were pretty solid from the charity stripe going 19-22 for 86.4%.  Just a fabulous outing for Bethel's Taite Anderson as she led all scorers with her 25 points while Pearson added 14 points and Brown-Erdal was right behind with her 13 points.  Rorman paced GAC on this day with her 18 points while both Gonsorowski and Rice added 12 points. 

Bethel vs Augsburg 1-8-20

Made the drive over to Si Melby Hall on the campus of Augsburg University on this cold Wednesday night to take in the huge early-season match-up between visiting Bethel and host Augsburg.  The Royals were coming into this contest with an unblemished record of 11-0 and ranked 23rd in nation while Augsburg was sporting a sparkling 10-1 and a #11 ranking in the country so you knew this was going to be one of the biggest games out there.  I wouldn't go out on a limb and call this the sequel to the MIAC Women's Hoops Game of the Century from three years ago between UST and GAC but this one was very, very big to be sure and there was no way I was going to miss this.  You could tell from the warm-ups that both teams were fired up and ready to go.

The interesting thing about this game would be the vastly contrasting styles of both teams as Bethel relies primarily on its defense to get the offense going and prefers - for the most part anyway - the halfcourt game.  Augsburg meanwhile has a style unlike anyone else in the MIAC with its high-octane up-and-down style and the athletes to make it all work as well.  The Auggies would get off to a very good start in this one as senior forward Camryn Speese knocked down two free throws after getting fouled at the 8:39 mark of the opening period and although the former DeLaSalle standout would take a nasty spill at the 7:44 mark and have to leave the game for a spell, Augsburg would get their lead to 4-0 when junior forward Jazmyn Solseth connected with a jumper from the free throw line area off the glass at the 7:33 mark.  That lead would grow to a touchdown when senior guard Tamira McLemore banged home a "3" from the left wing area at the 6:52 mark before the Royals got on the board on a short, turnaround jumper by junior forward Makenna Pearson at the 6:32 mark.  The Auggies continued this early barrage, however, as a McLemore lay-up in transition at the 5:31 mark upped the lead to 9-2 and then a "3" from the right wing area by senior reserve guard K'aezha Wubben with 3:33 left made it 12-4.  Up-and-coming sophomore reserve guard Selena Lor inflicted even more damage as she unleashed a "3" from the top of the key with 2:50 left for a 15-5 advantage before Bethel could finally find some semblance of offensive life.  Senior forward Taite Anderson connected with a lay-up with 2:37 left as would Pearson with 2:14 left that had the deficit down to six points at 15-9 but Augsburg would set out to widen its advantage again.  One Lor freebie with 1:59 left and a lay-up in transition by senior point guard Ari Jones after a steal with 1:40 left made it 18-9.  Wubben would add one free throw with :32.1 left and one more with :04.4 left as the Auggies dominated this opening period up 20-11. 

So while Augsburg clearly had the upper hand in the first period, the first big momentum shift of this game took place once the second period got underway as the Royals usurped the tempo.  Freshman guard Kat Brown-Erdal started things off for Bethel with her lay-up in transition at the 8:30 mark and then Taite Anderson unleashed a "3" from the right top area at the 7:50 mark that shrunk the deficit down to four points at at 20-16.  Then junior reserve forward Elizabeth Schwarz connected with a lay-up and drew a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" at the 7:00 mark now had the deficit down to a scant point at 20-19.  The Royals; still showing aggressiveness on the offensive end, grabbed the lead at the 6:44 mark when Taite Anderson would get fouled and the former White Bear Lake standout's two freebies pushed Bethel ahead 21-20, capping this surprising 10-0 blitz.  The Auggies finally broke their dry spell when Wubben drilled a "3" from the left top area off the glass at the 6:35 mark to take the lead back at 23-21 but the pendulum for the moment anyway was still swinging the Royals way; especially when they got into the bonus at the 6:24 mark.  Schwarz would knock down one freebie after getting fouled at the 6:02 mark and Pearson would drop two more when she was fouled at the 5:48 mark to put Bethel back out in front 24-23.  That's when Augsburg recovered as a lay-up in transition by senior guard Aiza Wilson at the 5:42 mark pushed the Auggies out in front 25-24 and another lay-up in transition by Wubben at the 5:20 mark made it 27-24.  Wubben would give Augsburg a bit more breathing space when she connected with a jumper from the left elbow with 4:58 left to make it 29-24 but now it was the Royals turn to respond once again.  Brown-Erdal drained a "3" from the right wing area with 3:58 left to cut the deficit down to two points and a score in the paint by Schwarz with 3:10 left had this one all tied up at 29 a piece.  Two Pearson free throws with 2:05 left put Bethel back out in front 31-29 and two more by Brown-Erdal with 1:55 left maintained the two-point edge at 33-31.  The Auggies managed to get this one knotted at 33 when Speese whizzed coast-to-coast for a lay-up with :42.5 left but Bethel's Pearson would get fouled with :01.6 left and the former Blaine standout got both charity stripe shots to go down as the Royals took a 35-33 lead into the locker room at the half.  A check of the first half box score shows that both teams shot  similarly from FG range - Bethel going 10-25 for a straight 40% and Augsburg going 11-27 for 40.7%.  Conversely, the three-point shooting was far from stellar for both squads with the Royals going 2-11 for 18.2% and the Auggies not a lot better going 4-14 for 28.6%.  Free throw shooting left something to be desired for both squads as well as Bethel was 13-21 for 61.9% and Augsburg going 7-12 for 58.3%.  Both teams had their share of turnovers in this first half (Bethel 11 and Augsburg 14) and perhaps the only real positive for Auggie Head Coach Ted Riverso and his staff was that his team held a small advantage on the boards thus far by a 19-17 count.

The Royals would increase their lead to 37-33 when Taite Anderson connected with a lay-up at the 9:33 mark but then Augsburg grabbed the momentum torch and embarked on a 9-0 push.  Wilson uncorked one of her trademark "3's"; this one from the right corner at the 9:11 mark and then McLemore would make a hard drive and a pretty finish off the glass at the 8:22 mark to put the Auggies back up 38-37.  An offensive rebound and putback by the athletic Speese at the 7:50 mark coupled with a Solseth lay-up at the 7:20 mark seemed to re-energize the partisan Augsburg crowd inside Si Melby Hall with a 42-37 lead.  Despite the fact that Speese would pick up her third foul of the evening at the 7:05 mark, one Speese free throw at the 6:48 mark maintained the Auggie five-point lead at 43-38 so things seemed to be looking good for the home team.  It was here, however, where this Bethel team showed its true grit and determination and snared the momentum torch away from the home team.  An offensive rebound and putback by Schwarz at the 6:34 mark started this run and when Taite Anderson banged home a "3" from the right wing area at the 6:10 mark, this one was tied at 43 a piece.  That part in itself wouldn't have been quite so bad from an Auggie standpoint but when sophomore reserve forward Jen Masello was tagged with her fourth foul of the night, Riverso was taking no chances and had to yank one of his "bigs" off the floor for preservation purposes.  That seemed to open up yet another door for the Royals as they continued with their run.  Taite Anderson would put Bethel back into the lead with her lay-up with 4:45 left and Taite Anderson would respond with another lay-up with 4:22 left to keep Bethel up by two at 47-45.  Things turned even more sour for Augsburg when Solseth picked up her fourth foul of the night with 3:33 left and the Royals kept rolling.  Schwarz would connect with a lay-up with 3:13 left to make it 49-45 and then Pearson unleashed a back-breaking "3" from the right wing area with 1:46 left to expand the lead to six at 52-46.  Senior point guard Haylee Barker, struggling with her shooting touch in this game thus far, drained a dagger "3" of her own from the left top area with 1:11 left to maintain the six-point lead at 55-49.  Junior guard and backcourt mate Bella Williams would come up big a bit later when she snared a steal and raced the other way for a lay-up that drew a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" suddenly gave Bethel their first double-digit advantage at 58-48.  Junior reserve guard Michaela Craigan would come up big as well when she was able to score in the paint off of an inbounds pass with :20 left and two Barker freebies with just :01.2 left had Bethel up twelve at 62-50 going into the fourth period.

You would normally think that having a lead and not only having it evaporate but to suddenly find yourself down by double-digits would have felt like a punch from Mike Tyson for this Auggie team but instead of wilting and waving the white flag, Augsburg showed why it's the 11th-ranked team in the country and came out with both barrels blazing once the fourth period got underway.  A "3" by Wilson from the right top area at the 9:09 mark re-energized this team and Si Melby Hall and another "3" by McLemore from the right corner off of an inbounds pass at the 8:33 mark not only had this crowd roaring but, more importantly, had the deficit down to six points at 62-56.  Then Jones would unleash a three-point bomb of her own - this one from the right top area off the glass at the 7:31 mark to trim the deficit down to five at 64-59.  The Auggies cut into the deficit further when Speese snared an offensive rebound for a putback at the 6:49 mark and two free throws by McLemore when she was fouled in a transition opportunity at the 5:26 mark now reduced the deficit to a scant point at 64-63 and Bethel Head Coach Jon Herbrechtsmeyer had seen more than enough to know it was time to talk to his squad.  Still, Speese would cap this amazing 15-2 run with two free throws when she was fouled to put Augsburg back out in front by a 65-64 count.  Not that this game needed any more momentum shifts or wild plays, but the Royals snared the lead back with 3:16 left when Taite Anderson got into the paint for a score.  Augsburg's Jones would get a free throw after she was fouled with 2:39 left to tie the game at 66 and when the Royals' Taite Anderson was whistled for her fifth and final foul of the night with 2:10 left, Bethel; for all intents and purposes, looked sunk.  The Auggies had a chance to take the lead with 1:56 left when Solseth was fouled but she was unable to cash in on either free throw attempt and that quite possibly could have been the opening in the door that the Royals were looking for.  On Bethel's ensuing possession, Schwarz muscled into the paint for a score to push the Royals ahead 68-66 with 1:22 left.  That in itself wouldn't have been quite so bad from an Augsburg perspective with the amount of time left but the key turning point in this contest occurred when the Royals' Barker made perhaps the play of the game when she forced a steal of the ensuing Auggie inbounds pass and got a lay-up out of it with 1:12 left that suddenly made it a two-possession ballgame at 70-66.  Augsburg would cut the deficit to two point when McLemore connected with a lay-up with 1:04 left but now the Auggies had to either get a stop or foul to preserve clock.  Bethel's Schwarz would be fouled with :41.3 left and she casually dropped both free throw attempts to push the Royals lead to 72-68.  Augsburg's Riverso would call a timeout to set up strategy and the Auggies would again close the gap to two points on a score in the paint by Wubben with :26 left.  Again, however, the same set of circumstances existed for Augsburg as they had to foul to preserve clock.  Bethel's Barker would again come up big for her team when she was fouled with :21 left and she was able to cash in on both free throw attempts to make it 74-70.  The Royals' Herbrechtsmeyer would call timeout to set up strategy and they were able to thwart Augsburg's last gasp and got a huge, huge win on the road in this Top-25 matchup. 

All Bethel's Herbrechtsmeyer could do when I caught up with him afterward in the postgame melee was just heave some giant sighs of relief.  He half-heartedly joked that he thought he strained both pectoral muscles when he jumped up to cheer Barker's key steal late in the game.  I couldn't help but remark to him that all the different shifts in momentum in this game had to have been taxing for his team.  Herbrechtsmeyer was in agreement but he heaped a lot of praise on his seniors; particularly Taite Anderson who fouled out with a little over two minutes left.  "She's just matured so much from last year" he said.  I also got to chat briefly with Barker after the game as well and she was naturally excited after this thrilling win.  It's clear from talking with her that this Bethel team is focused and they have clear objectives and goals for this season.  On the Augsburg side, I wouldn't go as far as to say that this was a devastating loss but, at the same time, they probably learned the hard way what happens when you go just 16-30 from the charity stripe for this game for a measly 53.3%.  That's leaving a huge amount of points on the table that could have easily turned this game in the Auggies' favor.  What other ramifications this loss has down the road remains to be seen but Riverso and his staff had to cringe when they saw that number.  Both teams were guilty of several turnovers on this night (Bethel with 22 and Augsburg with 25) but I think those numbers cancel each other out considering the types of defense that they play.  Augsburg did have a decided edge on the glass by a 41-34 count but they sure didn't capitalize on that as they wound up shooting 23-58 from FG range for 39.7% and were only 8-26 from downtown for 30.8%.  Here's another stat that stands out:  Points off of turnovers.  Augsburg had only 20 points on that end compared to Bethel's 27.  Another big stat - fast break points.  Bethel enjoyed a sizable advantage on this front as well by a 24-10 count and for a team like Augsburg that lives on up-tempo play, this number was huge.  Bethel also enjoyed a 30-22 advantage in points in the paint as well.  I've already mentioned the free throw shooting aspect for Augsburg and here's where Bethel had the edge here as well going 23-34 for 67.6%; not great by any stretch but decidedly better than the Auggies on this night.  Both teams did have relatively balanced scoring attacks as Bethel's Taite Anderson led the way for her team with her 18 points while Schwarz added 15 and Pearson was right behind with her 14 points.  Brown-Erdal had a solid night as well finishing with 11 points.  Augsburg's Wubben led the way for her team with her 18 points while McLemore tallied 16 points and Speese had 15. 

Elk River vs Park Center 1-7-20

Made the quick run over to Park Center High School on this Tuesday evening for this very important Northwest Suburban Conference showdown between visiting Elk River and host Park Center.  This would be my first look at the Elks this season who were coming into this game with a 8-3 overall record and 2-0 in the conference while the Pirates were coming off their first loss of the season and were sporting an impressive 11-1 overall record and 2-0 in conference play.  In addition to conference implications, this one would also likely have some effect on section seedings for each team's respective section as well.

My gut feeling coming into this contest was that, even though Elk River is a very good and solid team, I somehow expected the Pirates to come out with renewed determination, fire and energy after the disappointing loss to Hopkins just before the first of the year.  To my shock (and likely that of the Park Center contingent on this night), it was anything but that.  Still, the Pirates jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a routine steal and lay-up the other way by junior do-it-all guard/forward Adalia McKenzie at the 17:39 mark of this first half.  Elk River would tie the contest on a score in the paint by senior guard Mikayla Kanenwisher at the 17:20 mark and would assume a 4-2 lead when senior point guard Lydia Haack made a daring drive into the lane and finished with a pretty floater at the 16:48 mark.  Still, everything seemed good from a Pirate standpoint when McKenzie connected with a lay-up at the 16:29 mark to tie the contest.  It was here, however, where the first signs of real concern came up for Park Center as the Elks made their first decisive move of this game in the form of a 10-2 run.  Haack would start this run with her lay-up at the 15:31 mark and another lay-up by freshman reserve guard Jordan Langbehn at the 14:51 mark gave Elk River an 8-4 lead.  A Haack lay-up in transition at the 13:10 mark maintained the four-point edge at 10-6 and then strong junior forward/post Johanna Langbehn would connect with a lay-up at the 12:42 mark to push the lead to 12-6.  Another lay-up by junior guard Ellie Maass at the 12:04 mark increased the lead to 14-6 Pirate Head Coach Barb Metcalfe had seen more than enough to know that a stoppage in play was warranted to talk to her team.  Park Center appeared to restore some order to this chaos as a jumper from the right top area by McKenzie at the 11:51 mark and a steal and lay-up the other way by Frost at the 10:01 mark had the Pirates back to within striking distance again down 14-10.  A lay-up eighth-grade reserve guard Alivia McGill with  kept Park Center in that four-point range down 16-12 with 8:22 left so, presumably anyway, the sluggish start was hopefully nothing more than a hiccup for the Pirate faithful.

Problem was, however, that someone forgot to tell this Elk River team that they weren't supposed to be doing this on the road against the heavily-favored Pirates and they proceeded to widen the gap again.  Haack wowed everyone in attendance with her coast-to-coast lay-up with 7:42 left and a Johanna Langbehn lay-up in transition got the Elks lead back to eight at 20-12.  Johanna Langbehn would strike again with 6:03 left with another lay-up and a pretty reverse lay-up by junior reserve guard Elly Bahr with 5:09 left gave Elk River their first double-digit lead at 24-13.  The Pirates' McGill would briefly bring her team back into single-digit range again with her offensive rebound and putback of her own miss with 3:42 left but the Elks' Johanna Langbehn continued to terrorize this Park Center team as she connected with yet another lay-up with 2:34 left to push the lead back to double-digits at 26-15.  Haack would add one free throw after getting fouled with 1:26 left and, yes, another Johanna Langbehn lay-up with :29 left gave Elk River a 29-17 lead as both teams headed off to the locker room for the halftime break.

Most of the crowd inside Park Center Gymnasium on this night expected the Pirates to come out with renewed energy and focus and make inroads on this deficit once the second half got underway and, initially anyway, that looked to be the case.  A McKenzie lay-up in transition at the 16:44 mark and a lay-up by fellow junior forward T'Naye Griffin at the 16:14 mark had Park Center back in single-digit range down 29-21 and certainly an eight-point deficit wasn't insurmountable.  Curiously, however, as fast as the Pirates came out with some energy and tenacity, it fizzled just as fast as Elk River steadied the ship and took control of things again.  Johanna Langbehn would connect with a lay-up in transition at the 15:47 mark and a "3" from the right wing area by Maass at the 15:16 mark once again gave the Elks a cozy advantage at 34-21.  A Mikayla Kanenwisher lay-up in transition at the 14:50 mark pushed the lead to 36-21 and once again Park Center's Metcalfe was clamoring for a timeout as her team's hopes for a comeback were quickly going up in flames.  But Elk River had no plans to step off the gas pedal anytime soon.  Haack would drain a back-breaking "3" from the left corner at the 11:57 mark and Haack would also add a lay-up at the 10:53 mark that ballooned the lead to twenty at 41-21.  The Pirates' McKenzie would try and take matters into her own hands as she would drop two free throws after getting fouled at the 10:47 mark and would also connect on a lay-up in transition at the 10:34 mark that had the deficit down to sixteen at 41-25 but then Elk River's Bahr would bang home a "3" from the left wing area at the 9:32 mark to give them a 44-25 lead and by now it was just turning into one of those nights for Park Center.

The Pirates would flirt again with another comeback attempt as Frost would make a hard drive into the lane for a finish at the 9:16 mark and McKenzie would connect with a lay-up with 8:37 left that also drew a foul and her ensuing "and one" had the deficit down to fourteen at 44-30.  A Frost jumper from the right elbow area with 7:32 left kept Park Center in that fourteen-point range down 46-32 but the Pirates simply were unable to find that one spark that might have fostered a game-changing run when they needed it.  Elk River's Maass knocked down a jumper in the lane with 6:38 left and a short turnaround jumper in the lane off of an inbounds pass by Johanna Langbehn with 5:56 left got the Elks lead back to nineteen at 51-32.  Park Center senior guard Kayla Cox would drain a "3" from the left corner with 5:41 mark but now all the Pirates were seemingly able to do was make meaningless dents in a now insurmountable deficit.  The Elks now started getting to the charity stripe with more frequency as Haack would drop one freebie with 5:14 left and Mikayla Kanenwisher would drop one of her own with 4:35 left for a 53-37 advantage.  Mikayla Kanenwisher would drop a pair of free throws with 4:22 left and Elk River would be in the double-bonus with 3:30 left which pretty much sealed the deal as Haack would casually drop a pair of charity stripe shots for a 57-39 advantage.  Haack would drop two more free throws after getting fouled with 3:02 left before the Pirates could cash in on some late scores.  McKenzie would connect with a lay-up with 2:29 left and would also tip-in a missed Frost lay-up in transition with 2:01 left as well.  McKenzie would add one more lay-up with 1:14 left and a short jumper with :14 left but in the end it was way too little way too late as Elk River went back on U.S. Highway 10 and the BNSF's Staples Sub mainline with a huge 65-50 road victory. 

The big takeaway I came with afterward was that, for the most part, anyway, Elk River was completely able to choke off Park Center's lifeline of getting steals for easy transition scores the other way and pretty much relegated the Pirates to playing a slower-paced half-court game which is simply not their style and it paid huge dividends for them on this night.  When I caught up with Elk River Head Coach Jeremy Digiovanni afterward, he too seemed a little amazed at first at what his squad did on this night.  "I told them that one - we had to take care of the ball and two- we had to rebound" and the Elks did that on this night.  Digiovanni added that the big difference in this year's squad is better leadership and the team buying into the concept of true team play.  "We don't have a player on this team who is capable of taking over a game like Park Center does" he said; hence the need for the team to really play together as a team and I thought they did this on this night.  I don't think this team is as good as the 2017 version that went undefeated and won the whole ball of wax with Gabi Haack, Ava Kramer, Sidney Wentland, et al, but they're carving their own little niche and the victory on this night was a statement by this team that you'd better not take them lightly and they're clearly one of the favorites not only in the conference but in Section 8AAAA as well.  Meanwhile, on the Park Center side of things, I think it's safe to say that this team has to take a long look in the mirror and take stock of itself and go back to the drawing board; maybe even back to basics if you will.  Their flaws - if not unmasked in the loss to Hopkins - were clearly exposed in this latest setback.  I think they do recover from this loss but I dare say their swagger took a big hit on this night and they'll have to dig deep to find that same swagger again.  What a night it was for Elk River's Haack as she led all scorers with her 28 points and it's easy to see what an incredibly smart player and leader she has become for this team.  Johanna Langbehn added 16 points but, more importantly, she simply dominated down low on this night and the Pirates had no answers for her whatsoever.  Park Center's McKenzie shouldered most of the load again for this Pirate team with her 27 points and Frost would add 13 points. 

MIAC Power Rankings For Sunday 1-5-20

It's a new year and a new season and it's finally time for me to release my first MIAC Power Rankings of the 2019-20 season.  So, here we go:


1.  Bethel
2.  Augusburg
3.  GAC
4.  UST
5.  Hamline
6.  CSB
7.  (tie) Carleton & St. Olaf
8.  Concordia
9.  St. Kate's
10.  SMU
11.  Macalester


There's a new king on top of the mountain for the time being and that's Bethel as they remain a perfect 6-0 in conference play and 11-0 overall after yesterday's convincing win over SMU.  Just from what I've seen so far anyway, they look to be the most complete team - right now.  Right behind is Augsburg with an identical 6-0 conference record after they went up to St. Joe yesterday and pocketed a 67-60 win over CSB.  Somewhat fittingly, I guess, these two teams clash this coming Wednesday night over at Si Melby Hall which should be an absolute shoot-out.  I won't go off on a limb and compare it to the 2017 MIAC Women's Hoops Game of the Century between UST and GAC but it's huge nonetheless.  Be there or be square I say. 

I deliberated about the Gusties who also sport an identical 6-0 conference and 10-1 overall record like Augsburg.  There's a part of me that wants to go all-in on this group and there's another part of me that just needs to see more.  They certainly didn't look "great" in their last two wins over UW-River Falls this last Monday night or yesterday vs St. Olaf (both in the comfy confines of Lund Arena) but yet they managed to find a way to get things done when they needed to and that's what's important.  This next week finds them hosting SMU on Wednesday night and there could very well be another huge conference showdown this next week Saturday when the Gusties come up to the Twin Cities to take on Bethel at Robertson Center.  Meanwhile, isn't it weird to see UST in the fourth spot?  They got quite a scare yesterday up in Moorhead against Concordia and while things look somewhat manageable for the Tommies this coming week with a roadie down to St. Olaf and CSB at home this next week Saturday, UST can ill-afford to take anything for granted. 

Talk about teams in unfamiliar spots.  How many would have guessed that I would have had Hamline in the fifth spot in my first Power Rankings release (Hamline???  Hamline!!!!???)?  Yet, there the Pipers are sitting at 3-3 in the conference and they've reeled off four straight wins including yesterday's convincing 57-41 victory at St. Kate's yesterday.  This next week finds Hamline doing their own rendition of Willie Nelson's "On The Road Again" with a visit at Carleton on Wednesday night before hosting SMU next week Saturday in the comfy confines of venerable Hutton Arena.  CSB did not end 2019 or start 2020 on a very good note as they lost a non-conference game to UMAC leader Bethany Lutheran on 12-28 before yesterday's tough home loss to Augsburg.  Things really don't get any easier for the Blazers either this coming week as they host an unpredictable St. Kate's team on Wednesday night before renewing their old rivalry with UST this next week Saturday at Schoenecker Arena.

Right below are the two Northfield teams snared in a tie in the seventh spot.  First, congrats to Tammy Metcalf-Filzen on having the "interim" tag removed from her title.  If there's ANYONE who can restore the Carleton program to the winning ways they enjoyed some 15-20 years ago, it's Metcalf-Filzen who has the Knights vastly improved from a year ago and they scored a nice home win over Macalester yesterday.  They'll host an equally-improved Hamline team on Wednesday night before facing off with their crosstown rival next week Saturday at Skoglund Center.  Speaking of the Oles, they lost a tough one at GAC yesterday and certainly had their chances.  While St. Olaf is certainly improved over a year ago, winning those tough, close games has seemingly eluded them and things do not get any easier for them as they host UST on Wednesday night before next week Saturday's aforementioned game with their crosstown rival.

Oh, what COULD have been for Concordia yesterday as they had UST on the ropes before falling late.  But this is a young team that's still trying to find its way and they'll have to learn the hard way by going on the road this next week with visits to both Macalester and St. Kate's.  Speaking of the Wildcats, it's thus far been an incredibly disappointing 2019-20 campaign for Head Coach Don Mulhern's team but this squad has already lost one of its best players on the front line in sophomore Sam Orth and freshman post Maggie Trnka is out for an unspecified amount of time with a stress fracture.  If St. Kate's wants to remain a factor in the playoff chase, this coming week is an almost "must" for them with a visit to CSB on Wednesday night before hosting said Concordia team next Saturday.  Speaking of disappointments, SMU - without question - has to be the biggest disappointment thus far this year.  And things don't get any easier for the Cardinals with a visit to GAC on Wednesday night and another trip up to the Twin Cities to play a vastly improved Hamline team next Saturday.  A young Macalester team is struggling similarly and things will likely remain tough for this group as they take on Concordia on Wednesday night at Leonard Center before making the run over to Augsburg next week Saturday.

Fire away with thoughts.....

SMU vs Bethel 1-4-20

Made the easy drive over to Robertson Center on the campus of Bethel University on this relatively pleasant early January afternoon for my first MIAC women's game of 2020 featuring SMU and host Bethel.  The 2019-20 season thus far has been a struggle for the Cardinals as they were coming into this game with a 1-3 MIAC record and 1-8 overall while the Royals were unblemished and coming off convincing wins down in Naples, Florida against both Vassar and Salisbury and were ranked #25 in the D3Hoops.com rankings.  Naturally, everything would point to Bethel being the heavy favorite but, as always, you have to play the game.

Things would be tight in the early going of the opening period.  After Bethel freshman guard Kat Brown-Erdal put the home team up 2-0 on her jumper from the top of the key at the 8:40 mark, the Cardinals came right back less than a minute later to tie things up on a lay-up by junior guard Hallie Schmeling at the 8:11 mark.  The Royals claimed a 4-2 advantage on a score in the paint by senior point guard Haylee Barker but SMU would respond when junior guard Claire Patterson got to the charity stripe after getting fouled at the 6:12 mark and the former Stillwater Pony knocked down both free throw attempts to tie the score so, for the moment anyway, things were looking okay for the Cardinal faithful.  At least until the Royals decided to go on an 11-2 run over the next three minutes anyway.  Senior forward Taite Anderson started this run with a "3" from the top of the key at the 5:10 mark and one free throw by junior guard Bella Williams who was fouled in a transition opportunity with 4:53 left pushed Bethel's lead to 8-4.  Freshman reserve forward Emma Schultz would drain a "3" from the left corner with 4:36 left and a tough lay-up off of an inbounds pass by Williams with 3:54 left had the Royals up 13-6.  Junior forward Makenna Pearson's drive along the left baseline and finish with 3:00 left increased the lead to 15-6 and SMU Head Coach David Foley; worried that this one might get away from his team early on, called a timeout in hopes of cooling of their suddenly hot host.  To their credit, the Cardinals managed to shrink the deficit a bit as a score in the paint by junior reserve forward Rachel Kedl with 2:47 left and a "3" from the left corner by sophomore guard Shayley Vesel with 1:18 left had the deficit down to six at 17-11 before the Royals could find their groove again.  Brown-Erdal knocked down two charity stripe shots after getting fouled with :52.2 left and a Taite Anderson lay-up with :31 left gave Bethel their first double-digit lead of the afternoon at 21-11.  The Cardinals managed to crawl back into single-digit range again when sophomore reserve forward Jada Biermeier got into the paint for a score with :13 left in this first period but it plain to see that SMU had a lot of work in front of it.

One of the changes that the Cardinals' Foley made was changing to a 2-3 "match-up" zone defense in hopes of clogging up the middle.  While that change didn't necessarily "slow" Bethel down any, SMU did show some more punch on offense in the second period than they did the first.  The Royals re-established their ten-point lead at 23-13 when Taite Anderson muscled into the paint for a score at the 9:11 mark and although the Cardinals' Vesel would unleash a "3" from the top of the key at the 8:44 mark, Bethel's Brown-Erdal returned the favor at the 8:18 mark with her three-point bomb from the left corner to make it 26-16.  The Royals would grow the lead to 28-16 on a score in the paint by Williams at the 7:45 mark before SMU could start making inroads again.  Sophomore guard Brooklyn Paulson would drain a "3" from the left wing area at the 7:23 mark and then Vesel would connect with a short shot off of an inbounds pass and draw a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" at the 6:36 mark had the Cardinals back in single-digit range again down 31-22.  At the 5:50 mark, Vesel struck again from downtown as she drained a bomb from the left top area that suddenly shrunk the deficit to six points at 31-25.  That got the attention of Bethel as they went back to work to try and widen this gap.  One Taite Anderson free throw at the 5:32 mark coupled with a lay-up in transition by Barker at the 5:12 mark got the lead back to nine at 34-25 but this pesky SMU team refused to go away.  Vesel continued to wow the crowd on hand with her short, turnaround jumper with 3:53 left and then Paulson would bang home a "3" from the left wing area with 3:19 left that now had the Cardinals back well within striking distance down 34-30.  The Royals finally managed to dig in their collective heels at this point and establish some more breathing room.  Junior reserve forward Elizabeth Schwarz muscled into the paint for one score with 3:01 left and a short jumper by Barker in the lane with 2:14 left got Bethel's lead back to eight points at 38-30.  Another score in the paint by Schwarz with 1:37 left maintained the eight-point lead but the Royals made a ghastly mistake right before the halftime buzzer when SMU junior reserve forward Maggie Robertson was fouled well behind the arc trying to put up a desperation shot.  The Orland Park, Illinois native got two of the three free throw attempts to go down so the Cardinals were definitely in much, much better shape going into the locker room at the half down six at 40-34.

Things initially appeared hopeful for SMU in the early moments of the third period when Schmeling; the Onalaska, Wisconsin native, connected with a short jumper off the glass at the 9:18 mark that cut the deficit back down to four points at 40-36 but the Cardinals were then treated to the trademark Bethel defense that barely gives you room to even breathe; much less dribble and set up your offense.  A "3" from the top of the key by the Royals' Brown-Erdal at the 7:04 mark sparked a 21-4 explosion by Bethel that put this one out of reach for good.  Barker would follow-up with a short jumper off the glass at the 5:48 mark and a Taite Anderson score in the paint at the 5:09 mark had the Royals up 47-38.  With 4:39 left, Taite Anderson would strike again - this time with a "3" from the left corner - to make it 50-38 and once again SMU's Foley was clamoring for a timeout but in this third period, the Peter Principle was applying to his Cardinal team as the Royals continued with the onslaught.  Barker would snare one of her trademark steals near mid-court and dash the other way for a lay-up with 3:49 left and a drive into the lane and finish off the glass by Schultz with 2:10 left grew the lead to 54-38.  Williams would then snare a steal and dash the other way for a lay-up with :56 left and then Taite Anderson would cap off this third period run first by snaring an offensive rebound for a putback with :30 left and with just :00.2 left before the buzzer sounded ending this period, Taite Anderson drilled a "3" from the top of the key off of the glass to give Bethel a comfy 61-40 lead going into the fourth period.

And the Royals certainly didn't appear to be stepping off the gas pedal anytime soon once the fourth period got going.  Taite Anderson scored on a pretty give-and-go lay-up at the 8:40 mark and a Brown-Erdal "3" from the right wing area at the 7:27 mark expanded Bethel's lead to 66-43.  Junior reserve guard Michaela Craigan connected with a lay-up in transition at the 6:55 mark and a Schwarz lay-up at the 5:48 mark made it 70-47 before the Cardinals finally started showing some signs of offensive life again.  Patterson would get into the paint for one score at the 5:31 mark and would add one free throw after getting fouled with 4:48 left.  Schmeling would uncork a pretty "3" from the left top area with 4:15 left and a Paulson drive into the lane for a finish with 3:38 left had the deficit down to seventeen at 72-55.  Two late scores by Vesel - a "3" from the right corner with 2:57 left and a steal and lay-up the other way with 2:30 left - reduced the deficit down to fourteen at 74-60 but that's as close as SMU was going to get.  The Royals put the bow tie on this latest win as Taite Anderson would snare an offensive rebound for a putback and draw a foul in the process and her obligatory free throw got the lead back up to 77-60 and sophomore reserve guard and younger sister Tessah Anderson knocked down two free throws after getting fouled with :42.9 left as Bethel remained undefeated with a 78-62 triumph.

Bethel Head Coach Jon Herbrechtsmeyer was in agreement with me when I mentioned that maybe his squad didn't necessarily play their best today at all times but there was little question at the potential they showed when they turned up the heat on defense in that third period that, for all intents and purposes, basically stifled the Cardinals as they could do little offensively.  Barker, too, was just so impressive in that third period as she personally wreaked havoc on the SMU backcourt; causing numerous turnovers and getting steals.  Given the current state of affairs in the MIAC right now, I think one could make the argument that the Royals seem to have the inside track to their first conference regular season and playoff title since the Clinton administration but Herbrechtsmeyer and his staff are all too well aware of looking ahead and knowing that a lot of work remains ahead of them; most notably this coming Wednesday night when the Royals make the jaunt over to Augsburg.  "It's a huge game" Herbrechtsmeyer said when I brought up the subject although he downplayed the revenge factor considering how the Royals lost all three contests to the Auggies last season.  Over on the SMU side, Foley was in quick agreement when I asked him about how things went south for his squad in that crucial third period.  "You just can't turn the ball over like that" he was quick to say.  The puzzling thing about this Cardinal team is that there's a ton of talent on this squad.  But, at the same time, I think it's safe to say that they miss the graduated Brandi Blattner a lot more than they're willing to admit and it's incredibly difficult to try and replace a player like her who could do so much on both ends of the floor.  At first glance, the final box score reveals some rather deceiving numbers.  For example, it shows that SMU actually outrebounded the Royals by a 27-24 count and that the Cardinals did a very good job from the charity stripe going 13-15 for 86.7% which ain't bad.  But, when you dive deeper into those box score numbers, it's easy to see while Foley and the team likely had a not so pleasant trip back down U.S. Highway 61 and the Canadian Pacific Railway River Sub mainline back to Winona.  SMU was guilty of 28 turnovers on this day (it seemed like more than that) and the Royals took full advantage of that getting 35 points off of those untimely turnovers.  Points in the paint was likely another area that made Foley reach for the Rolaids on that trip back down the River as the Royals had a 42-24 advantage on that front.  And Bethel had 12 "second chance" points compared to zilch for the Cardinals.  Plus the Royals had a 13-4 advantage in fast break points.  Considering that the game was still relatively close at the halftime break, those things will just do you in.  Another solid, solid game from Taite Anderson who continues to bear most of the burden down low these days as she just missed finishing with a "double-double" with 25 points and nine rebounds.  Brown-Erdal; the promising freshman, contributed 13 points on this day while Barker added 10 points in addition to those eight steals she personally snared.  Vesel shouldered the bulk of the offensive work for SMU on this day as she tallied 23 points while Paulson was the only other player in double figures with her 10 points.