Bethany Lutheran vs St. Kate's 12-31-19

Made the run over to the St Paul side of town on this New Year's Eve afternoon to take in this intriguing non-conference matchup happening at Butler Center on the campus of St. Catherine's University between visiting Bethany Lutheran out of the UMAC and host St. Kate's of the MIAC.  The Vikings were coming in with a solid 7-2 record and were considered to be on of the heavy favorites in the UMAC while the Wildcats were sporting a so-so 4-5 record.  While this contest wouldn't have any bearing on each team's respective conference schedule, it was important nonetheless as both teams obviously wanted to delve into the meat of their conference schedules right after the first of the year on a positive note.  This would also be my first look at Bethany Lutheran this season so I was quite anxious to see them in action.

St. Kate's would draw first blood at the 9:19 mark of the opening period when sophomore post Katie Benjamin connected with a short, turnaround jumper off the glass but that was matched by the Vikings when senior guard Emily Skrien connected with a lay-up at the 8:09 mark.  The 'Cats seemed to have a bit of an edge thanks to senior guard Danica Cambrice as her jumper from the free throw line area at the 7:09 mark and an offensive rebound and putback at the 5:43 mark pushed the Wildcats ahead 6-2 but right back came Bethany Lutheran as a Skrien score in the paint at the 5:32 mark coupled with two free throws by junior guard Abby Olson at the 5:00 mark tied this game at 6 a piece.  St. Kate's would poke its nose out in front again as one free throw by senior guard Jackie Radford with 4:25 left and a Cambrice lay-up with 4:08 left made it 9-6 but the Vikings would close the gap to one point on two Skrien freebies with 2:15 left.  Now it was the Wildcats turn to make yet another push as Benjamin would connect with a short, turnaround jumper in the lane off the glass at the 2:00 mark and then Benjamin; the former Walker-Hackensack standout, drained a "3" from the left top area with 1:30 left in this opening period to make it 14-8 before Bethany Lutheran slimmed the deficit down to four points on a nifty hook shot in the lane by strong junior forward Hanna Geistfeld with just :37 left.

This back-and-forth battle would continue once the second period got going with both teams trading three-point bombs.  The Vikings would close the gap to one point when slender junior forward Kenlie Pytleski unleashed a trey from the right top area with 9:23 left but then St. Kate's would increase the lead to 17-13 when freshman reserve forward Sarah Lavell uncorked a trey of her own from the top of the key at the 9:07 mark.  Again, Bethany Lutheran closed the gap to one point on a "3" from the top of the key by Olson at the 8:58 mark before the 'Cats finally were able to forge a little more breathing room.  A short jumper by freshman guard Cierra Ahlf at the 8:36 mark coupled with a Cambrice lay-up at the 7:11 mark gave St. Kate's its biggest lead thus far at 21-16 before the Vikings crawled back to within a single possession on a "3" from the right top area by freshman reserve guard Skylar Cotten with 4:35 left.  Still, the Wildcats were able to build back their five-point lead and maintain it over the next minute or so as Lavell unleashed her second trey of this game with 4:15 left from the left top area and two Benjamin free throws with 3:25 left had St. Kate's up 26-21.  A short shot from the right side by Benjamin with 2:52 left kept the Wildcat lead at five points by a 28-23 count before things really got wild down the stretch.  Bethany Lutheran's Pytleski was able to get into the paint for a score off of an inbounds pass with 2:33 left and two Cotten freebies with 1:58 left now had the deficit down to a scant point again at 28-27.  St. Kate's got their lead back to five again thanks to freshman forward Bree Glynn as the former Totino-Grace standout connected with a jumper from the left wing area with 1:16 left and would subsequently snare a steal and dash the other way for a lay-up with :56 left to give the home team a 32-27 advantage.  The Vikings' Olson reduced the deficit to just two points when Olson banged home a "3" from the right wing area with :40 left but the 'Cats were able to at least get the lead back up to four when Cambrice knocked down a jumper from the free throw line area with :40 left as St. Kate's took a 34-30 lead into the locker room at the half.

Not a lot changed once the third period got underway as the Wildcats would seemingly be in position to take control of things but kept letting the visitors from Mankato hang around and hang around.  Bethany Lutheran would first cut the gap to two points when Geistfeld was able to muscle into the paint to snare an offensive rebound of her own miss for a putback at the 9:13 mark but St. Kate's appeared to right the ship as one Benjamin free throw at the 8:54 mark along with one by Radford at the 7:23 mark made it 36-32 and one more free throw by Benjamin at the 6:47 mark re-established that five-point edge that the 'Cats once had at 37-32.  The Vikings again made inroads thanks to Geistfeld as she would score in the paint at the 6:35 mark and drop one free throw after getting fouled at the 5:59 mark that had Bethany Lutheran back to within a single possession down 38-35.  But things brightened considerable for the Wildcats as Radford made a daring drive into traffic for a finish at the 5:42 mark and drew a foul in the process and her ensuing free throw pushed the lead to six at 41-35.  That lead would grow to as many as eight when Lavell was fouled after a steal in the backcourt and the former Centennial standout knocked both free throws down to give St. Kate's a 43-35 advantage.  Ahlf would drain a "3" from the left corner with 4:47 left to maintain the eight-point lead at 46-38 and when Lavell connected with a jumper along the left baseline with 4:24 left, the Wildcats had their first double-digit lead of the day at 48-38 and Bethany Lutheran indeed appeared to be in a rough spot.  But one thing you have to admire about this Viking team is how they find more than one way to dig themselves out of a hole and get right back into the thick of things and this experienced team did precisely that.  Skrien would first drop two free throws after getting fouled with 4:16 left and an offensive rebound and putback by Geistfeld with 3:27 left had the deficit down to seven points at 49-42.  Pairs of charity stripe shots - two by Olson with 3:01 left and two more by Geistfeld with 2:25 left - suddenly had Bethany Lutheran back within a single possession down 49-46.  The Wildcats, however, would forge one more push to enlarge their safety net before the end of this third period.  Cambrice would make a hard drive for a finish with 1:34 left and draw a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" got the lead back up to six at 52-46.  With 1:06 left, Cambrice would strike again - this time with a pretty turnaround jumper along the right baseline to maintain the six-point edge at 54-48 and an equally pretty reverse lay-up by Benjamin with :45 had the St. Kate's faithful feeling better about things up 56-48 going into the fourth period.

Just like before, a deficit didn't seem to faze this Viking team as consecutive scores by Geistfeld - a lay-up at the 9:16 mark and two free throws after being fouled in a transition opportunity at the 8:49 mark - had the gap closed to four points at 56-52.  Olson would connect with a lay-up in transition at the 6:09 mark to keep Bethany Lutheran within striking distance down 58-54.  The 'Cats got a boost when sophomore reserve guard Grace Amacher banged home a "3" from the right top area at the 5:50 mark to increase the St. Kate's lead to 61-54 but this pesky Viking team was simply not going away.  A Geistfeld lay-up at the 5:31 mark and two Skrien charity stripe shots at the 5:04 mark had Bethany Lutheran back within a single possession down 61-58.  With 4:25 left, Geistfeld would drop two free throws after getting fouled to cut the deficit to a scant point at 61-60.  A Geistfeld score in the paint with 3:49 left kept the Vikings in that one-point range down 63-62 and when Olson connected with a lay-up in transition with 3:32 left, Bethany Lutheran had finally grabbed its first lead of the afternoon at 64-63 and a concerned Wildcats Head Coach Don Mulhern quickly called for a timeout to discuss things with his squad.  The Vikings, however, would increase their lead to four at 67-63 when Geistfeld connected with a lay-up and drew a foul in the process and cashed in on the "and one".  Now the 'Cats had to play catch-up.  Benjamin connected with a jumper from the FT line off the glass with 2:44 left and would follow that up with a short, turnaround jumper with :37 left to tie the game at 67.  Bethany Lutheran claimed a one-point advantage at 68-67 on one Geistfeld free throw with :29.5 left and after the Wildcats' Mulhern took a timeout to set up the next possession, St. Kate's looked to have plenty of time in its pocket to set up the winning score.  But the Wildcats committed an untimely turnover with :13.4 left and now the Vikings were in position to close things out.  Olson would get fouled with :11 left and the Montivideo native casually dropped both to make it a 70-67 game and effectively made it an all-or-nothing proposition for St. Kate's.  The Wildcats' Mulhern would call another timeout to set up a last-ditch play and inbounded the ball from the half-court line.  Bethany Lutheran was trying to cover anything and everything out on the perimeter and with the clock winding down, Cambrice got the ball and was able to turn to her right and with one tick left on the clock, she elevated and let loose with a plethora of hands in her face from the top of the key behind the arc and somehow banged home the game-tying three-pointer to make it 70-all with Butler Center going nuts.  The Vikings got one last chance after Head Coach Lyle Jones called a timeout and with :00.2 left, Olson was able to unleash a desperation shot from the right wing but it missed its mark and off to overtime we went tied at 70. 

St. Kate's looked like it had re-established the upper-hand it held for most of the contest in the early moments of the first overtime period as an offensive rebound for a putback by the athletic Cambrice at the 4:25 mark put the 'Cats up 72-70 and a lay-up by Glynn at the 3:42 mark maintained the two-point edge at 74-72.  But this Bethany Lutheran team simply would not be denied on this day and they usurped control of this game from this point on as the Wildcats faltered down the stretch.  Olson uncorked a dagger "3" from the left top area at the 3:09 mark to put the Vikings out in front for good at 75-74 and an offensive rebound and putback by Geistfeld with 2:26 left got the lead to 77-74.  There was still plenty of time for St. Kate's to respond being down by only three but the Wildcats next two possessions consisted of a missed easy lay-up and an untimely turnover.  And Bethany Lutheran's Olson would make the home team pay dearly for that as she unleashed yet another cold-blooded "3" - this one from the right top area with 1:18 left - that now had the Vikings up 80-74 and now the Wildcats were clearly behind the eight-ball with the sands of time running out on them.  St. Kate's Radford was unable to get a three-point shot attempt to cooperate on the Wildcats ensuing possession and Bethany Lutheran's Olson would come up big again when she was fouled with :47.5 left as she calmly sank both free throw attempts to push the Viking lead to an almost insurmountable 82-74 advantage.  Skrien would add two more insurance free throws of her own with :40 left and although St. Kate's Ahlf would connect with a jumper from the free throw line with :26 left, it was way too little way too late as Bethany Lutheran pocketed a thrilling 84-76 non-conference win.

I was able to catch up with Bethany Lutheran's Jones afterward and I couldn't help but mention to him that his squad, for whatever reason, seems to possess a knack for winning these close, tough games.  He was in agreement with me and mentioned that he switched to a 2-3 zone defense late in the game; "something we hardly ever do" he added.  That change seemed to wreak havoc on what the Wildcats were trying to do offensively and tipped the scale in favor of the Vikings when they needed it.  I was also lucky enough to catch a moment with Olson afterward who, unbeknownst to me, had tallied her 1,000th career-point at Bethany Lutheran and had some time to celebrate the occasion with friends and family afterward.  She was incredibly excited for the moment and agreed that the two three point bombs she connected with in the extra session were indeed "daggers".  And no doubt that this win will give the Vikings a huge shot of confidence as they now delve into the meat of the UMAC regular season.  On the other side of the coin, an incredibly disappointed Mulhern could only shake his head in disbelief when he looked at the final box score on this day to see that his squad finished 14-24 from the charity stripe on this day.  That glaring statistic alone will cause most coaches to reach for the obligatory Tylenol P.M. at night; especially considering that Bethany Lutheran was 34-39 from the free throw line for a solid 87.2%.  But there were other stats to consider as well.  The Wildcats finished this game going 28-69 from FG range for 40.6% and were only 6-19 from downtown for a paltry 31.6%.  True, the Wildcats had only 12 turnovers compared to Bethany Lutheran's 20 on this day but the Vikings simply pounded St. Kate's to death on the glass by a whopping 41-26 count which undoubtedly gave Mulhern a few new gray hairs.  While the Wildcats did own a 34-30 edge in points in the paint, that was somewhat negated by the fact that the Vikings held a 15-10 edge in those all-important "second chance" points.  Indeed, it was a likely a fun ride back down the Union Pacific's Mankato Sub portion of the famed "Omaha Route" mainline and U.S. Highway 169 back to Mankato for the Vikings; particularly Olson who torched St. Kate's for 33 points on this day to lead all scorers.  Geistfeld, too, had a great day; particularly in the second half as she finished with a "double-double" of 27 points and 11 rebounds.  Skrien had a solid day as well and contributed 12 points in the winning effort.  St. Kate's was paced by Cambrice's 21 points while Benjamin finished with 19 points and Ahlf tallied 10 points.