MIAC Semifinal Playoff Game - UST vs Augsburg 2-27-20

Made the relatively short run over to Si Melby Hall on the campus of Augsburg University on this Thursday evening to take in one of the two MIAC Semifinal Playoff Games happening on this night - this one featuring visiting UST and host Augsburg.  The Auggies had swept the regular season series from the Tommies for the first time since the Reagan Administration but UST was coming into this particular contest with a bit more head of steam; having won seven of their last eight games while the Auggies still had some uncertainty swirling around them what with the decisive loss at Bethel the previous Wednesday night plus the come-from-behind win against GAC in the regular season finale last Saturday.  Both teams were regionally-ranked, of course, and while both teams appeared to be in good shape for the upcoming NCAA Tournament next week, both desperately hoped to cement their claim to the Promised Land with a win on this night.

The Tommies appeared to have the upper hand in things for most of the opening period.  Sophomore post Brynne Rolland started things off with a routine score in the paint at the 9:30 mark and despite absorbing a three-point bomb from Augsburg senior sharp-shooting guard Aiza Wilson from the left corner as the shot clock was expiring at the 8:55 mark, the Tommies recovered as two free throws by fellow sophomore guard Shayla Wallin at the 8:31 mark and a pretty reverse lay-up by junior point guard Macy Hatlestad at the 7:10 mark had UST up 6-3.  Rolland would connect with a reverse lay-up herself at the 5:37 mark to maintain the three-point edge at 8-5 and two Rolland free throws after she was fouled with 4:50 left upped the lead to five at 10-5.  With 3:59 left, Rolland would strike again with a lay-up to keep the spread at five points with a 12-7 advantage but the Auggies started to mount a push to close the gap.  Athletic senior forward Camryn Speese got into the paint for one score with 3:42 left and two free throws by sophomore reserve forward Jen Masello with 3:16 left reduced the deficit to one at 12-11.  UST would widen the gap to four when Wallin buried a "3" from the right corner with 3:03 left but right back came Augsburg with their high-octane attack.  Wilson drained her second trey of this ballgame with a bomb from the right top area with 2:36 left that again got the deficit back to one at 15-14 and a lay-up by junior forward Jazmyn Solseth with 1:52 left put the Auggies out in front by a 16-15 count.  That lead would increase to three when Wilson was the recipient of an inbounds pass and made a nifty move in for a lay-up with 1:16 left but the Tommies would grab that lead back before this first period ended thanks to freshman reserve guard Abby Mackenthun.  The former Norwood Young America standout knocked down one free throw after getting fouled with 1:00 left and with just :13.2 left, Mackenthun unleashed a cold-blooded "3" from the right top area that allowed UST to take a 19-18 lead into the second period.

Augsburg, not wanting to let its opponent steal the spotlight from them, picked things up offensively once the second period got underway.  Speese would connect with a pretty reverse lay-up of her own at the 9:20 mark to push the Auggies back out in front and then senior guard Tamira McLemore; who struggled with her shooting touch in the opening period, made amends for that with her hard drive for a finish that drew a foul in the process with the ensuing "and one" to give Augsburg a four-point edge at 23-19.  Things were looking even better for the home team when fellow senior reserve guard K'aezha Wubben sneaked into the paint for a score at the 7:23 mark to expand the lead to six at 25-19 but that didn't seem to faze this Tommie team as they went right back to work with a surprising 11-2 run.  Junior reserve guard Noelle Tomes would connect with a lay-up at the 7:12 mark and one free throw by sophomore guard Amber Darge at the 6:14 mark had UST back to within a single possession down 25-22.  Things tightened up even more when Rolland connected with a lay-up with 4:34 left and a Rolland lay-up in transition with 4:06 left pushed the Tommies back into the lead at 26-25.  Freshman reserve guard Madi Schirmer; who missed a good chunk of the season while she was out with mononucleosis, got into the books with her hard drive and finish with 3:17 left to grow the lead to three at 28-25 and two Mackenthun freebies after she was fouled with 1:57 left maintained the three-point lead at 30-27.  Hatlestad would maintain this three-point edge with two free throws after she was fouled with 1:17 left at 32-29 but fittingly the Auggies would forge a 32-all deadlock when McLemore buried a "3" from the top of the key with 1:02 left and neither team could capitalize on opportunities in the last minute before intermission.  A check of the first half box score shows that while UST certainly shot decently from FG range going 10-16 for 62.5%, Head Coach Ruth Sinn had to be concerned about the number of times her squad turned the ball over as the Tommies were guilty of 11 turnovers in the first half alone.  UST did hold a slight edge on the boards by a 15-13 count but, for the moment anyway, things were still very much up in the air for both teams. 

Augsburg's McLemore had the hot hand early on in the third period as she would knock down a pair of free throws after getting fouled at the 8:46 mark to push the Auggies out in front at 34-32 and a McLemore "3" from the left top area maintained that two-point edge at 37-35.  Right back came UST, however, as Rolland took front and center stage.  A lay-up at the 7:39 mark and a score in the paint by the former Apple Valley standout at the 6:08 mark pushed the Tommies ahead by a 39-37 count.  Rolland would also snare an offensive rebound for a putback at the 5:13 mark for a 41-40 UST lead and things appeared even better for the Tommies when Mackenthun was fouled with 3:34 left that put UST in the bonus and her two free throws kept the Tommies out in front by a 43-42 count.  Schirmer's lay-up with 3:00 left got UST a bit more breathing room with a 45-42 lead and had a chance to at least maintain that three-point lead when sophomore reserve post Allie Spaulding was sent to the foul line with 2:24 left.  The former Annandale standout, however, was unable to get either attempt to cooperate and that missed opportunity may have been the turning point in this ballgame as that seemed to breathe some much-needed life back into the Auggies as they closed out this third period with a key 5-0 push.  Speese knocked down a pair of freebies after getting fouled with 1:15 left to push Augsburg back out in front at 46-45 but even more worrisome from a UST standpoint was that Schirmer was tagged with her fourth foul of the night as well.  The feather in this little third period coup d'etat by the Auggies was when McLemore buried a heart-breaking "3" from the right top area off the glass with just :00.2 left that not only grew Augsburg's lead to four at 49-45 but also had an already-raucous Auggie student section exploding that also seemed to suck out a lot of momentum UST may have had.

Things became even more precarious for the Tommies once the fourth period got underway as two quick scores had them behind the eight-ball.  Augsburg's Speese would get sent to the foul line where she delivered with two free throws at the 9:47 mark and on the ensuing UST inbounds pass attempt, the Auggie's Wubben; like a thief in the night, hijacked the pass and got a quick lay-up out of it that suddenly opened up an eight-point gap at 53-45 at the 9:43 mark and a subsequent Tommie turnover had Head Coach Ruth Sinn quickly calling for a thirty-second halt to the action to get her squad calmed down a bit.  But Augsburg's McLemore would inflict even more damage after that short stoppage in play when she unleashed a cold-blooded "3" at the 9:10 mark that was so accurate that it barely made the cotton move and now had the Auggies up by double digits at 56-45.  UST would finally start showing some signs of life again as Spaulding was able to make amends for those missed free throws by snaring an offensive rebound for a putback of her own miss at the 7:37 mark and a score in the paint by Rolland at the 6:24 mark at least had the Tommies back within single-digit range again down 58-49.  But now UST could no longer be satisfied with simply trading scores with their opponent.  They needed to get stops and Augsburg had no intentions of cooperating anytime soon.  Wubben would use a burst of speed to make a hard drive and finish at the 6:03 mark and a McLemore lay-up in transition at the 5:47 mark pushed the lead to thirteen at 62-49.  The Tommies' Hatlestad tried to change the direction this game was going with her three-point bomb from the left wing area with 4:52 left but that was countered quickly by Augsburg as Wilson would uncork a "3" from the left corner with 3:37 left to make it a 65-52 ballgame.  UST would make one last gamble as Hatlestad would bury yet another "3" from the right top area with 3:20 left and two free throws by junior reserve guard Noelle Tomes with 2:29 left had the deficit down to eight at 65-57.  Wallin would get one free throw to go down with 1:46 left and a Tomes three-point bomb from the right corner with :48.6 left was the last flicker of hope left for the Tommies down by seven at 68-61.  But Augsburg would shut the door for good on this one as McLemore would connect on a lay-up in transition with :42.1 left to make it 70-61.  Wilson would add an insurance free throw with :19.2 left and Wubben would put the daisy on this game with her steal and lay-up the other way with :09 left as Augsburg headed to their second straight MIAC Championship Game with a 73-61 victory. 

UST's Sinn had plenty of praise for the Auggies when I caught up with her afterward.  "They've got a great team and they're senior-laden and I really felt that they were able to keep the focus for 40 minutes.....and we had lapses.....In the first half, we did a good job of being strong with the ball....But in the second half, they got us....They got us...They got loose balls, they got rebounds....And we've got to learn from that."  Sinn took a cautious approach as to what will happen this next Monday when the NCAA Tournament pairings are announced.  With two regional wins under their belt already (Trinity and East Texas Baptist), you would think that that would probably be good enough to get UST into the dance.  But the Committee will also see that UST's record against regionally-ranked teams is now at 2-5 (three losses to Augsburg, one to Bethel and one to UW-Whitewater just before the first of the year) and that could come back to bite them.  The guess here is that if things stay to form as they should throughout the West Region (barring any upsets), UST will PROBABLY get in but I'll have more on all of this later.  Meanwhile, over on the Augsburg side, things are definitely much brighter now and you'd have to think that the Auggies now have done at least the minimum to be on the inside looking out rather than on the outside looking in as they were last year.  I managed to get a moment with Assistant Coach and former Golden Gopher standout Jackie Voigt as well and when I asked her what the key was to getting things turned around late in the third period and early in the fourth period, her response was plain and simple.  "We made shots" she said with a smile.  Certainly I think the Auggies showed what they're capable of when they play like that and now they have a chance to erase what happened a week ago when they go back over to Bethel for the MIAC Championship Game on Saturday afternoon.  Voigt still was cautious about the whole NCAA Tournament thing but I don't think there's any scenario that could possibly keep Augsburg out now.  When you glance at the final box score on this night, one stat in particular probably had Sinn and her staff (and perhaps the players as well) reaching for that proverbial bottle of Tylenol PM once they got back home last night.  And that was UST committing 26 turnovers to Augsburg's nine.  To me, that stat is simply astounding as you simply don't see the Tommies with those many turnovers.  It would have been one thing if Augsburg had committed, say, 15-17 turnovers but they didn't.  Now, UST did win the battle on the boards this night by a 35-26 count but that stat only went so far and was pretty much negated by the turnovers.  Another stat pops out as well:  Augsburg enjoyed a 40-30 edge in points in the paint and held a 13-8 advantage in those critical "second chance" points.  Just huge in a ballgame like this, IMHO.  UST shot better from FG range going 20-38 for 52.6% compared to Augsburg's 27-61 for 44.3%.  But the Tommies didn't get it done from downtown going 5-16 for 31.3% and were shaky from the charity stripe as well going 16-25 for for a straight 64% and Sinn will be the first to tell you that that's not nearly good enough.  To be sure, the Auggies weren't great from the foul line either going 12-19 for 63.2% and they'll have to do much better than that Saturday at Bethel.....Augsburg needed a big night from McLemore and they got it on this night as she led all scorers with 26 points and was 4-6 from behind the arc as well.  Wubben had a great game as well with her 15 points and Speese had a "double-double" with her 14 points and thirteen rebounds.  Wilson was hot at time as well from downtown going 3-5 and finished with 12 points.  UST relied heavily on Rolland on this night as she tallied 23 points and Hatlestad was the only other Tommie in double figures scoring-wise on this night with her 10 points.                   

NSIC Quarterfinal Playoff Game - Northern State vs Concordia St Paul 2-26-20

Made the run over to the St Paul side of town on this late Wednesday afternoon to take in one of the NSIC Quarterfinal Games going on; this one featuring visiting Northern State out of Aberdeen, South Dakota going up against host Concordia St Paul.  Both teams finished with somewhat similar records in their respective divisions in the NSIC as the Wolves finished the regular season at 9-13 in the conference and 13-15 overall while the Golden Bears were 12-10 in conference play and 15-13 overall so you kind of knew that this one had the likelihood of being a hotly-contested, close game. 

Scoring would come at something of a premium in the first few minutes of the opening period with both teams having to settle for charity stripe opportunities.  With Northern State holding a 2-1 edge, Golden Bear junior forward and former Elk River standout Sydney Wentland made a hard drive for a finish to put the home team back out in front but the Wolves would answer that on a jumper from the top of the key just inside the arc by sophomore forward Lexi Wadsworth at the 7:07 mark to make it a 4-3 ballgame.  Concordia St Paul's Wentland would get to the foul line at the 5:44 mark and got one attempt to go down to tie the contest but Northern State would assume a 6-4 lead on a drive and lay-up by diminutive junior guard Shariah Smith with 4:55 left.  Now it was time for the Golden Bears to answer and they relied this time on junior reserve forward Ayla Lemke as her lay-up with 4:39 left and her score in the paint with 4:14 left put Concordia St Paul back out in front 8-6.  Northern State would do likewise with consecutive scores as junior reserve forward Joie Spier got into the paint for one score with 3:57 left and senior post Sara Tvedt muscled into the paint for a score with 3:18 left to push the Wolves back out in front by a 10-8 count.  Right back came the Golden Bears as redshirt freshman reserve forward Sydney Zgutowicz made a hard drive into the lane for a finish with 2:53 left and one Lemke free throw with 2:34 left poked Concordia St Paul's nose out in front 11-10.  Freshman reserve guard Jadyn Hanson added to that with her drive and finish with 1:05 left to make it 13-10 but before the Golden Bears could get too comfortable, Northern State would forge a tie right before the end of this first period.  Senior guard Brianna Kusler would have the honors as the would first knock down a jumper from near the free throw line with :35 left and would get one free throw to go down after getting fouled with just :01.7 left to deadlock things at 13 a piece. 

The Wolves would grab their first three-point lead of the evening when Wadsworth banged home a three-point bomb from the left top area at the 8:56 mark of the second period to make it 16-13 and a steal and lay-up the other way by the crafty Smith at the 6:52 mark maintained the three-point edge at 18-15.  A Spier score in the paint did the same at the 5:26 mark to make it 20-17 but as had been the pattern so far, that gap didn't last long.  Concordia St Paul's Hanson was able to knock down a short jumper at the 5:13 mark to reduce the deficit to one and then Zgutowicz would get fouled behind the arc with 4:41 left and she got two of the three charity stripe attempts to go down to put the Golden Bears out in front 21-20.  Wentland would connect with a lay-up with 4:11 left to push the lead to three points at 23-20 and Hanson would drop one freebie after getting fouled with 3:50 left to give Concordia St Paul their biggest lead yet at 24-20.  But that didn't seem to faze the visitors from Aberdeen one iota as they were quick to respond.  Two Kusler free throws with 2:24 left and a "3" from the left top area by Smith with 1:56 left suddenly shoved Northern State back into the lead at 25-24 and Kusler's drive and lay-up with 1:09 left maintained the one-point edge at 27-26.  Wadsworth's jumper from the right elbow area with just :16.4 left gave the Wolves a 29-26 advantage but fittingly, Concordia St Paul would get this game leveled at 29 a piece when willowy junior guard Riley Wheatcraft drained a "3" from the right corner with just :00.3 left on the clock as both teams retreated to their respective locker rooms for the halftime break.  When you check the first half box score on this one, it's easy to see that there was cause for some concern in both camps as Northern State owned the glass thus far by a 27-18 count yet the Wolves also 12 turnovers to Concordia St Paul's seven.  Both teams shot similarly from FG range with Northern State going 11-33 for 33.3% and Concordia St Paul going 10-30 for 33.3% as well.  Neither squad was burning it up from downtown either with the Wolves going 2-7 for 28.6% and the Golden Bears going just 1-8 for 12.5%.  If there was one item that stood out to me that should have been worrisome from a Concordia St Paul standpoint, it was their free throw shooting which was 8-14 for 57.1%.

This cat-and-mouse pattern would continue once the third period got underway.  Northern State would poke its nose back out in front at 31-29 when Smith was able to score on a nifty give-and-go lay-up in the lane at the 9:25 mark and the Golden Bears' Wheatcraft would tie the contest with her score in the paint at the 9:03 mark.  The Wolves' Tvedt got into the paint for a score at the 8:42 mark but right back came Concordia St Paul as sophomore guard/forward Sydney Schultz grabbed and offensive rebound for a putback at the 7:38 mark to knot this one at 33 a piece.  But Schultz would soon have to retreat to the bench when she was tagged with her fourth foul of the night at the 7:27 mark.  Northern State meanwhile would take a two-point lead on a drive and lay-up by Smith at the 7:11 mark at 35-33 and a score in the paint by Tvedt kept the Wolves out in front 37-35.  But that wouldn't last long as Concordia St Paul's Zgutowicz would snare an offensive rebound for a putback and draw a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" pushed the Golden Bears out in front by a 38-37 count with 4:14 left.  But before the partisan Golden Bear fanbase could get too excited, Northern State would answer as Wadsworth would drill a "3" from the top of the key with 4:03 left to put the Wolves back out in front 40-38.  Both teams would endure a dry stretch over the next two and a half minutes but the Wolves would get a big lift from freshman reserve guard Kennedy Harris down the stretch.  The Mandan, North Dakota native first knocked down a jumper from the left corner off of an inbounds pass with 1:26 left and with :28.9 left, Harris would connect on a jumper from the left wing off of the glass to give Northern State their largest lead thus far at 44-39.  The Golden Bears would manage to crawl back to within a single possession when Wentland knocked down a pair of free throws after getting fouled with :04.3 left but it seemed like the Wolves had some momentum on their side going into the fourth period. 

And Northern State would manage to hold the upper hand in the early portion of the fourth period as one Tvedt free throw at the 8:59 mark and a Tvedt score in the paint at the 8:30 mark had the Wolves up 47-43 and one free throw by Kusler at the 7:25 mark kept the lead at three at 48-45 but you knew this Concordia St Paul team was not going to go quietly into the night.  Wheatcraft; the former Prior Lake standout; would come to the rescue of the Golden Bears as her lay-up at the 6:51 mark and her three-point bomb from the right top area at the 6:06 mark suddenly pushed Concordia St Paul back out in front by a 50-48 count and had the raucous (and sometimes humorous) Golden Bear student section rocking.  Wheatcraft would strike again at the 5:27 mark with her short jumper in the lane to keep Concordia St Paul out in front at 52-50 and one free throw by Schultz after she was fouled with 4:41 left maintained the two-point edge at 53-51.  But getting any real separation had proven to be a bridge too far all night for the Golden Bears and they simply were unable to shake Northern State when they needed to the most.  The Wolves' Kusler would tie the game with her drive and lay-up with 2:39 left and two Tvedt free throws with 1:55 left would have things leveled again at 55 a piece.  Concordia St Paul had at least three opportunities to grab the lead but missed jumpers by both Wheatcraft and Lemke dimmed those chances but perhaps the one sequence that grabbed the ire of Golden Bear Head Coach Amanda Johnson was when Wheatcraft snared a steal near midcourt and was racing toward the Concordia St Paul basket like a tardy Union Pacific/Milwaukee Road "City of Los Angeles" passenger train of yore but that potential big play was wiped out when Wheatcraft was called for carrying the ball which appeared, at best anyway, a very controversial call.  But Northern State was unable to cash in on the opportunities it had.  With :18.7 left on the clock, Wolves Head Coach Paula Krueger would call a time out to set up a potential winning play but neither Kusler or fellow senior guard Jessi Marti could get their desperation shot attempts to fall in the waning seconds so off to overtime we went tied at 55 a piece. 

Things appeared hopeful for the Golden Bears in the first couple of minutes of the extra session.  One free throw by Schultz after she was fouled at the 4:31 mark and a Wentland lay-up at the 3:43 mark had Concordia St Paul up 58-55 but the Wolves were simply not to be denied on this night.  Marti would connect with a lay-up and draw a foul in the process at the 3:15 mark and her obligatory free throw had this game tied again at 58 a piece.  Kusler would put Northern State ahead with her lay-up with 2:48 left but the real stake in the heart for Concordia St Paul would be when Kusler buried a "3" from the right corner with 2:08 left that made it a two-possession game at 63-58.  The Golden Bears got a lift for sure when Wheatcraft would drain a "3" of her own a bit later with 1:56 left to get Concordia St Paul back to within a single possession down 63-61 but things would turn sour for the home team just when it looked like they might be in position to get this one knotted again.  With 1:39 left, Northern State's Kusler would snare a steal and dash the other way for a lay-up to make it 65-61 and although the Golden Bears would again close to two points on two Wentland freebies with 1:29 left, they could never get that one stop that might have given them a chance.  The Wolves' Marti would knock down a short jumper in the lane with 1:01 left and after a foiled Golden Bear possession, Marti would connect with a nifty left-handed lay-up with :26 left to make it 69-63 that pretty much sealed the deal for Northern State.  Kusler would add insurance free throws - one with :18.7 left and two more with :10.2 left and although Concordia St. Paul got one last hurrah on a three-point bomb by junior point guard Danielle Schaub with :06 left, it would be the Wolves advancing to Sioux Falls with a tough 72-68 victory. 

Knowing a number of the Concordia St Paul players, my heart couldn't help but break when they started filtering out of the locker room with red eyes and solemn faces.  I think that, when you look back on this game, it was simply the fact that the Golden Bears had their chances in this one but they kept leaving the door open for Northern State and they took full advantage of it at the most crucial juncture.  And the final box score likely caused Concordia St Paul's Johnson to reach for the Tylenol PM after having had to digest some of the numbers.  It shows that the Wolves owned the boards on this night by a sizable 54-37 count (ouch) and although Northern State had more turnovers on this night by a 20-12 count, the Golden Bears could only collect 12 points off of those turnovers while the Wolves got 17 points off of the turnovers committed by the Golden Bears.  Northern State also held a 36-32 edge in points in the paint.  Again, neither team shot outstanding on this night.  Northern State was 27-68 for 39.7% and Concordia St Paul was 23-65 for 35.4%.  And there was no need to call the St Paul Fire Department as neither squad could burn it up from downtown.  The Wolves were 4-16 for a straight 25% and Concordia St Paul was no better going 4-17 for 23.5%.  The real difference in my mind was the points left on the table by the Golden Bears from the charity stripe on this night that saw Concordia St Paul go 18-29 for 62.1% and even the layman will likely tell you that this simply will not be good enough to get the job done in a playoff basketball game.  Throw in the fact that the Golden Bears missed several easy short shots in this game and you can understand why they faltered in the extra session.  The Wolves had an incredibly balanced scoring attack on this night with Kusler's 19 points leading all scorers.  She got a lot of help from Wadsworth with her 13 points and both Smith and Tvedt finished with 11 points a piece.  Concordia St Paul leaned heavily on Wheatcraft for offensive production on this night as she led the way with 18 points and Wentland was the only other Golden Bear in double figures scoring-wise on this night with 13 points.             

Third Regional Rankings Just Released

The third and final set of Regional Rankins were released right around lunchtime today and here's how things stand in the all-important West Region with records being current: 


1.  Wartburg                                                           22-3   14-2
2.  Bethel                                                               24-1   19-1
3.  Loras                                                                22-3   13-3 
4.  Whitman                                                          23-2   15-1
5.  Augsburg                                                         21-4   17-3
6.  UST                                                                 21-5   16-4
7.  Simpson                                                          18-8   10-6
8.  George Fox                                                     19-6   11-5


So things kind of played out the way I thought they would at the top as Wartburg was shoved up to the number-one spot in the West Regional rankings and Bethel slid up as well to the number-two position as both teams recorded huge wins this last week over their main competition (Loras and Augsburg).  Loras is still in excellent shape, however, in the third position and Whitman remains in the fourth spot as they're the heavy favorite in the NWC Playoffs.  To me, the real surprise is Augsburg getting up to the fifth spot after being taken to the woodshed last Wednesday night at Bethel and having to scrape out a late victory over GAC this last Saturday while UST; after routinely taking care of business against both St. Olaf and SMU in the regular season finales and then holding off a good St. Kate's team last night in the MIAC Playoff Quarterfinals, trades spots and gets moved down to the sixth spot.  I'm not really sure if I understand the reasoning for this one by the Committee as it's almost like they're being punished for winning the games they were supposed to win (at least on paper) while Augsburg gets rewarded for having it's tail-end handed to them in a lackluster performance against Bethel and coming back from behind to beat GAC in the fourth period this last Saturday.  Hey, I'm open to anyone out there with both ears if someone can tell me as to the "why".

But to me, that pales in comparison with leaving Simpson in the seventh spot after they were dismissed by Coe last night in the ARC Quarterfinals in Cedar Rapids.  Yeah, their overall record is "okay" at 18-8 but save for the upset win they had at home in Indianola over Wartburg back on 1-22, what other real "quality" wins over a regionally-ranked opponent do they have to support this ranking?  And keep in mind, the Storm would pay in spades for that upset win when they had to go up to Waverly for the rematch with Wartburg and got boatraced by the Knights by a 102-62 count.  Again, I'm just trying to understand why they're being rewarded so handsomely for this (and hey, nothing against the program or Head Coach Brian Niemuth).  While George Fox didn't beat Whitman in the regular season, they don't have an embarrassing loss on their resume.  I think a case could be made for Bethany Lutheran out of the UMAC despite the fact that they don't have any wins against any regionally-ranked teams. 

Fire away with thoughts.....   

MIAC Quarterfinal Playoff Game - Hamline vs GAC 2-25-20

Made a relatively quick sprint down U.S. Highway 169 and the Union Pacific's Mankato Sub portion of the famed Omaha Route mainline down to St. Peter on this sunny and nice late February late afternoon to take in one of the MIAC Quarterfinal Playoff games - this one featuring visiting Hamline taking on host GAC.  I arrived at Lund Arena early enough to have a nice visit with GAC Assistant Coach Dan Wolfe to get a feeling for this game and enjoyed a great supper over at the world-famous GAC Cafeteria (and if you haven't been over there, I strongly urge you to try it out - their food is just out of this world good) and got settled in early over at Lund Arena for the 7:00 P.M. tip-off.  The Pipers managed to grab the fifth seed by virtue of their regular season finale victory over Concordia after slumping down the stretch (plus Carleton's win over St. Kate's).  The Gusties meanwhile were coming into this Quarterfinal game on a slump of their own having dropped their last three regular season games but were also going through some injury issues as well in the process.

GAC certainly got off to the kind of start that Head Coach Laurie Kelly was hoping for; getting a quick 4-0 lead in the opening minutes of the first period as freshman sensation forward Caitlin Rorman; now shoved into the makeshift post position with an injury to junior Paige Richert, snared an offensive rebound for a putback at the 9:27 mark and a burst of speed by junior point guard Ava Gonsorowski allowed her to connect with a lay-up at the 8:45 mark.  The Pipers would cut the deficit to one when freshman forward Lydia Lecher made a hard drive for a finish that drew a foul in the process and resulted in the obligatory free throw at the 8:21 mark but the Gusties would respond with an 8-2 push to give them a bit more breathing room.  Junior guard Alison Hinck knocked down a jumper along the left baseline at the 7:52 mark and a lay-up in transition by Rorman at the 7:31 mark made it 8-3.  Then Rorman would strike again at the 6:53 mark grabbing an offensive rebound for a putback to get the lead to 10-3 and a jumper along the left baseline by freshman reserve guard Maddy Rice at the 5:28 mark maintained the seven-point edge at 12-5.  Hamline moved quickly, however, to close the gap back to within a single possession as senior forward Reilly Geistfeld got a score in the paint at the 5:09 mark and a lay-up by sophomore forward Sarah Loken with 3:42 left cut the deficit to three points at 12-9.  Senior reserve guard Morgan Coleman would bring Hamline even closer when she drained a "3" from the right corner with 1:33 left in this opening period that reduced the deficit to two points at 14-12 but the Gusties were able to widen the gap again before this first period ended.  Rice would connect with a sweet reverse lay-up with 1:15 left and a score in the paint by junior guard Marisa Gustafson with just :35 left allowed GAC to breath a bit more comfortably up 18-12 going into the second period.

Gustafson would strike again at the 9:34 mark of the second period with her pretty reverse lay-up to give the Gusties their biggest lead yet at 20-12 but Hamline Head Coach Alex Focke decided to make a change in his approach to this game by switching up to a 2-3 "match-up" zone defense that allowed his team to get right back into the thick of things.  Speedy sophomore guard Chan'el Anderson-Manning would get one free throw to go down after getting fouled in a transition opportunity at the 8:37 mark and a "3" from the right top area by Geistfeld at the 7:22 mark shrunk the deficit in half at 20-16.  This got the attention of the home team and they again embarked on a push to establish some more breathing room.  Junior reserve guard Gabby Bowlin; who had been out for several weeks with a broken hand suffered earlier in the season, made her presence felt when she dropped a cold-blooded "3" from the right corner at the 6:51 mark to get the lead back to seven at 23-16 and a pretty drive and finish by Gonsorowski at the 6:00 mark maintained the seven-point edge at 25-18.  Then Rice, already making a name for herself with her three-point prowess, drained a bomb from the left wing area at the 5:17 mark that seemed to have the Gusties in excellent shape up 28-18.  Hamline would again attempt to shrink the deficit as Anderson-Manning knocked down to free throws after getting fouled with 4:50 left and two scores by Lecher - a jumper from the free throw line area with 3:01 left and a short jumper in the lane with 2:25 left - had the Pipers back in striking distance down six at 30-24.  But GAC would regain the upper hand down the home stretch of this second period as Rice would bury her second trey of this game from the left wing area with 2:04 left and two Rorman freebies with 1:29 left gave the Gusties their largest lead thus far at 35-24.  Hamline again attempt to cut into this cushion on pairs of free throws - two by sophomore guard Gabby Robinson with :37.3 left and two more by freshman reserve forward Tess Hauer with :15.5 left - but GAC's Rorman would have the last laugh before the halftime buzzer with a tough score in the paint with just :02 left as the Gusties took a nine-point 37-28 lead into the locker room at the half.  So while Hamline was certainly still in this contest, the Pipers' Focke and his staff certainly couldn't feel good about some of the numbers on the first half box score; particularly the fact that his squad was being outrebounded so far by a 17-11 count plus the fact that the Pipers shot only 8-25 for 32% from FG range and were only 2-10 from downtown for 20%.  Compare that with GAC's 15-28 from FG range for 53.6% and while the Gusties weren't that great from behind the arc as a whole going 3-11 for 27.3%, it seemed like they were making the most of their opportunities.  And Hamline's Focke knew that they were going to have to find some way to try and neutralize GAC's Rorman who already had collected 12 point thus far on the night.

The Pipers definitely had better tracking once the third period got underway and they slowly but surely were able to whittle down the cushion they were facing.  Lecher would start things off with a lay-up at the 9:49 mark to reduce the deficit to seven and Anderson-Manning was able to snare an offensive rebound for a putback of her own miss at the 7:35 mark to keep Hamline in that seven-point range down 39-32.  Robinson would get sent to the charity stripe after getting fouled at the 6:48 mark and the former Tri-City United standout got both attempts to go down to keep the Pipers in that seven-point range down 41-34.  Further inroads were made when senior guard Kaeli Stayer; who struggled with her shooting touch in the first half, finally found her groove and drilled a "3" from the top of the key at the 5:45 mark to slash the deficit down to four at 41-37.  Two Geistfeld freebies with 4:14 left now had Hamline back within single possession range down 42-39 and two more by Anderson-Manning after she was fouled reduced the deficit to a scant point at 42-41.  It was here that the Gusties woke up from their extended slumber to pad their deficit a bit more.  Freshman guard Anna Sanders would drain a "3" from the right wing area with 3:22 left and the former White Bear Lake standout would strike again with a three-point play the old-fashioned way as she snuck into the paint for a score with 2:37 left and drew a foul in the process and dropped the ensuing "and one" to get the lead to a somewhat safer five points at 48-43.  The Pipers would close back to two point when Geistfeld uncorked one of her trademark three-point bombs from the top of the key with 2:19 left but then GAC would step on the gas pedal again as Rorman knocked down a jumper from the right wing area with 1:59 left and then Sanders would connect with a lay-up in transition a short time later with 1:45 left to get the lead back to seven points at 53-46 but just when you thought that the Gusties might be "safe", those tricky Hamline Pipers kept clawing their way back.  Robinson would sink two free throws after getting fouled with 1:36 left to get Hamline's deficit back to five at 53-48 and then Anderson-Manning would slither into the paint for a score and draw a foul in the process and her obligatory free throw had the deficit down to four points at 55-51.  GAC's Rorman would up her team's lead with a score in the paint with :34.8 left but the Pipers would come right back as Anderson-Manning; using a burst of speed, made a hard drive for a lay-up with :10.1 left as Hamline served notice that even though the Gusties were up by four at 57-53, they were by no means out of the woods yet. 

GAC appeared to be getting more distance when Bowlin was able to snare an offensive rebound for a putback at the 9:02 mark of the fourth period but keeping those pesky Pipers at bay was so far proving to be a tough proposition.  Robinson would connect with a lay-up at the 8:34 mark to reduce the deficit down to four at 59-55 and then Stayer; the Coppell, Texas native, banged home a "3" from the left wing area at the 7:40 mark to pull Hamline back to within a single possession down 61-58.  Perhaps the biggest turning point of this game came a bit later with just over seven minutes left in regulation when the Pipers' Robinson had an open look from the right corner and squared up and let loose with a three-point bomb attempt.  It was on line but instead rattled out; preventing Hamline from getting this one knotted at 71 a piece that could have, at the very least, changed the complexion of this game immensely.  As it was, the Gusties dodged a bullet headed straight for them and Hamline never could get themselves back into that kind of position again.  GAC would get a huge boost when Hinck; not necessarily known for her three-point prowess, banged home a huge "3" from the left top area at the 6:24 mark to up the Gustie lead to six at 64-58.  Things were not yet a done deal for GAC as the Pipers found themselves in the bonus with 5:42 left and Anderson-Manning would get the deficit back down to four again with two free throws but on the ensuing Gustie possession, Rice would come up big with her own three-point bomb - this one from the left wing area at the 5:10 mark to make it 67-60.  Hamline's Robinson would make amends for that one missed three-point bomb by nailing one from the left corner with 3:51 left to get the deficit back down to four at 67-63 but again, the Pipers never could quite get within a whisker's reach when they needed to.  Focke would call a subsequent timeout to set up strategy for the home stretch but GAC meanwhile was making its own plans to close this one out and advance.  With 3:30 left, Bowlin would make a huge play when she connected with a score in the paint off of an inbounds pass that drew a foul in the process and the former Winona Cotter standout dropped the obligatory free throw to push the lead back to seven at 70-63.  A Rorman lay-up with 2:05 left maintained the seven-point edge at 72-65 and with 1:40 left, the Gusties' Sanders made a huge play of her own as she was the recipient of a mid-court inbounds pass and caught Hamline flat-footed and raced downcourt for an easy lay-up to get the lead to nine at 74-65.  One Sanders free throw with 1:13 left upped the lead to ten at 75-65 and from here on out, Hamline could only make incremental dents in the deficit.  Stayer would drop a "3" from the left wing area with :52 left but that only reduced the deficit to six at 76-70 and now the Pipers had to foul as well to preserve clock.  That put GAC into position to put the daisy on this one.  Two Gonsorowski freebies with :51.5 left and two more by Bowlin with :31.5 left got the lead to ten at 80-70 and two more by Gustafson with :23.9 left maintained the ten-point edge at 82-72.  Junior reserve guard Rachel Skyberg would drop two more for insurance purposes with :13.2 left and although Piper reserve guard Alyssa Williamson would drain a "3" from the left top area with :03.3 left, it would be the Gusties advancing to the MIAC Playoff Semifinals with a tough 84-76 victory.

Despite the disappointing ending to their season, Hamline's Focke was incredibly proud of his players; particularly his seniors, in how this program has progressed over the last few years from three, four and five wins to 15 wins this season.  "We were right there" he said and both he and Assistant Coach Joshua Hersch were in agreement about that critical juncture when the Pipers were in position to get this one tied with just a little over seven minutes left.  So while things come to a screeching halt for Hamline this season, don't be surprised if this group takes another step in the next few years.  A relieved Kelly of GAC meanwhile was in agreement with how her squad was able to find an answer each time they were threatened in this contest.  Without question, having Bowlin back in the mix for this contest was huge and timing of her recovery probably couldn't have been any better.  Even Wolfe noted beforehand that when Bowlin returned to practice on Monday, the whole team just seemed to gather around her as she's such a respected leader on this team.  How much does this all mean for Thursday night's tilt at Bethel in the semifinals?  We'll see.  But you have to think that, at the very least, it gives the Gusties a fighting chance and if Richert is indeed able to get back into the mix as well, that's even better for them.  Undoubtedly, Hamline's Focke and his staff had to wince a bit when they glanced at the final box score that showed how the Gusties dominated the boards by a 35-22 count and were unable to keep Hinck, Bowlin and Rorman from having their way down low.  Another related stat stands out as well as GAC enjoyed a 40-22 edge in points in the paint along with an 18-11 advantage in those all-important "second chance" points.  The Pipers did improve their shooting in the second half but for the game, Hamline shot only 22-52 from FG range for 42.3% while the Gusties were 30-58 for 51.7%.  Both teams shot reasonable well from the charity stripe and even though GAC suffered more turnovers than Hamline did at 13-8, it didn't offset the other areas where the Pipers came up short.  One more stat line that stands out:  The Gusties had a decisive edge in bench points by a 28-12 margin.  GAC's Rorman is already serving notice that she's going to be one of the big "go to" players on this Gustie team as her 23 points led all scorers and both Sanders and Rice poured in 13 points a piece and Bowlin's 11 points were just huge.  Anderson-Manning left it all out there on this night for Hamline as she led her team with 19 points while Stayer and Geistfeld; in the last games of their careers at Hamline, finished with 13 and 12 points, respectively.  Robinson had a solid night as well as she had 11 points on this night.               

MIAC Playoff Preview 2-24-20

Oh yes - that time of the year again when things start getting really fun.  Have been looking forward to this for a while now and it's finally here.  As you can imagine, this season has certainly had its moments of unpredictability to be sure but things eventually did settle down just enough to get the six teams involved in this little party set up.  With that said, let's take a look at things from top to bottom and see how this all might shape up.


6.  St. Kate's - Considering the roller coaster season this squad has had and all the injuries they've suffered since practice began back in mid-October, the 'Cats are probably pretty fortunate to be in this position in the first place.  And it's not like they're coming into this little party with a head of steam either having lost three of their last four games; including that epic four-overtime thriller up at Concordia the previous weekend.  Yet, through it all, Head Coach Don Mulhern and his staff found a way to get this team into the MIAC's Promised Land.  This is a team that leans heavily on the athleticism and scoring punch of senior guard Danica Cambrice who averages 15.2 ppg but they've had some new faces step up this year as well who have shown that they can rise to the occasion.  Freshman forward Bree Glynn (7.0 ppg) and fellow freshman guard Cierra Ahlf (7.0 ppg) have all contributed and senior guard Jackie Radford (8.0 ppg) has been the rock on both ends of the floor and isn't one bit afraid to do any necessary hard banging down low in the paint fighting for rebounds.  Junior guard Brooke Torvik (3.7 ppg) has also come off the bench and provided quality minutes and, because of the injuries to players such as sophomore forward Sam Orth, sophomore guard Mackenzie Kurczek and sophomore post Katie Benjamin, Mulhern has been forced to dig deeper into his bench which has resulted in the emergence of players such as freshman forward Sarah Lavell (4.5 ppg) and senior reserve guard Emma Nelson so St. Kate's is far from destitute.  On the other hand, I think it's safe to say that many were looking for some more consistency from this team and because of the injuries and how tough this conference truly is, that simply didn't happen this season.  So how does that all bode for this team this week?  I'm not entirely sure but if this squad plays anything like they did at Hamline not long ago, they have the ability to do some damage in this thing.  If they play anything like they did at Concordia or the regular season finale where things slipped away late, it'll likely be a quick exit.

Sure sign of trouble - God forbid should Cambrice find herself in foul trouble early in Tuesday night's tilt at neighboring UST because they need her creativity on the offensive end just to have a chance.


5.  Hamline - Then, of course, if you think St. Kate's season was and up-and-down roller coaster ride, just take a look at Hamline as their season could arguably be described as schizophrenic at times.  Consider:  This was a team that had won seven in a row from early December through mid-January and had ripped off three consecutive wins in late January/early February and was flirting with the idea of perhaps stealing the fourth playoff spot.  But then came the culminating home loss in a showdown with UST early this month and, for whatever reason, that seemed to suck a lot of momentum that Pipers had.  Five straight losses ensued before they recovered enough in that fourth period against Concordia on Saturday to save their season - at least for the time being anyway.  This is a team that has a lot of scorers but relies primarily on senior forward Reilly Geistfeld (15.7 ppg) and freshman sensation forward Lydia Lecher (12.5 ppg).  Sophomore guard Chan'el Anderson-Manning (7.7 ppg) can get up and down the floor with ease and can burn you from behind the arc when left open as well.  On the minus side, however, this is a team that normally gets outrebounded as the numbers would suggest (34.7 to the opponent's 38.4) and has been permissive on defense on numerous occasions.  You just never quite know for sure what you're going to get from this group.  If it's the team that was in the midst of its winning streak or in that fourth period against Concordia where they played with that sense of urgency, they can play with anyone.  If it's the team that was mired in that late-season slump this month, their playoff experience will be a short-lived affair. 

Sure sign of trouble - This is a team that seems to play best when they get into transition opportunities but they're incredibly suspect if they get forced to play a slower-paced, half-court game. 


4.  GAC - Quite simply, this is a team that you can easily fall in love with but no matter what you do, they will, in some form or fashion, find a way to break your heart into a million little pieces.  This was a team that was 11-1 in early January and easily could have (and should have) been 12-0.  Even though they got thumped at Bethel, you would have expected they would recover okay from that.  But the first real warning sign was when they followed that up with a loss up at Concordia four days later.  Then that disastrous week with home losses to both CSB and UST.  And then the three straight losses to end the regular season.  True, they did have their share of misfortunes this season as well; particularly with losing junior guard Gabby Bowlin to a broken hand.  Still, I think this team still has enough weapons to make an impact in these playoffs.  They're led by freshman sensation forward Caitlin Rorman (16.3 ppg) and junior point guard Ava Gonsorowski has been the steady rock on this team in the backcourt (13.1 ppg).  Junior forward/post Paige Richert; although a bit inconsistent at times, has had her moments and gets the job done down low (10.6 ppg).  Perhaps the biggest surprise has been the emergence of both junior guard Marisa Gustafson (8.6 ppg) and freshman reserve guard Maddy Rice (7.7 ppg) and both are deadly from behind the arc.  Freshman guard Anna Sanders and junior guard Alison Hinck have both had to step up their games with Bowlin's injury.  On the minus side though, this team does average 17.0 turnovers per game and they simply haven't been consistent enough to be considered a real threat to do the unthinkable and win this whole thing.  Even Head Coach Laurie Kelly will probably tell you that they're likely a year away from getting back to where they were just a couple two or three years ago.  That said, they're probably good enough to at least get past Hamline on Tuesday night but anything beyond that - especially on the road, well, I've probably got a better chance at winning the Powerball or snagging a date with Cameron Diaz. 

Sure sign of trouble - Assuming they make it into the semifinals, they've got to find some way to out-rebound an Augsburg or a Bethel to have a chance and they've got to sink enough "3's" to give themselves a chance.  Take those two things away, oh boy.....


3.  UST - Isn't it just really weird to see the Tommies sitting in this position when they've been ruling this conference seemingly since B.C.?  In reality, this is the first time since 2014 when there's been someone else other than UST winning the MIAC regular season championship and we all remember that that didn't faze the Tommies one bit as they went down to Winona and knocked off top-seeded SMU in the MIAC Championship Game.  This time around, the circumstances were different as this team has a whole new make-up consisting mainly of freshmen and sophomores.  Then you throw in junior forward Kaia Porter being lost for the season with a knee injury and it's amazing that UST even got themselves into the position where they're at.  The Tommies rely heavily on sophomore post Brynne Rolland (17.7 ppg) and she's been getting better and better with each game.  Junior point guard Macy Hatlestad (11.5 ppg) has steadied the ship for UST in the backcourt.  Sophomore guard Amber Darge (9.0 ppg) has been a pleasant surprise but perhaps the biggest new piece to this puzzle is junior guard Noelle Tomes who transferred in from Air Force (7.8 ppg) and has been invaluable coming off the bench.  When you look at the overall body of work that this team has done, they've won the games they've supposed to and had to eek out a big road win at GAC - a contest that easily could have gone either way.  They were swept by Augsburg, however, and took it on the chin against Bethel.  However, if there's ANYONE who knows how to guide her team through stormy waters in the MIAC Playoffs, it's Head Coach Ruth Sinn.  She's been through these battles more than enough times to know what it takes to win.  And if there's one team that has the ability to upset the apple cart and take this thing, it's probably this group.  They're not going to give up their grip on MIAC supremacy without a fight. 

Sure sign of trouble - This squad has had problems with turnovers this season and a plethora of them - especially against either an Augsburg or Bethel - would be a death sentence for this team.  And Rolland has GOT to stay out of foul trouble as well. 


2.  Augsburg - Now I picked the Auggies to win this thing back in the fall and I don't think that was a bad pick at all when you consider what they all had coming back - which is pretty much everybody.  And they did sweep UST this season so they've got two wins over a regionally-ranked team under their belt.  With the losses they have suffered, it wasn't so much that they lost.  Rather, it's the manner in which they lost them.  They were hammered by Puget Sound over the Thanksgiving holiday and then lost that critical game at home against Bethel when they were in a position to win it.  A puzzling loss at GAC a week and a half later followed before getting taken to the woodshed in the rematch with Bethel over at Robertson Center this last Wednesday night.  The Auggies, in short, can be beautiful to watch when they're clicking offensively or your worst nightmare when things are a little off.  When they get their transition game going, they're moving down the court faster than a hot BNSF intermodal "Z" train.  Defensively at times this year, well.......It hasn't always been there at times.  They do a great job of getting into the passing lanes for quick steals that fuels that transition game of theirs.  But they also give up a lot of easy stuff that they shouldn't be giving up at times as well.  They're led be senior guard Tamira McLemore (16.1 ppg) and senior forward Camryn Speese (13.0 ppg).  Senior guard Aiza Wilson (9.8) can be an absolute terror from behind the arc when she's feeling it and junior forward/post Jazmyn Solseth (9.1 ppg) has vastly improved her game and is now a true offensive threat.  Senior guard K'aezha Wubben (9.5 ppg) may be the biggest piece coming off Head Coach Ted Riverso's bench but he's got more than that.  Both junior guard Nicole Zielsdorf and freshman guard Jaley Coplin are legitmate three-point threats as well.  Now, the Auggies do have a big thing in their favor in that they are in the positive column when it comes to turnovers (+8.3 in turnover margin).  However, a couple of glaring statistics are cause for concern:  Their rebounding margin is -3.2 and their free throw shooting is a dismal .653 compared to opponents' .716.  Those two items right there could keep this team from getting to the Promised Land (aka the NCAA Tournament); which was the case last year. 

Sure sign of trouble - Riverso will probably be reaching for the Rolaids should either Speese or Solseth get into early foul trouble. 


1.  Bethel - After years of promise and falling short, it's finally happened for the Royals as things finally came together for this group and they blazed through the MIAC this year with just one mark on their resume - a shocking loss to SMU early this month down in Winona.  But even the best teams occasionally have hiccups and it's probably just as well that Bethel had theirs and got it out of their system at a good time.  I wouldn't call this team an offensive juggernaut by any means.  Rather, this team lives by its defense as they hold opponents to an average of 54.8 points per game.  Their pressure defense can best be described as those angry raptors from the Jurassic Park movies.  When they gang up on you, forget it.  It's over.  They just get on you and suffocate you as they've done to opponents so many times this season.  But yes, they do have offensive prowess to be sure and they're led by likely MIAC POY senior forward Taite Anderson (21.3 ppg) and junior guard Makenna Pearson (10.1 ppg) who can make you pay in spades from behind the arc.  Senior point guard Haylee Barker (9.6 ppg) has the ability to score, of course, but her specialty is defense and there is simply no on-ball defender better than her in the MIAC - and maybe the entire West Region.  Junior forward Elizabeth Schwarz (9.1 ppg) is often the forgotten factor on this team and slender freshman guard Kat Brown-Erdal (8.4 ppg) has slowly started coming into her own.  Junior guard Bella Williams (4.4 ppg) isn't necessarily the biggest scoring threat out there but she is the perfect compliment to Barker on defense.  I think you knew that, at some point, Head Coach Jon Herbrechtsmeyer would have one of his teams in this position at some point and its finally happened for this program.  With the way they play defense, they have the ability to go far and I'm not just talking about the MIAC Playoffs either.

Sure sign of trouble - The scenarios are tough to imagine but the only worry I see here is if they go completely cold behind the arc or suffer a letdown like they did against SMU.  Highly unlikely, of course, but weirder things have happened. 


So, there you have it.  This little party gets started tomorrow (Tuesday) night.  Be there or be square.           

MIAC Power Rankings For Sunday 2-23-20

A little later than I would like but it's time to review my final MIAC Power Rankings for the 2019-20 season as the regular season has now come to a close:


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


No doubt about who rules the roost in the MIAC these days - it's Bethel - easily.  They simply shut down a normally high-octane Augsburg team this last Wednesday night and closed out the regular season with a convincing win over CSB.  The Auggies meanwhile had to hang on for dear life against GAC yesterday so while they hold onto the number two position in my rankings, it's on shaky ground.

UST did what it was supposed to this last week and got routine home wins against both St. Olaf and SMU so they hold onto the third spot without too much fuss or argument.  After that, things start getting very tricky.  I was awfully tempted to shove GAC down as they've ended this regular season in total disarray; losing at SMU in overtime on Wednesday night and then blowing a nine-point lead at the start of the fourth period against Augsburg yesterday.  The thing of it is, there's really nowhere I can realistically move them downward so they finish in the fourth spot by default.  Without question, the team that's been the hottest down the stretch has been Carleton; winners of five straight that includes road wins at both Hamline last Wednesday night and then at St. Kate's yesterday.  Because of the tie-breaker situation, the Knights are done for the year but if anyone looked like a playoff team coming down the stretch, it was Carleton.

The teams that DID snare the last two playoff spots - St. Kate's and Hamline - finish in a tie for the sixth spot in my last Power Rankings release.  The Wildcats knocked off CSB at home this last Wednesday night but couldn't hold off said Carleton team yesterday in that critical fourth period.  Hamline was in the direst of dire straights; mired in a complete tailspin having lost five straights and it took a total team effort to hold off a vastly improved Concordia squad yesterday.

And let's talk about those Cobbers for a bit.....They were coming into this last weekend with a head of steam having won three straight and it was all laying out there for them but they came up short against Hamline in that fourth period yesterday.  And while that understandably must've been a brutal bus ride up U.S. Highway 10 and the BNSF's Staples Sub mainline back to Moorhead last night, Cobber Nation can probably take some solace in the fact that Head Coach Kim Wagers is building a very good program up there with a lot of young players and it won't be long before this team is back on the map again. 

It'd probably be an understatement to say that SMU Head Coach David Foley wishes he could have both December and January back as the Cardinals started to finally figure some things out and won three out of their last five contests.  It was just a rough, disappointing year up in St. Joe as CSB faltered often this season and never showed any consistency since early December when they got off to a good start.  St. Olaf snapped a seven-game skid with yesterday's narrow win over Macalester; their first victory in nearly a month.  It was an even longer season for said Macalester team that finished winless in the conference but this team was a lot better than its record and first year Head Coach Katie Kollar didn't have much in the way of depth. 

Now it's time to focus in on the MIAC Playoffs that start this Tuesday night.  Tomorrow, I'll break things down and try to shed some light on what to expect.   

Second Regional Rankings Released This Last Wednesday

Again, a little late in getting this in but it does provide the chance to review the all-important West Region and see how things might work out this coming week.  Let's take a look:


1.  Loras                                                             22-3   13-3
2.  Wartburg                                                       22-3   14-2
3.  Bethel                                                           24-1   19-1
4.  Whitman                                                      23-2   15-1
5.  UST                                                             20-5   16-4
6.  Augsburg                                                    21-4   17-3
7.  Simpson                                                     18-7   10-6
8.  George Fox                                                19-6   11-5


I've updated this with the records these teams have compiled after this weekend of play to get an idea of how things may shake out this coming Wednesday.......First, the guess here is that Wartburg will slide on up to the number one spot after their victory over Loras in Dubuque this last week that also clinched the ARC regular season title for them and the number-one seed in the upcoming ARC Playoffs.  Ditto on our side in the MIAC that saw Bethel score a resounding victory at home over Augsburg to clinch the MIAC regular season title and the number-one seed in the upcoming MIAC Playoffs.  Because of that, I would now expect Bethel to slide on up to the number two spot in these regional rankings this next week. 

Now, what happens after that is anyone's guess.  I think one could make the argument that Whitman out of the NWC could easily slide up to the third position as they held off Whitworth at home in overtime and then dumped Linfield on the road on Saturday.  I would guess that Loras then falls to the fourth spot despite the fact that they recovered from Wednesday night's disappointment with Wartburg to easily dispatch Nebraska Wesleyan out in Lincoln on Saturday.  UST scored routine wins over both St. Olaf and SMU this last week and holds solid in the fifth spot.  And while Simpson got impressive home wins against both said Nebraska Wesleyan team and Buena Vista, I don't think that'll be enough to overtake Augsburg for the sixth spot.  George Fox notched solid wins over both Lewis & Clark and Puget Sound so the guess here is they'll stay where they're at. 

Is there anyone I'm missing?  I'm still keeping my eye on Bethany Lutheran out of the UMAC as they got wins this last week against Crown and, more importantly, UW-Superior on Saturday to clinch the regular season title and the number-one seed in the UMAC Playoffs........Redlands is holding onto the first spot in the SCIAC with a 19-6 overall record and 14-2 in conference play. 

Stay tuned for this coming Wednesday afternoon when the third and final Regional Rankings are released.     

Concordia vs Hamline 2-22-20

On this last regular season Saturday, I wished I could have cloned myself three or four times (now there's a scary thought, isn't it?) to be in about three or four different places on this day.  In the end, I set my sights on Hutton Arena on this unseasonably mild Saturday on the campus of Hamline University for this huge matchup with the last spot in the upcoming MIAC Playoffs on the line as Concordia made its way down to the Twin Cities to take on host Hamline.  Both teams entered this contest with identical 9-10 conference records although the Cobbers were coming into this game with a much bigger head of steam in the form of a three-game win streak; including the unforgettable four-overtime victory over St. Kate's a week ago back up in Moorhead.  It was the opposite for Hamline which was mired in a late season tailspin having lost its last five games and given how things had been going for the Pipers as of late, the casual observer likely would have said, "Roll Cobbs".  But it was also Senior Day at Hutton Arena and seniors Heather Moore, Morgen Coleman, Kaeli Stayer, Rachel Kissinger and Reilly Geistfeld were all honored before the game so there was a lot of emotion involved in this one.

Concordia would draw first blood in this contest as junior guard Rachel Hoernemann drained a "3" from the right corner at the 9:36 mark of the opening period to get the Fargo-Moorhead group going but the Pipers would quickly respond as Stayer drained a "3" from the right wing area to level things at 3-all and Stayer would follow that up a bit later with a drive into the lane and deft finish to poke Hamline out in front 5-3.  Geistfeld would knock down one free throw at the 8:01 mark and one more by Coleman at the 7:09 mark kept the Pipers in the lead at 7-5.  Sophomore reserve guard Chan'el Anderson-Manning would extend the lead to 9-5 when she was fouled in a transition opportunity at the 6:53 mark and got both free throw attempts to go down but the Cobbers soon were able to get things in gear thanks to sharp-shooting freshman reserve guard Emily Beseman as she banged home back-to-back three-point bombs - one from the right top area at the 6:33 mark and another one from the right corner at the 5:59 mark - that suddenly shoved Concordia back out in front 11-9 and a Beseman drive and finish at the 5:04 mark maintained that slim two-point lead for the Cobbers at 13-11.  Beseman would get sent to the charity stripe with 3:56 left where her two free throws still had Concordia out in front 15-13 but now the Pipers were set to make a move.  Anderson-Manning would drill a "3" from the left wing area with 3:37 left to put Hamline back out in front 16-15 and that lead would grow to 19-15 when sophomore reserve forward Sarah Loken bullied into the lane for a finish and drew a foul in the process that allowed the former Irondale standout to knock down the "and one" with 3:07 left.  With 2:40 left, Anderson-Manning would bury a "3" from the left top area to stretch the lead to five at 22-17 and two Anderson-Manning free throws after she was fouled with 1:26 left maintained the five-point edge at 24-19.  Freshman reserve forward Tess Hauer would also knock down two free throws after getting fouled with :46.1 left to make it 26-19 and with just :02 left, freshman reserve forward Lydia Lecher banged home a "3" from the left wing area and things were definitely looking good for the Piper faithful with a 29-21 halftime lead. 

But as quickly as Hamline came alive down the stretch of the opening period, the Cobbers would have a revival all their own once the second period got underway.  Sophomore forward Mary Sem started things off the right way for Concordia as she would connect with a lay-up and draw a foul in the process and get the ensuing "and one" to go down to cut the deficit down to five at 29-24.  Fellow sophomore guard Autumn Thompson would then drain a "3" from the right corner at the 8:20 mark to get the Cobbers back to within a single possession down 29-27 and then it would be Beseman again reigning terror from three-point land.  The former Swanville standout would drop one three-point bomb from the right top area at the 6:30 mark to cut the deficit to one at 31-30 and would do the same from the right wing area at the 5:05 mark to push the Cobbers back out in front 33-31 and Hamline Head Coach Alex Focke had seen enough to know that a timeout was warranted for some quick defensive adjustments.  The momentum balloon that Concordia had suddenly built had some of the air come out of it, however, when Beseman had to retreat to the bench when she was slapped with her third foul of the afternoon with 3:34 left.  Still, Sem was able to extend the lead to four points with a lay-up with 3:04 left at 35-31 but the Pipers had another burst left in them before the halftime break.  One free throw by sophomore guard Gabby Robinson with 2:46 left helped spark an important 11-3 run by Hamline.  Lecher would snag a steal and race the other way for a lay-up with 2:21 left and then Stayer would drain a "3" from the right wing area to push the Pipers back out in front 37-35.  Two more Anderson-Manning free throws with 1:08 left extended the lead to four and with :31 left, Lecher would bury a "3" from the right wing area to stretch the lead to six at 42-36.  Concordia finally cut off the bleeding when freshman reserve post Vanessa Kedl connected with a lay-up with just :04 left to reduce the deficit to four at 42-38 but the momentum that the Cobbers had earlier had now slipped out into the cool air outside as both teams headed to the locker room for the halftime break.  A check of the first half box score shows how even this game appeared to be.  Rebounds were nearly even with Concordia holding a 19-18 edge although the Cobbers had seven turnovers compared to Hamline's two.  Concordia had better shooting numbers as they were 13-27 from FG range and 6-13 from downtown (thanks largely in part to Beseman) for 46.2%.  Hamline meanwhile was 12-32 from FG range for 37.5% and 6-14 from behind the arc for 42.9%.  This one thus far was turning into a game of runs which is what you would expect from two evenly-matched teams and then intensity and sense of urgency was certainly there on both sides.

The Cobbers came out of the locker room with both barrels blazing as they started off the third period with a 10-2 run.  Hoernemann; the former Ortonville standout, banged home a "3' from the left corner at the 8:50 mark and Thompson would follow that up less than a minute later with her own three-point bomb from the right wing area that pushed Concordia back out in front at 44-42.  Junior forward Elizabeth Birkemeyer would make a hard drive and finish with a pretty reverse lay-up at the 7:13 mark to grow the lead to four at 46-42 and Kedl's short jumper in the lane at the 5:23 mark capped this run and maintained the four-point edge at 48-44.  The Pipers would stop some of this bleeding when Robinson nailed a "3" from the left corner at the 5:04 mark but the Cobbers would launch another offensive burst.  Thompson would uncork back-to-back three-point bombs - one from the left wing area with 4:42 left and the other from the right top area with 4:06 left - as Concordia now had a five-point lead at 54-49.  Thompson would also make a hard drive along the right baseline for a finish with 3:13 left and Kedl's short jumper from the right side with 2:18 left capped this 10-2 run and gave the Cobbers their largest lead at 58-49 and at this point, the way things had been going for Hamline as of late, you almost had to figure that things were going to end on a disappointing note for the Pipers as they appeared to be in a lot of trouble.  It was here, however, where Hamline started to show some much-needed signs of life as they battled their way back into this contest in the last two minutes of this third period.  Loken would drop one free throw after getting fouled with 1:47 left and although the Cobbers' Sem would give her squad its biggest lead at 60-50 with her two free throws with :45.4 left, the Pipers were far from finished.  Freshman reserve guard Alyssa Williamson knocked down two free throws after getting fouled with :38.6 left and Geistfeld would connect with a tough lay-up with just :00.1 left and draw a foul in the process and although the St. James native couldn't cash in on the "and one", Hamline definitely had a new injection of energy; something that it was desperately needing along with a manageable six-point deficit at 60-54. 

And Geistfeld, who was held to just three points in the first half, showed the leadership and intensity that this Piper team needed so badly at the most critical juncture of this contest.  Her short, one-handed shot in the lane at the 9:41 mark of the fourth period cut the deficit to four at 60-56 and at the 8:42 mark, Geistfeld would strike again with another score in the paint to keep Hamline in that four-point range down 62-58.  The Cobbers would desperately try to keep their breathing room intact as Sem was able to knock down a jumper from the free throw line area at the 8:16 mark to get Concordia's lead to six at 64-58 but the Pipers' Geistfeld was on a mission.  She would get to the foul line at the 7:44 mark to drop two free throws that got the deficit back to four points at 64-60 and then Anderson-Manning; the former Cretin-Derham Hall standout, strutted her stuff as she went coast-to-coast for a lay-up at the 5:58 mark to draw the Pipers back to within a single possession down 65-62.  Then Robinson would come up with two big plays.  The former Tri-City United standout first connected with a lay-up at the 5:27 mark to cut the deficit to one and then finished off a transition opportunity with a pretty lay-up with 4:32 left to push Hamline into the lead at 66-65 and with Hutton Arena getting loud, first-year Cobber Head Coach Kim Wagers knew full and well it was time to call for a halt to the action.  But that timeout didn't seem to cool off the Pipers' Robinson one bit as she would snare an offensive rebound for a putback with 3:27 left to grow Hamline's lead to 68-65.  Concordia got a bit of a reprieve when Sem was able to knock down a short jumper off the glass as the shot clock was expiring with 2:53 left but when the Cobbers needed their three-point shooters to come alive for them, it just wasn't happening as Hamline was now in position to close this one out.  With 1:44 left, Hamline's Anderson-Manning perhaps delivered the fatal blow to the Cobbers playoff hopes with her cold-blooded "3" from the left wing area to make it 71-67 and, for good measure, Lecher would drain her own three-point bomb from the top of the key with 1:02 left to extend the Piper lead to seven at 74-67.  Concordia's Sem would get into the paint for a score with :51.8 left and Wagers would call another timeout in hopes of drawing up a miracle like they had a week ago against St. Kate's but on this day, the bag of magic tricks was empty for the Cobbers.  Hamline would get into the bonus with :42.1 left and with :37.9 left, Stayer would get sent to the charity stripe where the Coppell, Texas native got both free throw attempts to go down to make it 76-69.  Concordia had one last flicker of hope when Thompson made a hard drive into the lane for a finish and drew a foul in the process and dropped the obligatory free throw to reduce the deficit to four at 76-72 but the Cobbers could never get that one big play or stop that they so desperately needed.  Hamline's Geistfeld would be immediately fouled with :27.8 left and she got one free throw to go down and after a foiled Concordia possession, Anderson-Manning would be fouled with :15.6 left and she would get one free throw as well to go down to make it 78-72.  The Cobbers' Birkemeyer would make one last gasp for her team with her offensive rebound and putback with :06.3 left but Concordia would again be forced to foul immediately which sent Anderson-Manning to the foul line again where she got one free throw to go down to make it 79-74.  Another Concordia timeout and the Cobbers' Thompson would connect with a lay-up with :01 left but it wouldn't be enough as Hamline snared the last playoff spot with a hard-fought and exciting 79-76 victory. 

I was finally able to catch up with an elated and equally-relieved Focke of Hamline when things calmed down a bit.  He was just happy for his squad and how they managed to come together when things looked a little bleak.  "I love these kids.....They believed in each other".  Focke also pointed out that he told his squad before the contest that this game was a lot like the "First Four" at Dayton, Ohio for the men's NCAA Tournament and I think his players bought into that mentality.  I couldn't help but be impressed with Geistfeld and how she was able to rise to the occasion and it showed with how relentlessly she kept working and attacking with this one being her last game in venerable Hutton Arena.  Hamline needed to have something good; something positive happen for them and they came together in a tough game and made it happen.  Meanwhile on the Concordia side, obviously a disappointing finish in a season that had its share of ups and downs but the fact that the Cobbers were able to get themselves back into position to have a shot for the playoffs when I personally had left them for dead two short weeks ago says a lot about the resiliency of this team and I told that to Wagers when I was able to catch a word with her.  You look at this roster and see how it is dominated by freshmen and sophomores and you just know that Wagers and her staff (that includes two former Cobber greats in Alley Fisher and Olivia Johnson) has this program headed in the right direction and I expect that you're going to see a lot more of this Cobber team in big games down the road.  The crazy thing about this game is that, when you look at the box score for this one and see some of the numbers, it would almost suggest that Concordia may have actually been in better position to win.  Rebounds were practically even with the Cobbers holding a 36-35 edge and they certainly shot better than Hamline did on this day going 28-55 from FG range for 50.9% and 10-23 from downtown for 43.5%.  And the Cobbers were solid from the charity stripe going 10-12 for 83.3%.  Perhaps the only downer from a stats perspective is that Concordia suffered 12 turnovers on this day compared to only four for Hamline.  You look at the Hamline line and see that the Pipers shot 24-59 for 40.7% from FG range and were 9-27 from three-point land for 33.3%.  And Hamline shot 22-33 from the charity stripe for 66.7% and although Concordia certainly did better on that front, they didn't get to the line nearly as often as Hamline did.  Anderson-Manning was instrumental on this day for the Pipers as she led the way with 21 points and Geistfeld came on strong late and poured in 14 points.  Lecher wasn't far behind with her 13 points and both Robinson and Stayer finished with 10 points a piece in a very balanced attack.  Thompson was the "go-to" person for Concordia on this day with her 21 points and Beseman is already showing what a scoring threat she's going to be with her 17 points and Sem had a solid day down low with her 15 points.       

Spring Lake Park vs Park Center 2-21-20

Made the short run over to Park Center High School on this Friday evening for the last regular season game as host Park Center prepared to take on visiting Spring Lake Park.  This would be my first look at the Panthers this season and who could ever forget their stunning upset of Park Center in last season's Section 5AAAA semifinal game?  Although the Panthers would go on to lose to Centennial in the Section 5AAAA Championship Game, they were showing that their strong finish last year was no fluke as they were coming into this contest with a sparkling 9-2 conference record and 18-7 overall and were in second place in the West Division right behind their opponent on this night.  Park Center meanwhile was 10-1 in conference play and coming off the big road win at Maple Grove earlier in the week.  For the Pirates, the objectives were clear:  Win tonight and win the Northwest Suburban Conference title outright and cement the claim to the number-one seed in Section 5AAAA.  This was also Senior Night as well making this contest that much more emotional as seniors Aaliyah Ragulen, Lauren Frost and Kayla Cox were honored before the start of the game. 

Perhaps riding that wave of emotion helped Park Center get off to the kind of start they were hoping for as they built an early 7-0 lead.  Cox would drain a "3" from the left wing at the 17:52 mark of this first half to get things started and junior sensation guard/forward Adalia McKenzie provided the other scores of this early run with a short jumper from the left side at the 15:54 mark and a pretty coast-to-coast lay-up at the 15:33 mark.  But this early drive of the Pirates may have been slowed somewhat by the 2-3 "match-up" zone defense that Spring Lake Park Head Coach Randy Eatherton was employing on this night and that allowed the Panthers to claw their way back into this contest.  One free throw by junior forward/post Madi Ngene after she was fouled at the 14:04 mark and a Ngene lay-up at the 13:28 mark reduced the deficit to four and still another Ngene lay-up at the 12:51 mark had the Panthers back within a single possession down 7-5.  Senior guard/forward Joelle Talso would add one free throw after she was fouled at the 12:15 mark and Spring Lake Park would assume their first lead of this game when junior reserve guard Taylor Falvey connected with a lay-up in transition at the 11:04 mark.  That quickly got the Pirates attention and they responded with an 12-2 push.  Frost would snare a steal and race the other way for an easy lay-up at the 10:33 mark to put Park Center back out in front and an offensive rebound and putback by McKenzie with 8:56 left still had Park Center up by one at 11-10.  Frost would connect with another lay-up with 8:29 left and when Frost was able to grab an offensive rebound for a putback of her own miss with 8:10 left to give the Pirates a 15-10 advantage, Spring Lake Park's Eatherton knew his squad likely needed to be calmed down a bit and called a timeout in hopes of doing so. 

Still, Park Center was able to stretch its lead to 19-10 as eighth-grade guard Alivia McGill connected with a short turnaround jumper off the glass with 6:27 left and McKenzie was able to snare a steal of an inbounds pass in the backcourt and get an easy lay-up out of it with 6:20 left.  The Panthers were able to stop some of the bleeding on a Ngene lay-up with 6:07 left but Park Center finally established a double-digit lead when Ragulen connected with a jumper from the left wing area and McKenzie added a lay-up in transition with 5:22 left to make it 23-12.  But before the Pirates could get too comfortable with this newfound cushion, Spring Lake Park set out to again claw their way back into this one.  Freshman reserve forward Kylie Diaz would come up big as she would connect with a lay-up in transtion with 5:14 left and with 4:37 left, Diaz would connect with a lay-up that drew a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" had the deficit cut down to six at 23-17.  Diaz would also add two more free throws after getting fouled with 3:20 left and then slender junior guard Macy Smith would come up big with a three-point bomb from the left wing area with 2:38 left that had the deficit cut down to a manageable four points at 26-22.  Thirty seconds later, Ngene would snare an offensive rebound for a putback that brought the Panthers back to within a single possession down 26-24 and a Ngene score in the paint with 1:18 left kept Spring Lake Park in that two-point range down 28-26.  Both teams would add some flair of their own down the final home stretch of this first half.  Park Center's McKenzie would snare a steal in the backcourt and drive in for a finish with :49.6 left and Spring Lake Park senior guard Julia Levahn would drain a "3" from the left corner with :41 left to cut the deficit down to one point at 30-29 and although the Pirates would get a bit more breathing room when Frost buried a cold-blooded "3" from the left corner off of an inbounds pass with just :00.4 left to take a 33-29 lead into the locker room at the half, Head Coach Barb Metcalfe and her staff had to know that they were in a ballgame and these tricky Panthers weren't going anywhere. 

The Pirates were able to grow their advantage to six at 35-29 early in the second half when McKenzie knocked down a jumper from the left wing off of an inbounds pass at the 17:34 mark but, sure enough, right back came this resourceful Spring Lake Park team.  Talso would knock down a short jumper at the 17:04 mark to reduce the deficit to four points and now foul trouble was starting to plague the Pirates as well.  Cox collected her fourth foul of the evening at the 16:06 mark and the youngster; McGill, picked up her third a short time later at the 15:46 mark.  That aspect alone seemed to open up a door for the Panthers and they went right to work.  Levahn banged home her second trey of the ballgame; this one coming from the left top area at the 14:54 mark to reduce the deficit to one at 35-34 and less than a minute later, Talso would unleash a "3" of her own - this one from the same left top area as well that had this contest deadlocked at 37 a piece.  Park Center's McKenzie would then step to the forefront and get her team back into the lead with a score in the paint at the 13:55 mark and a steal and lay-up the other way at the 13:01 mark that also drew a foul and resulted in the obligatory free throw to give the Pirates a 43-37 advantage.  By now, however, McKenzie also picked up her third foul of the night but Park Center's Metcalfe decided to keep her in the contest; trusting McKenzie's basketball instincts.  But not even McKenzie could prevent this never-say-die Panther team from clawing their way back into the thick of things again.  Sophomore guard Avery Dunbar would connect with a lay-up at the 12:45 mark and draw a foul in the process and would also cash in on the ensuing "and one" to get the deficit down to three at 43-40.  Smith would sink two freebies of her own at the 12:17 mark after getting fouled that shrunk the deficit to one point at 43-42 and the Park Center situation became even more worrisome when Frost had to temporarily leave the game with an apparent shoulder injury.  As such, the Panthers' Talso would knock down two more charity stripe shots after getting fouled at the 11:20 mark and one free throw by Ngene at the 10:22 mark coupled with a Smith drive into the lane and finish at the 9:47 mark kept Spring Lake Park in that one-point range down 48-47.  Talso would then put the Panthers back out in front when she was foueld at the 9:22 mark to make it 49-48 and there was now some genuine worry and concern throughout the partisan Park Center crowd. 

The Pirates' McKenzie would connect with a lay-up in transition with 8:18 left to put the home team back in front but then Spring Lake Park's Levahn would strike again from three-point land with a bomb from the right corner with 7:25 mark to put the Panthers back out in front 52-50.  Soon thereafter, however, Park Center looked to have the ship guided into somewhat calmer waters when Cox drained a "3' from the right wing area with 7:04 mark to put the Pirates back out in front 53-52 and then McKenzie would go back to work.  She first knocked down a jumper from the left wing area with 5:26 left and followed that up with a lay-up in transition with 5;12 left to make it 57-52.  Another McKenzie lay-up with 3:12 left coupled with an offensive rebound and putback by McGill with 2:34 left now had Park Center up by nine at 61-52 and most of the onlookers inside Park Center Gymnasium likely thought that the Pirates were now out of the woods with this latest run and could probably close out a hard fought win.  But Spring Lake Park had vastly different ideas and when Smith buried a "3" from the left wing area with 2:03 left to reduce the deficit down to six at 61-55, Eatherton would call a timeout to set up strategy for the home stretch.  With 1:41 left, the Panthers got into the double-bonus as Ngene would get one free throw to go down to reduce the deficit to five and after a foiled Pirate possession, Talso would get fouled with 1:22 left and she calmly knocked down both attempts to get Spring Lake Park back to within a single possession down 61-58.  With 1:05 left, things looked a bit safer for the Pirates when McGill was fouled and she got one free throw to go down to make it a two-possession game at 62-58.  But then Park Center suffered the biggest blow of all a little more than ten seconds later when McKenzie drew her fifth and final foul of the night; much to the chagrin of the Pirate faithful inside Park Center Gymnasium.  With :32.7 left, Spring Lake Park's Levahn would get fouled and get the front-end to go down at least to get the Pirates back to within a single possession again down 62-59.  Both teams would come up empty on their next possessions and with :13.5 left, Park Center's Ragulen would get fouled and this is where the Pirates really had their best chance to finally put the daisy on this God-forsaken game but Ragulen could only get one of the two free throw attempts to go down making it a four-point game at 63-59.  With just :06.8 left, the Panthers' Smith would get fouled and she calmly dropped both to get the deficit down to two points at 63-61.  Spring Lake Park would immediately foul Pirates sophomore reserve forward/post Shadaizhalynn Chatman but, here again, the Pirates managed to leave the door ajar as Chatman could only get the front end of the two free throw attempts to go down to make it 64-61.  Spring Lake Park's Eatherton immediately called timeout on the defensive rebound and set up one last-gasp play in hopes that it would work.  It did.  The Panthers inbounded the ball to Talso who dribbled it down to her range from three-point land and with just :00.2 left on the clock, she drained a bomb to level this game at 64 a piece as the Spring Lake Park contingent erupted in jubilation.  This thing was going an extra five minutes. 

Despite the emotional blow of not being able to close things out in regulation and despite the fact that their main scoring machine - McKenzie - was now relegated to the bench after fouling out, the Pirates appeared to recover just enough to grab at least a small lead.  Frost; back on the floor after having left earlier with that injured shoulder, was able to snare an offensive rebound for a putback at the 3:38 mark to give Park Center a 66-64 advantage.  The Panthers would come up empty on their first two possessions in the overtime period but Smith finally did venture to the foul line with 1:47 left and got both attempts to go down to get this one tied back up again at 66-all.  The Pirates' Chatman would get fouled on Park Center's next possession with 1:36 left but was only able to connect on one of the two attempts so now the Pirates were clinging to a precarious one-point advantage at 67-66 and the nightmares of what happened in the Section 5AAAA semifinal game last season came full circle as Spring Lake Park would drive a stake into the heart of the Pirates on Senior Night.  With 1:01 left, the Panthers' Smith would launch and deliver a cold-blooded "3" from the left wing area to put Spring Lake Park back into the lead at 69-67.  Park Center would come up empty on its next possession and with :36 left, Smith would get fouled but she could only get one of the two free throw attempts to go down; thus leaving the door slightly open for the Pirates.  With :29.8 left, Park Center's Ragulen would get fouled and she knocked down both attempts to reduce the deficit to one at 70-69.  But the Pirates now needed to foul and preserve clock as well and with :17.3 left, Spring Lake Park's Talso would get sent to the charity stripe where she got both free throw attempts to go down to make it 72-69.  Now out of timeouts, Park Center was reduced to its last lifeline.  They quickly got the ball downcourt but getting somebody a clean look behind the arc was quickly proving to be akin to pulling teeth from a lion.  With just :05 left on the clock, the Pirates' Ragulen got what was probably the best look she was going to get from the right top area but her attempt would get deflected by the Panthers and the clock would run out and Spring Lake Park would escape with a thrilling 72-69 overtime victory. 

In the aftermath that was half bedlam and half disbelief and solemn, I was finally was able to catch up with Spring Lake Park's Eatherton who was gracious in victory.  He pointed out that Park Center would still probably get the number-one seed in Section 5AAAA while his squad would be in the 3/4 position as it was last year.  But he couldn't help feel a bit giddy about his squad as well.  He was particularly impressed with how they hung together and never got rattled; particularly when they were down 7-0 early on.  You watch this Spring Lake Park team play and you can easily see how they never get rattled or get down on themselves.  They're very smart with their half-court offense and incredibly patient and their 2-3 "match-up" zone defense probably bothered the Pirates a lot more than they're willing to admit.  Winning the Section 5AAAA title is probably going to be a bridge too far for this Spring Lake Park team.  At the same time, however, they're probably the LAST team you want to see yourself paired up with and, just like last year, they're capable of doing some serious damage and it wouldn't surprise me one bit to see a rematch between these two teams next weekend.  On the Park Center side, what can you say?  They had dozens and dozens of opportunities to close this one out and either missed free throws (WHY has free throw shooting become such a lost art anyway????) or other gaffes kept this one just out of reach.  You can blame the officials all you want or the fact that McKenzie wasn't there for the overtime period which obviously would have made a difference.  What makes this loss devastating beyond the obvious is that this loss; coupled with Maple Grove's win over Centennial, gives the Crimson an outright Northwest Suburban Conference Championship.  Plus the fact that Park Center, Spring Lake Park and Elk River wound up tied for first place in the West Division with identical 10-2 conference records.  But here's an even more worrisome thought:  One could make the argument now I think that Spring Lake Park is effectively in Park Center's head with this latest loss to the Panthers.  Hey, it happens.  It's happened to me as a tennis player when someone seemed to have (or still does :p ) my number even when I know I'm the "better" player.  Somehow, Park Center has to get over this mental hurdle and find a way because it's quite possible these two teams could meet up again next week in the Section 5AAAA semifinals.  Spring Lake Park had an incredibly balanced scoring attack on this night with Smith's 20 points leading the way and Ngene was a beast in the paint on this night with her 15 points.  Talso was right behind with her 14 points and Levahn added 10 points.  Park Center's McKenzie easily led all scorers with her 31 points on this night despite fouling out while Frost had 12 points and Ragulen had 11 points.