Bethel vs UST 2-12-20

Ventured over to the St Paul side of town on this bitterly cold Wednesday evening to Schoenecker Arena on the campus of UST where things were going to be heating up big time for this critical late-season MIAC showdown between visiting Bethel and host UST.  The Royals were coming into this game after suffering their first loss of the season - a shocking 77-69 setback this last Saturday on the road at SMU - and were definitely looking to make amends for that.  UST meanwhile was coming into this game with some momentum in the form of a three-game win streak and were making steady strides on offense as well.  Without question, this game would not only have MIAC Playoff implications but West Regional ranking implications and NCAA Tournament implications as well.

The Tommies would draw first blood in this contest on a lay-up by sophomore guard Ellie Wolkow at the 9:46 mark of the opening period but Bethel would come back and assume a 4-2 advantage as senior forward Taite Anderson led the way with a short one-handed shot in the lane as the shot clock was expiring at the 9:13 mark and a lay-up after a steal at the 8:58 mark.  This early see-saw pattern would continue as UST would reclaim the lead on a three-point bomb by sophomore guard Amber Darge at the 8:20 mark but then the Royals would take it right back and grow it a bit.  And again it was Taite Anderson doing everything (or so it seemed) for Bethel.  A score in the paint at the 7:52 mark and a lay-up at the 7:23 mark had the Royals up 8-5.  Defense would then take center stage over the next four minutes as both teams beat each other into oblivion and it wasn't until there was 3:25 left that Bethel could up its lead to five on two Taite Anderson free throws.  The Tommies finally broke out of their shooting slump and came alive down the stretch of this first period as two free throws by junior reserve guard Noelle Tomes with 1:56 left got UST back to within a single possession and then Wolkow would unleash a "3" from the left wing area with :44 left to get this game knotted at 10 a piece.  Bethel would grab a 12-10 lead when senior point guard Haylee Barker used her defensive prowess to snare a steal in the backcourt and get a lay-up out of it with :15 left but then the Tommies' Wolkow would uncork her second trey of this first period - a bomb from the left corner with just :02.1 left - as UST took a 13-12 lead going into the second period.

UST would grow its lead to three at 15-12 when freshman reserve guard Abby Mackenthun connected with a lay-up at the 9:15 mark of the second period but the Royals would quickly respond as they did at the beginning of the first period.  Taite Anderson would connect with a lay-up off of an inbounds pass at the 9:02 mark and then freshman sharp-shooting guard Kat Brown-Erdal nailed a "3" from the left corner at the 8:45 mark to put Bethel out in front 17-15.  Now it was the Tommies turn to respond.  Rolland would muscle into the paint for one score at the 8:26 mark to tie the game and then Tomes; the former East Ridge standout, nailed one of her trademark lefty "3's" from the right top area as the shot clock was expiring to put UST out in front by a 20-17 score.  The Royals would quickly level this contest when slender freshman guard Kat Brown-Erdal drained a "3" of her own from the left wing area at the 5:02 mark.  It was here where the real first change of this ballgame came.  Defense again would reign supreme over the next minute and a half or so but the pressure defense that Bethel was applying finally started to get to the Tommies as the visitors from the north side of town embarked on a key 7-0 spurt.  Taite Anderson would maneuver into the paint for yet another score with 3:43 left to push the Royals ahead and then sophomore reserve guard (and younger sister) Tessah Anderson would be fouled in a transition opportunity with 3:22 left and would get two free throws to go down to push the Bethel lead to 24-20.  With 3:00 left, Taite Anderson would again muscle into the paint for a score and this time draw a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" pushed the Royals' lead to 27-20 and UST Head Coach Ruth Sinn had seen enough to know that at least a thirty-second stoppage in play was necessary to get her squad calmed down and regrouped.  The Tommies would get a bit of a lift when Mackenthun drew a foul on a hard drive and got two free throws to go down to cut the deficit down to five at 27-22 and perhaps just as important, Bethel's Taite Anderson had to retreat to the bench with her second foul of the evening.  But the Royals would stretch their lead to as many as nine as two free throws by freshman reserve forward Emma Schultz with 1:58 left and a lay-up by junior forward Elizabeth Schwarz with 1:34 left made it 31-22 before UST could cut into the deficit again.  Mackenthun would add one freebie after getting fouled with 1:10 left and Rolland would get a score down low with :27 left to at least narrow the gap to six at 31-25 as both teams headed to the locker room after this bruising first half.

The Tommies needed some positives to happen in the third period and it looked as if early on they got exactly what they wanted when Rolland completed a three-point play the old-fashioned way with a hard drive for a finish that drew a foul with the resulting "and one" at the 8:23 mark that brought UST back to within a single possession down 31-28.  Two quick scores by the Royals, however, changed that delicate balance.  Taite Anderson connected with a lay-up at the 8:03 mark and then junior reserve forward Makenna Pearson banged home a "3" from the right wing area at the 6:47 mark to push Bethel's lead to eight at 36-28.  The Tommies would again cut into this as Rolland scored in the paint at the 5:33 mark and drew a foul in the process and sunk the obligatory free throw to reduce the deficit down to five but that relief was only temporary as Bethel would soon stretch their lead to eight again at 39-31 when junior reserve guard Michaela Craigan drained a "3" from the right wing area with 4:36 left and UST's Sinn was clamoring for another thirty-second timeout for a few quick defensive adjustments.  Bethel would manage to grow the lead to nine as junior guard Bella Williams knocked down one free throw after getting fouled with 4:06 left and then Barker; who was making life hell for UST with her great defense, made a drive into the lane for a finish with 3:00 left to make it a 42-33 game.  The Tommies needed something to lift their sagging spirits and again, it looked like they got another big positive when Bethel's Tatie Anderson was slapped with her third foul of the night with 2:04 left.  Sophomore guard Shayla Wallin got one free throw out of that and with 1:22 left, Wallin would strike again when she muscled into the paint for a score that reduced the deficit down to six points at 42-36 and seemed to have UST back within striking distance again.  Wallin would add another free throw after getting fouled with :35 left in the third period so being down 44-37 wasn't necessarily that daunting of a proposition for the Tommies as this rough and rumble contest morphed into the fourth period.

But those hopes of a full comeback by UST quickly disintegrated once the fourth period got underway and the Royals turned up the heat with their unrelenting pressure defense.  Barker's drive into the lane and finish off the glass at the 9:20 mark sparked a 9-2 Bethel run that left little doubt as to how this one was going to turn out.  Taite Anderson would add one free throw after getting fouled at the 7:56 mark and would add two more thirty seconds later at the 7:26 mark when she was fouled in a transition opportunity that had the Royals up by ten at 49-39.  Taite Anderson would inflict even more damage with her pretty reverse lay-up at the 6:20 mark and two Schwarz free throws at the 5:30 mark now had Bethel up by fourteen at 51-39 to cap this key burst.  The Tommies stopped some of the bleeding as Tomes would knock down a pair of free throws after getting fouled at the 5:09 markand one more by Rolland with 4:28 left had the deficit down to eleven at 53-42 and perhaps more importantly, Bethel's Taite Anderson was now saddled with her fourth foul of the night.  The Royals, however, would not fold this time around and calmly responded by widening the gap some more.  The real nail in the coffin for UST came with 4:13 left when the Royals got into the bonus with Barker getting fouled.  The former Maple Grove standout dropped both charity stripe shots to make it 55-42 and Schwarz would add one free throw of her own with 3:23 left to make it 56-42.  Then Barker would deliver a back-breaking "3" from the left top area with 2:37 left that made it 59-42.  Craigan would add one free throw of her own with 1:57 left and, for good measure (or a little revenge depending upon how you look at it), Barker would drain another cold-blooded "3" - this one from the same left top area - that pretty much sealed the deal with Bethel now out in front 63-45.  The Tommies would get late scores on two free throws by junior point guard Macy Hatlestad with :48.7 left and a short running jumper in the lane by sophomore reserve guard Mia Laube with just :05 left but the Royals scored a big road win over one of their biggest arch-rivals by a 65-49 count.

It didn't take me terribly long to catch up with a couple of the standouts for Bethel on this night - Barker and Taite Anderson as well as Head Coach Jon Herbrechtsmeyer as the Royals moved to 21-1 on the year.  With Barker and Taite Anderson; both of whom experienced disappointment in this venue a year ago in a tough loss to the Tommies, this victory tonight was definitely something of a vindication; perhaps a removal of the proverbial bag of bricks that they've been carrying since the disappointing end of last year's season.  I couldn't resist in jesting Taite Anderson a little bit in (1) asking her if this win tonight was like getting the proverbial monkey off her back (a resounding "Yes!") and (2) telling her that if she doesn't get POY honors, I'll raise holy hell.  She liked that one but Taite Anderson is way too humble to blow her own horn.  Herbrechtsmeyer, on the other hand, did that and more when I caught up with him.  He was incredibly pleased with the defensive effort of his squad tonight and noted that it really took UST out of what they wanted to do and made them rush shots on several occasions.  I did ask Herbrechtsmeyer if he could elaborate at all about why he started Schwarz instead of Pearson on this night which I was a bit surprised to see.  "Team issues" he replied; noting that he felt he needed a bigger presence down low to help out in guarding UST's Rolland.  UST's Sinn; though disappointed with the setback on this night, kept things in perspective.  "This loss doesn't 'hurt', hurt us.....We still have important regionall-ranked wins over East Texas Baptist and Trinity (Texas)."  She did lament, however, the fact that her squad will only get to see Bethel once in this regular season and felt like if they could have had another opportunity to face them, they would know how to handle the pressure defense better.  You never know......They might get their chance in the MIAC Playoffs.......When I glance at the final box score in this one, the number one thing that stands out to me is the fact that UST was guilty of 28 turnovers on this night.  Twenty-eight!  When was the last time you ever saw ANY UST team committing that many turnovers in one game?  But when you can apply pressure defense the way Bethel does, it's going to cause turnovers and Sinn was quick to point out that her squad has to learn from this.  Then, too, you look at the number of steals on this night where Bethel had 18 and UST had only five.  That's another glaring stat as well.  Perhaps one of the few bright spots on this night for the Tommies was that they did win the battle on the boards by a 31-27 count.  Beyond that, the numbers just weren't good for UST.  Bethel enjoyed a 28-20 edge in points in the paint (thanks largely to Taite Anderson) and a 36-11 edge in points off of those turnovers.  And it's not like the Royals shot the lights out on this night necessarily (they didn't) as they were 20-49 from FG range for 40.8% and 6-17 from downtown for 35.3%.  Rather, it was what the Bethel defense did to UST as the Tommies endured a miserable night from a shooting standpoint going 15-42 from FG range for 35.7% and 4-18 from behind the arc for 22.2% and UST's Sinn will be the first to tell you that that ain't gonna get the job done.  The Tommies did shoot decently from the foul line going for 78.9% but had this been a closer game, that aspect may have played a bigger part.  What can you say about Bethel's Taite Anderson?  She easily led all scorers with her 24 points on this night and if she doesn't get the MIAC POY this year, something's seriously, seriously wrong with the voting process.  Barker, too, was simply invaluable on this night for Bethel as she finished with 14 points (and four steals) and she hounded the Tommies with a passion unbridled with her defense on this night.  UST's Rolland was the only Tommie player in double figures with her 13 points.