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.