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.