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.