Game Recap - Northern State vs Minnesota-Duluth 1-29-21

 With a wide array of teams on the slate on this Friday night that I haven't covered on the NSIC front yet, I opted for the Northern State - Minnesota-Duluth game in Duluth.  Since getting a sweep on Minot State back on January 2/3, the Bulldogs have been idle having scheduled games the next two weekends cancelled so they would arguably have some rust to shake off.  The Wolves meanwhile had been suffering a similar fate with weekend games with both Bemidji State and Southwest Minnesota State cancelled earlier this month.  Last weekend, Northern State lost two tough games to Minnesota-Crookston so the Wolves were looking to make amends.

Things definitely looked bright for the home team early on in the opening period anyway as the Bulldogs built an early 6-1 lead.  A score in the paint by junior guard Maesyn Thiesen at the 7:58 mark and a jumper by senior guard and former Park Center standout Ann Simonet at the 7:04 mark and a tough score in the paint by senior forward and former Centennial standout Sarah Grow at the 5:55 mark definitely had the needle pointed in the direction of Minnesota-Duluth.  Curiously, however, the Bulldogs went into an offensive funk with several questionable three-point shot attempts and turnovers galore and Northern State was quick to pounce as they embarked on a 12-0 burst; highlighted by three-point bombs by junior guard Ellie Gess at the 5:24 mark and by junior forward Lexi Wadsworth with 4:45 left and capped by a lay-up by senior post Alayna Johnson 2:42 left as the Wolves grabbed a 13-6 advantage.  Minnesota-Duluth finally broke their drought on a short jumper in the paint by sophomore guard Taytum Rhoades with 2:21 left but Northern State would grow their lead to nine at 17-8 as Alayna Johnson would get a score in the paint with 1:36 left and junior guard Haley Johnson would connect with a lay-up with :55 left.  The Bulldogs would narrow the deficit down to five points as freshman guard/forward Ella Gilbertson knocked down a jumper from the left corner just inside the three-point line with :33 left and junior forward Brooke Olson would add two charity stripe shots with :08 left but Northern State had to be feeling good holding a 17-12 lead going into the second period.  

Minnesota-Duluth was able to close back to within a single possession down 19-17 when Gilbertson drained a "3" at the 8:51 mark of the second period coupled with a Grow score in the paint at the 7:20 mark but the same bouts of questionable shot selection and turnovers still plagued this Bulldog team as Northern State was able to re-establish some breathing space.  Wadsworth drained a "3" at the 6:40 mark and lanky sophomore forward Laurie Rogers connected with a lay-up at the 6:05 mark to help give the Wolves a 24-17 advantage.  Minnesota-Duluth managed to get the deficit tantalizingly narrowed again as the youngster; Gilbertson, banged home yet another "3" at the 5:38 mark and a lay-up by Olson with 4:32 left that drew a foul with the obligatory "and one" had the Bulldogs back within a single possession again down 26-23.  Both team went into a bit of a cold spell over the next couple of minutes but a score by Olson in the paint with 2:20 left kept Minnesota-Duluth within a single possession down 28-25.  But the Wolves ability to get to the free throw line in the waning minutes got them some more wiggle room by the halftime break.  Haley Johnson would drop a pair with 2:01 left as would freshman guard Rianna Fillipi with just :17 left as Northern State took a 32-25 advantage into the locker room at the intermission.

Minnesota-Duluth's fortunes did not improve once the third period got underway as the Wolves re-established their biggest lead at nine as senior forward Joie Spier knocked down a pair of free throws after getting fouled at the 9:13 mark to make it a 34-25 ballgame.  Again, the Bulldogs had to go back to work just to get the deficit whittled down.  Gilbertson would connect with a lay-up at the 9:13 mark and senior guard/forward Payton Kahl finally found her touch and unleashed a "3" at the 8:18 mark to get the deficit down to four at 34-30.  Two Gilbertson free throws at the 6:53 mark and a score in the paint by Grow at the 6:34 mark once again had Minnesota-Duluth right back to within a single possession again down 37-34 and when Gilbertson knocked down a jumper at the 6:23 mark, the Bulldogs were down by just a scant point at 37-36 and there was every reason to believe that they'd finally get over the hump by this point.  Once again, however, Northern State effectively shut the door on this latest attempt by the home team.  Wadsworth would drill a "3" at the 6:01 mark and two free throws by Spier with 1:58 left gave the Wolves some space again up 42-36.  Minnesota-Duluth would get the deficit down to four with :51 left on two Gilbertson free throws but everything seemed to be an uphill battle for the Bulldogs up to this point.  

Northern State upped its lead back to six point at 44-38 on a jumper by Fillipi at the 9:32 mark of the fourth period and three three-point bombs - one by Wadsworth at the 9:01 mark, one by Gess at the 8:32 mark and another one by Wadsworth at the 8:00 mark - not only had the Wolves up 53-44 but had momentum in their favor as well.  Indeed, Minnesota-Duluth appeared to be buried by this juncture but just when it looked like they were ready to break out the white flags of surrender, the Bulldogs instead showed the heart of a fighter and they quickly responded.  Simonet; who had struggled with her shooting touch for most of the evening, finally found her range from behind the arc at the 7:45 mark and another one by Thiesen at the 6:23 mark suddenly had the deficit down to three again at 53-50.  Olson would add a lay-up at the 5:22 mark to reduce the deficit to a scant point at 53-52 and although Northern State's Fillipi would knock down a jumper at the 4:12 mark to widen the gap to three at 55-52, the Wolves never could get traction on offense again.  The Bulldogs' Olson would tie the game with her three-point bomb with 3:44 left and Minnesota-Duluth would finally take the lead for good when Rhoades maneuvered into the paint for a score with 2:48 left.  Grow would add a score in the paint with 2:06 left and Thiesen would add insurance free throws with :22 left as the Bulldogs captured a come-from-behind 61-55 victory.  

Normally, when a team shoots 7-11 from behind the arc for 63.6% and holds a 32-23 edge on the boards as well as Northern State did on this night, they usually win.  However, the Wolves suffered 20 turnovers on this night which proved to be their undoing down the stretch.  Granted, Minnesota-Duluth struggled for a good portion of this game with questionable shooting and they finished this contest 22-53 from FG range for 41.5% and only 7-18 from behind the arc for 38.9%.  The bottom line here in my mind is that Northern State simply was unable to finish the deal when they had a nine-point lead in early in that fourth period.  Northern State was paced by Wadsworth's 15 points on this night and Alayna Johnson would finish with 10 points.  Olson was huge for Minnesota-Duluth on this night as she led all scorers with her 18 points and a great night for the youngster; Gilbertson as she finished with 16 points.           

 

Game Recap - Sioux Falls vs Concordia St Paul 1-22-21

 Settled on the Sioux Falls vs Concordia St Paul game on this Friday night to check out and was curious as to how the Golden Bears would respond after suffering their first loss of the season last Saturday to Augustana to come away with a split.  Sioux Falls meanwhile was coming into this game rolling right along at 4-0 so this roadie over to the Twin Cities would arguably be a test for them.

Things would stay reasonably tight in the opening minutes of the first period as a score in the paint by senior forward and former Elk River standout Sidney Wentland and a lay-up by fellow senior guard and former Park Center standout Danielle Schaub had Concordia St Paul right in the thick of things down only 6-4 by the 8:05 mark.  But the Cougars would provide a preview of things to come as they were able to establish a bit of breathing room thanks to a three-point bomb by senior Emily Peterson to help forge an 11-6 advantage by the 7:15 mark.  Still, the Golden Bears were able to get back to within a single possession when lanky freshman forward Lindsey Becher knocked down a pair of free throws after getting fouled at the 6:58 mark.  Sioux Falls would again get some more breathing space with a seven-point advantage at 15-8 when junior forward and former Lakeville North standout Kiara James connected with a lay-up at the 6:20 mark but things looked a lot better for the home team in the course of a minute as the Golden Bears embarked on a 5-0 push.  Wentland would connect with a short jumper at the 6:05 mark and would follow that up with a big three-point bomb at the 5:25 mark to tighten things up down only 15-13 and by this point it certainly seemed like Concordia St Paul was right where they wanted to be.  It was here, however, where the Cougars unleashed the first of their many three-point daggers in this contest.  Peterson would comply with back-to-back bombs - one at the 5:13 mark and again with 4:30 left - that suddenly had Sioux Falls up by eight at 21-13.  A lay-up in transition by junior forward Krystal Carlson with 1:48 left maintained the eight-point edge at 23-15 and another one by willowy junior guard Anna Brecht with :54 left gave the Cougars their first double-digit lead at 25-15.  Junior guard Dallie Hoskinson would add a pair of charity stripe shots after getting fouled with :28 left but the cap on this first big run by Sioux Falls came with just one tick left on the clock in this opening period when senior guard Lauren Sanders banged home a back-breaking "3" from the top of the key as the Cougars took a sizable 30-15 lead going into the second period. 

Things definitely appeared bleak for the Concordia St Paul faithful as Sioux Falls was able to slowly grow its lead once the second period got underway.  A Hoskinson jumper at the 9:25 mark along with a pair of free throws by senior forward Anna Goodhope at the 8:21 mark had the Cougars up 34-18 and then Brecht would drain a "3" at the 7:42 mark for a 37-18 lead.  A Hoskinson lay-up at the 6:54 mark made it a 39-20 game and two Brecht free throws at the 6:13 mark would make it 41-20 and it certainly seemed like Concordia St Paul was facing sure Armageddon at this point.  To their credit, however, the Golden Bears refused to roll over and instead put together a push that tightened up things.  Junior guard Meghan DuBois would connect with a jumper at the 5:13 mark and a score in the paint by junior guard/forward Sydney Schultz with 4:26 left initially led this charge.  Sophomore forward Sydney Zgutowicz gave Concordia St Paul a much-needed spark with her three-point bomb with 3:57 left and a score in the paint by senior guard Riley Wheatcraft with 3:25 left and two Becher freebies with 2:33 left had the deficit down to sixteen at 47-31.  Becher would also add a lay-up with 1:55 left and two free throws by sophomore guard Jadyn Hanson with 1:07 left now had the deficit down to twelve at 47-35 and there was every reason to think that the Golden Bears might possibly slice some more fat off of this deficit.  But some of the defensive woes that were becoming readily apparent for this Concordia St Paul team reared their ugly heads again in the final minute as Sioux Falls re-established some breathing space.  Sanders would casually drain a cruel "3" after being left alone in the left wing area and Goodhope would add a score in the paint just before the halftime buzzer as the Cougars took a cozy 52-37 lead into the locker room at the half. 

Sioux Falls wasted little time in rebuilding that twenty-point cushion they had earlier once the third period got underway.  One Brecht free throw at the 9:06 mark and a Hoskinson lay-up at the 8:50 mark made it 57-37 and junior guard Hannah Jones would add a lay-up at the 7:58 mark to make it 59-39.  The Golden Bears were arguably in a funk on the offensive end and although Sioux Falls had cooled off a big from behind the arc, they were still finding other ways to pad their lead.  Brecht would add a pair of free throws at the 6:15 mark and a Hoskinson jumper at the 4:15 mark now had the Cougars up 63-40.  Hoskinson would add a lay-up with 3:38 left and a short jumper by Jones in transition with :45 left that drew a foul with the obligatory "and one" gave Sioux Falls its biggest lead of the evening at 68-42 with :45 left.  

With things pretty much academic once the fourth period got underway, Sioux Falls still looked pretty efficient on both ends of the floor.  Pairs of free throws by Jones - at the 9:13 and 8:20 marks - had the Cougars safely up 72-46 before Concordia St Paul finally started showing some signs of life again on the offensive end.  Freshman guard Sarah Kuma out of Lakeville North knocked down a pair of free throws at the 8:09 mark and would add a three-point bomb at the 7:45 mark and a Zgutowicz lay-up at the 7:07 mark finally had the Golden Bears back to within twenty again down 72-53.  Zgutowicz would add a lay-up in transition at the 5:56 mark and two Wheatcraft free throws at the 5:09 mark had the deficit down to seventeen at 74-57.  But again, this was way too little, way too late - as was emphasized when Sioux Falls' Sanders buried another "3" with 4:22 left to make it a 77-57 game.  Jones would add a pair of free throws with 3:43 left to maintain the twenty-point cushion at 79-59 and sophomore guard Ashley Wells would add a jumper for insurance with 1:35 left as the Cougars pocketed an important 83-65 road win.

It's true that you don't get the same perspective watching a game online as you would watching it in person with a good look at the floor and what's going on out there.  Yet, the one thing that became readily apparent is how Sioux Falls basically got carte blanche in the first half to unleash their three-point artillery barrage that buried this Concordia St Paul team.  Indeed, in the first half alone, the Cougars were 9-14 from behind the arc for 64.3% and you've just got to find a way to choke that off.  Throw in some rather cold shooting by the Golden Bears as they went 13-30 from FG range in the first half alone and its easy to see how they quickly got themselves into some rather hot water.  It was a very balanced attack for Sioux Falls with four players in double-figures.  Brecht led the way for the Cougars and also led all scorers on this night with her 20 points while Jones had 13 points.  Hoskinson had an incredibly solid night with her "double-double" of 12 points and 12 rebounds while Goodhope added 10 points.  Concordia St Paul leaned heavily on Becher on this night as she led the Golden Bears with 13 points while Wheatcraft finished with 11 points.

Game Recap - Augustana vs Concordia St Paul 1-15-21

 On the eve of the big NFC Divisional Playoff between my Los Angeles Rams and the Green Bay Packers, I took a look at the slate of games on tap on this Friday evening and settled for watching the Augustana vs Concordia St Paul game taking place over at Gangelhoff Arena.  The Vikings were coming into this contest with a 2-2 record while the Golden Bears were unblemished at 4-0 after two weekends of play.

The visitors from Sioux Falls definitely got the kind of start they wanted; jumping out to a 5-0 lead by the 7:13 mark thanks to a "3" by senior guard forward Hannah Mitby and a short jumper in the paint by sophomore guard Lauren Sees.  The Vikings would extend that lead to 10-2 when Sees connected with a jumper in transition at the 6:56 mark and senior guard Izzy Van Veldhuizen connected with a lay-up a bit later at the 6:35 mark along with one Mitby free throw at the 6:06 mark and Concordia St Paul looked to be in a heap of trouble at this point.  But the Golden Bears finally settled down and slowly but surely got their way back into this one.  Lanky freshman forward Lindsey Becher's lay-up at the 5:42 mark along with a jumper in the paint by senior forward Sidney Wentland at the 5:22 mark that drew a foul with the obligatory "and one" suddenly had the Golden Bears back to within a single possession down 10-7.  A jumper by junior guard Meghan DuBois with 4:54 left along with two Becher freebies a bit later helped reduce the deficit to one at 12-11 and a short jumper by senior point guard Danielle Schaub with 3:05 left kept Concordia St Paul in that one-point range down 14-13.  With 1:16 left, sophomore guard Jadyn Hanson banged home a "3" from the right corner to finally get this one tied at 16 a piece and one Hanson free throw with just under a minute left in this opening period finally allowed the Golden Bears to grab their first lead of this ballgame at 17-16.  

Augustana looked to regain the upper hand once the second period got underway as two scores by freshman forward Jennifer Aadland - a score in the paint at the 9:43 mark along with a lay-up in transition at the 8:58 mark - pushed the Vikings back out in front by three at 20-17.  Concordia St Paul didn't waste any time getting this one deadlocked again at 20 a piece on a short jumper by junior guard/forward Sydney Schultz at the 8:32 mark along with two Schultz free throws a bit later.  Back-to-back jumpers by Schaub had the Golden Bears up four at 24-20 by the 6:51 mark but right back came Augustana as they grabbed a one-point lead at 25-24 by the 5:05 mark; punctuated by a three-point bomb by Sees.  Another "3"; this one by Van Veldhuizen with 4:09 left - had the Vikings up by two at 28-26 with momentum seemingly on their side.  But the last three and a half minutes saw things suddenly go south for this Augustana team as the Golden Bears ripped off a key 14-0 run that changed the complexion of this one for good.  Sophomore forward Sydney Zgutowicz started this key run with back-to-back scores - a "3" with 3:21 left and a lay-up in transition with 3:07 left - that gave Concordia St Paul the lead back for good at 31-28.  Two free throws by senior forward Ayla Lemke a bit later along with a Lemke jumper suddenly increased the lead to seven at 35-28 with just over two minutes left.  Then DuBois connected with a back-breaking "3" with 1:30 left to make it 38-28 and Schultz would cap this run with a jumper with just over a minute left to make it 40-28 by the halftime break.  

Now down by double-digits, this Augustana team had to go to work in order to chip away at this deficit.  It took a bit but an Aadland "3" at the 7:45 mark had the deficit down to ten points at 45-35 but the Golden Bears stepped on the gas pedal again and would have their lead built up to 14 points at 49-35 at the 6:01 mark on two lay-ups by Becher.  Wentland would add a lay-up at the 5:17 mark for a 51-38 lead and a short jumper in the paint by Wentland with 4:12 left made it 53-38 and by this point things looked grim for Viking faithful.  But Augustana was at least able to dig in and get a bit of hope back with a 7-0 push; capped by a Sees "3" with 2:52 left that had the Vikings back in single-digit range down 53-45.  Somewhat alarmed by this development, Concordia St Paul got things going again down the stretch to take a "safer" 60-49 lead going into the fourth period. 

Augustana needed to get the gap closed quickly once the fourth period got underway and a 4-0 burst in the first three minutes suggested that another comeback might be in the offing.  Sophomore forward Aislinn Duffy knocked down a short jumper in the paint at the 8:51 mark and a score in the paint by Mitby at the 7:32 mark suddenly had the deficit down to a much more manageable seven points at 60-53 with a mountain of time left.  The Vikings reduced the deficit to six at 61-55 when Aadland connected with a lay-up at the 6:15 mark and Concordia St Paul definitely appeared to be vulnerable at this point.  But the Golden Bears had vastly different ideas; particularly slender senior guard Riley Wheatcraft as she knocked down two critical jumpers - one at the 6:03 mark and another one at the 5:19 mark - to re-energize this Concordia St Paul team.  Wheatcraft would strike again with 4:17 left with a lay-up to solidify the Golden Bear cushion to ten points at 67-57 and with 2:21 left, DuBois would unleash another dagger "3" that now stretched the lead to 70-59 that, for all intents and purposes, was the ballgame.  DuBois would knock down a pair of insurance free throws with 1:01 and :34 left, respectively, and Concordia St Paul stayed undefeated with a 74-60 victory.

In looking back at this game, the one thing that I really liked about this Golden Bear team is how well they move the ball in the half court and how unselfish they are as they have more than one player who can hurt you as the final box score suggests.  Both DuBois and Wheatcraft tallied 13 points on this night to lead the Concordia St Paul attack and DuBois just missed out on a "double double" with 9 rebounds to boot.  Becher, too, had a nice outing on this night as she finished with 10 points but what stands out to me is that the Golden Bears had only eight turnovers on this night compared to the 17 that Augustana had which was a killer for the Vikings - even though Augustana had a 43-38 edge on the rebounding front.  Rebounding is great but that gets negated when you have that many turnovers.  Augustana's Sees led all scorers with her 14 points on this night while Aadland finished with 13 points.       

MIAC President's Council Officially Gives The Go-Ahead For Winter Sports

 Obviously this came out during work earlier today but at least wanted to provide an update as the MIAC President's Council officially gave the go-ahead for winter sports - including women's basketball - today.  You can view the story from the MIAC's website:  https://miac.prestosports.com/general/2020-21/releases/20210112lfbdy1

The first thing that stuck out to me in the story was that there will not be having the usual playoff format that it's had in "normal" seasons since 2001.  As I understand it, both basketball and hockey schedules will follow a single round-robin format where each participating team will play every other team once and the team achieving the best winning percentage while completing at least 51 percent of the schedule will claim the MIAC championship and the automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament that goes with it.  

Regular season games will begin on Saturday (2-6) at 2:00 P.M. with Wednesday evening games beginning at 7:00 P.M.  Interestingly, the teams that have opted out of conference play are permitted to compete in non-conference competition during the NCAA-approved competition window.  Also, the teams that do not compete this season may continue to participate in practices, strength and conditioning along with skill development and leadership programming.  Presumably this would include the schools that have opted out this year - Carleton, St. Olaf, Macalester and St. Kate's.  One other item of note:  With the NCAA blanket waiver that was issued back in October, student-athletes may compete up to the established dates of the competition window without being charged a season of intercollegiate participation during the 2020-21 academic year.  

Sound confusing?  I don't know.....I've gotta tell you.  I've got a lot of mixed feelings about all this.  Don't get me wrong - I'm very glad that the student-athletes of the participating schools get a chance to do what they do and all the guidelines and protocols have been meticulously laid out by the conference so, given the environment that we're currently dealing with, that's definitely a good thing.  On the other hand, there just seems to be something incredibly empty about the whole thing (and I'm not talking about the no-spectator policy which I'm completely fine with).  To me, it almost seems like the conference and the member schools that are participating are going into this thing well-armed but yet at the same time incredibly vulnerable which I have to admit gives me pause for concern here.  I've covered two NSIC games online thus far and already that conference has been peppered with cancellations with no chance of any make-up.  There's just so much uncertainty here and I really hate that.  I almost wish that the season could simply be pushed back into the spring when we might have a chance for these new vaccines to really take hold.  I think that, in the end, when this season does (hopefully) get completed, there'll be kind of an empty feeling about the whole thing and how much the "championship" - whoever gets it - will really mean.  But that's just me.  

As always, do feel free to fire away with thoughts. 

  

Game Recap - Mary vs St Cloud State 1-8-21

 With three games on the NSIC slate tonight that wound up getting wiped out by cancellations, it narrowed my choices of games to follow online but eventually I decided on the Mary - St Cloud State tilt up in St Cloud on this Friday night as I hadn't seen these two teams play before so it seemed like a good choice.  

The Maruders; who saw their planned opening weekend vs Sioux Falls spoiled by cancellations, certainly came out of the gate in the opening minutes of the first period ready to go as they put together a string of scores to build a somewhat surprising 9-2 lead thanks largely in part to two scores by sophomore guard Megan Voit - a "3" to start things off at the 8:54 mark and a jumper a bit later at the 7:32 mark.  But as good as things looked for Mary in these first few minutes, it sure didn't take long for the wheels to start coming off as the Huskies awoke from their early slumber and went on an 18-0 tear to end this first period.  A "3" by senior guard Tori Wortz with 4:44 left not only cut the deficit down to one point but was an important spark for this St Cloud State team that got off to a slow start.  But the Maruders arguably contributed to their own demise during this run by the home team as their shot selection at times was questionable and trailing 20-9 by the end of this first period was definitely a splash of cold water on their collective faces.  

Mary finally ended its extended scoring drought at the 8:36 mark of the second period on two free throws by senior guard Lauren Rotunda and a jumper by fellow senior guard Macy Williams at the 7:56 mark had the Maruders back in single-digit range again down 21-13.  But St Cloud State started clamping down on defense; forcing Mary to settle for tough, contested jumpers while the Huskies were finding openings in the leaky Maruder defense; often getting easy scores.  And compounding Mary's already worsening position was when lanky 6'3" junior post Lexie Schneider was tagged with her second foul of the evening at the 6:29 mark.  Schneider's retreat to the bench effectively opened up the floodgates as the Huskies went on a 12-0 burst to open up a sizable 33-13 lead and although Mary's Williams would knock down a couple of jumpers to help boost the Maruders offense, Mary was still on the wrong end of a 43-19 score by the halftime break.  

To their credit, the Maruders made a concerted effort to attack the rim once the third period got underway with Schneider back in the lineup.  Schneider would knock down a pair of free throws at the 9:11 mark as would freshman forward Emma Passa at the 6:57 mark.  Junior guard Carly Kottsick would drain a "3" from the right top area as well at the 6:31 mark that at least provided signs of life for this Mary team.  But trying to make up a lot of lost ground was another matter entirely as the Huskies still enjoyed a 50-29 advantage at this point and were getting far too many uncontested jumpers and lay-ups as St Cloud State found themselves safely up 67-39 to begin the final period.  

Former Sauk Centre standout and junior guard Kelsey Peschel helped keep the beat going for this Husky team early on in the fourth period with a lay-up at the 9:01 mark and a "3" at the 8:00 mark to give St Cloud State a 74-42 lead and former Maple Grove standout and junior forward Katrina Theis would bang home a "3" of her own at the 6:18 mark for a 79-44 lead.  Another Sauk Centre - and Peschel sister; Tori - would connect with a pretty lay-up with 4:49 left and would cap this game with another lay-up with just :42 left as St Cloud State rolled to a 90-54 victory.

St Cloud State had an incredibly balanced scoring effort on this night with four players in double figures scoring-wise on this night.  Both Wortz and fellow senior forward Nikki Kilboten finished with 15 points and junior guard Brehna Evans poured in 13 points while Theis added 12 points.  Mary was led by Rotunda's 12 points while Williams finished with 10 points.  St Cloud State pounded Mary on the boards by a 42-24 count as well.        

Game Recaps - Minnesota-Crookston vs Concordia St Paul & Minot State vs Southwest Minnesota State Plus NSIC Scores - 1-2-21

Got to cover two NSIC games online this afternoon; the first featuring Minnesota-Crookston vs Concordia St Paul over at Gangelhoff Center in the 2:00 P.M. slot.  It didn't take long for the Golden Bears to establish a 7-0 lead; punctuated by a three-point bomb by senior forward and former Elk River standout Sidney Wentland at the 8:13 mark.  Another "3" from the top of the key by fellow senior and Park Center standout Danielle Schaub expanded that lead to 13-2 and Concordia St Paul was certainly setting the tone for this game.  To their credit, the Golden Eagles managed to trim the deficit down to six points at 13-7 with just over four minutes left in this first period when junior post Bren Fox knocked down a short jumper in the lane and although Concordia St Paul was able to get its lead back to double-digits at 21-10 by the end of the first period, there was still a ray of hope for Minnesota-Crookston to possibly crawl back into this thing.  But those hopes quickly went up in smoke once the second period got underway as the Golden Bears unleashed a back-breaking 17-0 run that changed the course of this game for good as Concordia St Paul established an insurmountable 38-10 lead at the 5:51 mark.  The Golden Eagles finally broke their extended drought when junior guard Kylie Post connected on a jumper at the 5:20 mark but the damage had been done Concordia St Paul took a commanding 47-16 lead into the locker room at the halftime break and the Golden Bears would waltz to an easy 95-32 victory.  Concordia St Paul had a very balanced scoring attack on this day with junior guard Meghan DuBois' 14 points leading the way while newcomer freshman forward Lindsey Becher finished with 12 points.  Schaub would tally 11 points on this day as well while freshman reserve guard Sarah Kuma had 10 points.  A rough day for the visitors from Minnesota-Crookston to say the least and they were led by freshman guard Jes Mertens' eight points.  Both teams go at it again tomorrow at 2:00 at Gangelhoff Center.

After making a quick food run, I got myself set up to follow the Minot State vs Southwest Minnesota State game from Marshall that started shortly after the first game that proved to be much more entertaining.  Things would be tight in the opening minutes of the first period with the visiting Beavers clinging to a 5-4 advantage but Southwest Minnesota State would embark on an 8-0 push to establish a bit of breathing room up 12-7 that was punctuated by a three-point bomb by senior guard Sadie Stelter at the 5:58 mark.  But before the Mustangs could get too comfortable with their lead, Minot State came right back with a 6-0 push of their own to regain the lead again at 13-12 with 3:20 left when junior forward Mollie Wilson connected with a short jumper in the lane.  That got the attention of the 'Stangs as they went on a 7-2 foray to end this opening period to take a 19-15 lead going into the second period.  Minot State, however, would answer the call with a 5-0 push grabbing a 20-19 lead at the 8:15 mark of the second period when junior forward Amber Stevahn connected with a lay-up that drew a foul and got the "and one" to go down.  Things would continue to stay tight over the next few minutes before Southwest Minnesota State finally got a big lift in the form of a three-point bomb by sophomore guard Madison Gehloff with 4:32 left to give the Mustangs a 29-25 lead.  Minot State's Stevahn would answer with a "3" of her own with 2:11 left to bring her team right back down one but the Mustangs would close out this first half on a 5-0 push to take a 34-28 lead into the locker room at the halftime break which arguably could have been bigger considering the fact that the Mustangs had been handcuffed somewhat by four offensive fouls in the first half alone.  

Minot State appeared to be on the brink in the first four minutes of the third period as Southwest Minnesota State embarked on a 7-2 run to grab a 41-30 lead when Gehloff connected on another lay-up with a foul with the ensuing "and one" at the 6:21 mark.  The Beavers were at least able to get back into single-digit range shortly thereafter but getting back to within real striking distance was proving to be problematic as the 'Stangs were able to come up with timely three-point bombs by Jenna Borchers out of Grimes, IA - one with 4:09 left and another with 3:16 left - that had Southwest Minnesota State in good shape up 49-37 and when senior guard Meleah Reinhart drilled a "3" of her own from the top of the key with 1:45 left in the third period, the Mustangs looked to be in full command holding a 52-39 advantage but this never-say-die Minot State team was not so ready to concede things as they managed once again to pull into single-digit range before this wild third period was over down 52-45.  And things would get even more precarious for the Mustangs in the opening moments of the fourth and final period when Minot State climbed back to within a single possession down 52-49 when the Beavers' Stevahn connected with a lay-up at the 8:51 mark.  Minot State would keep things in single possession range when junior post Anna Counts connected with a lay-up of her own at the 8:14 mark down 54-51.  Curiously, however, this latest comeback bid by the Beavers would soon fizzle out as Southwest Minnesota State was able to get on a 6-0 run to increase its lead to 60-51 at the 6:24 mark and there was no looking back after that as the Mustangs would notch a mark into the win column with the 74-62 victory.  It was quite the day for the New Ulm native; Reinhart, as she paced the Mustang effort with her 20 points on this day and Stelter wasn't far behind with her 18 points while Borchers had a solid day with 11 points.  Minot State relied heavily on Stevahn as she led all scorers with 22 points and junior guard Kate Head from Australia tallied 12 points.  

Other NSIC scores on this day:

Minnesota State - 63  Bemidji State - 62

UM-Duluth - 68  Winona State - 47

Northern State - 77  Wayne State - 53

Augustana - 83  Moorhead State - 65

Upper Iowa - 75  St Cloud State - 71 OT

Sioux Falls vs Mary (cancelled)

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

 A trying and tumultuous 2020 is finally behind us and we begin this new year of 2021 with (I think) renewed optimism and hope.  I mean, let's face it.  After this last year, there really is only one way to go and that's up.  But in order to do that, we must still remain vigilant in exercising all precautions when it comes to COVID-19 - masking up, social distancing, avoiding large gatherings, washing our hands and the like.  With the vaccines now being introduced, it finally provides a path; an opportunity, to get these numbers to start plummeting in time.  We will get there.  There is hope.  

First, I wanted to provide something of an update on the high school situation.  As I'm sure you're all aware of by now, the MSHSL announced its long-anticipated guidelines and plans for the 2020-21 winter sports season (you can view the guidelines and procedures https://www.mshsl.org/sites/default/files/2020-12/mshsl-basketball-guidance-and-information-12_30_20_0.pdf ).  Practices for HS teams are slated to begin on 1-4-21 (Monday) with competition to begin ten days later on 1-14-21.  A review of the guidelines and procedures that are provided on the MSHSL website is quite thorough and I'd be amiss to not give MSHSL credit here for trying to address all potential problems and situations that might crop up.  The big items that stick out to me are (1) the requirement of masks to be worn during both practice and competition and (2) the no-spectator policy.  I'll be honest with you:  I do have some reservations about the mask policy and how effective it may be (or may not be) during practice and competition.  I say this only because I've realized myself how hard it is to work out with a mask on doing weights (I wouldn't even think to try it when I'm on the tennis court or doing cardio - it just ain't happening).  However, at the same time, I also realize how badly these student-athletes want to play - particularly the seniors - and given that, I want to have every possible avenue open for them to do just that and I think all the guidelines and procedures that have been established by MSHSL to operate in this kind of an environment provide the safety that everybody is seeking.  Now, I'm not exactly sure how the policy on no spectators applies to media people or bloggers (such as myself); I'm guessing that coaches/administrators may want to limit things to essential personnel at game sites and I'm completely fine with that.  I anticipated long ago that this would probably be the situation if we were even going to have a high school winter sports season.  The bottom line here is that I just hope we can get through this without having the proverbial plug pulled because of a new outbreak.  That would be incredibly unfortunate for everybody involved.  So let's keep our fingers crossed here and hope everything works out okay.    

Second, I wanted to give you an idea of what my hopes/plans are for this month and going forward for the forseeable future.  With the MIAC, WIAC, and UMAC schedules all (apparently) slated to start up in February, my plan is to provide game recaps/scores/info on the NSIC women's hoops scene that is set to go tomorrow (Saturday 1-2).  A check of the NSIC website and attendance policy (https://northernsun.org/sports/2020/12/29/Attendance_Policy.aspx) is interesting as the policies vary amongst the member schools.  At Concordia St Paul, for example, no spectators will be allowed for the first two weekends of games and then the policy will be re-evaluated.  At Mary, spectators are limited to family only while Northern State and University of Sioux Falls are at 25% and 20% of capacity, respectively.  Schools such as Bemidji State, UM-Duluth, Minnesota State and Moorhead State are no spectators.  I'm just guessing here that I'll pretty much be relegated to following games online and I'm completely fine with that.  So I'll be likely following Concordia St Paul's game with Minnesota-Crookston tomorrow afternoon online and provide a re-cap plus other scores from around the conference.  Given what 2020 has dealt us already, it's certainly better than nothing.  

So let's try and make the best out of a not-so-great situation at the moment and be grateful for what we do have.  And, as always, please do feel free to fire away with thoughts.