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)
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