MIAC Saturday Afternoon Roundup - 2-27-21

Here's a roundup of this afternoon's action in the MIAC:

It didn't take long for host UST to take control of its game with visiting Augsburg as the Tommies built a 24-10 lead at the end of the first period and that lead would bulge to 47-17 by the halftime break as UST waltzed to an easy 89-42 victory to keep pace in the MIAC race; tied with Bethel for second place at 3-1 who are both behind league-leading and unbeaten GAC.  It was a rough afternoon for this young, inexperienced Auggie team that ran into a literal buzzsaw against a very talented and experienced UST team as a suffocating Tommie defense forced Augsburg into shooting a paltry 13-53 from FG range for 24.5%.  Another interesting stat that stands out like a sore thumb - UST had a whopping 40-12 advantage in points in the paint on this day.  Freshman guard Katelyn Stanley again had a very solid outing as her 14 points led all scorers and paced the Tommies on this day.  Junior forward Brynne Rolland was right behind with her 13 points and freshman post Kate Burns had 10 points.  Augsburg junior forward Jen Masello was the only Auggie in double figures scoring-wise on this day with her 12 points. 

Meanwhile, up the road at Robertson Center, Bethel senior guard Bella Williams tied a single-game program record with her 11 steals as a relentless Royal defense kept CSB in check as Bethel recorded an 81-69 victory.  The Royals would break open a relatively close game in the second period with a key 14-0 run which the Bennies never recovered from.  While CSB did a good job on the boards on this day; getting a 36-29 advantage, that facet of the contest was pretty much negated by the fact that CSB was forced into 25 turnovers on this day which, more often than not, will kill a team's chances.  Bethel also enjoyed a huge 54-27 edge in points in the paint as well.  The Royals definitely spread the wealth from a scoring standpoint on this afternoon with sophomore guard Kat Brown-Erdal leading the way with her 16 points and senior forward Elizabeth Schwarz right behind with her 15 points.  Fellow senior forward Makenna Pearson finished with 12 points while junior guard Jennifer Hicks tallied 11 points.  CSB also featured four players with double figures on this day.  Sophomore post Tori Szathmary had 16 points to pace the Bennies while senior guard Maddie Schmitz had another solid outing with her 13 points.  Freshman guard Carla Meyer continues to shine and she had 12 points while junior guard Kate Seyer had 10 points.

The best game in the 2:00 P.M. slot was just a short drive down Snelling Avenue over at Hutton Arena as visiting SMU made its way up US Highway 61 and the Canadian Pacific Railway River Sub mainline and got a nail-biting 72-69 victory over host Hamline.  The Pipers had the upper hand early on; grabbing an 18-15 lead by the end of the first period but the Cardinals were able to steady the ship to take a 26-23 lead late in the second period and led 28-26 at the halftime break.  SMU seemed to have things under control by the 7:07 mark when junior guard Brooklyn Paulson drained a "3" for a 42-30 Cardinal lead.  But that double-digit lead quickly shrunk as the third period progressed as Hamline went on a 17-4 run to take a 47-46 lead on a score in the paint by sophomore guard Alyssa Williamson with 1:23 left in the third period.  And although SMU would regain the lead at 50-49 to begin the fourth period, you just had a feeling that a lot of unpredictability remained in this game.  Sure enough, Hamline would take a 53-50 lead early on in the fourth period but just when you thought that maybe the Pipers were ready to usurp control of this one, a determined Cardinals team was able to dig in as they went on a 12-2 run to get a 62-55 lead midway through the fourth period.  Two free throws by senior guard Claire Patterson with 4:18 left seemed to have SMU in very good shape up by nine at 66-57 but a pesky Hamline team would throw one more scare into the visitors; closing the gap to one point in the waning seconds before two game-clinching free throws by senior guard Ewelina Schlomann sealed the deal.  SMU held a 45-32 advantage on the boards this day which played a big part of this road win and while neither team shot that great on this day, the Cardinals were 21-24 from the charity stripe; the two biggest at the end.  SMU had a fairly balanced attack on this day with senior post Maggie Robertson leading the way with 14 points while Paulson was right behind with her "double-double" of 13 points and 11 rebounds and senior point guard Hallie Schmeling; whose younger sister played in the Wisconsin State Tournament for Onalaska on this day as well, had a very solid day with her 12 points.  Schlomann finished with 11 points on this day and while senior guard Isabel Bettag didn't get into the scoring column on this day, she did pull down 11 rebounds.  Freshman forward Jaiden Kline out of Osseo led all scorers with her 20 points and a "double-double" as well with 11 rebounds to pace Hamline on this day while junior guard Gabby Robinson had 13 points while sophomore forward Tess Hauer finished with 10 points.

One game in the 4:00 P.M. slot as well on this Saturday that had Concordia making the long trek down to St Peter to take on host GAC.  As long a trip it was down for the Cobbers, the bus ride back later on had to be brutal as the Gusties rolled to an easy 74-42 victory.  GAC slowly but surely took control of this one early on as Head Coach Laurie Kelly's deep and experienced squad forced a young Cobber team into various miscues along the way.  Concordia found themselves down 36-20 at the halftime break and things really snowballed for the Cobbers in the third period as they were outscored by GAC 19-3.  The real surprise to me on this day was the emergence of junior post Betsy Schoenrock who is finally starting to come into her own after missing last year with an injury as she paced the Gusties with her 13 points while senior guard Marisa Gustafson and sophomore forward Caitlin Rorman both finished with 11 points.  Senior forward Paige Richert had a solid outing as well grabbing 10 rebounds.  Concordia meanwhile relied heavily on junior forward Mary Sem for scoring production and she certainly didn't disappoint as she poured in 21 points to easily lead all scorers on this day.  But it was a rough day at the OK Corral when it came to perimeter shooting for Concordia as they finished this day going 14-48 from FG range for 27.5% and 3-20 from downtown for 15%.  Ouch.  So, while this Concordia team is definitely looking toward a brighter future, there's still some growing pains that they'll have to endure.  But for the Gusties, one could arguably make the argument that the future is now to quote former LA Rams Head Coach George Allen as this GAC team may be the deepest that Kelly has had; save for her 2017 and 2018 teams.  It's a shame that there's nothing to play for postseason-wise but perhaps the games coming up this next week - vs Bethel on Monday night at home in St Peter and then at UST two nights later - will probably be the closest thing they can experience to a real tournament test.    

MIAC Wednesday Evening Roundup - 2-24-21

 Busied myself watching the three games online last night and although one was a blowout, the other two - one in particular - were very good.

Down in Winona, the visiting Gusties would surge to a 27-7 lead by the opening period as there was little doubt as to how this one was going to go as GAC rolled to an easy 81-51 win over SMU.  A savage Gustie defensive effort held SMU to 17-57 for 29.8% from FG range and only 3-22 from downtown for 13.6%.  And GAC pounded the Cardinals on the boards as well by a 52-24 count as well.  The Gusties certainly shared the wealth scoring-wise on this night with sophomore guard Anna Sanders somewhat surprisingly leading the way with her 16 points while fellow sophomore guard Maddy Rice finished with ten and willowy senior guard Marisa Gustafson tallied 10 points as well.  Senior post Maggie Robertson paced SMU on this night with her 11 points.  

Meanwhile on the east side of Minneapolis, the visiting Bethel Royals; looking to bounce back after the upset loss to Concordia up at Moorhead on Sunday evening, found themselves embroiled in a tough battle with a very young Augsburg team that kept things tight for most of the contest before the Royals slowly started taking control of things in the fourth period to get a hard-earned 66-59 win.  Bethel relied heavily on the one-two punch of sophomore guard Kat Brown-Erdal and senior forward Elizabeth Schwarz as both led all scorers with their 18 points a piece.  Augsburg got 14 points from both freshman guard Kalena Myers and junior forward Jen Masello.  While both teams were plagued by the turnover bugaboo on this night that likely had head coaches Jon Herbrechtsmeyer and Ted Riverso reaching for the Tylenol PM once they got home, Bethel's 51-41 advantage on the boards likely saved the Royals on this night.  One alarming stat that I noticed as well:  Bethel was only 11-22 from the charity stripe on this night.  Augsburg was only marginally better going 13-18 for 72.2%.  

But easily the game of the night took place up in St Joe between two old rivals in one final meeting as host CSB pulled off a huge upset of unbeaten UST by a final score of 88-83 as CSB Head Coach Mike Durbin recorded his 700th victory at the helm of the program.  The Bennies held a 45-38 lead at the half but you knew UST would come out strong in the third period and they in fact did grab a short-lived 51-50 lead but the Tommies simply were unable to fend off a determined and spirited CSB team that just showed a ton of heart and spunk and never faltered or panicked down the stretch when UST would manage to tighten things up.  To me, the thing that stood out just watching this game online was CSB's ability to penetrate into the heart of the Tommie defense with their guards who were able to beat their defenders off the dribble whether it be from the perimeter or along the baseline.  Had they been relegated to simply throwing up shots from the perimeter, it may have been a totally different story but not on this night.  The other thing that stood out to me is the young cast of characters on this CSB team that stepped up on this night.  We all know about senior forward Maddie Schmitz and she certainly did her part with her "double-double" of 12 points and 10 rebounds but how about freshman guard Carla Meyer leading this Bennie team with her 16 points?  Or junior guard Madison Doran with 14 points or perhaps fellow junior guard Kate Seyer with her 13 points?  Or sophomore post Tori Szathmary tallying 11 points on this night?  Some new faces for sure on this CSB team that I haven't either seen or heard about before but probably had better get used to seeing these names and faces again.  My guess is that UST Head Coach Ruth Sinn ultimately had to point the finger at her team's defensive lapses on this night that saw the Bennies shoot 29-61 for 47.5% and 9-18 from behind the arc for a straight 50%.  The Tommies didn't suffer that many turnovers (13) but they sure seemed to come at incredibly bad times for them.  Senior forward Kaia Porter carried this UST team on her back last night with 20 points to lead all scorers while fellow senior guard Macy Hatlestad tallied 13 points.  Fellow senior guard Noelle Tomes and junior post Brynne Rolland both finished with 11 points and freshman guard Katelyn Stanley added 10 points. 

MIAC Update For Wednesday 2-24-21

Had a few things going on earlier in the week that prevented me from posting anything until now but am following three games online tonight:  GAC vs SMU, UST vs CSB and Bethel vs Augsburg.  Weird times it is during this pandemic but am trying to make the best of it and will hopefully have a roundup on tonight's action sometime late tomorrow afternoon or early evening.  

I do regret, however, not posting up something on the Bethel vs Concordia game from Sunday night that saw the Cobbers post a 65-62 upset victory in overtime.  I won't go as far as to say that this is a signature win for second-year Head Coach Kim Wagers but it certainly is a big step in the right direction and it's becoming clearer that there's something special brewing up in Moorhead.  The fact that the Cobbers had the lead for most of the game; lost that lead in the fourth period with Bethel seemingly in position to close things out and then mustered a great comeback to send it into overtime where Concordia took it to another level to get the win.  Keep your eye on this team.  They are going to be doing some exciting things.

All the action is on right now so hop on while you can.  

MIAC Sunday Afternoon Roundup - 2-21-21

 Was definitely challenging trying to watch two MIAC games at once on this Sunday afternoon but had both the UST - SMU and CSB - GAC games on that started at 2:00 this afternoon and wanted to provide a roundup of both games.

Down in Winona, it was definitely a game of runs as the Cardinals bolted out to a 5-0 lead only to see UST go on a 9-0 burst.  SMU would manage to keep things close, however, and would hold a 14-13 lead going into the second period.  A "3" by junior Brooklyn Paulson would give SMU a four-point 19-15 lead early in the second period but UST would soon recover and manage to grab a 28-26 lead on two free throws by junior post Brynne Rolland.  The Cardinals appeared to be right where they wanted to be but the Tommies had other plans and two back-breaking "3's" - one by senior guard Macy Hatlestad and another by junior guard Julia Bjurman helped give UST a 35-28 halftime lead.  The Tommies would eventually push their lead to double-digits in the third period as they rolled to an 80-51 victory.  Rolland led a very balanced UST attack on this day with her 16 points and freshman guard Katelyn Stanley finished with 10 points.  SMU was paced by Paulson and senior guard Claire Patterson as they both finished with 12 points.  The Tommies had a sizeable 50-39 edge on the boards and it was tough for SMU to penetrate into the paint on the offensive end.

Meanwhile in St. Peter, the host Gusties broke open what was a close game at the end of the first period with GAC leading 25-20; outscoring the Blazers (I know they're the Bennies but they'll always be the Blazers to me) 20-4 in the second period to hold a sizable 45-24 lead at the half.  That lead would bulge to 60-33 by the end of the third period and although CSB would do a good job in the fourth and final period of narrowing the gap, the damage had already been done as GAC recorded a 76-66 victory.  Another big day for sophomore forward Caitlin Rorman as she tallied 19 points to lead all scorers and senior forward/post Paige Richert had a great day with a "double-double" of 10 points and 14 rebounds to help pace the Gusties.  CSB had three players in double figures scoring-wise on this afternoon.  Junior guard Kate Seyer led the way with her 18 points and senior forward Maddie Schmitz had 14 points while junior guard Madison Doran was right behind with her 13 points on this day.  1-14 shooting from FG range in the second period doomed CSB plus the Gusties pounded the Blazers on the board as well by a 50-32 count. 

Bethel made the trip up U.S. Highway 10 and the BNSF's Staples Sub mainline to Moorhead for a 6:00 P.M. clash with Concordia so I hope to have something on that game sometime tomorrow evening. 

My Revised Plan Going Forward

 With the NSIC regular season winding down this weekend and with the MIAC slated to get going again tomorrow (Sunday 2-21), my revised plan is to refocus on the MIAC with Sunday's slate of games.  This whole thing has been so unpredictable from the start that it's been really hard to have a firm plan because things keep changing so much.  So I'll be keeping track of the two games going on tomorrow afternoon and the one tomorrow evening.  According to the MIAC schedule, we'll have a game on Tuesday evening and then three more on Wednesday evening plus a game on Thursday evening.  It won't be easy to get this mess straightened out for sure but I'll give the conference credit for at least making an attempt to do so.

Let's see what happens....

NSIC Roundup From Saturday 2-13-21

 Am a little late getting this in but wanted to provide the scores from Saturday's NSIC Women's Hoops action:

Minot State - 65

Northern State - 56

Beavers overcome 11-point deficit and go on a 40-point tear in the fourth period to claim an epic comeback victory up in Minot.

Winona State - 68

Concordia St Paul - 67

Golden Bears inexplicably blow a 59-40 lead at the end of the third quarter as Winona State outscores Concordia St Paul 28-8 in the final period; including a last-second buzzer-beater by senior Emma Fee.

Southwest Minnesota State - 85

Wayne State - 49

Mustangs get big road win with a great defensive effort.

Augustana - 80

Sioux Falls - 74

Vikings claim sweep of their crosstown rival in the NSIC's version of UCLA vs USC. 

Minnesota State - 72

Upper Iowa - 48

Mavericks get sweep of Upper Iowa at home with easy win. 

St Cloud State - 72

Minnesota-Crookston - 55

Huskies Head Coach Lori Fish notches 200th victory with the win yesterday at home.

UM-Duluth - 73

Bemidji State - 62

Bulldogs stay unblemished at 9-0 and extend their home win-streak to 31 games with victory yesterday.

Moorhead State - 76

Mary - 75

Dragons win a nail-biter in Bismarck as freshman Karley Motschenbacher hit game-winning free throw with :02 left.  

MIAC Women's Hoops Season Currently In Limbo

 As you probably already have seen, all MIAC women's basketball games that were scheduled for today (Saturday 2-13) were all postponed due to various COVID-19 issues that are currently lingering in the conference on both the men's and women's side.  I certainly don't profess to be "in the know" about everything that is going on but from the discussions I have had with some coaches and others that are reasonably good sources, I'm not terribly optimistic about the rest of this truncated season.  I won't say with an absolute certainty that the MIAC will take a knife to most (if not all) winter sports but given the relatively short window that these teams have to work with, it's hard for me to envision getting this mess straightened out.  Again, I don't know what's going to happen for sure, but I'm just not optimistic at this point.  As soon as I do hear something, I will certainly be on here with the latest.  Right now, the next slated game is this next Wednesday (2-17) when CSB visits Augsburg.  Stay tuned....

With that in mind, my amended plan (at least for right now) is to get back onto the NSIC Women's Basketball front as much as I can unless things improve dramatically on the MIAC Women's Basketball front.  When you're balancing work with trying to get some indoor tennis practice and workouts in as well, it's not easy (especially when you've been pounding on the hard courts since the freaking Ford Administration like I have and you feel like you're 100 when you get back home :p ).  But I at least want to get one or two game recaps in during the week plus a rundown in scores which I've been a bit lazy at as of late.  

    

Game Recap - Winona State vs Concordia-St Paul 2-12-21

 So with the MIAC Women's basketball season currently in limbo (as I was afraid might happen - and more on that in another post), I felt it was time refocus back onto the NSIC scene and the game I picked to follow online on this Friday evening was the Winona State - Concordia St Paul game over at Gangelhoff Center on the St Paul side of town.  The Warriors made the trip up the Mighty Mississippi and the Canadian Pacific Railway's River Sub mainline sporting a 2-6 record but had recorded a big 95-91 win over Minnesota State in Winona last Saturday so, supposedly anyway, that dub had re-energized this team.  The Golden Bears were coming into this game with a solid 9-3 record that included last weekend's sweep of Upper Iowa down in Fayette, IA (not terribly far from my hometown).  

The Golden Bears would get an early 5-2 lead in the opening period thanks to a "3" by willowy senior guard Riley Wheatcraft's "3" at the 8:11 mark but Winona State would close the gap to one point down 5-4 when senior forward Sydney Lodermeier connected with a lay-up at the 6:55 mark and a lay-up in transition by senior forward Taylor Hustad at the 6:18 mark kept the Warriors in that one-point range down 7-6.  Junior guard Jenna Bruss would connect with a lay-up as well with 4:56 left and the Warriors were still in good shape down only by two at 10-8.  It was here that Concordia St Paul was able to stretch its lead to get some more breathing space.  Wheatcraft would drill another "3" with 4:43 left and two free throws by slender junior guard Meghan DuBois with 3:48 left had the Golden Bears up 15-8.  DuBois; the former Park Center standout, would put the finishing touches on this first period as she would nail a "3" from the right corner with 1:12 left and connect on a tough drive and finish with :45 left and with Concordia St Paul seemingly clicking on all cylinders on offense, they were able to double-up Winona State 20-10 going into the second period. 

Warriors Head Coach Scott Ballard probably wasn't too pleased in the huddle with his squad's defensive effort after that opening period and knew his team needed to make amends to close the gap once the second period got underway.  Whatever his message was, Winona State seemed to get as they went to work.  Sophomore guard Caitlin Riley would drain a "3" at the 9:33 mark and a score in the paint by Hustad at the 8:47 mark had the deficit cut in half at 20-15.  The Golden Bears did manage to step on the gas at this point and rebuilt the lead to seven at 24-17 thanks to a score in the paint by senior Sidney Wentland at the 8:31 mark and a short jumper by Wheatcraft at the 8:01 mark.  Right back came a determined Winona State team, however, as Bruss would bang home a "3" at the 6:20 mark and senior post Emma Fee would knock down a short jumper at the 5:42 mark that suddenly had the Warriors back to within a single possession down 24-22.  With 4:24 left, freshman guard Mattie Schimenz would nail a "3" and this push by Winona State certainly made the Golden Bears look a bit vulnerable up by just one at 26-25.  But instead of breaking out the proverbial panic button, Concordia St Paul hunkered down and went back to work.  Freshman guard and former Lakeville North standout Sarah Kuma would drain a "3" with 3:28 left and a DuBois lay-up with 2:09 left had the Golden Bear lead back up to six at 31-25.  Both teams weren't able to do much down the stretch but Concordia St Paul's lanky freshman post Lindsey Becher would make a huge play before the halftime buzzer with her steal and lay-up the other way as the Golden Bears took at 33-25 lead into the locker room at the intermission.  It had to be a disappointment on the Winona State side thus far as they had managed to crawl back into this contest only to have some more defensive lapses down the stretch of the second period.  And Ballard probably wasn't too happy about his team's 13 first half turnovers or not even getting to the charity stripe once in the first half.  

Obviously, the challenge for the Warriors now was to see if they could repeat the push that they had at the beginning of the second period that had them right in the thick of things.  Hustad would connect with a lay-up at the 9:12 mark and a Riley "3" at the 7:06 mark had the deficit down to six at 36-30 but that would be as close as Winona State would get as the Golden Bears would again come up big from behind the arc.  One "3" by Wheatcraft from the right top area at the 6:19 mark and another one by Wentland at the 5:44 mark suddenly bulged the Concordia St Paul lead to twelve at 42-30.  Then DuBois would launch one of her trademark three-point bombs - this one coming from the right corner at the 5:04 mark that stretched the lead to fifteen at 45-30.  The Warriors would finally break their scoring drought on two charity stripe shots by Fee with 3:16 left in this third period but by now the damage had been done.  And Concordia St Paul had no plans to let up off the gas pedal anytime soon.  Sophomore guard Jadyn Hanson connected with a lay-up in transition with 2:16 left and a Becher score in the paint with 1:50 left had the Golden Bears up 49-33 and although Winona State's Schimenz would add two late scores before this third period was over, Concordia St Paul was in full control up 49-37.  

To erase any lingering doubts, the Golden Bears would unleash a quick 6-0 push to start the fourth period.  Sophomore forward Sydney Zgutowicz would contribute two lay-ups - one at the 9:35 mark and another at the 9:08 mark and then DuBois would finish up a transition opportunity with a lay-up at the 8:40 mark as Concordia St Paul's lead grew to eighteen at 55-37.  Another Wheatcraft "3" at the 7:54 mark along with another DuBois lay-up in transition at the 6:33 mark gave the Golden Bears their largest lead of the night at 60-39.  Winona State could only make incremental dents down the stretch.  Schimenz would nail a "3" at the 6:09 mark and sophomore post Ava Sergio would get a score in the paint at the 5:10 mark.  Hustad would add a lay-up in transition with 4:44 left and freshman forward Taylor Fautsch would drain a "3" with 2:56 left but it was simply too little too late by this point.  Concordia St Paul Head Coach Amanda Johnson was able to get her reserves into the ballgame in the waning minutes and freshman guard Alyssa Daugherty would connect on a lay-up in transition as the Golden Bears took this Friday night fest by a final count of 70-55.  

Although Winona State did have a slight 34-32 edge on the boards on this night, that number seemed to be negated by 22 turnovers.  Adding to that, Concordia St Paul had a whopping 25-13 edge on points off of turnovers as well.  Another number that stands out to me is that, despite some spotty play at times down low this season, the Golden Bears enjoyed a 34-24 edge in points in the paint.  Transition opportunities were important as well for Concordia St Paul on this night as they enjoyed a 14-8 edge in fast break points.  DuBois' 17 points on this night led all scorers and Wheatcraft's heroics from downtown (going 4-6 from behind the arc) allowed her to tally 14 points.  Wentland, too, had a solid night with her 10 points.  Hustad's 12 points paced Winona State on this night while Schimenz finished with 10 points.         

MIAC Scores For Saturday 2-6-21

 Here's a recap of the MIAC action that took place on Saturday afternoon (2-6)

GAC - 92

Augsburg - 74

UST - 63

Concordia - 58

Bethel - 81

SMU - 67

CSB - 70

Hamline - 56

Game Recap - GAC vs Augsburg 2-6-21

 After much ballyhoo and ado, the MIAC Women's Basketball 2020-21 season finally got underway with a full schedule on this Saturday afternoon and I opted to cover the GAC - Augsburg game as the Gusties made their way up US Highway 169 and the UP's Mankato Sub portion of the famed "Omaha Route" mainline on this sunny but frigid day to take on the Auggies at Si Melby Hall in Minneapolis.  This is arguably a new era at Augsburg with the departure of the "Fab Five" to graduation and a starting line-up with a new cast of characters for Ted Riverso's squad.  GAC meanwhile comes into this truncated season losing only one to early graduation - Allison Hinck.  Presumably anyway, this Gustie team was a year older and wiser not to mentioned more experienced and I was anxious to see them in action.  

Both teams looked as if they had not played a game or a scrimmage in the last 345 days or so as both teams were a bit skittish from the outset.  With the score tied at four a piece, the Auggies were able to launch a 5-0 burst.  Junior guard Selena Lor would knock down one free throw after getting fouled at the 7:44 mark and a tough score in the paint by sophomore guard Grace Eastman at the 7:02 mark had Augsburg up 7-4 and then junior forward Jen Masello snared a steal and raced the other way for a lay-up at the 6:00 mark to cap this run.  The Gusties were finally able to shake off some of the rust and close the gap to one as sophomore sensation guard Maddy Rice knocked down a mid-range jumper at the 5:42 mark and sophomore forward Caitlin Rorman connected with a lay-up at the 5:22 mark.  But the Auggies were able to get their inside/outside game going that helped propel them on a 9-2 run.  Masello connected with a lay-up at the 5:00 mark and a short jumper in the paint by sophomore forward Jaley Coplin with 4:19 left along with another Masello lay-up with 3:50 left had the lead back up to five again at 15-10.  Sophomore Chloe Kintop then made a splash with her three-point bomb with 3:26 left to cap this run for an 18-10 Augsburg advantage.  With 2:59 left, Coplin drained a "3" of her own to maintain the eight-point advantage at 21-13 and indeed the Gusties looked to be in a heap of trouble at this point.  But instead of breaking out the proverbial panic button, GAC made some adjustments and shored up their defensive effort as well.  Senior guard Marisa Gufstason got things going offensively with her jumper with 2:40 left and with 1:56 left, Gustafson; the former Mahtomedi standout, banged home a "3" that cut the deficit down to four points at 23-19.  With 1:06 left, Gustafson would strike again with a score in the paint that drew a foul and allowed Gustafson to cash in on the "and one" that now had the deficit down to a scant point at 23-22.  With just :35 left, senior guard Gabby Bowlin would connect with a short jumper in the paint that suddenly had GAC back into the lead at 24-23 and for a team that looked out of sorts for a good portion of this opening period, the Gusties showed their worth on a relatively short time span.

Despite losing the lead that they had held for most of the first period, Augsburg still managed to stay right in the thick of things and stayed close.  Two Masello free throws at the 9:34 mark of the second period had the deficit down to one at 26-25 and a Coplin jumper at the 6:12 mark kept the deficit at one down 28-27 and at the 5:57 mark, freshman guard Kalena Myers would drain a "3" that would have this game tied at 30 a piece.  GAC, however, had made some defensive adjustments that effectively took away the free passes that the Auggies' Masello had been getting down low in the first period and although Augsburg's Myers would connect with a lay-up with 4:27 left to giver her squad a short-lived 34-33 lead, the Gusties made their first significant move of the afternoon to establish some distance between themselves and their opponent.  Senior forward Paige Richert; who had been quiet thus far from a scoring standpoint, got back-to-back scores:  a score in the paint with 3:43 left and a lay-up in transition with 3:19 left to put GAC up 37-34.  Richert would then knock down a pair of free throws with 2:09 left to extend the lead to 39-34 and Gustafson would contribute a pair herself with 1:08 left to make it 41-34.  With just :39 left, Rice would drill a back-breaking "3" from the left wing area to make it 44-36 and then sophomore guard Anna Sanders would connect with a jumper with three ticks left before the halftime intermission buzzer as this 13-2 run down the stretch allowed the Gusties to take a ten-point cushion at 46-36 into the locker room with them at the halftime break.  Augsburg Head Coach Ted Riverso had to be not only concerned with the defensive lapses his squad suffered down the stretch but also with the fact that his primary go-to player in the paint - Masello - was riding three fouls by this juncture as well. 

The Auggies would manage to slim down the deficit to six points at 46-40 in the first few minutes of the third period but likewise, it didn't take long for GAC to rebuild their double-digit cushion.  Richert would connect with a lay-up at the 7:30 mark and a lay-up in transition by Rorman at the 7:02 mark made it a 50-40 ballgame.  Then Rorman; enroute to a huge afternoon on this day, unleashed her own personal mark on this game.  The former Blue Earth standout would first drain a "3" at the 6:30 mark and then connect with a jumper in the paint at the 5:54 mark to make it 55-44.  At the 5:29 mark, Rorman would strike again with a lay-up in transition to stretch the lead to thirteen at 57-44.  But others would contribute to the Gustie attack on this day as well.  Sophomore post Betsy Schoenrock; who had struggled at times on this day, connected with a lay-up with 4:54 left and Gustafson would bang home a "3" with 4:11 left to make it 62-49 and with 3:48 left Gustafson would add a lay-up in transition to make it 64-49.  To their credit, the Auggies refused to even consider breaking out the white flag and were able to get the deficit back to ten points.  Masello knocked a pair of free throws with 3:01 left and Myers would add a freebie of her own after getting fouled with 2:42 left.  But getting things back into single-digit range again would prove to be a bridge too far as GAC would be able to throw a couple of late punches.  Richert would connect on a lay-up with 2:04 left and then Rorman would do the same to cap off this great third period for her as the Gusties carried a 68-56 lead going into the fourth period.

GAC's Rorman would continue her heroics into the fourth period as well.  One free throw at the 9:35 mark and a lay-up at the 7:15 mark had the Gusties maintaining their double-digit advantage at 71-58.  Augsburg still had plenty of life left in them as Coplin drained a "3" at the 6:58 mark to get the deficit back to ten at 71-61 and a lay-up by Myers at the 5:47 mark kept the Auggies in that ten-point range down 73-63 and when Lor would drain a "3" at the 5:11 mark to finally get Augsburg withing single-digit range down 73-66 with a mountain of time left, there was plenty of reason to think that the Auggies could get themselves back to within striking distance.  But this is precisely where GAC was able to shut the proverbial door for good.  Richert would drop a pair of free throws with 4:43 left and then Rorman would connect with a lay-up that drew a foul and her obligatory "and one" had the lead back up to twelve at 78-66.  Rorman would continue to be the savior for the Gusties on this day with a pair of free throws with 3:45 left and add a lay-up with 3:34 left to make it 82-68;  effectively extinguishing any hopes Augsburg may have had.  Senior point guard Ava Gonsorowski would add a pair of free throws after getting fouled with 3:08 left and would also connect on a lay-up in transition with 1:39 left.  Freshmen Riley Queensland and Lexi Schermann would add lay-ups in the waning moments as well as GAC got this season off to a good start with a 92-74 win.  

The two things that stood out to me just watching this game online was (1) how the Gusties were able to make some defensive adjustments to somewhat neutralize Augsburg's Masello in the second period and (2) how GAC Head Coach Laurie Kelly was able to substitute somewhat liberally in this game; getting good balance out on the floor at all times which really made a difference as this game wore on.  Rorman, too, was exceptional on this day and if the Gusties can get performances like that from her on a consistent basis, GAC is going to be tough to beat.  Disappointing for the Augsburg side obviously and it's going to be a lot different without the "Fab Five" for sure.  But I also think that there's enough positives out there for Riverso and his staff that they can take going forward.  Again, what can you say about Rorman today; finishing with 25 points with 21 of them coming in that second half alone.  She can be great at times.  But then there was also Richert finishing with 18 points and Gustafson not far behind with her 17 points on this day.  And Kelly had several other players making contributions scoring-wise on this day.  Augsburg also got a great day out of Masello as she finished with 25 points and both Coplin and Myers tallied 14 points.  True, the Gusties had 17 turnovers on this day and Kelly will be the first one to tell you that that's got to get cleaned up.  And Augsburg got 17 points off of those turnovers.  But two numbers will tell you a lot about this game - and likely had Riverso and his staff reaching for the Tylenol PM when nightime came along:  The Gusties out-rebounded Augsburg by a 45-26 count and GAC also enjoyed a sizable 50-32 edge in paints in the point.  Throw in the fact that GAC also enjoyed a 16-8 advantage in those all-important "second chance" points and an 18-6 advantage in fast-break points plus a whopping 39-5 advantage on points off the bench and its easy to see why GAC was successful on a number of fronts on this day.                               

Wednesday Night Review - 2-3-21

 Chose to watch the highly-anticipated Bethel - UST clash that took place over at Schoenecker Arena last night and although I (along with countless others) was relegated to online viewing, I definitely felt like I got my money's worth.  

Throughout the first half and most of the second half as well, the thing that really stood out to me was how well Bethel managed to take Tommie junior post Brynne Rolland out of the equation on this night as the former Apple Valley standout finished with only two points on this night (!); almost unheard of for any Tommie post player of recent years.  And although fellow frontcourt mate; junior Allie Spaulding did grab eight rebounds on this night, she would finish with only four points.  The other thing that was shocking to see were all the turnovers that the Tommies were guilty of on this night due to the trademark pressure defense that is a Bethel trademark.  UST held a 30-29 lead at the halftime break but they looked totally out of sync and made several uncharacteristic mistakes just bringing the ball down the floor.  Bethel held a 49-44 lead at the end of the third quarter and although the Tommies were able to close things to within a single possession early on in the fourth period, the Royals found their groove and got their lead stretched out thanks largely in part to senior forward Elizabeth Schwarz.  Two free throws at the 8:07 mark and lay-ups at the 7:30 and 6:45 marks had Bethel up 56-51 and then a "3" at the 6:10 mark made it 59-51.  One free throw by fellow senior guard Bella Williams with 4:51 left and a lay-up by junior forward Megan Boegel with 4:51 left gave Bethel a 62-51 lead.  Throw in the fact that UST junior guard Madi Schirmer had fouled as well by this time and it was hard to deny that the Tommies prospects looked pretty grim by this point.  But just when things looked hopeless, senior point guard Macy Hatlestad came to the rescue of her team as she refused to let her team lose.  She would put on a simply amazing performance down the stretch; scoring ten of her 26 points in the final 4:45 of the game; including two clutch three-point bombs - one with 3:27 left and a killer from the right corner with 2:26 left - that propelled UST back into the lead.  Hatlestad would add a lay-up with 1:42 left and add a pair of free throws with 1:09 left to help seal the deal as the Tommies secured an unlikely 69-66 victory.  I can point to a lot of things as to why Bethel faltered in those final few minutes but I think that might take away too much from what Hatlestad did when she had to do it.  It was just an amazing performance.  Needless to say, Hatlestad's 26 points on this night easily led all scorers and Schirmer would tally 16 points on this night and senior forward Kaia Porter had a solid night as well with 11 points.  Bethel was led by Schwarz' 20 points and fellow senior forward Makenna Pearson had 10 points......One of the first things I do when I look at a box score is to look at rebounds and turnovers.  But both teams were relatively even on this front (UST with 38 rebounds and Bethel with 37 and UST committing 16 turnovers to Bethel's 15) so those number kind of negated each other.  Neither team shot the ball exceptionally well as a whole (save for Hatlestad who caught fire late) as Bethel was 21-55 from FG range for 38.2% and 5-18 from behind the arc for 27.8%.  UST was 23-56 from FG range for 41.1% and 7-21 from three-point land for 33.3%.  Bethel was better from the charity stripe going 19-27 for 70.4% to UST's 16-24 for 66.7% (and both coaches will tell you that those numbers aren't nearly good enough).  Bethel did hold a 32-28 edge in points in the paint.  UST did have a 15-11 edge in "second chance" points but it's just uncanny when you look at the numbers and really can't find anything substantial to point to in how/why UST was able to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. No, when I look at it, Hatlestad's heroics were the difference in this game.

The other game on this night took place up at St Joe where host CSB downed visiting Concordia 74-65.  Senior forward Maddie Schmitz had a great night with her double-double of 25 points and 18 rebounds.  Junior Mary Sem led a balanced Cobber attack on this night with her 15 points.  

One other item of note on this night - and I don't think that it's that huge of a surprise either - is that the NCAA Division III Administrative Committee approved the recommendation Division III Championships Committee to cancel all winter championships - including women's basketball.  The primary reason given was the low participation numbers among member schools.  Again, I'm not surprised at all by this decision but at the same time, there's arguably an empty feeling that goes with it knowing that there won't be an NCAA Tournament this year.  It certainly does make the few regular season games we DO have that much more important - especially for the student-athletes.           

My Plan Going Forward - MIAC Action Begins Tomorrow Night

 Wanted to provide everyone an update on my plans for covering games online.  With MIAC action officially starting up tomorrow evening (Wednesday 2-3); even though they're both technically "non-conference" games, I'll be transitioning from covering NSIC games to focusing back on MIAC and nearby conferences.  After all, the MIAC Women's Basketball is the main focus of my coverage and I feel that I have to give it the priority it deserves.  So, tomorrow night, I'll be providing round-ups on both the Bethel vs UST and Concordia vs CSB games and then Saturday (2-6) I'll be focusing primarily on one game to provide a recap and giving a roundup on other games in the conference as well.