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.