Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League Results For Wednesday 7-21-21

 Here are the results of the games I got to cover this last Wednesday night at the Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League.

6:00 P.M. Games

Northwestern - 52

Augsburg - 37

Hamline - 59

CSB - 38

6:50 P.M. Games

UW-River Falls - 40

GAC Gold - 37

GAC Black - 52

St. Kate's - 32

7:45 P.M. Games

Carleton - 77

St. Olaf - 52

Macalester - 46

GAC Alumni - 42

Not much in the way of drama in the 6:00 P.M. slot on this night.....Over on Court 1, the Augsburg team and the Northwestern team were going head to head and the latter would get out to a very good start; building a 7-2 advantage by the 17:55 mark of the first half and widening that lead to 20-4 by the 13:00 mark.  The Augsburg team would continue to struggle offensively as the Northwestern team would up the lead to 23-6 with 9:00 left and hold a 28-11 lead with just under four minutes left.  By the halftime break, the Northwestern team was up comfortably 36-17 and they would continue this beat once the second half got underway as they enjoyed a 42-24 advantage by the 14:40 mark.  By the midway point of the second half, the Northwestern team was enjoying a 49-28 lead and although the Augsburg team was able to cut into this deficit a bit down the stretch of the second half, the Northwestern team was still enjoying a 50-35 lead with 5:00 left as they had things in cruise control the rest of the way.  Over on Court 2, things would be tight early on between the CSB and the Hamline team and the CSB team was clinging to a 6-5 advantage by the 16:50 mark of the first half.  But things would start going south for the CSB team as the Hamline team was able to get on a spurt and grab a 14-9 lead by the 11:40 mark.  The Hamline team would stretch their lead to nine at 23-14 with 7:00 left and with 4:05 left they were still keeping the CSB team at bay up 25-17.  By the halftime break, the Hamline team grew their lead to double-digits up 37-25.  Not much would change after the short intermission either as the Hamline team was enjoying a 41-28 advantage by the 16:00 mark of the second half and that lead would balloon to 48-30 near the midway point.  The CSB team would make one last-ditch effort to try and cut into this deficit as the reduced to it sixteen at 53-37 with 5:00 left but bringing this one back was going to be a bridge too far as this Hamline team, which has looked very sharp as of late, rolled to victory.  

Over on Court 1 in the 6:50 P.M. slot, the St. Kate's team and the GAC Black team were going at it and the St. Kate's team certainly got the kind of start it wanted, bolting out to a 7-2 lead by the 18:10 mark of the first half but it didn't take the GAC Black team long to respond as they would have the deficit whittled down to two point at 7-5 by the 14:55 mark and they would have this one leveled at 7-all by the 14:00 mark.  Things would still be even at eight a piece by the 11:30 mark before the GAC Black team was finally able to poke its nose out in front at 11-10 with 8:10 left.  The GAC Black team would increase its lead to four at 17-13 with 4:00 left and and 4-0 push by the GAC Black team down the stretch had them up 21-13 by the halftime break.  This extended dry spell by the St. Kate's team would prove costly on this night as the GAC Black team would get its lead to double-digits at 27-17 by the 18:15 mark of the second half and that lead would stretch to 35-19 by the 16:00 mark.  By the midway point of the second half, the GAC Black team held a comfortable 43-25 lead and although the St. Kate's team was able to trim the deficit down to fifteen with 7:00 left at 45-30, the GAC Black team would up its lead to 52-32 with 3:30 left as they coasted to the easy victory.  Meanwhile, one of the two best games of the night was taking place over on Court 2 between the UW-River Falls team and the GAC Gold team.  The GAC Gold team would hold a 5-0 lead at the 18:45 mark of the first half thanks to a "3" by junior-to-be Maddy Rice at the 18:45 mark of the first half.  But this didn't seem to faze the UW-River Falls team that managed to turn the tables a bit and take an 8-6 advantage by the 14:55 mark.  Things would continue to stay tight with the GAC Gold team holding an 11-10 lead near the midway point of the first half but again this UW-River Falls team would come back and grab a one-point advantage at 12-11 with 6:16 left.  The UW-River Falls team would be up 17-13 with 2:25 left but the GAC Gold team would have things tightened up again down just one by the halftime break at 17-16.  The GAC Gold team would respond early on in the second half and take an 18-17 lead on a pretty drive and finish by sophomore-to-be Riley Queensland at the 18:30 mark and by the 13:58 mark the GAC Gold team would still be up 22-20.  But the UW-River Falls team would not be denied on this night as they would retake the lead at 25-22 by the midway point of the second half and they maintained this three-point edge up 30-27 with 6:07 left.  It was here the the UW-River Falls team made a decisive move with a  7-2 push to make it 37-29 with 4:17 left and arguably had the GAC Gold team in a very bad spot.  But the GAC Gold team wasn't about to hit the panic button as they clawed their way back to cut the deficit to four at 37-33 with 3:40 left and they would soon get back to within a single possession down 35-35.  A back-breaking "3" by the UW-River Falls team pushed their lead to five at 40-35 left but the GAC Black team would again get back to within a single possession again down 40-37 with just :41.5 left in regulation.  But UW-River Falls played stellar defense when they had to and limited the looks the GAC Gold team was looking for from behind the arc in the waning moments and got the big victory.  

In the 7:45 P.M. slot, the two rivals out of Northfield - the Carleton team and the St. Olaf team - were going at it.  The Carleton team would hold a 4-0 lead by the 16:00 mark of the first half and would be up 13-7 by the 11:25 mark.  By the midway point of the first half, the Carleton team's lead was stretched to ten points at 17-7 and things only got worse from there for the St. Olaf team.  The Carleton team would be up 31-12 with 6:15 left and by the halftime break, the Carleton team was up 41-26.  The Carleton team would be up by twenty at 49-29 by the 15:37 mark of the second half and although the St. Olaf team would briefly cut into that deficit a bit down 56-39 with 9:15 left, the Carleton team would slowly but surely build up their lead again and with 3:20 left they were running away with this one up 70-45.  A much closer game meanwhile was taking place over on Court 2 between the Macalester team and the GAC Alumni team.  The Macalester team would get off to a hot start in this one up 9-2 by the 17:30 mark of the first half but the GAC Alumni team would hunker down and get this one leveled at 9-all by the 12:38 mark.  The GAC Alumni team would push ahead at 11-10 by the midway point of the first half but a "3" by the Macalester team would put them back up 13-11 a short time later; indicative of how this game was going to go.  Defense would rule things over the next few minutes with things knotted at 13 a piece with 6:30 left but then the Macalester team caught the GAC Alumni team off guard and unleashed a 7-0 run that had them up 20-13 with 2:40 left and they would maintain this seven-point cushion down the stretch of the first half and enjoyed a 22-15 lead by the halftime break.  The GAC Alumni team knew it had work to do coming out of the break and they slowly closed the gap.  The Macalester team would still be up 24-18 by the 18:00 mark of the second half and by the 15:00 mark that lead shrunk further down to five at 26-21.  By the 12:35 mark, the GAC Alumni team made further inroads on this deficit down 32-28.  Alarmed by these developments, the Macalester team sought to re-establish the earlier cushion that they had and a "3" by senior-to-be Celine Sabbagh got their lead back up to six at 35-29 with 9:35 left.  A stubborn GAC Alumni team would again scratch and claw its way back to reduce the deficit to a scant two points at 37-35 with 5:50 left.  But just when it looked like the GAC Alumni team was poised to keep its unbeaten record intact and snare control of this one down the stretch, the Macalester team got a huge boost when junior-to-be sharpshooter Solana Cushing unleashed a three-point bomb that pushed their lead back to six with 4:05 left and the GAC Alumni team could never quite recover from that as the Macalester team recorded a big victory.  

Had to head out before the 8:40 contest took place.....I don't have any of the details yet but looks like at least one more week of action before the curtain closes on the Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League for this year so do try and get on down this next Wednesday night.  
    

Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League Results For Wednesday 7-14-21

 Here are the results of the games I got to cover this last Wednesday night at the Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League:

6:00 P.M. Game

UW - River Falls - 79

CSB - 50

6: 50 P.M. Games

Hamline - 48

GAC Black - 41

GAC Gold - 78

Northwestern - 66

7:45 P.M. Games

Macalester - 42

Java - 25

GAC Alumni - 50

Bethel - 43

Just one game in the 6:00 P.M. slot on this night which at least made things a little easier for me.  On Court 2, things would be tied up early on between the UW-River Falls team and the CSB team with a 4-4 tie at the 18:30 mark of the first half but the UW-River Falls team would unleash their trademark three-point shooting to forge an 11-6 advantage by the 16:00 mark.  The CSB team, however, would come right back and trim the deficit to just one at 11-10 in the span of a minute; showing that they too can unleash a burst of offense.  The UW-River Falls team would find a second wind and some more breathing space as well with a 17-12 lead by the 13:30 mark and they would maintain this five-point edge up 22-17 by the midway point of the first half.  The UW-River Falls team would up their lead to seven points at 26-19 with 8:15 left but the CSB team would crawl back to within striking distance once again down 28-24 with 6:05 left.  The UW-River Falls team would manage to get their lead back up to six at 32-26 and they would hold a 37-32 lead at the halftime break.  The CSB team hoped to tighten things up again once the second half got going but this is where the UW-River Falls team unleashed a series of knockout punches.  Two quick scores out of the gate pushed the UW-River Falls team's lead up to double digits at 42-32 by the 18:33 mark of the second half and by the 15:30 mark, the UW-River Falls team expanded the lead to fifteen points at 47-32 and another three-point bomb made it 50-32 a short time later.  By the midway point of the second half, the UW-River Falls team was enjoying a 61-39 advantage and with just 5:55 left in the contest, the UW-River Falls team was cruising up 67-41 so there was little doubt on how this one was going to end.  

Two much tighter contest took place during the 6:50 P.M. slot.  Over on Court 1, a good one was brewing between the GAC Black team and the Hamline team.  The GAC Black team would hold a 4-3 edge by the 17:50 mark of the first half and that lead would increase to 7-3 on a three-point bomb at the 17:30 mark.  By the 12:50 mark, the GAC Black team was enjoying a 12-7 advantage but this Hamline team was proving to be one tough customer as they sliced the deficit down to one point at 14-13 by the 10:50 mark and less than a minute later they would snare the lead away up 15-14.  The GAC Black team would get things knotted up at 17 a piece with 7:45 left and things would still be tied at 19-all with 5:00 left.  So while things would stay tight down the stretch of the first half, the Hamline team would find a late spurt and take a somewhat surprising 28-24 lead by the halftime break.  The GAC Black team would come right back and get things tied up at 28 a piece by the 18:00 mark of the second half and things would still be deadlocked at 32 a piece by the 15:00 mark.  The GAC Black team would take a brief 35-34 lead but things would soon go south for them.  A "3" would have the Hamline team back up at 37-35 just past the midway point of the second half and the Hamline team would maintain the upper hand with a 41-37 advantage with 6:45 left.  With just over five minutes left, the Hamline team expanded their lead to seven at 44-37 and they would maintain that seven point edge down to the stretch to claim a big win.  Over on Court 2, the GAC Gold team was taking on the Northwestern team and the former would get off to a very good start; taking a 5-0 lead by the 18:30 mark of the first half and increasing that lead to 10-2 by the 17:00 mark.  A pretty jumper by junior-to-be Anna Sanders gave the GAC Gold team an 18-9 lead at the 12:55 mark and then fellow junior-to-be Maddy Rice would start showing off her three-point prowess with a bomb to give the GAC Gold team a 21-12 lead at the 12:45 mark.  By the midway point of the first half, the GAC Gold team would hold a double-digit advantage up 26-15.  The Northwestern team wasn't letting this one get too far out of hand but the GAC Gold team still held a 29-20 lead with 6:15 left and with 2:25 left they still held that nine-point cushion up 34-25.  A tough finish by GAC Gold's Maddy Rice that drew a foul along with the obligatory "and one" had the GAC Gold team in very good shape up 37-27 by the halftime break.  And the GAC Gold team certainly had no intentions of letting their foot off the accelerator anytime soon once the second half got going as they would increase their lead to 40-29 by the 18:40 mark.  Sanders would uncork a "3" at the 15:33 mark to give the GAC Gold team a 51-33 lead and then Maddy Rice would unleash a back-breaking "3" to make it 59-39 by the 12:40 mark.  The Northwestern team seemed to be in an impossible position by this point but they were able to slowly cut into this deficit down the stretch.  With 5:35 left they had reduced the deficit to fourteen at 68-54 and with 1:30 left they had reduced it to ten at 73-63 but bringing this one all the way back would prove to be a bridge too far as the GAC Gold team got the comfortable victory.  

Two more interesting games in the 7:45 P.M. slot.....Over on Court 1, scoring would come at something of a premium as both the Macalester team and the Java team had trouble getting untracked offensively.  Things would be knotted at two a piece at the 18:00 mark of the first half and by the 15:00 mark not much had changed with thing leveled at 4-all.  The Macalester team finally found some semblance of offense as they managed to grab a 9-4 lead by the 12:00 mark and still led 11-7 near the midway point of the first half.  The Java team managed to tighten things up a little; closing to within a single possession down 13-10 with 7:45 left and the Java team would stay within striking distance for a good chunk of the remainder of the first half as being down just 15-12 would suggest but this is where the Macalester team made a decisive 6-0 spurt to take a 21-12 lead by the halftime break.  That would probe to be the turning point in this one as the Java team could never get back to within striking distance again.  The Macalester team would hold a 25-17 lead at the 16:00 mark of the second half and would up that lead to nine again at 27-18 at the midway point of the second half.  The Macalester team would still enjoy that nine-point cushion up 30-21 with 7:50 left and would add a little insurance down the stretch with a 34-23 advantage enroute to the victory.  A highly-anticipated match-up meanwhile was taking place over on Court 2 between the GAC Alumni team and the Bethel team.  The Bethel team would get off to a very good start in this one; holding a 9-2 advantage at the 17:20 mark of the first half but it didn't take too long for the GAC Alumni team to unleash its primary weapon - Miranda Rice (GAC '18).  Two quick Miranda Rice scores would get this one tied up at nine a piece by the 15:10 mark and things would stay pretty much even down the stretch.  The game would be knotted at 13 a piece with 8:00 left and the Bethel team would cling to an 18-17 lead with 5:33 left but this is where the GAC Alumni team would go on a 7-0 run to hold a 24-18 advantage by the halftime break.  The GAC Alumni team would increase its lead to 34-26 when Kendall Thompson (GAC '19) connected with a lay-up at the 15:10 mark of the second half but the Bethel team would hang tough; managing to trim the deficit down to four at 36-32 by the 13:00 mark.  But this GAC Alumni team was simply proving to be too strong on this night as they would unleash another run to increase their lead to 41-32 by the midway point of the second half and would still be in control up 48-39 with 4:45 left.  The GAC Alumni team's Lindsey Johnson (GAC '16) may have made the play of the evening with her steal and drive that included a behind-the-back dribble and pretty finish to make it 50-40 with 2:10 left as the GAC Alumni recorded yet another tough but decisive victory.

One more week of the regular season coming up this next Wednesday night so make sure to get on down to the Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League to catch all the action.        

Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League Results For Wednesday 6-30-21

 Some excellent games on this last Wednesday night at the Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League that were incredibly fun to watch:

6:00 P.M. Games

Macalester - 43

Hamline - 40

GAC Black - 42

Augsburg - 39

6:50 P.M. Games

Northwestern - 39

St. Kate's - 38

Bethel - 40

UW-River Falls - 32

7:45 P.M. Games

GAC Alumni - 49

GAC Gold - 48

St. Olaf - 47

Java - 44

Certainly not the night for the faint of heart in any of these time slots.  Over on Court 1 in the 6:00 P.M. slot, an entertaining game was going on between the Macalester team and the Hamline team (I've seen enough of their regular season games over the years to know what I'm talking about :)  ).  While the scoring itself would come at something of a premium early on with things knotted at 2 a piece at the 18:00 mark of the first half and at 4-all by the 14:42 mark, the Macalester team would slowly manage to grab the upper hand; taking a 6-5 advantage by the 11:45 mark and upping to it to 8-5 just thirty seconds later at the 11:15 mark.  By the midway point of the first half, the Macalester team would hold a 12-7 advantage and they would maintain that five-point edge up 14-9 with 4:00 left.  A short time later, the Macalester team unleashed two three-point bombs - one with 3:20 left and another with 2:30 left - that extended their lead to 20-12 and the Macalester team appeared to be in very good shape.  But a gamey Hamline team showed it had no intentions of going quietly into the night as they ripped off a 6-0 run to tighten things up down just 20-18 by the halftime break.  The Hamline team would manage to get this one tied at 21-all by the 17:30 mark of the second half and another push by this Hamline team had them up 29-24 at the 12:17 mark.  But the Macalester team would manage to turn the table down the stretch as they would come back to grab a 34-31 lead with 6:04 left and although the Hamline team would get things leveled again at 34 a piece and take a brief 39-37 lead with 2:20 left, the Macalester team got a big boost with another three-point bomb that would put them up 40-39 with 1:35 left as the Macalester team would hang on for the tough victory.  Another good game was also brewing over on Court 2 between the GAC Black team and the Augsburg team with the latter holding a 7-5 advantage at the 16:25 mark of the first half.  The GAC Black team would come right back, however, as two scores by junior-to-be Maddy Rice had them up 11-9 a short time later.  The GAC Black would enjoy a 13-10 advantage at the 11:00 mark but the Augsburg team would take its cue and uncork two three-point bombs to grab a 16-13 advantage with 9:00 left.  The Augsburg team would stretch its lead to nine at 26-17 with 2:50 left before the GAC Black team finally got settled down a bit and managed to tighten things up down 26-22 by the halftime break.  The GAC Black team would get the game tied at 28 a piece when freshman newcomer Morgan Kelly got a tough score in the paint at the 14:37 mark but the Augsburg team would come right back to take the upper hand and hold a 36-30 lead with 7:40 left.  Things looked quite iffy for the GAC Black team by this point but they managed to turn things around coming down the stretch and held on for a tough 42-39 win.

And things certainly didn't slow down one bit once the 6:50 P.M. games got going.  Over on Court 1, a real barnburner was ensuing between the St. Kate's team and the Northwestern team.  Senior-to-be Katie Benjamin would get a score in the paint and draw a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" had the St. Kate's team up 4-2 at the 15:44 mark of the first half but the Northwestern team would answer this with a 10-0 run to put them up 12-4 by the 11:00 mark.  The St. Kate's team certainly didn't take this lying down and they slyly whittled away at the deficit.  One three-point bomb had the deficit cut down to four points at 15-11 with 8:45 left and with 4:00 left, the St. Kate's team was back to within a single possession down 17-14.  With just two minutes left, the St. Kate's team would be down by just one at 19-18 and a short time later with just 1:00 left, the St. Kate's team finally poked its nose back out in front again by a 20-19 count.  Still, the Northwestern team would counter right before the halftime break with a "3" of their own to take a 22-20 lead at the halftime break.  The Northwestern team would hold a 24-21 lead early on in the second half but the St. Kate's team would soon have things knotted at 24 a piece.  The Northwestern team, however, would get a big boost from senior-to-be Brooklyn DeKam as she would bury two three-point bombs that would put them up 30-24 by the 13:10 mark.  Undeterred by it all, the St. Kate's team would once again battle its way back and have this game leveled at 30 a piece with 8:00 left.  Things would stay tight down the stretch with the Northwestern team holding a 35-34 lead with 4:00 left and with 1:15 left, the Northwestern team was holding a tenuous 39-36 advantage.  The St. Kate's team would cut the deficit to one on a score by junior-to-be Bree Glynn with :30 left but the Northwestern team would manage to hold on for a thrilling one-point win in a very well-played and fun game by both teams.  While all this was going on, another good one was taking place over on Court 2 between the UW-River Falls team and the Bethel team.  Very little separation between these two early on as things would be tied at 4-all at the 17:20 mark of the first half and tied again at 6-all by the 13:17 mark.  With 8:37 left, the UW-River Falls team would have this game tied again at 9 a piece on a three-point bomb.  The Bethel team would again forge a three-point advantage at 14-11 but, just as before, a hot-shooting UW-River Falls team would uncork another "3" to level the contest at 14 with 3:00 left and by the halftime break, the UW-River Falls team probably had to be feeling pretty good about itself holding a 16-14 advantage.  The UW-River Falls team would still hold a one-point edge at 18-17 at the 15:50 mark of the second half but the Bethel team would soon get a big boost from senior Makenna Pearson with a score along with an "and one" that would help get the Bethel team out in front 24-21 by the 13:10 mark.  With 8:00 left, the Bethel team's lead had grown to six at 32-26 and the Bethel team was able to stretch that lead to eight at 38-30 with 2:27 left as they would claim a hard-earned victory on this night.  

Without question, however, the game of the night took place over on Court 1 in the 7:45 P.M. slot between the GAC Gold team and the Cardiac Kids of this year's Summer League, the GAC Alumni team.  And, as they have shown so often thus far, the GAC Alumni team certainly has a flair for dramatics and this game against the younger GAC Gold team would certainly be no exception.  The GAC Alumni team would start fast in this one; getting out to a 6-0 lead but the GAC Gold team would soon close the gap to one point at 6-5 by the 16:30 mark of the first half.  The GAC Alumni team would again try and create some separation; getting a 12-7 lead by the 13:47 mark and holding a 16-12 lead by the 11:20 mark.  But the GAC Gold team didn't appeared to be fazed one bit by their more-experienced elders and they would have this contest leveled at 16 a piece at the midway point of the first half thanks to scores by junior-to-be Maddy Rice and newcomer freshman Morgan Kelly.  The GAC Alumni team would find another burst of energy to get a 24-19 lead with 8:00 left but again the GAC Gold team wouldn't go anywhere and had closed to one down 26-25 with 4:15 left and the GAC Alumni team would maintain that one-point lead up 29-28 with 1:30 left and a tough Miranda Rice (GAC '18) score in the paint had the GAC Alumni team up 31-29 by the halftime break.  But this young GAC Gold team had every intention of trying to steal the spotlight on this night and they would hold a 34-33 lead early on in the second half and a "3" would expand that lead to 37-33 by the 14:50 mark.  The GAC Alumni team didn't panic, however, and would get this one tied at 37-all a short time later at the 13:30 mark.  The GAC Alumni team would open up a four-point lead at 43-39 by the 11:00 mark and they would seem to have the edge coming down the stretch.  But you also knew that this GAC Gold team was going to throw everything they had at them and with 2:00 left, the GAC Alumni lead had shrunk to two points at 45-43 and the GAC Gold's Morgan Kelly would connect on a tough score to keep the GAC Gold team close down 47-45 with just under a minute left.  With just under :20 left, the GAC Gold team would get this one tied at 47 a piece and although the GAC Alumni team had one last chance to win in regulation, they were unable to convert on their last possession so off to overtime we went.  The GAC Gold team would grab a 48-47 lead on one free throw with :31 left in the extra session but this GAC Alumni team would save the best for last as they would score on its ensuing possession to claim an absolutely fun and thrilling 49-48 overtime victory.  To be sure, another very good contest was taking place next door over on Court 2 between the Java team and the St. Olaf team.  Although overshadowed by the game taking place over on Court 1, this one proved to be a good one as well as the St. Olaf team would hold a 4-2 lead by the 15:10 mark of the first half but things would be knotted up at 12 a piece by the midway point of the first half.  The Java team would then get the upper hand; grabbing a 19-14 lead with 4:00 left and holding a 22-18 advantage by the halftime break.  The Java team would open up the second half with a 6-0 spurt to hold a 28-18 lead and although it appeared in a bit of trouble by this point, the St. Olaf team quickly responded and by the midway point of the second half, this one would be tied at 35 a piece.  The St. Olaf team would cling to a 39-38 advantage with 6:45 left and would get a bit more breathing room up 46-43 with 4:20 left.  The St. Olaf team was still holding the three-point advantage at 47-44 with 2:00 left and although they certainly weren't out of the woods by any stretch by that point, they managed to keep the Java team scoreless in those last two minutes to claim the tough victory.   

Had to skeedaddle home to get my rest before the 8:40 game took place but another night of action coming up this next Wednesday night over at the Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League so get on down!