Augsburg vs Bethel 11-23-21

 Made the short run over to Robertson Center on the campus of Bethel University on this pleasant November night on Thanksgiving week to take in this early MIAC regular season clash between visiting Augsburg and host Bethel.  The Auggies had notched their first victory of the season last Saturday when they nipped Hamline 64-62 over at venerable Hutton Arena.  The Royals meanwhile were coming into this contest on the heels of a three-game losing streak which is almost unheard of these days but Bethel has been handicapped as late due to injuries to two key players - junior guard Kat Brown-Erdal and sophomore guard Anna Garfield.  So maybe it wasn't dire straits time for Bethel just yet but the Royals certainly wanted to right the ship on this night with an important home game.

Things would be tight in the opening minutes of this contest as you would have expected them to be.  After Royals senior forward Megan Boegel got this game knotted at four with her score in the paint at the 8:16 mark of the first period, Augsburg attempted its first push.  Senior forward Jen Masello would first knock down one free throw at the 6:58 mark and then Masello; the Darien, IL native, showed how much her game has progressed with her steal and lay-up the other way at the 6:46 mark to make it a 7-4 game.  Bethel would managed to get the game tied on a lay-up by freshman reserve forward Lydia Hagstrom at the 6:00 mark and one freebie by junior forward Emma Schultz at the 5:29 mark but the Auggies would soon step on the gas pedal again.  Masello; enroute to a fabulous first period, snared an offensive rebound and putback of her own miss at the 5:00 mark and then sneaky sophomore guard Kalena Myers; who has deceptive speed, snared a steal and raced the other way for a lay-up with 4:39 mark that had Augsburg up 11-7.  Masello would add a lay-up with 2:13 left to maintain the four-point edge at 13-9 and the Auggies would extend that lead to 15-9 when senior point guard Selena Lor came down in a transition opportunity and got a short, pull-up jumper to go down with 1:54 left.  A bit later, Lor would strike again with a pretty drive and finish with 1:25 left to make it 17-9 and although the Royals would get a bit of a reprieve junior forward Emma Schultz drained a "3" from the right wing area with 1:09 left, Augsburg's Masello would cap this great first period for her with her lay-up with 1:02 left as the Auggies carried a 19-12 advantage going into the second period.

Augsburg's Masello would give her team a nine-point advantage at 21-12 early on in the second period with her lay-up at the 9:47 mark but Royals Head Coach Jon Herbrechtsmeyer would make some defensive adjustments during the break after the first period to make sure Masello wouldn't have carte blanche down low like she enjoyed early on.  This adjustment, coupled with a resurgent offensive effort by Bethel which arguably struggled during the first period, allowed the Royals to get right back into this game.  Freshman guard and former Becker standout Courtney Nuest would get this push going with her jumper from the left corner area; just inside the three-point line at the 9:35 mark and fifth-year senior forward Makenna Pearson connected with a lay-up off of an inbounds pass at the 9:07 mark that trimmed the deficit down to five points at 21-16.  Boegel's lay-up at the 8:09 mark and Schultz' score in the paint at the 7:25 mark had the deficit cut down to a scant point at 21-20 and that caught the attention of Augsburg Head Coach Ted Riverso who called a timeout to get his squad settled down a bit.  Still, Bethel's Pearson would cap this 10-0 run with her lay-up in transition at the 7:03 mark to put the Royals out in front 22-21 before the Auggies finally caught their collective breaths and got back on track on the offensive end.  Sophomore reserve guard Katie Manecke made a hard drive for a finish at the 5:52 mark to put Augsburg back out in front and a lay-up by Myers with 2:39 left would make it 25-22.  Masello would add a lay-up of her own with 1:56 left and then Lor; the former Winona standout, got two big scores down the stretch - a "3" from the right corner with 1:17 left and a jumper from the left top area with :01 left - to complete this 11-2 run as the Auggies took a 32-24 lead into the locker room at the half.  A glance of the first half box score shows what a first half Augsburg's Masello had with her 15 points despite the adjustments that Bethel tried to make after the first period.  And although the Auggies could certainly have done better from the charity stripe (going 1-4 for 25%), they did shoot 15-29 from FG range for a solid 51.7% compared to Bethel's 11-34 for 32.4%.

Augsburg got its first double-digit lead of the evening when Myers made a hard drive and got a finish off the glass at the 9:50 mark of the third period to make it a 34-24 ballgame but the Royals craftily worked themselves back into this ballgame.  Two quick lay-ups in transition by Nuest - one at the 9:10 mark and again at the 8:56 mark - had Bethel back in striking distance down 34-28 and an offensive rebound and putback by freshman reserve guard Autumn Earney at the 5:27 mark drew them closer down four at 34-30.  Pearson would connect with a jumper from the right elbow area with 4:48 left to keep the Royals in that four-point range down 36-32 and an Earney jumper from near the free throw line with 4:34 left not only had Bethel back to within a single possession down 36-34 but also had the Auggies' Riverso clamoring for a thirty-second timeout to quickly discuss things with his squad.  Still, the Royals would manage to get this one tied at 36-all with 4:04 left when Hagstrom slithered her slender frame into the paint for a score and when Earney buried a "3" from the right corner with 3:26 left, things looked a lot brighter for Bethel than they did at the beginning of this third period with a 39-36 lead.  But this 15-2 run for the Royals did not faze the Auggies at all as they regrouped and went on an 8-1 push.  Back-to-back three-point bombs - one by Manecke from the right corner with 2:56 left and another one by Lor from the left wing area with 2:07 left - pushed Augsburg back into the lead at 42-39.  Junior forward Jaley Coplin would also knock down two free throws after getting fouled with 1:10 left to make a 44-40 game to cap this push.  And although the Royals would tighten things up on two scores in the final minute - a jumper from the right elbow by freshman reserve forward Hayden Glander with :47 left and a pretty drive and finish by Nuest with just :00.1 left - to be down only 46-44, the fact that Bethel was unable to consolidate once it grabbed the lead had to be a bit disconcerting for Herbrechtsmeyer and his staff. 

The Royals still appeared to be in position to possibly grab control of things when Glander unleashed a "3" from the right wing area at the 8:26 mark that had the home team down by only one at 48-47 but it was here that Augsburg went back to work on the offensive end; churning out a 7-0 spurt that gave them some more breathing room.  Lor would first uncork a "3" from the right corner at the 8:02 mark and would follow that up a bit later with a short, turnaround jumper to give the Auggies a 53-47 lead.  Then Myers would connect on a lay-up in transition at the 7:18 mark that extended the lead to eight at 55-47 and Bethel's Herbrechtsmeyer was compelled to call a timeout to stop the bleeding shortly thereafter.  Whatever was said in that huddle during the timeout was unknown but it sure got the attention of the Royals' Hagstrom as she would personally help lead her team right back into the thick of things.  The former Zimmerman standout would first connect with a lay-up at the 6:55 mark and follow that up a bit later with a short jumper in the lane at the 6:23 mark.  At the 5:47 mark, Hagstrom would knock down a jumper from the right elbow area that had Bethel back to within a single possession down 55-53.  But the Royals would get turned back in the crucial moments as Augsburg took control of things down the home stretch.  Coplin; the former Shakopee standout, would get two back-to-back scores for the Auggies - a lay-up in transition with 3:47 left and a "3" from the left wing area with 2:39 left to make it a two-possession game at 62-57 and although Bethel's Hagstrom would try and work her magic again after a subsequent timeout with her lay-up with :47 left to close within a single-possession down 62-59, Augsburg's Lor would knock down two crucial free throws after getting fouled with :25.4 left and Masello would add one more with :13.8 left after a foiled Royals possession to make it 65-59.  Bethel's Glander would get an offensive rebound for a putback with :01.2 left but it wouldn't be enough as the Auggies got out of Robertson Center with a 65-61 victory.  

Despite the latest setback, Bethel's Herbrechtsmeyer wasn't in the "down" mood that maybe I had thought he might be in.  He was quick to point out the injuries that I alluded to early on in this post to both Brown-Erdal and Garfield but did express optimism that both would (hopefully) be back by this next Wednesday (12-1) when the Royals travel down Snelling Avenue to face Hamline.  The Royals certainly did a better job at containing Augsburg's Masello in the second half and you're still seeing that aggressive, tenacious defense that can allow them to feast on turnovers.  But it's arguably been a struggle on the offensive end thus far for Bethel and sporting a 1-4 record at Thanksgiving time was not what I or certainly they thought would be happening when this season got underway.  They've got to find some solutions/fixes to the current problems they have on the offensive end and I think they've got to find them quickly before things start spiraling out of control.  Still, Herbrechtsmeyer maintains that "We'll be alright" and he knows what his squad is capable of.  Certainly getting both Brown-Erdal and Garfield back will be a big boost for them.  Meanwhile on the Augsburg side, I don't think you necessarily have to view this win as a glass half-full proposition.  After dropping their first three games; including a tough one to Chicago in the Windy City, the Auggies certainly have to feel better about themselves than they might have after the first week or so of play.  You have to understand that this simply is not the "Fab 5" team of a couple two or three years ago.  You don't have the same kind of talent that that team had.  But I also think Riverso knows that his current squad has to carve its own identity and I think that they're slowly in the process of doing just that.  Lor has grown into a leader on this squad as has Masello and you've got some very good complimentary pieces on this team like Myers, Coplin and junior guard Grace Eastman among others.  We'll just have to see how far this process can take them.  I mentioned to Riverso afterward that, given Bethel's recent struggles and the uncertainties with GAC and all of their injuries, the conference is perhaps even more wide open than what I may have even thought.  He seemed to be in agreement with that and added that he felt that they really could have won the game at Chicago.  So it may very well be a matter of just trying to get better and perhaps just as important, finding some consistency along the way as well.

It was indeed a solid outing for Augsburg's Lor as she led all scorers with her 21 points and although Bethel clamped down on Masello after that first half and her 15 first half points, she still finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds for a "double-double".  Myers again may be the "X" factor on this team and her 14 points were critical for the Auggies.  Hagstrom was the savior for Bethel this night with her 14 points and 14 rebounds for a "double-double and don't be surprised if you see more outings like this for her.  To me, what's surprising is that the Royals had a decided advantage on the boards on this night by a 40-29 count but they weren't able to translate that advantage into more points.  Bethel also had a 12-7 advantage in those all-important "second chance" points as well.  At the same time, Bethel was also guilty of 22 turnovers on this night; something you rarely see from Herbrechtsmeyer-coached squad.  Finally, Bethel finished this contest going 28-73 for 38.4% from FG range compared to Augsburg's 27-60 for 45%.      

St. Kate's vs Northwestern 11-17-21

 Finally, for the first time since March of 2020 I got to cover a game in person and I can't even begin to tell you how good this felt.  On this Wednesday night of Beat SC Week I traveled over to Roseville and Ericksen Center on the campus of the University of Northwestern for this early season MIAC - UMAC clash as the host Eagles prepared to take on St. Kate's.  I got there in plenty of time to get myself settled in to enjoy an impromptu supper of McDonald's (I don't do that very often) washed down with God's Nectar (aka Pepsi) and watch both teams warmed up.  I knew coming in that this Northwestern team had a lot of potential but it also has a lot of new, young faces.  Ditto for the Wildcats as I knew Head Coach Don Mulhern would get many of his underclassmen some valuable playing minutes. 

After senior forward Megan Roberts got her Eagles team on the board first at the 9:16 mark of the opening period after she got fouled behind the arc and got two of three free throw attempts to go down, St. Kate's was able to get the contest knotted at two a piece on a tough lay-up by grad senior Brooke Torvik at the 8:54 mark.  It was at this point, however, where things quickly went south for the Wildcats as this stunningly deep and explosive Northwestern team unleashed a game-changing 16-0 run.  Two scores in the paint by senior post Hailey Paup - one at the 8:17 mark and another at the 7:15 mark on back-door plays - got the Eagles a 6-2 advantage and then Roberts would uncork a three-point bomb from the right wing area at the 6:37 mark to push the lead to 9-2.  Fellow senior guard Allison Eide would connect with a lay-up at the 6:18 mark to stretch the lead to 11-2 and the 'Cats Mulhern; not at all liking what was unfolding before his eyes, called a timeout to get his troops reassembled.  But this stoppage in play didn't have the desired effect of cooling down this Northwestern one bit.  Eagles Head Coach Aaron Kahl inserted willowy freshman reserve guard Lexi Hagen and she made the most of the early opportunity.  The former Jordan standout would first make a hard drive to the rim for a finish off the glass at the 5:35 mark and a little more than a minute later with 4:31 left, Hagen would knock down a short jumper in the lane to make it 15-2.  With 2:41 left, St. Kate's made the mistake of leaving Hagen all alone in the left corner and she would make the Wildcats pay as she unleashed a killer "3" that now made it 18-2 and now St. Kate's Mulhern had no choice but to take a match to another timeout as he had to find some answers for his team - quickly.  Wildcat junior reserve forward Sarah Lavell finally broke the drought for her team when she snared an offensive rebound for a putback with 2:26 left but Northwestern was far from finished with their offensive onslaught.  Eide would drain back-to-back three-point bombs - one from the left wing area with 1:54 left and then again from the left top area with 1:22 left to make it 24-4.  St. Kate's finally had a couple of answers in the waning moments of this first period thanks to freshman reserve forward Sydney Elliott as she would uncork back-to-back three-point bombs of her own - one from the right top area with 1:01 left and another one with :27 left from the left wing area - that reduced the deficit down to fourteen at 24-10 by the time the first period buzzer sounded.  Still, Northwestern seemingly had all the answers thus far and the Wildcats had a lot of work in front of them.  

And the Eagles certainly showed no signs of slowing down anytime soon either.  Freshman guard Taylor Schuck would start things out in the second period by burying a "3" from the left corner at the 9:40 mark and another Paup score in the paint on another pretty back-door play at the 7:37 mark boosted Northwestern's lead to 29-10.  The 'Cats would try and make up some lost ground as one free throw by freshman reserve post Nicole Dalman at the 7:20 mark and a lay-up in transition by junior forward Bree Glynn at the 7:05 mark along with a three-point bomb by freshman reserve forward Greta Schimnowski at the 6:05 mark had the deficit reduced to sixteen at 32-16 but cutting into the deficit even further was proving to be a bridge too far - at least at this juncture anyway.  The Eagles would get another boost on yet another "3" by Hagen - this one from the right wing area with 4:14 left along with a score in the paint by reserve grad senior Ashlyn Jones with 2:17 left that made it 37-18.  The exclamation point by Northwestern came with just :41 left in the second period when freshman reserve forward Jasmine Sondrol made a hard drive along the left baseline and got a pretty one-handed finish off the glass to make it 39-19.  Glynn would get one more score for the Wildcats with just one tick left before the halftime break with her lay-up but Mulhern and his St. Kate's team were still staring at an eighteen point deficit going into the locker room at the intermission.  

The big question going into the third period then would be how would St. Kate's respond after getting bruised, bullied, outhustled and outscored in that first half.  It didn't take long to see that whatever Mulhern said in that locker room during the halftime break definitely had the desired effect.  After the Eagles pushed their lead to twenty at 41-21 on a routine score in the paint by Paup at the 9:42 mark, the 'Cats showed a renewed energy, fight and desire and unleashed a surprise 10-0 run to crawl right back into the thick of things.  Senior forward Sam Orth started things out with an offensive rebound and putback at the 9:22 mark and fellow senior post Katie Benjamin knocked down a short jumper from the right side at the 8:55 mark to get the deficit down to sixteen at 41-25.  Orth would then knock down a pair of free throws after getting fouled at the 7:54 mark and then freshman reserve guard Marissa Fronk would snare an offensive rebound for a putback at the 7:12 mark that now had the deficit down to twelve at 41-29 and Northwestern's Kahl; a bit apprehensive at this point, called a timeout as the full- and half-court pressure that the Wildcats were using was having a detrimental effect on his team.  Still, St. Kate's prospects looked much brighter when Schimnowski snared an offensive rebound for a putback at the 5:49 mark that now had the deficit down to ten at 41-31.  That got the attention of the Eagles and they went right back to work to try and establish some more breathing room.  Paup would get into the paint for one score at the 5:37 mark and senior point guard Kelsea Lund would bang home a "3" from the left top area at the 5:19 mark to make it a 46-31 ballgame but the Wildcats still had another push in them.  Sophomore reserve guard Karis Zezza muscled into the paint for a score with 4:14 left and then Schimnowski would strike from behind the arc at the right top area that again had St. Kate's in that ten-point range down 46-36 with a ton of time left.  But the energy expended making this series of runs finally took its toll on the 'Cats as Northwestern would again start pulling away - this time for good.  Lund would uncork a trey from the right wing area with 3:00 left and also drop two freebies after getting fouled with 2:31 left to get the lead back to fifteen at 51-36.  Hagen would knock down a short jumper from the left side off of an inbounds pass with 1:42 left and then Jones would get a three-point play the old fashioned way with a lay-up that drew a foul along with the obligatory free throw that now had the Eagles in a much better position up 56-39 going into the fourth period. 

Paup's two free throws after the Cedar Falls, IA native got fouled at the 9:01 mark of the fourth period got the lead to ninetten at 58-39 and the dwindling fortunes of St. Kate's in this contest were probably best exemplified at the 8:35 mark when senior guard Mackenzie Kurczek had her Zion Williamson moment as her shoe inexplicably broke on her and she had to come out of the game.  Roberts two free throws at the 7:15 mark pushed the Eagles lead to 60-39 and this gave Northwestern's Kahl a chance to insert some of his younger players so they could get some valuable minutes.  Freshman reserve guard Rylie Hirschey certainly didn't disappoint as she drained a cold-blooded "3" from the left wing area with 4:42 left.  The Wildcats certainly weren't throwing in the towel as one score in the paint by Benjamin with 2:52 left and an offensive rebound and putback by Orth with 2:16 left and an Orth drive and finish with 1:43 left kept things respectable.  Orth would also connect with a short jumper in the lane with 1:07 left but Northwestern's Hirschey would steal the spotlight in the waning moments.  The former Pine River Backus standout would connect with a lay-up with :52.9 left and would also drain her second trey of the evening from the left top area with :16.8 left as the Eagles claimed a convincing 70-53 victory.  

St. Kate's Mulhern could only lament afterward at some of the miscues his team committed early on in the contest that really opened the door for Northwestern to grab a sizable lead early on.  His team deserves a lot of credit for staging a strong comeback in that third period when twice they got the lead reduced to ten points and if they could have found a way to whittle it down further into single digits, it may have been a completely different ballgame.  But the thing that really stood out to me on this night was this Northwestern team and how deep they are.  To be sure, the Eagles suffered a blow early on this season when senior guard Brooklyn DeKam went down with an ACL injury that takes her out of action for this season.  But the encouraging thing to me is that Kahl has so many others that he can rely on whether it's his starting chain-gang or reserves coming off the bench.  Roberts and Paup are a formidable 1-2 punch down low and having Jones and Sondrol come off the bench are huge assets.  Hagen certainly had her moments coming off the bench on this night and Kahl admitted that he had to get Hirschey some playing time this night after she scored 25 points in a recent JV game.  In his 12th season at the helm of the Northwestern program, Kahl has never had this kind of depth before and he admitted as much to me when I prodded him on the subject.  It's easy to see that Northwestern can definitely be a factor in the UMAC title chase.  Both Paup and Hagen led the way for the Eagles on this night with their 12 points and Roberts wasn't far behind with her 10 points.  Orth meanwhile was the only Wildcat in double figures scoring-wise with her 11 points.  A closer look at the box score will show that St. Kate's definitely had the advantage on the boards at 36-26 which seems kind of odd at first glance.  True, they did turn the ball over 24 times in this game but Northwestern had 21 turnovers so those two stats kind of cancel each other out.  Even more striking is that St. Kate's held a 22-9 advantage in those all-important "second chance" points.  To me, the difference was that St. Kate's shot an icy 22-56 from FG range for 39.3% and an equally frigid 4-14 from behind the arc.  Mulhern will be the first to tell you that that won't get the job done.  If there was one red flag on the Northwestern side, I'd say that would come from the charity stripe where they were only 9-18 on this night for for a straight 50%.  They got away with that on this night but there'll be other games where that could come back to bite them.     

MIAC Predictions For The 2021-22 Season

 My apologies for not getting this in sooner.  First, I didn't get to get to more practices the way I would have liked to - first and foremost because of lingering concerns with COVID-19 even though I am fully vaccinated.  Second, just a lot going on my end right now with work as there's several nights where I'm staying an hour or more later than I normally would just to keep my head above water with my workload.  Throw in the pending merger between my employer, Canadian Pacific, with the Kansas City Southern along with the ever-shifting fortunes of my Los Angeles Rams and UCLA Bruins so now I've got to find a way to juggle the MIAC Women's Hoops scene with it all (along with all the D2 and Girl's HS stuff that I like as well).  Somehow, I'll find a way - I think.  Nevertheless, I wanted to break out my crystal ball and peer into the upcoming season and unveil my predictions for the 2021-22 season.

First, I want to just say how incredibly thankful I am that we're still slated to have a full and "normal" season.  I just hope it stays that way.

Without further adieu, here we go:

Title Contenders

1.  Bethel

2.  Concordia

I wasn't prepared to go this particular route a mere month ago but given some of the misfortunes of a certain program down in St. Peter, I think this is the only logical way to go now.  Bethel features a very talented and a very experienced roster that still very likely remembers too well that 1st round NCAA Tournament loss in 2020 to Bethany Lutheran.  Fifth-year seniors Makenna Pearson and Bella Williams are back and ready to wreak havoc on the defensive end bolstering this squad is senior Megan Boegel and willowy junior Kat Brown-Erdal.  There's also a lot of good, young talent as well on this roster; particularly freshman Courtney Nuest out of Becker who will almost certainly be a standout player down the road......  The other team that I wasn't quite prepared to move into this spot is Concordia and although I realize that they're probably a longshot in the title race, I think you still at least have to involve them in the discussion.  We saw this squad take some big steps last year in a truncated season that was highlighted by a home win over Bethel.  The Cobbers will be led by seniors Autumn Thompson, Vanessa Kedl, Mary Sem and junior Emily Beseman.  Despite the fact that they dropped their opener to UM-Morris a week ago, I can kind of forgive that and I think you should too.  This Cobber team is probably one of the best teams you've never heard about and it's really not their fault that they haven't yet been able to get themselves the recognition they deserve.  This is a team you'll want to keep your eye on.  I guarantee it.  

Solid Playoff Contenders

  

3.  GAC

4.  CSB

After watching them this last summer at the Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League, I just thought to myself at the time that there's simply no one who could touch GAC in the upcoming season.  But some very unfunny things happened to the Gusties once the season approached:  (1) Both Paige Richert and Caitlin Rohrman opted out of playing this season for different reasons and (2) sophomore guard Riley Queensland; who figured to be a prominent scorer for the Gusties this season, tore her ACL on the third day of practice.  Throw in a concussion and a few other bumps and bruises on the rest of the team and it's easy to see why the high hopes coming into this season just aren't as high anymore.  Fortunately, the Gusties aren't completely depleted of talent.  Junior sharpshooter Maddy Rice and fellow junior Anna Sanders will be a 1-2 punch that GAC will have to rely on heavily this time around.  It looks as if freshman Morgan Kelly will likely fall into the forward/post spot down low although, presumably anyway, 6'5" junior Betsy Schoenrock is healthy now and ready to provide some quality minutes down low as well.  Given GAC's inability to once, just once, win an outright MIAC title over the last 20 years or so makes you wonder sometime if this program is cursed although I'm not aware that anyone has tried to bring a billy goat into Lund Arena yet.  Certainly I haven't anyway....  Meanwhile, up in St. Joe, all one has to do is look at the roster and you'll probably come away with the notion that youth must be served.  The CSB roster is peppered with freshmen and sophomores, a few juniors and only two seniors - Kate Seyer and Madison Doran.  So there's just a lot of unknown dynamics here with this team but I still think they'll have enough to be in the mix safely enough to snare a playoff spot.  

Fighting For The Last Two Playoff Spots

5.  St. Kate's

6.  Hamline

7.  Carleton

8.  SMU

In theory, this could very well be the year that the Wildcats finally separate themselves from the rest of the pack and perhaps upend CSB in snaring that fourth playoff spot - and a home playoff game that would go with that.  However, if history is any guide, I think you probably have to be a bit more conservative in your views on St. Kate's as teams in recent years have been beset with injuries and other maladies that have kept this squad from reaching its full potential.  However, if the practice I was able to attend is any indicator and, just as important, IF they can stay healthy, this team certainly has a shot of surprising a lot of opponents.  The good news is that seniors Katie Benjamin and Sam Orth are healthy and presumably (and hopefully) will stay that way.  Ditto for fellow senior Mackenzie Kurczek who is a solid leader and contributor.  And I have to give props to 5th year senior and grad student Brooke Torvik for being a great leader and contributor on this team as well.  I've always thought it was important for St. Kate's to develop its young talent to augment the starting chain gang and one person who stood out this last weekend in their two games in Chicago where the 'Cats came away with a split was freshman Kiley Wood out of Carey, ID.  If Head Coach Don Mulhern can get similar performances out of her and others, St. Kate's is going to be a very tricky match-up for a lot of teams.....  Just up the road on Snelling Avenue is Hamline and this is a team that has a lot of similarities with St. Kate's:  A handful of good senior leaders and contributors; namely Gabby Robinson, Sophie Findell, Sarah Loken, Paige Condie and Lindsey Bernardy.  Just as important, junior Chan'el Anderson-Manning is back on the roster after taking a year off last year to dabble as a student-coach.  This is a team that certainly knows how to get up and down the floor and when they're clicking, they can be awfully tough to beat.  The big question when it comes to the Pipers is can they find some consistency that may elevate them to a new level?  That's always been their downfall when it matters so we'll see if they can take another step forward this time around.....  Two other teams could very well find themselves in the fight to grab one of those last two playoff spots.  Down in Northfield, I think Carleton has to be one of them.  Head Coach Tammy Metcalf-Filzen has a lot of young talent assembled - emphasis on the "young".  It's difficult for me to form an opinion on them too much simply because, other than the Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League, I really haven't seen any members of this team play and I don't think you should infer too much from what took place this last summer.  Still, if there's one coach who knows how to put her chess pieces in the right place at the right time, it's Metcalf-Filzen so this squad will definitely be worth keeping an eye on.....  Down in Winona, it's much the same story as Head Coach David Foley has a smattering of newcomers on his squad.  But he does have two reliable seniors on his squad who can score in Brooklyn Paulson and Jada Biermeier.  

The Not-Quite-Ready For Primetime Teams

9.  Augsburg

10.  Macalester

11.  St. Olaf

12.  St. Scholastica 

It's admittedly hard to have Augsburg down so far in my rankings; particularly when you consider how tantalizingly close they were to winning two MIAC titles and the "Fab 5" that took this program to new heights just a few short years ago.  But, as we all know, players come and graduate and now a new cast is trying to make a name for itself.  While senior Selena Lor is a solid backcourt player and leader for this team, the real scoring threat - as the final box score from their opening game earlier this week would seem to indicate - is junior Jaley Coplin.  Sophomore Kalena Myers should also figure heavily on the scoring front.  And Head Coach Ted Riverso will rely heavily on the skills of senior Jen Masello down low.  I just don't know how consistent this team can be over the stretch of the regular season and defense has always been the achilles for the Auggies.....  Still another very young team resides on Snelling Avenue just south of I-94 - Macalester.  Five freshmen and five sophomores are featured on this roster so Head Coach Katie Kollar has a lot of work in front of her in developing that young talent so they can make contributions right away.  Two players on this Macalester team to keep your eye on - senior Celine Sabbagh and junior Solana Cushing.  I was particularly impressed with Cushing's shot-making ability during the Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League......One of the bigger mysteries of the MIAC might be on the west side of Northfield as St. Olaf does have a handful of experienced veterans back for this season - notably in seniors K'Lynn Lewis and Camryn Scott along with juniors Rachel Kelly, Cassie Fix, and Sarah Howdeshell.  But this program has been looking up for quite some time now and it may be asking a lot for this squad to take a significant step forward.  But again, we'll see......The new kid on the block in the MIAC is located clear up by Gitche Gumee; otherwise known as that ice water mansion of Lake Superior in Duluth.  It likely will be a season of figuring out things in the MIAC for the Saints and new Head Coach Jason Schmitz.  St. Scholastica will likely rely heavily on senior forward Emma Schmidt for scoring and rebounding.  

So there you have it.  How accurate this all is remains to be seen.  Feel free to fire away with thoughts and hope to catch you at games this winter.