Made my way over to the St Paul side of town on this cold December Saturday night to Gangelhoff Center on the campus of Concordia St Paul University to take in a crucial mid-season clash between visiting Sioux Falls and host Concordia St Paul in my first DII coverage of this 2021-22 season. Both teams were coming off emotionally tough games from the night before that saw the Golden Bears record a tough home win against Southwest Minnesota St while the Cougars saw a late rally fall short in a tough loss at Minnesota St down in Mankato. Both teams were coming in with very solid records and both were still in the thick of things in the NSIC South Division so it would be interesting to see how both teams would recover from an emotionally draining contest the night before and get focused for the task ahead.
Things would be tight early on in this contest and although the Cougars would draw first blood on a lay-up off of an inbounds pass at the 9:54 mark of the first period, Concordia St Paul would soon have things knotted up at two when slender junior point guard and former Park Center standout Meghan DuBois connected with a lay-up in transition at the 9:07 mark. The Golden Bears would forge ahead when freshman forward Lindsey Becher got into the paint for a score off of an inbounds pass at the 8:20 mark but right back came Sioux Falls as freshman guard Megan Fannin connected with a lay-up at the 8:05 mark. Concordia St Paul's Becher would again slither into the paint for another score at the 7:48 mark to make it a 6-4 ballgame but right back came the Cougars as junior guard Dallie Hoskinson snared an offensive rebound for a putback at the 7:31 mark. The Golden Bears did get some more breathing room thanks to DuBois as she would make a hard drive for a pretty finish at the 6:20 mark and then craftily snare a steal and dash the other way for a lay-up at the 5:26 mark that had Concordia St Paul up 10-6. Right back came the gang from Sioux Falls, however, as junior reserve forward Kiara James connected with a short, turnaround jumper at the 5:06 mark to close the gap to two points and with 3:24 left, Fannin would bang home a "3" from the right wing area to push the Cougars back out in front 11-10. Sioux Falls would increase that lead to 12-10 when freshman guard Brecli Honner got one free throw attempt to go down after she was fouled with 2:45 left. The Golden Bears would soon get things knotted again as sophomore guard Jadyn Hanson knocked down a short, turnaround jumper with 2:25 left and although Sioux Falls' Fannin would push her squad ahead one more time with 2:03 left on her jumper from the right wing area, Concordia St Paul would get this thing leveled at 14 a piece when Hanson connected with a lay-up in transition with :57 left so off we went to the second period with seemingly neither side willing to give an inch.
While it seemed like this would be a relatively even contest considering how the first period went, things would slowly start going south for the Cougars once the second period got underway as Concordia St Paul made its first significant push. Junior forward Sydney (I can't say her last name) Zgutowicz started this Golden Bear assault when she drained a "3" from the top of the key at the 9:46 mark and although Sioux Falls would answer this particular call with a three-point bomb from freshman reserve guard Madison Wuebben from the right wing area at the 9:20 mark, Concordia St Paul had more tricks in their pocket. DuBois would go coast-to-coast for a lay-up that drew a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" pushed the Golden Bears ahead at 20-17 at the 8:17 mark. Junior reserve guard Sydney Schultz would connect with a lay-up in transition at the 6:43 mark that would grow the lead to 22-17 and Cougars Head Coach Travis Traphagen; perhaps sensing the first sign of danger, called a timeout to get his troops reset. That stoppage in play initially seemed to pay dividends as Sioux Falls' Honner would connect with a short, turnaround jumper in the lane at the 6:03 mark to get the Cougars back to within a single possession down 22-19. It was here, however, that Concordia St Paul embarked on a key 10-0 run that changed the course of this game for good. Zgutowicz would uncork another three-point bomb from the top of the key at the 5:39 mark and one Becher freebie after she was fouled with 4:54 left made it a 26-19 game. Then DuBois would unleash more terror from three-point land with her bomb from the right top area with 3:43 left that gave the Golden Bears a ten-point cushion at 29-19. One free throw by freshman reserve forward and former Becker standout Megan Gamble after she was fouled with 3:12 left and two more by Zgutowicz with 2:35 left made it 32-19 before Sioux Falls finally broke its dry spell on an offensive rebound and putback by freshman reserve guard Sydney White with 2:21 left. Still, the damage had been done and given how the Cougars had missed a fair share of easy lay-ups and "bunnies" during this critical stretch, it seemed unlikely by this point that they'd be able to make up for that. The Golden Bears would only add more problems down the stretch as Zgutowicz made a hard drive for a finish with 1:52 left and two free throws by Hanson after she was fouled with :21.1 left allowed Concordia St Paul to take a sizable 36-22 lead into the locker room at the half. Just to give you an idea of how badly the the Cougars faltered in the second period alone, they shot 3-17 from FG range for 17.65% and were only 1-5 from downtown for 20% and you don't have to be a coach to know that that won't get the job done.
Sioux Falls did draw first blood early on in the third period as senior forward Krystal Carlson connected with a lay-up at the 9:48 mark but then the Golden Bears applied more pain with a 10-2 run. Senior guard Riley Wheatcraft would drain a "3" from the left wing area at the 8:45 mark to make it 39-24 and then Becher would connect with a lay-up off of an inbounds pass and would also draw a foul in the process and her obligatory free throw push the lead to 42-24. Two more free throws by Zgutowicz at the 7:38 mark got the lead to twenty at 44-24 and a Becher lay-up at the 5:59 mark maintained the twenty-point cushion to cap this latest run and make it a 46-26 ballgame. Perhaps the only disconcerting moment for Concordia St Paul up to this point would come with 3:43 left when Wheatcraft took an inadvertent elbow to the face and had to come out of the game. Zgutowicz would promptly drop two free throws in her place and then Zgutowicz would bang home another trey - this one coming from the right wing area with 3:32 left to make it 51-27. The Cougars Wuebben would finally offer some relief for her team with her own "3" from the right wing area with 3:05 left but two free throws by Golden Bear DuBois with 2:58 left had Concordia St Paul up 53-30. It was here that Sioux Falls finally found a spark of sorts and it was led by none other than reserve graduate senior guard and former Golden Bear and Park Center standout Danielle Schaub who transferred to Sioux Falls this last summer. She would first get one free throw to go down after getting fouled with 1:54 left and two more by James with 1:29 left had the deficit back down to twenty at 53-33. Then with just :58.9 left, Schaub would race from coast-to-coast for a lay-up and a lay-up in transition by freshman guard Olivia Gamoke with :24.6 left suddenly had the deficit down to sixteen at 53-37 and offered a ray of hope for the Sioux Falls contingent.
But any hopes that the Cougars and their faithful fans had died quickly once the 4th period got underway as Concordia St Paul wasted little time by launching a 9-1 run that put this one out of reach for good. Schultz would start this run by knocking down a pair of freebies after getting fouled at the 9:33 mark and Hanson would follow that up with a pretty drive and finish off of an inbounds pass at the 8:50 mark to make it 57-30. Then DuBois would unleash a dagger "3" from the right wing area at the 7:40 mark. Two more Hanson charity stripe shots at the 7:01 mark completed this run that made it 62-38 and from that point it was pretty much academic. Still, Sioux Falls' Schaub would fight valiantly until the end in this one as she basically put the Cougar team under her wing. She would first connect with a lay-up at the 6:44 mark and a short turnaround jumper by James at the 6:04 mark had the deficit down to twenty-one at 63-42. At the 5:24 mark, Schaub would get fouled in a transition opportunity and both free throw attempts were true. With 4:37 left, Schaub would rely on her three-point prowess to nail a bomb from the left wing area that had the deficit down to sixteen at 63-47. Unfortunately for the Cougars, Schaub's heroics would not be enough on this night as Concordia St Paul would apply the finishing touches on this game. Becher would get one free throw to go down after getting fouled with 4:12 left and redshirt freshman reserve guard Alyssa Daugherty would drain a "3" from the right wing area with 3:52 left that got the Golden Bears safety net back up to twenty at 67-47. Wheatcraft, seemingly recovered from any ill effects she may have felt from that inadvertent elbow back in the third period, made a pretty drive and finish as the shot clock expired with 2:22 left and Gamble would apply the coup de grace in this one with her offensive rebound and putback with :55.3 seconds left as Concordia St Paul recorded a 71-51 victory to head into the Christmas break on a high note.
When I finally got to glance at the final box score on this game, it was really puzzling because I normally look for things such as rebound totals, turnovers, "second-chance" points, points in the paint and that kind of stuff. But you look at this one and none of these items hold any water with how this one turned out at all. Consider: Sioux Falls outrebounded Concordia St Paul by a 37-35 count. And the Golden Bears had a slim advantage in points in the paint by a 28-26 count. And the Cougars had a 10-7 advantage in "second-chance" points. Even more striking to me was that Sioux Falls had a 30-10 advantage in bench points (thanks in large part to Schaub's heroics which I'll speak more of in just a bit. I think, inevitably anyway, you have to look at points off turnovers where the Golden Bears had an 11-6 advantage but, just as important, you also have to compare the actual shooting numbers as well. Here, we saw Sioux Falls finish by going 18-58 from FG range for 31% and only 4-15 from downtown for 26.7%. That isn't even close enough to getting it done - especially on the road. Free throw shooting could have been better for Sioux Falls as well (not that it would have made a difference in this one but still.....) going 11-16 for 68.8%. Concordia St Paul was 22-49 for 44.9% and 7-14 from three-point land for a straight 50%. Free throw shooting was solid - 20-24 for 83.3%. You can win games shooting from the charity stripe like that.
And it was a very balanced attack for Concordia St Paul on this night with both DuBois and Zgutowicz tallying 17 points to lead all scorers while Hanson and Becher both finished with 11 points. You put that kind of balanced attack with the numbers above and that's a recipe for winning basketball. Meanwhile, Schaub's 10 points on this night led the way for Sioux Falls with Fannin's seven points being the only one to come close to her. I just want to say something about Danielle Schaub as this Saturday night contest might very well be the last time I ever get to cover her in action. I've watched this young woman grow up from a young bench player at Park Center behind older sisters Nicole and Hannah but she never had to worry about playing in their shadows. She was able to carve her own niche at Park Center and who can ever forget that Saturday night at the Barn in the Class AAA State Championship Game in 2014 when her, DuBois and Ann Simonet (of UM-Duluth) had to rescue the Pirates from what appeared to be almost certain defeat into an unforgettable overtime victory over Marshall. That's still the best damn game I've EVER seen and it's difficult to imagine something topping that. She's worked awfully hard at her game and she may not be the biggest player out there but her heart is unmatched. She had a solid career at Concordia St Paul as well and was able to find greener pastures out at Sioux Falls and she's making the most of this season while she can. I'm incredibly lucky to be able to call her a friend and what she was able to do on this night for her Cougars team; even when the game was pretty much already decided, shows what a fierce competitor she really is no matter what the situation and if Traphagen and his staff haven't figured this out already, they bloody well better pretty damn soon.
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