Made the trip back over to venerable Hutton Arena on the campus of Hamline University on this Valentine's Day evening and also Victory Monday evening for my World Champion Los Angeles Rams to take in this late regular season contest between visiting GAC which made its way up US Highway 169 and the Union Pacific's Mankato Sub mainline to the Twin Cities to take on host Hamline. The Gusties were arguably coming into this contest with a head of steam; having reeled off four straight victories - most notably over league-leading Augsburg a week ago - and were looking to consolidate their positioning for the MIAC Playoff by locking up the number two seed. Hamline meanwhile did get an important win on this floor on Senior Day against St. Kate's but had suffered a loss to Carleton last week and were without the services of senior guard Sophie Findell who suffered an apparent ankle injury in the win against St. Kate's. This would be an important game for the Pipers as well as they were hoping to lock their claim to the fourth seed in the MIAC Playoffs.
GAC certainly showed why they've been playing well as of late by getting out to a good jump in the opening minutes of the first period. Senior forward Grace Benz would start things off with a hard drive along the left baseline for a finish at the 9:35 mark to draw first blood and a drive and finish by junior guard Anna Sanders at the 7:53 mark had the Gusties up 4-2. Sanders would strike again at the 7:14 mark with a jumper from the free throw line and then freshman point guard and former Maple Grove standout Kylie Baranick would bury a cold-blooded "3" from the right corner at the 6:19 mark to stretch the GAC lead to seven at 9-2 and Pipers Head Coach Alex Focke; not liking how things were developing thus far, called a thirty-second timeout to make some quick adjustments. Still, the Gusties were able to increase the lead to 11-2 when freshman reserve forward Morgan Kelly connected with a lay-up off of an inbounds pass at the 5:58 mark before Hamline was finally able narrow the deficit a bit thanks to sophomore guard Lydia Lecher. Lecher; the former Concordia Academy standout, got one free throw to go down after getting fouled at the 5:55 mark and a bit later at the 5:20 mark, Lecher would connect with a pretty turnaround jumper from the free throw line that tightened things up a bit with the Gustie lead down to 11-5. But GAC was able to step on the gas pedal again as sophomore reserve forward Izzy (Izzy, Izzy, you're making me dizzy) Quick would connect with a lay-up at the 5:04 mark and one free throw by Benz when she was fouled with 2:57 left re-established the nine-point lead that the Gusties had earlier at 14-5. It took longer than the home crowd would have liked but Hamline finally started showing signs of life again offensively in the last two minutes. Senior reserve guard Lindsey Bernardy would knock down a jumper from the right corner just inside the arc with 2:01 left and although Gustie freshman forward Rachel Kawiecki would muscle into the paint for a score on GAC's ensuing possession, the Pipers would get a big boost with just :04.7 left when Lecher banged home one of her trademark lefty three-point bombs; this one from the top of the key that cut the deficit down to six at 16-10.
The Gusties appeared to be picking up right where they left off once the second period got underway. Sanders would connect with a tough turnaround jumper from the free throw line at the 9:25 mark to give GAC an 18-10 advantage. The Pipers meanwhile had made a few subtle changes on defense by this point; basically going into what looked at first glance like a 2-3 zone defense but in reality was more of a maneuver to clog the paint in hopes of taking away GAC's ability to get inside and make short jumpers tough as well. That tactic certainly seemed to pay dividends as this period progressed as Hamline was able to draw closer. Lecher would bury her second trey of the night; this one coming from the right top area at the 8:53 mark and junior guard Alyssa Williamson would get one free throw to go down after being fouled in a transition opportunity at the 7:59 mark that got the lead down to six at 20-14. Junior forward Tess Hauer would connect with a short, turnaround jumper in the lane at the 5:50 mark and less than a minute later Hauer would strike again; this time on a lay-up at the 5:19 mark that suddenly had the Pipers back to within a single possession down 20-18. One Williamson free throw after she was fouled with 4:50 left and one more by Hauer with 2:46 left finally had this game leveled at 20-all and the way GAC had been misfiring on their end with errant three-point attempts might have made one wonder if the Gusties had got themselves into a big mess. But those fears subsided considerably when sophomore reserve guard Syd Hauger drilled a "3" from the left top area to push GAC out in front 23-20. Piper senior guard Gabby Robinson would sneak into the paint for a score with 2:30 left that made it a one-point game again but with just :03.7 left, the Gusties' Kawiecki would get fouled and the former Holy Angels standout got both attempts down that allowed GAC to at least carry that three-point lead into the locker room at 25-22 at the halftime break.
Despite the three-point deficit, Hamline appeared to have momentum on their side in the opening minutes of the third period. Robinson would get sent to the charity stripe at the 9:05 mark after getting fouled where the former Tri-City United standout knocked down both attempts to close the gap to one at 25-24 and a Hauer lay-up at the 7:58 mark kept the deficit at a scant point at 27-26. Less than a minute later, the Pipers would finally grab their first lead of the evening at the 7:23 mark when speedy junior guard Chan'el Anderson-Manning made a hard drive into the lane for a finish to make it 28-27 and despite some of the struggles they encountered early on in this contest, things suddenly started to appear quite bright for the Hamline faithful in attendance. It was here, however, were this game turned on a dime and the Gusties not only turned up the heat on defense but unleashed a whirlwind offensive as well in the form of a key 13-2 run. It started with back-to-back three-point bombs - one by Sanders from the right wing area at the 7:02 mark and the other one by Baranick from the top of the key at the 6:16 mark - that quickly had GAC up by five at 33-28. Baranick would strike again with 4:33 left on a lay-up in transition and then slender sophomore forward Emma Kniefel would slither into the paint for a score with 3:31 left to push the lead to 37-28. Sanders would cap this run by unleashing a three-point bomb from the right wing area with 2:50 left that now gave the Gusties a ten-point cushion at 40-30 and Hamline looked like they had the rug pulled out from under them. The Pipers' Lecher would single-handedly try to bring her team back as she would get to the line after getting fouled with 2:33 left and got one attempt to go down and with 1:52 left Lecher would bury one of her trademark left "3's"; this one coming from the right top area that narrowed things up a bit with Hamline down 42-34. But the Gusties would quickly answer this as Baranick would unleash another cold-blooded "3" herself; this one from the right corner with 1:29 left to up the lead to eleven at 45-34. The Pipers would again try and make inroads thanks to Hauer as she would connect on a short, turnaround jumper with 1:13 left and would also get one free throw to go down with :42.9 left after getting fouled that would get the deficit down to eight at 45-37. Hope abounded again for the Hamline faithful when Hauer would snare an offensive rebound for a putback in transition with just :18.7 that closed the gap to six points at 45-39 but then GAC's Kniefel would deliver a heartbreaking "3" from the left corner with just :05 left as the Gusties carried a nine-point 48-39 lead going into the fourth period.
Hamline would find themselves hard-pressed to stay within single-digit range once the fourth period got going as the Gusties continued with an efficient attack. Baranick would connect on a nifty-looking give-and-go lay-up that drew a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" got the GAC lead up to double-digits again at 51-40. Then Hauger would connect with a lay-up in transition that also drew a foul in the process and the obligatory free throw by the former Springfield standout now had the Gusties up 54-40. Kniefel, too, would strut her stuff in transition on sleek-looking lay-up at the 5:49 mark that made it 56-42 and Hamline simply ran out of offensive punches to counter this as both short- and mid-range jumpers simply weren't falling for the Pipers. Williamson would finally snare a steal and dash the other way for a lay-up with 3:13 left but GAC would start putting the finishing touches on this ballgame. Kawiecki; not necessarily known for her ability to snare steals and get lay-ups the other way, did just that with 1:56 left and a score in the paint by Quick with 1:20 left made it 60-45. Sanders would put the cherry on top for the Gusties on this night with her drive into the lane for a finish with :36.6 left as GAC claimed a huge 62-47 road victory.
I was able to catch up with GAC Head Coach Laurie Kelly afterward and from just talking to her, it's clear that she's incredibly proud of this young team and how far they've come in a relatively short period of time given the injuries and defections the program has endured over the last few months. "This is a group that really cares about each other and gets along so well" she said. For me, the big thing is how much better the Gusties are on defense than what they were at the beginning of the season. It's definitely been showing as of late and it sure showed on this night. I'm particularly impressed with how Baranick has been able to step right into the all-important point guard spot as a freshman and not only do what's necessary as a freshman but flourish as well. She looks really comfortable out there and I think one can't help but be impressed with that. Meanwhile, you look at Hamline as of late and they're simply trending the wrong way at exactly the wrong time. True, I think they missed Findell's presence on this night but they haven't looked the same since December and January. A check of the final box score doth reveal some ugly numbers for Hamline's Focke and his staff. The Pipers shot only 14-49 from FG range for 28.6% and were an icy 3-14 from downtown for 21.4%. The alarming number for me was from the charity stripe. Hamline got there more often than GAC did but didn't have much to show for it going 16-27 for 59.3%. That was a killer right there. Then you throw in the fact that GAC had a sizable 30-18 edge in points in the paint, an 18-10 advantage in points off turnovers and a 16-4 edge in bench points kind of gives you an idea of how this game went.
Indeed, Sanders and Baranick were just nails for the Gusties on this night as they led the way for the Black and Gold with their 16 and 14 points, respectively. And Kawiecki was an absolute monster on the boards this night with her 13 rebounds. Hamline relied heavily on Lecher on this night and she didn't disappoint as she led the way with 15 points and Hauer was right behind with her 14 points.
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