Made my way over to the St Paul side of town on this sunny but cold February Saturday of Super Bowl LVI weekend for my Los Angeles Rams to venerable Hutton Arena on the campus of Hamline University as visiting St. Kate's made it's way up Snelling Avenue to take on host Hamline. The Wildcats have been mired in a losing streak as of late but they finally broke that losing streak on Wednesday night when they took down Macalester. The Pipers meanwhile had been riding high on a five-game win streak but got upended on Wednesday night down in Northfield against a vastly improved Carleton team and there was little doubt that Hamline wanted to regain its mojo coming into this contest. It was also Senior Day at Hamline as well on this Saturday and seniors Gabby Robinson, Paige Condie, Sophie Findell, Lindsey Bernardy and Sarah Loken were all honored before gametime.
Hamline Head Coach Alex Focke would start his five seniors on this day as well but the Wildcats would seem to have the upper hand at the beginning. After Robinson got the Pipers on the board first at the 9:32 mark of the opening period on a lay-up, St. Kate's would come right back as junior guard Bree Glynn would connect with a lay-up of her own at the 9:19 mark to get the game leveled. Senior forward Sam Orth would put the 'Cats ahead at 4-2 on two free throws after she was fouled at the 8:27 mark and she would keep St. Kate's out in front by a 6-5 count with her offensive rebound and putback at the 7:29 mark. The Pipers would counter on a three-point bomb by junior reserve forward Tess Hauer from the left wing area at the 7:03 mark to put Hamline back out in front 8-6 but the Wildcats would again get the game knotted when Glynn connected with a short shot off the glass at the 6:37 mark. The Pipers appeared to finally take control of things when sophomore reserve forward Lydia Lecher made a burst with the ball and connected with a lay-up at the 5:49 mark to push Hamline back out in front at 10-8 and that lead would grow to five when Hauer drained her second trey of the afternoon - this one from the right wing area at the 5:18 mark to make it 13-8. The Pipers, however, were unable to hold this lead as St. Kate's battled back and it didn't help the Hamline cause when Findell had to retreat to the bench with two early fouls with 3:35 left. Wildcat freshman reserve guard Sydney Elliott would make a big splash with her three-point bomb from the left wing area with 3:19 to pull St. Kate's back to within a single possession down 13-11. The Pipers had not one but two opportunities at the charity stripe to widen their lead again but both junior reserve guard Chan'el Anderson-Manning and Robinson were unable to get pairs of free throw attempts to go down with 3:04 and 2:25 left respectively. Anderson-Manning would get one attempt to go down with 1:30 left after getting fouled but St. Kate's would take advantage of this situation when senior post Katie Benjamin drained a "3" from the top of the key with :40 left to level this contest at 14 a piece.
Hamline wasn't able to gain much in the way of separation that they had hoped they would get once the second period got underway. Piper junior reserve guard Alyssa Williamson would make a nifty drive into the lane for a finish at the 8:10 mark to push the home team back out in front but right back came St. Kate's as freshman reserve guard Marissa Fronk would knock down a jumper from the left corner just inside the arc at the 6:32 mark to get this game tied again at 16. A short time later, Elliot's lay-up at the 5:56 mark pushed the Wildcats back out in front at 18-16 before Hamline's Lecher connected on a short, turnaround jumper with 4:50 left to get the game knotted again at 18. It was here where the Pipers started slipping again and the 'Cats were quick to pounce. Fifth-year senior guard Brook Torvik put St. Kate's ahead with her three-point bomb from the left top area with 4:14 left and one free throw by Fronk with 2:57 left to make it 22-18 Wildcats and now Hamline's Focke; who was seeing his squad stagnate on offense and now with a second important cog in their offensive attack - Robinson - saddled with two fouls, called a timeout in hopes of getting things turned around quickly. While the Pipers did seem to recover somewhat, keeping this tricky St. Kates team at bay was proving to be a tough proposition. Williamson would snare an offensive rebound of her own miss for a putback with 2:40 left and Lecher would bury a "3" from the top of the key with 2:00 left that had the deficit down to a scant point at 24-23 but the Wildcats' Fronk would knock down a jumper from the left wing area just inside the arc to keep St. Kate's ahead at 26-23. Orth would knock down a pair of free throws after getting fouled with :45.8 left to make it 28-24 and Torvik would add something of an exclamation point when she got a tough one-handed shot from the right elbow area to go down with :12 left as the Wildcats took a somewhat improbably 30-26 lead into the locker room at the half and for the Hamline faithful inside Hutton Arena on this day, not a lot felt right at the moment.
For all of the transgressions that Hamline made during that first half, they more than made up for them in the third period alone. Two Hauer free throws at the 9:48 mark sparked a key 11-0 run and cut the deficit down to two at 30-28. Lecher's short, turnaround jumper in the lane at the 8:53 mark got the game leveled at 30 a piece and when Robinson connected with a lay-up in transition at the 8:22 mark to push the Pipers ahead, St. Kate's Head Coach Don Mulhern felt compelled to call a timeout to get his squad calmed down. But Hamline wasn't done yet. Findell would knock down a pair of free throws after getting fouled at the 6:45 mark and when sophomore reserve guard Larisa O'Neil drained a "3" from the right top area to push the Pipers ahead 37-30 at the 6:23 mark, St. Kate's Mulhern was forced to take a match to another timeout in hopes of stopping the bleeding for good. Wildcat sophomore reserve post Savannah Youngstrum finally broke the drought at the 5:48 mark with her lay-up but it still took the 'Cats a while to play catch up as Hamline still appeared to be comfortable with what they were doing. Anderson-Manning would use her speed to make a hard drive for a finish at the 5:26 mark and a short, turnaround jumper off the glass by junior reserve forward Iyanna Wieland with 4:09 left had the Pipers in a very good spot up 41-32. St. Kate's could have easily fallen like a house of cards at this point but this gritty group instead stopped the bleeding and got right back into the thick of things. Elliott would bang home a "3" from the right top area with 3:22 left to reduce the deficit to six and two Orth free throws after she was fouled with 2:41 left got the deficit down to four at 41-37. With 1:21 left, Elliott would strike again from three-point land; burying a bomb from the top of the key to get the 'Cats back to within a single possession down 43-40 and with :49 left, freshman reserve guard Kylie Wood would connect with a jumper from the right corner just inside the arc that cut the deficit down to two points at 44-42. With just :15.2 left, Glynn would get one free throw to go down after getting fouled to make further inroads and with Hamline now clinging to a one-point 43-42 lead, there was a lot of uneasiness inside Hutton Arena.
The uneasiness would continue into the early moments of the fourth period as well when the Pipers' Findell went down with an apparent injured ankle that took her out of the game. But this Hamline team was not going to let this keep them down for long. Robinson; the former Tri-City United standout, would snare an offensive rebound of her own miss at the 8:14 mark for a putback and an offensive rebound and putback by Loken at the 7:17 mark gave Hamline a bit more breathing room up 48-44. Still, the Wildcats weren't going anywhere anytime soon as Torvik would uncork her second trey of the day with a bomb from the right corner at the 6:56 mark that tightened things up considerably but St. Kate's would take a hit a bit later when Orth was forced to retreat to the bench after collecting her fourth foul of the afternoon. With Orth out for the time being, that gave the Pipers an opportunity to create a bit more of a cushion. Lecher would knock down a pair of free throws after getting fouled at the 6:26 mark and one more by Hauer with 4:58 left upped Hamline's lead back to four at 51-47. The Pipers stayed aggressive, finding openings to penetrate where they could at least draw fouls, too. Anderson-Manning would get sent to the stripe after getting fouled with 4:20 left where the former Cretin-Derham Hall standout got one attempt to go down and with 3:36 left, Hamline would get into the bonus as Lecher would get fouled and her two free throws stretched the Piper lead to seven at 54-47. St. Kate's would make one more bid to draw closer as two Fronk free throws after she was fouled with 2:39 left and a drive and finish by Elliott with 1:33 left gave the Wildcats a fighting chance down by just four at 55-51 but Hamline would never let them get closer. Insurance free throws by Anderson-Manning with 1:11 left and one more by Williamson with :38.2 left had the lead back up to six at at 57-51 and Lecher would add two more of her own after getting fouled with :13.4 left. The 'Cats would get the final score of the day on a lay-up by sophomore reserve guard Karis Zezza with :08 left but it would turn out to be meaningless as Hamline got the W on Senior Day by a final score of 59-54.
I was able to catch up with a somewhat frustrated St. Kate's Head Coach Don Mulhern who was pleased with how hard his team fought; particularly after the big run by Hamline in the third period when everything could have arguably gone kablooey for the Wildcats right then and there. Mulhern's main consternation concerned the arguably inconsistent officiating in this one (and I had to agree with him on that point) that saw Hamline get to the line far more often than St. Kate's did on this day. It has to be frustrating for a coach and a team when you're right there in play coming down the stretch and you can't quite get over the hump. And keep in mind that this St. Kate's team also lost junior Mackenzie Kurczek to an injury not long ago; taking an important component of their defensive prowess off the floor. The final box score does show some interesting numbers. First, the Wildcats did dominate the boards on this day by a surprising 41-30 count but they also suffered 21 turnovers to Hamline's 12 which somewhat negated the big edge on the boards. Hamline did have a slight edge in points in the paint by a 20-18 count and a bigger edge in points off of turnovers by a 17-12 count. What I find interesting is that Hamline shot only 17-47 from FG range for 36.2% and 5-22 from downtown for 22.7%. St. Kate's shot marginally better from FG range going 18-48 for 37.5% and 7-15 from three-point land for 46.7%. The real danger I see for both teams on this day is the free throw shooting. What's happened with free throw shooting anyway? Hell, I'm a tennis player but when I did play basketball in both junior high and my freshman and sophomore years in HS, I was a pretty reliable from the line. True, St. Kate's didn't get to the line as often as Hamline did on this day but they were still only 11-18 for 61.1% and shoring that number up could have made a big difference on this day. Then, look at Hamline. They got to the line many more times than St. Kate's did but were only 20-35 for 57.1%. To me, that sends up a whole bunch of red flags. They may have got away with it this time around but Focke and his staff must know that they can't make a living shooting that poorly from the charity stripe.
Hamline's Lecher continues to show why she is turning into one of the top players in the conference as her 15 points on this day to lead the Piper attack attest. And she got a good amount of help on this day as well; particularly from Hauer who tallied 11 points on this day. St. Kate's was led by Elliott on this afternoon as she finished with 15 points and Orth was a monster on the boards this day with her 10 rebounds.
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