Made the relatively short trip over to Robertson Center on the campus of Bethel University on this cold early December Saturday to take in this critical early season clash between visiting Concordia and host Bethel. The Cobbers were coming in as arguably one of the hottest teams in MIAC Women's hoops in this early season with a 4-0 record - including a stunning 64-63 upset of GAC up in Moorhead last Saturday. The Royals meanwhile were stumbling out of the gate much like they did last season with a 2-3 overall record and 2-1 in conference play after dropping a tough decision to Hamline this last Wednesday evening. And while it's still early in the season, of course, you had to think from a Bethel standpoint that this was about as close to a "must win" game for them as there is.
As expected, things would be tight in the opening minutes of the first period as two scores by junior guard Anna Garfield - a lay-up at the 9:27 mark and a score in the paint at the 8:45 mark - had the Royals up 4-2. Concordia, however, would get the game leveled at four a piece when senior guard Emily Beseman connected with a lay-up at the 8:36 mark. But Bethel would grab some early momentum thanks to its trademark defensive work that caused the usually-potent Cobber attack to falter a bit. Garfield, stealing the early spotlight in this contest, would snare an offensive rebound for a putback at the 7:36 mark to push the Royal back out in front 6-4 at the 7:36 mark and a pair of Garfield free throws after the former Blaine standout was fouled at the 6:46 mark upped Bethel's lead to 8-4. Freshman reserve guard Colette Duininck would make a daring drive into the lane for a finish at the 6:13 mark to maintain the four-point edge at 10-6 as would sophomore reserve forward Lydia Hagstrom at the 5:08 mark with her score in the paint that had Bethel up 12-8. It was here that Concordia went into its first serious offensive funk on this Saturday afternoon as the Royals stingy defense in the half court took the Cobbers completely out of their comfort zone and allowed Bethel to go on a 7-0 push. Hagstrom would start this push with her lay-up off of an inbounds pass with 3:56 left and one free throw by sophomore guard Kendal Cox with 2:50 left had the Royals up 15-8. With 2:11 left, Cox would again get sent to the charity stripe after getting fouled and got one more free throw to go down to make it 16-8 and with exactly 1:00 left in this opening period, senior forward Emma Schultz would drain a "3" from the right top area that stretched Bethel's lead to 19-8. Ironically, the Cobbers would get a bit of a reprieve in the most unexpected fashion as sophomore guard Carlee Sieben let loose with a half-court Hail Mary shot that found nothing but cotton with just :00.1 left that helped take some of the sting out of the team's offensive woes and narrow the deficit some as well with Bethel's lead trimmed to 19-11.
Duininck would give the Royals a 20-11 lead with one free throw after she was fouled in a transition opportunity at the 9:45 mark of the second period before Concordia could finally break out of its offensive slump that it suffered down the stretch of the opening period. Sieben would unleash her second trey of this afternoon - this one from a bit more reasonable range from the right wing area - to cut the deficit to six at 20-14 and would also add free throws - one after getting fouled at the 7:08 mark and again at the 6:53 mark - that got the Cobbers back to within striking distance down 20-16. Two more free throws by sophomore forward Makayla Anderson at the 5:37 mark kept Concordia in that four-point range down 22-18 and a tough score in the paint by sophomore reserve forward Greta Tollefson at the 5:03 mark suddenly had the Cobbers back to within a single possession down 22-20. That was something of a wake-up call for Bethel as they went right back to work to create some more breathing room. Garfield would collect with a lay-up with 4:41 left as would Duininck with 4:14 left that gave the Royals a 26-20 lead and Duininck would add one free throw after getting fouled with 2:14 left to make it 27-20. A lay-up by Schultz with 1:43 left maintained this seven-point edge at 29-22 before the Cobbers could narrow things up again on two free throws by Beseman when she was fouled with :36.6 left so while Concordia Head Coach Kim Wagers could feel a bit better about her squad turning up the heat a little bit in the second period, there was still work to do and they had to find a way of neutralizing that Bethel defense as well.
Whatever was said in the Cobber locker room during the halftime break certainly seemed to have the desired effect as Concordia finally got its offense going once the third period got underway. Senior guard Autumn Thompson would bang home a "3" from the left wing area at the 8:34 mark and a lay-up in transition by sophomore forward Symone Beld at the 7:56 mark suddenly had this game tied at 29 a piece. The Royals woke up from their brief slumber to get themselves out in front again as Schultz would muscle into the paint for one score at the 7:18 mark and a lay-up in transition by sophomore guard Courtney Nuest at the 7:02 mark gave Bethel a four-point edge at 33-29. But right back came the Cobbers with a 6-0 spurt. Beseman would start this push with a nifty drive into traffic and finish off the glass at the 5:47 mark and would also add two free throw after getting fouled a bit later at the 5:14 mark that knotted this contest up again at 33-all. Shortly afterward, Beld would connect with a jumper from the left wing area with 4:46 left that finally allowed Concordia to poke their nose out in front by a 35-33 count. Then things started getting wild as three-point bombs were unleashed from both sides. Bethel sophomore reserve guard Autumn Earney would unleash a "3" from the right wing area with 4:29 left to push the Royals back out in front 36-35 but then the Cobbers would come right back with some artillery of their own when Beseman uncorked a "3" from the right wing area with 4:11 left that put Concordia back out in front 38-36. But right back came Bethel's Earney on the Royals subsequent possession as she would drill her second trey of this afternoon from the right top area with 3:57 left as Bethel grabbed the lead back at 39-38. But Concordia would take that lead right back as Beld would connect with a lay-up with 3:18 left to put the Cobbers back up at 40-39 and a jumper from the left elbow area by freshman reserve guard Molly Musland with 1:54 left would keep Concordia on top by a 42-40 count. Not to be outdone, the Royals would counter as Nuest would connect with a jumper from the left corner just inside the arc with 1:33 left to tie the game at 42 and Garfield would make a hard drive for a finish off the glass with 1:08 left to put Bethel back out in front by the end of this somewhat wacky third period by a 44-42 score. So even though Concordia couldn't hold that small lead coming down the stretch, the general thought was that they now finally gained some much-needed confidence on the offensive end as this third period suggested.
Whether it was the perceived confidence that suddenly waned or if it was fatigue that finally settled in or if it was that Bethel defense just absolutely shutting down its opponent - or even perhaps a combination of all of the above may not be know but the brakes got applied to that normally potent Cobber offense as they came to an almost standstill once the fourth period got underway. And not that the Royals were exactly lighting up the scoreboard themselves but Concordia just went absolutely stone cold. And considering the fact that they were right there within striking distance made it even more maddening from a Cobber standpoint. Tollefson would come up empty on a lay-up attempt at the 8:40 mark as would Thompson a bit later at the 7:44 mark. Bethel meanwhile was able to gradually get a bit more breathing room thanks to the Cobbers struggles. Schultz would knock down a pair of charity stripe shots after getting fouled at the 8:16 mark and a daring drive into traffic and a lay-up by Nuest at the 6:43 mark had the Royals up 48-42. Still a manageable deficit in most cases but the fact that Concordia was unable to dust off the cobwebs off of its basket until the 2:08 mark on a lay-up by Beseman, it seemed much bigger than it was. And Bethel would pretty much seal the deal on this one when Schultz maneuvered into the paint for a score that drew a foul and her ensuing "and one" now had the Royals up 51-44 with 1:38 left. Cox would add an insurance free throw with 1:31 left after getting fouled as would Duininck with :38.5 left plus a couple more by Garfield with :21.5 and :05.5 left as Bethel took an important 55-48 victory.
When I was finally able to catch up with Bethel Head Coach Jon Herbrechtsmeyer afterward, he talked about the need to "uglify" things - if such a term could be used but whatever term or phrase you want to use - the tactics worked. Again, it was the Bethel defense setting the tone in this contest and they simply shut down Concordia in that fourth period right when it looked as if the Cobbers had shaken off all of their troubles and they seemed out of their comfort zone for a good chunk of the contest. Herbrechtsmeyer did offer up some hope on the return of sophomore forward Hayden Glander who's still out with an unspecified injury and said that she may see some minutes in another week and that, perhaps after Christmas or the first of the year, she should be fully ready to go - adding yet another dimension to this Bethel team that they definitely could use. Meanwhile, it was a disappointing day at the office for Concordia's Wagers and her team and Wagers said that "We're normally a very good shooting team." But it was obvious that they ran into a buzzsaw on this day and you can bet that it must've been a long, dreary cold ride back up US Highway 10 and the BNSF's Staples Sub mainline to Moorhead.
When you look at the final box score for this one, it can be easy to understand why Wagers and her staff likely had to reach for the Tylenol PM once they got back. The Cobbers were 14-53 from FG range for only 26.4% and 4-16 from downtown for 25% - OUCH. And free throw shooting wasn't really that great either as the Cobbers were 16-22 for 72.7%. Turnovers were almost even (Concordia 23 and Bethel with 20) but what made it bad from a Concordia standpoint was that Bethel got 12 points off of those turnovers. Bethel had a whopping 30-18 advantage in points in the paint as well so, in a game like this, those numbers tell much of the story. Garfield and Schultz really carried the Royals this day on the scoring front with their 14 and 12 points, respectively. Concordia actually had a reasonably balanced attack on this day as Beseman; the former Swanville standout led the way for the Cobbers with her 14 points while Anderson tallied 11 points and finished with a "double-double" with her 10 rebounds and Sieben finished with 10 points.
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