Made my way over to venerable Hutton Arena on the campus of Hamline University on this dreary early December Saturday afternoon to take in this pivotal early season clash between visiting CSB and host Hamline. The Bennies were coming into this contest on a three-game win streak after the loss to GAC back on 11-22 while the Pipers were a perfect 7-0 and were coming off a resounding home win over Carleton on Wednesday night so you knew this one had all the makings for a pretty good contest and it's safe to say that attendees got their money's worth.
CSB would draw first blood in this contest; both on the scoreboard and literally and figuratively as well as a "3" from the left wing area by senior point guard Gabby Martin put the Bennies on the board first at the 9:08 mark of the opening period and just less than a minute later at the 8:10 mark, Hamline's electrifying junior guard Lydia Lecher suffered an inadvertent blow to the face which resulted in an apparent bloody nose for the former Concordia Academy standout and a trip to the trainer. Still, the Pipers seemed to be okay despite all that as speedy senior guard Alyssa Williamson made a daring drive into the lane for a finish at the 6:21 mark and her fellow senior backcourt mate, Chan'el Anderson-Manning would snare a steal near mid-court and race back for a lay-up to give Hamline a 4-3 advantage. But the Bennies would take the upper hand back as senior post Tori Szathmary connected with a short, turnaround jumper in the lane at the 5:20 mark and free throws - one by sophomore reserve forward Olivia Boily with 4:33 left and two more by senior reserve guard Hannah Johnson - now had CSB back up by an 8-4 count. But things would seem to fall back into the Pipers favor once they got into the bonus with 2:49 left in this opening period and when junior sharp-shooting guard Larisa O'Neil drained a "3" from the left wing in a transition opportunity with 2:02 left, Hamline was right back in business down only 8-7. But the Bennies showed they meant business themselves as they created some more breathing room before this first period was over. Junior guard Carla Meyer would connect with a lay-up with 1:05 left and Szathmary would do the same with :37 left as CSB took a somewhat surprising 12-7 lead going into the second period.
And the Bennies showed they were just getting started as they went on a 7-2 push once the second period got going. Willowy sophomore reserve guard Sophia Jonas started this run by burying a "3" from the right top area off of an inbounds pass at the 9:41 mark and a tough score in the paint by junior forward Lydia Hay at the 9:00 mark put CSB up 17-9. Less than a minute later at the 8:03 mark, Hay would get sent to the charity stripe after she was fouled and two free throws by Hay; the former Wayzata standout, gave the Bennies their first double-digit lead at 19-9. A short shot off the glass by Szathmary maintained the ten-point advantage at 21-11 and a short jumper in the lane by Hannah Johnson pushed that lead to 23-11 at the 5:02 mark. Hamline would continue to struggle on the offensive end and CSB freshman reserve guard Megan Morgan would connect with a lay-up in transition to keep the lead at twelve at 25-13. With 2:08 left, Meyer would give the Bennies their largest lead yet at 28-14 when she buried a "3" from the left top area. Freshman reserve guard/forward Josie Wiebusch would finally dust off the cobwebs that had collected on the Pipers basket with two free throws after getting fouled with 1:51 left and one more with 1:27 left but going into the locker room down 28-17, Hamline Head Coach Alex Focke and his staff knew that the Pipers had a lot of work to do in the second half.
Hamline knew that they had to get the gears shifted to try and turn the momentum in this one and a 10-0 run to start the third period went a long way in doing so. Lecher; apparently feeling no ill-effects from the bloody nose she suffered early on in the contest, started things off by banging home a "3" from the left top area in a transition opportunity at the 8:57 mark and a lay-up a short time later by junior reserve guard Michaela Stamer at the 8:28 mark had the deficit cut to six at 28-22. Then at the 7:53 mark, Williamson would dart into the lane and get a finish to pull the Pipers even closer down 28-24 and CSB Head Coach Mike Durbin had seen enough to know that a stoppage in play was warranted. Still, Hamline's Lecher would strike again at the 6:29 mark with a drive into the lane for a finish and drew a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" now had the deficit reduced to a scant point at 28-27 and had the Pipers right back where they needed to be. That finally got the attention of the Bennies and they responded with consecutive scores to give them a bit more breathing room. Hannah Johnson would knock down a jumper from the left elbow area at the 6:02 mark and then Meyer would snare a steal and race the other way for a lay-up at the 5:41 mark that had CSB in a bit better shape up 32-27. Right back came the Pipers, however, as Stamer would get sent to the charity stripe for a couple of freebies after being fouled with 4:55 left and then Anderson-Manning would work her magic in the half-court with a pretty drive and finish with 2:47 left to again reduce the deficit to one at 32-31. Now it was time for the Bennies to kick it into higher gear with a 7-0 spurt. Jonas would connect with a short jumper along the left baseline with 2:21 left and a short, turnaround jumper by Hannah Johnson with 1:45 left pushed the CSB lead back up to five at 36-31. With 1:12 left, Jonas; the former Hudson, WI standout, drained a "3" from the left top area to stretch the Bennie lead up to eight at 39-31. Hamline would manage to trim the deficit down as senior forward Iyanna Wieland would get a three-point play the old-fashioned way with a lay-up that drew a foul along with the obligatory free throw with :54.5 left and a coast-to-coast lay-up by the flashy Anderson-Manning with :20.5 left had the Pipers back to within a single possession down 39-36 but two free throws by CSB's Boily after she was fouled with 13.3 left got the Bennie's safety net better again with a 41-36 advantage.
The Bennies would get their lead to eight at 44-36 thanks to Hannah Johnson who snared down an offensive rebound for a putback that also drew a foul with the ensuing "and one" at the 8:28 mark of the fourth period but a pesky Hamline team was not conceding anything anytime soon. Freshman reserve guard Camille Cummings; the former Centennial standout, knocked down a pair of free throws after getting fouled at the 6:44 mark and a three-point bomb by Stamer from the left wing at the 5:11 mark had the Pipers right back within a single possession down 44-41. CSB would try again to widen the gap as Jonas unleashed a three-point bomb of her own from the right wing area with 4:23 left to make it 47-41 and a score in the paint by Hay with 3:47 left maintained the six-point edge at 49-43. But right back came the Pipers as a score in the paint by Stamer with 3:22 left and a short jumper in the lane by Lecher off of a nifty inbounds pass with 1:42 left now reduced the deficit to two at 49-47 and the Bennies' Durbin wasted no time in calling a timeout to get his squad calmed down a bit and for a strategy primer as well. On CSB's subsequent possession, Boily would have a chance to give her squad a bit more breathing room after she was fouled with 1:14 left but the former Hudson standout was unable to cash in on either attempt so that finally gave Hamline the opportunity they were waiting for. With :59 left, Stamer unleashed a huge three-point bomb from the left wing area that suddenly had the Pipers up for the first time in this contest since the early minutes of the opening period at 50-49. The Bennies could have easily broken out the proverbial panic button right then and there but instead brought the ball back up the court efficiently and were able to set up their half-court offense and Meyer would get a decent look from the left free throw line area and promptly knock down the go-ahead jumper with :30.3 left to make it 51-50 CSB. On its next possession, the Pipers got the ball across the half-court line and Focke would call a timeout with :15.4 left to set up the potential go-ahead score. Hamline would then get the rock to its go-to weapon - Lecher - with under :10 left and Lecher would wheel and deal and get a short, turnaround jumper to go down with :08.5 left to propel the Pipers back out in front 52-51 that had the partisan Hamline crowd and student section in a full frenzy. But again, CSB refused to flinch. Durbin would immediately call a timeout and set up the Bennies next play and it worked to perfection. CSB's Jonas would break free after getting the inbounds pass and calmly connect with a lay-up with :07.3 left that again pushed the Bennies ahead 53-52. Still one last chance for Hamline after Focke called for another timeout but the drawn up play in the team huddle did not work nearly as well as hoped. With precious seconds ticking away, the Pipers Wiebusch was forced to launch an off-balance three-point attempt that missed its mark with :00.8 left and CSB escaped venerable Hutton Arena with an equally precious 53-52 road win.
It took a little while but I was actually corralled first by former CSB standout and now-Assistant Coach Alison Kendall and I had to ask her about that last play where Jonas scored that proved to be the game-winner. "We actually ran that play in high school" she said with a wide grin. Whether she had any input on what was going to be run I'm not sure but it sure worked to perfection. I asked Durbin about it when he was finally able to break free from well-wishers and asked him if there was a screen set that allowed Jonas to get so open. "No, no screen at all" he said. It was just a play that they've worked on in practice and it obviously paid dividends on this day. When I look at the final box score on this one, I normally find some things that might have a big hand in leading to a team's downfall. In this one, however, it's kind of tough because rebounds were almost even and Hamline had only six turnovers compared to CSB's 14. Hamline had a 26-20 edge in points in the paint although CSB was a bit better in those all-important "second chance" points at 8-4. I'm pretty much left with looking at Hamline's shooting on this day which wasn't great by any stretch - 18-73 from FG range for 24.7% and 4-26 from downtown for for 15.4% which hurts obviously. But the fact that they were in position to win this game still speaks volumes as to how resourceful they can be even when things aren't going their way. You also have to consider as well, I think, the loss of senior forward Tess Hauer who's likely out for the season with a knee injury and you just hate to see that happen; I hope there's a chance she can come back next year because she really showed how good she can be last season. That said, despite the loss, I'm not going to write off the Pipers yet because it's too early in the season and I think we just need to see more; you can't evaluate on just one game. Even if they had come away with the "W", I wouldn't have been able to go out on a limb and project them as a possible conference title contender either. We just need to see more. Ditto for CSB but I think you'd be hard-pressed to disagree that this team is trending in the right direction despite the home loss to GAC back on 11-22 and they've got some good young players that are blending in quite well with the veterans such as Meyer, Hannah Johnson and Martin. The Bennies get to go to Hawaii this coming weekend where they'll face two very good teams in Worcester St and DePauw.
It was a pretty balanced attack by CSB on this day and I suppose it's no surprise that it was Jonas not only leading the way but also led all scorers with her 13 points to pace the Bennies and Hannah Johnson had a monster day with a "double-double" of 11 points and 13 rebounds. Both Lecher and Stamer would lead the Hamline attack with their 12 points a piece.
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