Made the relatively short trip over to Robertson Center on the campus of Bethel University on this typically cold January evening to take in this huge Wednesday night contest between visiting GAC and host Bethel. The Gusties were riding a six-game win coming into this contest tonight which included a romp over Carleton in Northfield this last Saturday. The Royals meanwhile were coming into this contest in a similar fashion on a five-game win streak which included similar-style romps over both St. Scholastica and Macalester last week and with the Gusties trying to hang on to first place and the Royals; being one of the three teams right behind, were just itching for an opportunity to create chaos at the top.
But it would be GAC taking control of things early on in this contest as they managed to get some separation from the get-go as a lay-up by senior guard Anna Sanders at the 8:58 mark of the opening period and an offensive rebound and putback by willowy junior forward Emma (not evil) Kniefel at the 7:43 mark gave the Gusties a 4-0 lead and that lead would soon increase to 6-0 when senior forward Grace Benz snared an errant pass by Bethel and quickly raced the other way for an easy lay-up at the 7:21 mark. The Royals finally dusted the cobwebs off of their basket when freshman reserve guard Colette Duininck was sent to the charity stripe after getting fouled at the 6:19 mark and the former Central Minnesota Christian standout got both attempts to go down to offer up some hope for the partisan Bethel crowd. But the Gusties' Benz would come through for the visitors from St. Peter as she would knock down a pair of free throws of her own after getting fouled at the 5:04 mark and would quickly follow that up with a lay-up in transition after a steal with 4:52 left to stretch GAC's lead to 10-5. The Royals would finally break out of their offensive doldrums with 4:34 left when sophomore reserve guard Autumn Earney drained a "3" from the right top area but getting stops on the other end was proving to be problematic for Bethel at the moment as one free throw by sophomore point guard and former Maple Grove standout Kylie Baranick after she was fouled in a transition opportunity with 3:17 left and a nifty drive along the left baseline and sweet finish by junior reserve guard Syd Hauger off of an inbounds pass with 3:03 left gave the Gusties a 13-5 advantage. But GAC was far from finished as a score in the paint by strong sophomore forward/post Rachel Kawiecki with 2:02 left and two free throws by junior reserve guard Riley Queensland with :20.3 left now gave the Gusties a double-digit cushion at 17-5. Bethel was at least able to reduce the deficit to ten at 17-7 when sophomore guard Olivia Williams knocked down a pair of free throws with :17.5 left but given how GAC was able to not only find different ways of scoring but was also getting contributions from a number of players thus far, it was clear that Bethel had a lot of work in front of them.
It's unsure what Royals Interim Head Coach Scott Lauinger told his team in the huddle after the first period but whatever it was, this group responded in a big way once the second period got going. Right off the bat, Williams would connect with a lay-up at the 9:47 mark to get Bethel back in single-digit range down 17-9 and a tough offensive rebound and putback by senior forward Emma Schultz at the 8:31 mark kept the Royals in that eight-point range down 19-11. Then Earney would find her touch from three-point land from the right corner at the 7:48 mark that narrowed the deficit to five at 19-14 and a short time later, Earney would strike again in classic Bethel defensive form with a steal and lay-up the other way at the 7:34 mark that suddenly had the Royals back to within a single possession down 19-16 and GAC Head Coach Laurie Kelly; not at all liking at how things were transpiring, quickly took a match to a timeout to make some adjustments. This particular stoppage in play seemed to have the desired effect at first as the Gusties would respond with two quick scores. Kniefel would knock down a short shot off the glass at the 7:01 mark and then Kawiecki would do the dirty work down low by snaring an offensive rebound and getting at putback at the 6:31 mark to make it a 23-16 ballgame with some semblance of order restored. Once again, however, Bethel would make another push to get the gap closed back to a single possession. Sophomore reserve forward Lydia Hagstrom would connect with a lay-up at the 6:01 mark and then Earney would connect with a short, turnaround jumper from the right side at the 5:27 mark that once had had the Royals threatening down just three at 23-20. But GAC was able to withstand this latest surge by the home team without the usage of a timeout and they quickly went back to work to shore up their safety net. The underrated and improving Hauger would connect with a lay-up at the 5:05 mark and two free throws by the reliable Baranick after she was fouled with 4:14 left had the lead back up to seven again at 27-20. With 2:30 left, Hauger; the former Springfield standout, would snare a defensive rebound and then race the other way like a tardy Union Pacific-Milwaukee Road "City of Los Angeles" passenger train for a lay-up that also drew a foul and her ensuing "and one" restored the double-digit cushion that the Gusties had enjoyed back in the first period at 30-20. But keeping that lead at double-digits was proving to be problematic as this game progressed. Bethel's Williams saw to that as she would uncork a "3" from the right corner with 1:59 left and even though the Gusties would push their lead to eleven when Kniefel knocked down a short jumper off the glass with 1:07 left to make it a 34-23 ballgame, the Royals would get back to within single-digit range once again when junior guard Anna Garfield banged home a "3" from the right top area with :36 left that closed the gap to eight at 34-26 as both teams headed back to their locker rooms for the halftime break. For GAC's Laurie Kelly and her staff, it was a good news/bad news proposition in many ways because even though they had controlled the game for most of the first half and even though their defensive effort was solid, there were still many things that mirrored the contest down in St. Peter back on January 4 where the Royals pulled off the 70-66 upset. Just when the Gusties thought they were safe with a double-digit lead, right back came Bethel just as they had before. And Laurie Kelly had to be concerned with the fact that the Royals had outrebounded GAC by a 10-3 count in the second period alone.
The Gusties moved quickly once the third period got underway to try and rebuild that nice little double-digit cushion they had previously. Kawiecki got a score in the paint off of a nifty inbounds pass at the 8:56 mark and two charity stripe shots by Kniefel after she was fouled at the 6:10 mark appeared to have GAC in good shape again up 38-26. But, just as they had done earlier this month down in St. Peter, the Royals once again found a way to get themselves right back in the thick of things and a goodly amount of damage was done from downtown in the process. Duininck would drain a "3" from the right wing area at the 5:46 mark and Garfield would follow suite not long after with a bomb of her own from the same right wing area with 3:54 left that had the deficit reduced to seven at 39-32. Duininck would again unleash more terror from behind the arc with 3:08 left with a bomb from the left wing area that made further inroads on the deficit and when sophomore guard Courtney Nuest; the former Becker standout, connected with a lay-up in transition with 2:32 left, the gap was cut to four at 41-37. The Gusties' Sanders would widen this gap back to seven when she drained a graceful-looking "3" from the top of the key with 1:53 left but not long after, things appeared to go totally kablooey for GAC when sophomore reserve forward Morgan Kelly was whistled for a foul with :44 left on Bethel's Schultz and the lanky sophomore, not at all pleased with the call, slammed the ball down on the floor and was a bit too vociferous with her displeasure and was promptly zapped by the officials for a technical foul as well. That gave the Royals' Schultz an opportunity to sink not one, not two but three free throws which again closed the gap to four at 44-40. Then, with :30.4 left, Bethel would get right on the brink of leveling up this contest when Earney knocked down a jumper from the right top area that now had the Gusties clinging to what looked to be a very tenuous 44-42 advantage and all those bad memories from the game down in St. Peter earlier in the month were likely way too fresh for GAC's Laurie Kelly and her staff.
And Bethel showed that they had no plans of going anywhere anytime soon once the fourth period got underway as Nuest would get one free throw to go down after getting fouled at the 9:26 mark that cut the deficit to a tantalizing one point at 44-43. The Gusties would try and slowly build this perilous lead back up again as Kniefel would get one freebie to go down after being fouled in a transition opportunity as would Benz after she was fouled after a steal at the 8:40 mark to make it 46-43. At the 8:17 mark, Benz; the Steele, ND native, would show just how much her game has expanded when she snared a steal and raced the other way for a lay-up that gave GAC some more breathing room with a 48-43 advantage. Oh, but those pesky Royals still would not go away. Sophomore guard Kendal Cox would bury a "3" from the right top area at the 7:44 mark that again closed the gap to two at 48-46 and two free throws by Schultz after she was fouled at the 5:47 mark kept Bethel right in that two-point range down 50-48. The Gusties' Hauger would give her team some more breathing room again when she connected with a lay-up off of an inbounds pass at the 5:11 mark that drew a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" gave GAC a five-point edge again at 53-48 but when the Royals' Cox would make a daring drive into the lane for a pretty finish off the glass with 4:38 left that had Bethel right back to within a single possession again down 53-50, everything seemed to point to a remake of the game down in St. Peter. But it was here that the Gusties dug in their heels and collectively said, "No more" as they would take control down the stretch. Baranick would first knock down a pair of free throws after she was fouled with 4:10 left and a strong offensive rebound and putback by Benz with 3:35 left upped the GAC lead to 57-50. The Gusties' Laurie Kelly would then call a timeout to set up strategy and to hopefully ensure no letdown either like what happened back home in St. Peter. Her team would not disappoint. With 2:37 left, Baranick showed how much her game has grown when she used a quick burst of speed for a hard drive and finish off the glass that drew a foul and the obligatory free throw re-established the double-digit advantage at 60-50. With 1:26 left, Kawiecki would connect on a short, turnaround jumper off the glass that increased the lead to twelve at 62-50 and this time around, Bethel ran out of answers when they needed them. Sanders would connect with a short shot off the glass with :33.8 left and Baranick would add a pair of insurance free throws with :22.4 left after she was fouled and even though the Royals' Duininck would bury a "3" with :15.4 left, it could not overcome the damage done as GAC would make its merry way back down US Highway 169 and the Union Pacific's Omaha Route mainline with a 66-53 in their back pocket - and, just as important, improve their overall record to 15-2 and keep their firm grip on first place in the MIAC.
When I look back on this contest, the thing that caught my eye was that the Gusties effectively gave Bethel a taste of their own medicine with their defense when they absolutely had to and I think you saw this early on in the first period when GAC got some separation and then again down the stretch of the fourth period when things were arguably up in the air with the Gusties trying to protect a one-possession ballgame. That obviously didn't happen back on January 4 down in St. Peter and Laurie Kelly and her staff and the team have been working diligently to see that a repeat of that doesn't happen again. From a Bethel standpoint, I think one can make the argument that this young team; dominated by sophomores, might be a year away from being a true title contender. At the same time, they're already showing that they're still definitely in the mix when it comes to the MIAC Playoffs and woe to the team that takes these Royals lightly. As Bethel's Lauinger pointed out to me afterward, "Too many turnovers and missed lay-ups" but he was quick to give GAC credit pointing out "They're really big." I also caught up with GAC's Laurie Kelly afterward and she explained to me that she gave her team a bit of a talking to (including daughter Morgan) about the technical foul brouhaha towards the end of the third period. "I want them (and her) to use that as a learning experience" she said; pointing out that she'll be the lawyer for the team and that she'll do the arguing for them - and going further stating that "I'll fight for them till the day I die" (and I wouldn't doubt her word one bit). At the same time, you have to like how the Gusties responded this time around when challenged at perhaps the most critical junctures of this contest - and they didn't falter. You look at the final box score of this one and you can see what Bethel's Lauinger was talking about on the turnover front - those 22 boo-boos proved costly for the Royals on this night - especially when you consider that they fought back on more than one occasion to get themselves right back in the game. Bethel did have a slight advantage on the boards at 32-29 but in the end, that small edge probably didn't mean a whole lot considering the turnovers. Two more sets of numbers stand out as well: GAC had a decided edge in those all-important "second chance" points at 20-7 and a whopping 38-12 advantage in points in the paint. To me, that's a hallmark of an experienced team.
And the Gusties had an incredibly balanced scoring attack on this night as well. Not long ago, I tweeted how I thought Benz is probably the most under-appreciated player in the conference. It might surprise some that her 14 points on this night not only paced GAC but led all scorers as well and I'll go on saying that she does not get the recognition that she deserves. Baranick continues to show how comfortable she is at the point guard spot and although that particular position isn't as important from a pure scoring standpoint as some other positions on the team, she still finished with 12 points anyway. Some might have said that Kniefel didn't have one of her "better" games on this night but she still finished with 11 points and how about Hauger; perhaps becoming the best sixth player in the conference, tallied 10 points on this night. Bethel leaned heavily on both Earney and Duininck on this night and they certainly didn't disappoint as they finished with 12 and 11 points, respectively, to pace the Royals.
