Braved the elements on this Tuesday evening from the early part of Winter Storm Olive that is promising to be one of the most epic winter storms to hit Minnesota to get over to the St. Paul side of town and over to Hutton Arena on the campus of Hamline University to take in one of the two MIAC Quarterfinal Playoff games on this night - this one featuring visiting St. Olaf and host Hamline. The Oles had clinched the sixth seed this last Saturday with their dramatic come-from-behind win in a winner-take-all situation vs St. Kates - St. Olaf's first appearance in the MIAC Playoffs since 2014. The Pipers meanwhile had sewn up the third seed in the MIAC Playoffs and were coming into this game in good shape despite dropping their last two regular season games to the top two teams in the conference - GAC and Concordia. I got settled into my area in plenty of time to get myself prepared for this one.
Whenever I come into a venue and get ready to cover a game, I never give any thought as to whether there's any issues with scoreboard/shot clock equipment or the like. I'm just assuming that everything's good and we're all ready to rock and roll. Such was not the case on this particular night, however, and I knew something was terribly amiss when Ole senior guard Cassie Fix was sent to the charity stripe for one free throw - which she made - before there was any tip-off. I have to tell you that it was the damndest thing I've ever seen in ever watching or covering a game. I had never seen anything quite like that before. For St. Olaf, this 1-0 lead was a very short-lived affair as the Pipers came out with both barrels a' blazing like they oftentimes do. Senior guard Chan'el Anderson-Manning would get the Piper crowd and Hamline student section in a frenzy with her three-point bomb from the top of the key at the 7:37 mark and electric junior forward Lydia Lecher would soon follow suit with a "3" from the left top area at the 7:04 mark to put Hamline up 6-1. That lead would soon grow to 9-1 when junior reserve guard Michaela Stamer banged home a "3" from the left wing area at the 6:20 mark. Shortly thereafter, there would be an official's timeout at the 6:05 mark and I was finally able to get dialed in as to the oddities that were occurring - namely, the Hamline PA announcer verbally announcing the shot clock time at roughly five-second intervals and eventually counting down the last five seconds which I have never seen done ever before. Apparently, the neither shot clock was working so the officials were relegated to having the PA announcer at Hamline use verbal indications to indicate what the shot clock was. This arguably had the Oles a bit discombobulated at first (as I think any visiting team would have been). To their credit, St. Olaf got the deficit whittled down to five points as a free throw by Fix after she was fouled at the 5:44 mark along with a short jumper in the lane by fellow senior guard Sophie Olmen at the 5:02 mark cut Hamline's lead to 9-4. The Oles were able to keep things in the five-point range when Olmen would get sent to the line after getting fouled on a putback attempt and her two free throws with 3:15 left made it an 11-5 ballgame. But Hamline would get its lead stretched to eight when junior guard sharpshooter and former Rosemount standout Larisa O'Neil buried one of her trademark three-point bombs from the left wing area with 3:01 left to make it 14-6. Anderson-Manning would up the lead to nine points at 16-7 with her two free throws after getting fouled with 1:22 left and then it started becoming a chore for St. Olaf to keep things in the single-digit range. Senior forward Rachel Kelly would get the deficit cut to seven with her score in the paint with 1:02 left but then the Pipers would find more magic on their subsequent possession when senior reserve forward Iyanna Wieland buried a "3" from the right wing area with :42.3 left to give Hamline its first double-digit advantage at 19-9 so the Oles were arguably a bit fortunate to slim things up a bit when sophomore reserve guard Ziling Zhen knocked down a pair of free throws with :20.9 left that cut the Hamline lead to 19-11 going into the second period.
And keeping things in that single-digit range was becoming an even more arduous deal for St. Olaf once the second period got underway as the Pipers stayed the course with this early offensive. Senior guard Alyssa Williamson made a smart drive into the lane for a finish at the 9:20 mark to make it a 21-11 game and Lecher unleashed more terror from behind the arc with one of her lefty three-point bombs at the 8:38 mark that pushed the lead to eleven at 24-13. A lay-up off of an inbounds pass by Williamson at the 7:50 mark maintained the eleven-point edge at 26-15 and then Hamline would realize its largest lead of the night thus far when Anderson-Manning was sent to the line after getting fouled in a transition opportunity at the 7:08 mark to make it 28-15 before the Oles could start taking a few bites out of the deficit. Slender senior combo guard/forward Grace Hegland would use her 5'11" frame to snare an offensive rebound and putback of her own miss at the 6:41 mark and her frontcourt mate, Kelly, would connect with a lay-up off of an inbounds pass at the 6:03 mark that had St. Olaf back in single-digit range again down 28-19. But a quick 7-0 push by the Pipers put the visitors from Northfield in an even deeper hole. Lecher would knock down a jumper from the right top area just inside the arc at the 5:41 mark and a tough score in the paint by slender sophomore forward Faith Johnson with 4:34 left had Hamline back up by a 32-19 count and then O'Neil would unleash one of her dagger three-point bombs - this one from the left wing area in a transition opportunity with 4:09 left - that stretched the Piper lead to 35-19 and St. Olaf Head Coach Kelly Mahlum had seen more than enough to know that a timeout was warranted. The Oles once again tried to shave some fat off of the deficit as sophomore reserve guard Sarah Tangen knocked down a pair of free throws after getting fouled in a transition opportunity with 3:38 left and Fix would momentarily wow the crowd inside venerable Hutton Arena when she snared a defensive rebound and then brazenly raced the other way for a lay-up with 3:01 left that had the deficit down to twelve at 35-23. Hegland would find some magic behind the arc with a pretty three-point bomb with 2:20 left and Fix would connect with a lay-up with 1:34 left and this newfound offensive prowess by St. Olaf at least reduced the deficit down to ten at 38-28 but the Pipers would add some more to the cushion just before the halftime break when Williamson connected with a lay-up with 1:13 left as Hamline and Head Coach Alex Focke and his staff had to feel pretty good about things so far with a 40-28 advantage. If you take a look at the box score, you'll see that that first period was a real killer for St. Olaf as they were 2-10 from FG range for 20%.
Both teams traded three-point bombs to start off the third period. The Pipers' O'Neil would unleash another one of her trademark daggers - this one from the left corner at the 9:21 mark and then St. Olaf's Hegland would do likewise with another one of her pretty "3's" - this one from the left top area at the 8:59 mark. The problem for the Oles was that the math was still working against them down 43-31 although St. Olaf briefly got back to single-digits again when Olmen buried a "3" of her own from the right wing area at the 8:12 mark that reduced the deficit to nine at 45-34. The Pipers quickly went back to work, however, as back-to-back scores by Stamer - a lay-up at the 8:00 mark and a "3" from the left top area at the 6:33 mark - stretched Hamline's lead to sixteen at 50-34. Then freshman reserve guard and former Centennial standout Camille Cummings got into the act as she would swish a "3" from the right wing area with 4:52 left to maintain the spread at 53-37 and by this point, the Oles looked buried and beyond help. But, one thing we did find out about the Oles a mere week ago is that this team has heart and fight and no matter how bad the situation looks, they're not going to go down without a fight. Kelly would make a daring drive into traffic for a finish with 4:26 left but would bolstered St. Olaf's cause even more was the fact that they got into the bonus with 3:57 left when Hegland was fouled and she got one free throw to go down that cut the deficit to thirteen at 53-40. Fix would add another free throw after getting fouled with 3:19 left and then sophomore combo guard/forward Paige Yagodinski; unable to get untracked in this contest during the first half, finally got into the books with one of her unorthodox three-point bombs - this one from the right wing area with 2:47 left - that now had the deficit down to eleven at 55-44. With 2:16 left, Yagodinski would strike again, this time with a lay-up and with 1:36 left, Kelly would muscle into the paint for a score that brought the Oles back into single-digit range again down 57-48. With 1:19 left, Tangen would get the Oles a bit closer by dropping one free throw after getting fouled but what really got the small St. Olaf student contingent going was when Yagodinski; now feeling it, buried another one of her unorthodox-style three-point bombs - this one from the right wing area with :50 left that suddenly had the Oles back to within striking distance down 57-52 with a mountain of time left. But unlike last Saturday, the home team had an answer for all this as Hamline quickly re-established its double-digit cushion. The crafty Anderson-Manning would make one of her patented drives into traffic for a finish with :38 left that also drew a foul and her ensuing "and one" pushed the Piper lead to 60-52. But it would be Lecher breaking the hearts of Ole fans everywhere when she unleashed a cold-blooded lefty "3" from the left top area with just :00.6 that not only seemed to restore order in Hutton Arena but also had the raucous Hamline student section rocking again with their Pipers up 62-52 going into the fourth period.
Considering where they were at, being down by ten wasn't quite as bad a proposition for the Oles but now a lot of the momentum they had built up had now vanished out the windows and into the snowy wilderness outside Hutton Arena as Hamline reasserted its control on things as this fourth period got underway. Lecher; picking up where she left off at the end of the third period, connected with a short, turnaround jumper in the lane at the 9:20 mark and one free throw by Anderson-Manning after she was fouled at the 9:03 mark pushed the Piper lead to thirteen at 65-52. Making things even tougher for St. Olaf was that the foul situation was starting to catch up with Mahlum's team. Fix; the Wilmette, IL native, was whistled for her fourth foul at the 8:24 mark and after Hamline's Williamson made a hard drive for a finish at the 8:19 mark, the other main cog for the Oles - Kelly - collected her fourth foul of the evening at the 6:59 mark and a "3" by Hamline's Lecher at the 6:37 mark from the left top area seemed to make things pretty academic at this point as the Pipers now enjoyed a 70-52 advantage. Still, this never-say-die St. Olaf team refused to wave the proverbial white flag. Olmen would knock down a short jumper from the left side at the 6:21 mark and Yagodinski would bury her third trey of this game - this one from the left wing area at the 5:43 mark - that had the deficit down to thirteen at 70-57. Kelly, who had briefly retreated to the bench after that fourth foul, knocked down a pair of free throws after getting fouled herself with 4:21 left. Less than a minute later with 3:46 left, it was all over for the fabulous Northfield native as she picked up her fifth and final foul of the contest (and career). Still, the Oles had enough left as one free throw by sophomore reserve forward Sophia Kormann after she was fouled with 3:09 left and two more by Yagodinski after she was fouled with 2:40 left, had the deficit down to ten again at 72-62 and an offensive rebound and putback by Yagodinski of her own miss with 2:11 left had St. Olaf back in single-digit range again down 72-64 but unlike this last Saturday, there would be no miracle comeback on this snowy Wednesday night at Hutton Arena. The Pipers would apply the finishing touches on this MIAC Quarterfinal Playoff game as Wieland would get one free throw to go down and Stamer would put her stamp on this game with a dagger "3" from the top of the key with 1:05 left as Hamline advanced to Friday night's semifinal round with a 76-64 victory.
I was able to catch up with St. Olaf's Mahlum not long after the final buzzer and had to get clarification on what exactly went down when it became clear from an Ole perspective that the shot clocks - for whatever reason - were unworkable on this night. Regarding Fix's free throw before the opening tip, Mahlum replied that there's apparently some administrative rule that allows for this in this kind of situation; something that I was unaware of. But there's little question that the shot clock fiasco on this night was an irritant to Mahlum and she and her staff asked the officials before the game if they were aware that the shot clocks were inoperative to which she replied was negative. I'll talk more about this in a bit but wanted to focus first on the actual game itself. Mahlum was incredibly proud of her team for fighting through such adversity and getting the deficit down to just five in the late stages of the third period. "But we also expended a lot of energy doing so" she stated. She felt badly for the seniors - Kelly, Hegland, Fix, Olmen and Sarah Howdeshell - having to go out on such a sour note. But at the same time, I think Mahlum has put this St. Olaf program in a much better place than what it was a few years ago and if she can recruit (and I believe she can), this Ole program will likely be on the rise. You analyze this game from a momentum and numbers standpoint and there's no denying that St. Olaf got themselves in too big of a hole early on and even when they did forge a comeback late in that third period, they used up a lot of energy as Mahlum emphasized. Surprisingly, the Oles were guilty of only 17 turnovers on this night and with that pressure defense that Hamline likes to employ, that's actually pretty good when you think about it. And St. Olaf did enjoy a 31-26 edge on the boards on this night as well. But, Hamline did have a decided edge in points in the paint at 24-18 and a whopping 27-7 edge in bench points. "They came at us in waves" said Mahlum. Then you throw in 19-50 for 38% from FG range and a dismal 6-21 from behind the arc for 28.6% and you get an idea of what a rough night it was for the Oles.
And anyone who reads this blog knows quite well that I rarely - if ever - comment on the officiating aspect of games but this time around, I feel like I have to. That game was an absolute shitshow from many different perspectives. Questionable calls (on both sides) for sure but the one that caught my ire was when a long, high rebound in the fourth period of the game on the St. Olaf basket clearly hit a fixture behind the backboard and should have quickly been called a dead ball and gone the other way. Instead, this was clearly missed and should not have been. Then there's the issue of the shot clock fiasco which was, quite simply, a total fiasco and totally unacceptable. The people who are responsible for game management HAVE to check on these items HOURS before (or even days before) game time to make sure all these items work and work properly. To have something like this happen - in a playoff game no less where your season is on the line - is just completely unacceptable. I spoke with two of the St. Olaf players afterward about this and it was quite clear from talking to them that in the first half (with the raucous Hamline student section on that side) it was next to impossible to know what the actual shot clock timing was despite the fact that it was being verbalized by the PA announcer. If I'm St. Olaf Athletic Director Ryan Bowles, I'm on the phone with MIAC Commissioner Dan McKane and asking, quite plaintively, "What the (expletive deleted) was THAT???" Look, it's bad enough that the MIAC is making itself look like a second-rate conference when it comes to women's basketball with a ridiculous 22-game round robin conference schedule that doesn't offer teams a chance to play more than three non-conference games but when you have a situation like this crop up - in a conference playoff game no less with two teams that have their season on the line - it's just unacceptable and somebody should be held accountable for this. And if I get into trouble for saying this, I'll deal with the consequences later.
For Hamline, when you have players like Lecher, Anderson-Manning and Stamer all clicking like they did on this night, good things usually happen and they were all clicking. Lecher's 15 points led the way for the Pipers and Anderson-Manning had one of her more productive nights with her 13 points while Stamer had a solid outing with 11 points. It took a while but Yagodinski came on strong for the Oles in the second half as she also had 15 points to vie for high-scoring honors on this night and fittingly, Kelly finished her fabulous career at St. Olaf with a "double-double" of 13 points and 10 rebounds while Olmen tallied 11 points. Rachel Kelly, Grace Hegland, Cassie Fix, Sophie Olmen and Sarah Howdeshell - thanks for the memories.
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