On this sunny and very pleasant February Saturday, I made the trip over to the St Paul side of town to Butler Center on the campus of St. Catherine's University for the regular season finale between host St. Kate's and visiting St. Olaf. But this wasn't just some run of the mill between two downtrodden last place teams looking to end their season on a high note. This one was probably the most important game in MIAC Women's Basketball on this Saturday because this was a winner-take-all situation between these two teams for that coveted sixth playoff spot. This had happened because the host Wildcats; who seemingly had a firm and confident grip on that sixth spot, had dropped their last four games; including Wednesday night's debacle over at Augsburg while the Oles who had seemed dead in the water earlier this month when it came to the MIAC Playoffs, flipped the switch and won five of their last six games coming into today's regular season finale to set up this game with St. Kate's on this Saturday for all the marbles and that sixth playoff spot. Adding to all this was that it was also Senior Day at St. Kate's and the two fifth-year seniors - Mackenzie Kurczek and Sam Orth - along with senior Bree Glynn were all honored before the start of the game. Throw in the fact that a good number of St. Olaf student crazies made the trip up I-35 and the Union Pacific's Spine Line mainline to town and were there in force to root on their favorite team only added to the drama that lay ahead. Somehow, I knew I had picked the right game to cover today and I was right again. Butler Center was electric and it was on!
And the St. Olaf student crazies were definitely whooping it up in the early going when sophomore combo guard/forward Paige Yagodinski used some great basketball thievery to snare a steal and race the other way for a lay-up at the 9:21 mark as the Oles drew first blood but St. Kate's would soon send a hush over this group. Lanky sophomore forward Greta Schimnowski would bury a "3" from the right top area at the 9:03 mark and would follow that up with a lay-up at the 7:58 mark to put the 'Cats ahead 5-2. Junior guard Karis Zezza's short jumper in the lane at the 7:15 mark had St. Kate's up 5-2 but it wouldn't take long for the Oles to get this game leveled. Willowy senior guard/forward Grace Hegland would drain a "3" from the right wing area at the 6:45 mark and then fellow senior forward Rachel Kelly would use her strong 6'1" frame to snare an offensive rebound of her own miss for a putback at the 6:16 mark that had this contest knotted at seven. At this point, it looked like this one had the makings of a classic back-and-forth affair. However, it was here that the Oles went absolutely stone cold and couldn't buy a bucket in what seemed like forever and St. Kate's was only too happy to take advantage of the situation. Glynn would first connect with a lay-up in transition at the 5:32 mark and then Orth; not necessarily known for her three-point prowess, uncorked a bomb from the right wing area with 3:52 left that pushed the Wildcats lead to five at 12-7. With 1:48 left, St. Kate's found more magic from behind the arc as freshman reserve guard Kaylee Miron banged home a "3" from the right top area and with :31.1 left, slender sophomore reserve forward Sydney Elliott used her length to snare an offensive rebound for a putback in traffic that gave the Wildcats a ten-point 17-7 cushion at the end of the first period.
And not like ten points was an insurmountable deficit to overcome - it certainly wasn't. But the way the second period started for St. Olaf sure made it feel like it as the Oles simply couldn't seem to to get the rock to go into the hole to save their collective souls. And this only allowed St. Kate's to build on the lead it already had. Orth would knock down a short jumper from the left side off of an inbounds pass at the 8:36 mark and after yet another foiled Ole possession, Orth would strike again at the 7:57 mark with a lay-up that put the 'Cats up 21-7. At the 6:40 mark, sophomore reserve forward Rachel Randleman applied more pain on the visitors from Northfield when she unleashed a "3" from the left wing area at the 6:40 mark that stretched the St. Kate's lead to 24-7 and at the 6:04 mark, Zezza would complete this astonishing 18-0 Wildcat blitz with a free throw after getting fouled. Down 25-7, it was easy to see the frustration that was growing amongst not only the Oles themselves but also St. Olaf Head Coach Kelly Mahlum who was nearly T'd up after being a bit too vociferous with her displeasure on a couple of calls. On top of that, the St. Kate's game manager swung by and issued warnings to both the Ole student crazies and a couple of parents who had made their displeasure known with the officiating. Finally, in what seemed like an eternity, St. Olaf was able to brush off the cobwebs that had formed around its basket when senior guard Sophie Olmen got two free throws to go down after getting fouled with 4:13 left. A bit later with 3:43 left, Yagodinski would strike again as she snared a steal and raced the other way for a lay-up that had the deficit down to fourteen at 25-11 but the Wildcats still had all the momentum and they responded with a 9-0 push. Randleman would bury her second trey of this game - this one coming from the left wing area with 3:28 mark and then three lay-ups by Orth - one 3:03 left and another one with 2:29 left along with one off of an inbounds pass with 1:47 left - ballooned the St. Kate's lead to 34-11. The Oles' Kelly would take a few bites out of this deficit by dropping a pair of free throws after getting fouled with :57.1 left and one more after getting fouled with 22.4 left but the way this entire first half went - along with the 34-14 score, St. Olaf seemed buried beyond hope as both teams retreated to their locker rooms for the halftime break.
Considering the fact that the momentum had been so heavily in favor of St. Kate's in that first half and that it took forever for the Oles to get the rock to go down even just a little bit (they were 1-11 from FG range in the second period alone for 9.09%), they needed something, anything to fire a spark that might pick them up and get them going again. Even when slender senior guard Cassie Fix buried a "3" from the left wing area at the 9:43 mark of the third period that had both the St. Olaf team and the Ole student crazies exploding with cheers, you couldn't be sure if this was simply a passing, one-time fad or perhaps something more. It took a bit to see it, but it was definitely something more. Even though Fix would go down near the half court line on the Wildcats ensuing possession with an apparent foot or ankle injury that had her retreating to the sidelines for a spell, the Oles spirits were definitely lifted. At the 9:08 mark, Yagodinski would bang home one of her unorthodox-style three-point bombs - this one from the top of the key and just over a minute later at the 8:07 mark, sophomore reserve guard Sarah Tangen connected with a lay-up that now had the deficit reduced to fourteen points at 36-22 and St. Kate's Head Coach Don Mulhern became concerned enough with this latest development to take a match to a timeout to get his squad settled down a bit. But even this stoppage in play didn't deter St. Olaf as they continued with their newfound offensive prowess. Kelly would connect with one lay-up at the 5:29 mark and then Fix would follow suit with 4:46 left with a lay-up of her own that now had the deficit down to twelve at 38-26 and the Wildcats' Mulhern now realized this once sizable cushion was now being sliced and diced to smithereens and he made the hard decision to take a match to yet another timeout. But even this latest stoppage in play did not slow the Ole offensive. Yagodinski would knock down a jumper from the left elbow area with 4:01 left and with 3:18 left, Yagodinski; the Beaver Dam, WI native, unleashed more terror from behind the arc with a three-point bomb from the left wing that now had St. Olaf back to within single digits down 40-31. Needing something to reassert itself offensively, the Wildcats got a bit of a boost when Zezza used a burst of speed to connect with a lay-up with 2:51 left but St. Kate's was not getting stops on the other end that it now needed. Kelly would get a score in the paint off of an inbounds pass with 2:22 left and with 1:08 left, sophomore reserve forward and former Maple Grove standout Sophia Kormann got one free throw to go down after getting fouled in a transition opportunity so the Wildcats, who once led by as many as twenty-three points in the latter stages of the second period now saw their safety net cut down to eight points at 42-34 so not only had they lost a sizable lead, momentum now clearly seemed to be with St. Olaf as this one went to the fourth period.
Even though the Oles' newfound momentum appeared to take a bit of a hit at the 9:31 mark of the fourth period when Kelly picked up her third foul of the afternoon, there was no mistake that the seeds of doubt had been firmly planted in the collective minds of the Wildcats as St. Olaf simply and plainly usurped control of this game. Olmen would knock down a jumper along the left baseline at the 8:58 mark that reduced the deficit to six at 42-36 and then two scores by Fix - a jumper from the left wing area at the 8:16 mark and a lay-up in transition at the 7:50 mark - now not only reduced the deficit to four at 44-40 but now the Ole student crazies were creating quite a stir with their raucous support as well. If you thought that was something, the house REALLY came down less than a minute later when Kelly unleashed a three-point bomb from the left wing area at the 7:08 mark that now had this once-large deficit cut to a scant point at 44-43. St. Kate's Mulhern would call for a timeout at the 6:04 mark but by now, the damage had been done and that notion was reinforced when the Oles' Kelly connected with a lay-up at the 5:45 mark to push St. Olaf into the lead for the first time since the early moments of the opening period at 45-44. For the Wildcats, the logical train of thought would have suggested that they would be ready to take this one to the wire down by just one. But by this point, the 'Cats looked dazed and out of it and that allowed St. Olaf to apply the finishing touches in this shocking turnaround. With 3:36 left, Kelly unleashed a "3" from the left corner; right in front of the Ole student crazies (much to their delight and enjoyment) and would follow that up with a lay-up with 2:52 left that now had St. Olaf up by six at 50-44. There was still a sliver of a chance left for the Wildcats when Zezza would knock down a pair of free throws after getting fouled with 2:43 left that cut the deficit to four at 50-46 but St. Kate's would never find any semblance of offense the rest of the way. Insurance free throws by the Oles - one by Hegland after she was fouled with 1:56 left and two more by Yagodinski after she was fouled on an offensive rebound of Hegland's back-end attempt with 1:55 left - had St. Olaf up by seven at 53-46. To close out this incredible comeback, Hegland would connect with a lay-up with :53.7 left and fittingly, Fix would bury a heart-breaking "3" from the right top with :14.1 left and in one of the most incredible comebacks I've ever seen, the St. Olaf Oles claimed the sixth and final spot in the upcoming MIAC Playoffs with a shocking 58-46 victory.
The joy and celebration by the Oles and the student crazies was very real and fun to watch as they belted out their school song with the obligatory "Um Yah Yah!" at the end (even though yours truly prefers "Sons of Westwood, "The Mighty Bruins" or "On Iowa" from my alma mater). And they totally deserved this moment of fun and celebration as this program has been down in the dumps for a long time but since Mahlum's arrival on the west side of Northfield a few years ago, she has slowly but surely built this program back up again and it's good to see. When I caught up with her afterward, I asked her what she told her team during that halftime break when they whole world seemed to be against them. "When I went into that locker room, I saw a lot of question marks in their eyes" she said. Mahlum said it was a matter of getting them refocused and believing in themselves again but even she knew that they needed that "spark" that would light that fire in them and when Fix hit that "3" coming out of the gates in the third period, that might have gone a long way in re-lighting that flame. I also got to speak briefly with both Kelly and Hegland afterward who I think were both still a little amazed that they had just pulled off what they had pulled off. "I wasn't ready for my career to be over" Kelly; the Northfield native said. Hegland was keenly aware of how badly things went for her team in that first half on a variety of fronts. But they, along with both Olmen and Fix along with fellow senior Sarah Howdeshell have provided some great leadership for this St. Olaf team that may have over-achieved in the eyes of some - considering where they've been at. Today, we saw this program take a big step forward under Mahlum and I think it's just the beginning. In looking back on this game, it's just almost uncanny how this game flowed; with St. Kate's in firm control throughout the first half and then pendulum every so slowly turning in favor of the Oles in the third period before the dam broke for St. Kate's in the fourth period. And then I look at the box score and you can see how this one turned. I mentioned St. Olaf's dreadful numbers in the second period. But then you look at St. Kate's in just the fourth period alone and your jaw almost drops to the floor. The Wildcats were 1-12 for 8.33% from FG range alone and an even more frightening 0-5 from downtown in that fourth period. I'll confess that I thought that the shot selection by the Wildcats coming down the stretch was questionable but on the other hand, I can see why perhaps things went as they did because once you lose momentum, it's incredibly hard to get it back and I've had that happen to me more than once as a competitive tennis player in my younger days. It's just like things start snowballing on you and you can't find any answers to save your soul. But there's other numbers on the box score, too, that deserve mention. The Oles had the advantage on the boards - thanks largely in part to Kelly's heroics - by a 27-22 margin. Turnovers were relatively even but the Oles sure did a lot more with the turnovers they forced by getting 25 points out of them compared to just 13 for St. Kate's. The Wildcats did have an edge in points in the paint at 20-16 but the Oles had the decided edge in bench points by a 13-3 margin. I was able to take in the reception they had for the St. Kate's seniors downstairs afterward and my heart couldn't help but break for Orth, Kurczek and Glynn who have given their all and then some for this St. Kate's program. Thanks for the memories you three.
And what a day it was indeed for St. Olaf's Kelly who recorded a "double-double" with her 19 points and 10 rebounds that really went a long way in fueling this amazing comeback attempt. Yagodinski came on strong in that second half as she tallied 14 points as did Fix as she finished with 12 points. For St. Kate's, it was Orth who fittingly led the way for the Wildcats in her final game with 17 points.
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