Another good round of games that I got to cover this last Wednesday night at the Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League:
6:15 P.M. Games
Northwestern - 52
St. Scholastica - 48
Wash-Ups - 49
Bethel - 45
GAC Gold - 59
St. Kate's - 36
7:15 P.M. Games
Guards Of The Galaxy - 66
Luther - 49
CSB - 49
UW-River Falls - 46
Retired Athletes - 58
Gotcha Hats - 56
So, on Court 1 in the 6:15 P.M. slot, an interesting battle of sorts between the St. Scholastica team and the Northwestern team was ensuing. The Northwestern team would take an early 5-2 lead by the 8:35 mark of the opening period and they would maintain that three-point edge at 8-5 near the midway point of the first period. The St. Scholastica team, however, was not going anywhere and they managed to get this game tied at 14 a piece coming down the stretch of the first period although the Northwestern team would take a 16-14 advantage thanks to a tough jumper right before the buzzer to end the first period. The Northwestern team shrugged off its lackluster start in this game and quickly got some space built up once the second period got underway; getting a 19-14 advantage early on and then building up a double-digit safety net at 28-16 near the midway point of the second period. But just when things started looking relatively safe for the Northwestern team, a gamey St. Scholastica team went right back to work and unleashed a 10-2 run down the stretch and by the halftime break, the St. Scholastica team was right back in the thick of things again down just 30-26. The Northwestern team found things a bit more ominous for them when their lead was cut to 36-34 by the 6:35 mark of the third period but they were able to get some more breathing room with 2:20 left in the third period up 40-34 but a pesky St. Scholastica team refused to take "no" for an answer. A three-point bomb had this game tied at 40 late in the third period and by the end of the third period, the St. Scholastica team had poked its nose out in front by a 43-42 count. Alarmed, the Northwestern team grabbed the lead right back on a 4-0 burst at 46-43 early on in the fourth period and even though the St. Scholastica team kept things tight; trailing just 49-48 by the midway point of the fourth period, they could never get the lead back. The Northwestern team would hold a 52-48 lead with 1:20 left in regulation and would take a hard-earned "W".........Another really good one was going on next door over on Court 2 between the Wash-Ups team and the Bethel team. This one would be deadlocked at two a piece early on in the contest but the Bethel team would forge ahead; grabbing a 7-4 advantage near the midway point of the first period and the Bethel team would still have the upper hand in this one with a 10-8 advantage with 3:00 left and would be up 16-13 by the end of the first period. A 6-0 spurt by the Bethel team to start the second period had them in very good shape up 22-13 early on but the experienced Wash-Ups team wasn't going to be held down forever as they would unleash an 8-0 run of their own to cut the gap to a scant point at 22-21 with 3:55 left in the second period and the Wash-Ups team would take a 23-22 lead a short time later and by the halftime break, the Wash-Ups team would hold a 25-22 advantage. The Wash-Ups team would build a bit more breathing space with a 29-24 advantage by the midway point of the third period but a stubborn Bethel team was not going anywhere anytime soon and by the end of the third period, the Wash-Ups team's lead was cut to 34-32. The Wash-Ups team would still continue to hold a somewhat tenuous advantage; up 38-35 by the 7:20 mark of the fourth period and 40-37 by the midway point of the third period but with 2:25 left, the Bethel team got this game tied up at 43 and the Wash-Ups team faced their first true test. But they would rise to the occasion when it counted with some clutch play and scores to take a 47-43 lead with 1:30 left and hold on for a tough victory.........No such drama over on Court 3 meanwhile as two MIAC rivals were going at it with the St. Kate's team taking on the GAC Gold team. This game probably should have been called "The Riley Queensland Show" as the senior-to-be out of Grand Meadow was simply lighting it up on this night for the GAC Gold team. Her first trey came at the 6:50 mark of the opening period that gave the GAC Gold team a 6-2 advantage and it would only grow from there as they would stretch the lead to 11-2 with 3:25 left in the first period and they would hold on to that nine-point lead up 13-4 by the end of the first period. The GAC Gold team - and Queensland - would keep pouring it on as she unleashed another three-point dagger that had the GAC Gold team up 21-4 midway through the second period before the St. Kate's team could finally turn around its thus far dormant offense and get the deficit trimmed to ten at 27-17 by the halftime break. But there would be no stopping the GAC Gold team - or Queensland for that matter on this night as she would bury another "3" that had the GAC Gold team up 37-25 by the midway point of the third period and by the end of the third period, the GAC Gold team was cruising up 44-27. The GAC Gold team would have a twenty-point cushion up 51-31 by the midway point of the fourth period as they cruised to an easy victory.
Perhaps the most underrated team in this Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League has been the Guards Of The Galaxy team and they were in action on Court 1 in the 7:15 P.M. slot taking on the Luther team. This game would be tied at 4-all early on but the Guards Of The Galaxy would take an 8-4 lead by the midway point of the first period and that lead would get stretched to 14-8 with 1:30 left in this opening period. To their credit, the Luther team would go on a 4-0 spurt to cut the deficit to two by the end of the first period at 14-12 and they would continue to hang touch once the second period got going and by the midway point of the second period, the Luther team had this game deadlocked at 18. This game would still be tied at 21 a piece with 1:20 left in the second period before the Guards Of The Galaxy team got a bit of breathing space up 24-21 by the halftime break. The Guards Of The Galaxy team finally started taking control of things with a 30-23 lead early on in the third period and by the midway point of the third period, they had established a double-digit advantage up 36-25 and they would maintain this cushion with a 46-36 lead by the end of the third period. The Guards Of The Galaxy team would continue to control this game once the fourth period got underway and with 2:30 left, they would hold a 57-45 advantage. Marisa Gustafson (GAC '21) would knock down a pair of insurance free throws with 1:45 left as the Guards Of The Galaxy team would book another win on their resume........One of the more anticipated games on this night was the one taking place over on Court 2 between the CSB team and the UW-River Falls team; a MIAC/WIAC clash of sorts between what seemed to be two evenly-matched squads. This contest would be tied at four a piece at the 7:50 mark of the opening period but the CSB team would grab the upper hand soon thereafter and hold a 9-4 advantage with 2:50 left in the first period and would enjoy a 13-6 lead by the end of the first period. Things were still looking very good for the CSB team with an 18-10 lead midway through the second period but then the UW-River Falls team unleashed an 11-0 tear that suddenly had them out in front by a 21-18 count with 2:00 left and they would still hold the lead by the halftime break up 22-20. The UW-River Falls team would enjoy a 25-20 lead by the 6:50 mark of the third period but just when it seemed like they had things going their way, the CSB team came right back as they would have the deficit cut to just two at 25-23 midway through the third period and they would retake the lead at 26-25 with 2:30 left and by the end of the third period, they would hold a 32-27 advantage. Things would remain unchanged by the 7:05 mark of the fourth period the UW-River Falls team was far from finished. They would get the deficit cut to one at 40-39 with 3:20 left in regulation and with 1:40 left, they would get this game tied again at 42 a piece. The CSB team would be up 46-44 with 1:15 left and they would be clinging to a 47-46 lead with :27 left. The CSB team would get a pair of free throws to go down with :06 left and the UW-River Falls team had one last chance to try and force overtime but the desperation heave-ho three-point attempt missed its mark as the CSB team hung on for a fun and thrilling win........Another great game took place over on Court 3 between the Retired Athletes team and the Gotcha Hats team. This one certainly appeared to be dominated by the Retired Athletes team early on as they bolted out to an 8-0 lead and led 13-4 with 2:20 left in the 1st period. A three-point bomb by Danielle Schaub (Sioux Falls '22) stretched that lead to 16-4 a short time later and by the end of the first period, the Retired Athletes team enjoyed an 18-7 advantage. The Gotcha Hats team finally got things going in the second period as they unleashed a 7-0 burst that had the deficit trimmed to 18-14 by the 6:25 mark of the second period but the Retired Athletes team didn't panic and they went on another run that got their lead back up to double-digits again up 28-16 with 3:10 left and by the halftime break, the Retired Athletes team seemed to have things fully in control with a cozy 34-20 advantage. And there were certainly no signs of danger yet as the Retired Athletes team held a 36-22 lead at the 7:45 mark of the third period and led 44-28 with 3:20 left in the third period and by the end of the third period, things seemed like a done deal with the Retired Athletes up 48-33. Things were still looking very good for the Retired Athletes team as they held a 54-41 lead midway through the fourth period but whether it was fatigue or a suddenly hot Gotcha Hats team, the tables started turning in this contest down the stretch as the Gotcha Hats team went on a tear coming down the stretch that saw the Retired Athletes team's lead shaved to six at 58-52 with 1:00 left and with :13 left, the Gotcha Hats team climbed back to within a single possession after a three-point bomb down just 58-56. A foiled possession by the Retired Athletes team gave the Gotcha Hats team one last chance with with just a couple of ticks in regulation left, they got an open look from behind the arc but the shot attempt rattled off the rim as the Retired Athletes team heaved a collective sigh of relief with a slim victory.
So things take a break this next week with the Fourth Of July holiday but things will get going again on Wednesday July 12 so hope to see you all down there!
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