Another season of the Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League came to a close on this Championship Night and here's the results of all the games that took place on this night:
6:15 P.M. Games
GAC Black - 51
Anoka-Ramsey - 44
CSB - 54
UW-River Falls - 47
GAC Gold - 57
Hamline - 45
7:15 P.M. Games
GAC Black - 55
CSB - 45
UW-River Falls - 66
GAC Gold - 47
8:15 P.M. Championship Game
Wash-Ups - 54
Lady Hustlers - 37
This final night of the Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League certainly didn't disappoint and an exciting contest took place over on Court 1 in the 6:15 P.M. slot that saw the free-wheeling Anoka-Ramsey team take on the battle-tested and experienced GAC Black team. Being a decided underdog in this contest didn't bother the young Anoka-Ramsey team as they held a 3-2 advantage at the 6:40 mark of the opening period and they would still hold the upper hand with a 10-8 lead with 2:50 left. But a 5-0 push down the home stretch gave the speedy and athletic Anoka-Ramsey team a 15-8 lead by the end of the first period. While a seven-point deficit this early on wasn't necessarily that much to worry about, things grew much more concerning for the GAC Black team once the second period got underway as the Anoka-Ramsey team stretched their lead to 21-12 at the 7:00 mark and by the midway point of the second period, the Anoka-Ramsey team established a ten-point cushion at 25-15 and it looked as if the GAC Black team might be in some serious trouble. But the GAC Black team refused to break out the proverbial panic button and instead unleashed a 6-0 push that had them right back in the thick of things again down 25-21 with 2:10 left and they would stay within striking distance down 28-23 by the halftime break. Still, the Anoka-Ramsey team would show some more spunk; upping their lead to 33-26 at the 7:25 mark of the third period and they would still have some breathing room up 35-29 with 3:35 left. But again the GAC Black team refused to panic and quickly got the deficit down to two points at 35-33 with :30 left and were still within a single possession down 36-33 at the end of the third period. Unlike the night before, the Anoka-Ramsey team was unable to sustain its earlier momentum and this allowed the GAC Black team to exploit the situation; going on a 12-3 run that changed the complexion of this game for good and gave them a 45-39 lead by the midway point of the fourth period. The GAC Black team would use its trademark defense to choke off any opportunities for the Anoka-Ramsey team as they still held that same 45-39 lead with 2:52 left. Insurance free throws by junior-to-be Kylie Baranick upped the GAC Black team's lead to 49-42 with 1:15 left as they got an impressive come-from-behind victory........Another wild and wooly affair was taking place over on Court 2 in the 6:15 P.M. time slot that saw the CSB team taking on the UW-River Falls team in a clash of two evenly-matched opponents. The UW-River Falls team would hold a 3-2 advantage by the midway portion of the opening period as both teams struggled a little bit out of the gate but the UW-River Falls team would recover quicker as they built their lead to 7-2 with 3:25 left although the CSB would finally shake off its cobwebs and get some offense going down the stretch to close the gap to four down 14-10 by the end of the first period. The UW-River Falls team would get a big boost early on in the second period on a three-point bomb that got their lead out to 17-10 but the CSB team was not going to be going quietly into the night on this occasion as they closed the gap to four down 19-15 near the midway juncture of the second period and by the halftime break, the CSB team was down only a single possession at 25-22. The CSB team had momentum on its side by this point and they quickly got this game leveled at 25 at the 9:15 mark of the third period and this contest would still be tied at 33 a piece near the midway point. With 4:15 left, the game would still be knotted at 36 before the UW-River Falls team could take a brief 38-36 lead with 1:35 left. But "brief" is probably the word for it as the CSB team unleashed a key 8-0 run that now had them up 44-38 by the end of the third period. To their credit, the UW-River Falls team got this one tightened up again as they closed the gap to two points down 44-42 by the 7:45 mark of the fourth period and they would eventually get this contest leveled again at 44 a piece by the 6:10 mark. But down the stretch, the UW-River Falls team ran out of gas and that allowed the CSB team to assume the lead again for good at 46-44 with 4:15 left and they were able to close this one out to claim a hard-earned victory.........Over on Court 3, two old MIAC rivals were going at it with the Hamline team taking on the GAC Gold team. The GAC Gold team would hold a 5-2 lead near the midway point of the opening period but they would get things stretched out to 14-6 with 2:10 left and they would maintain this eight-point cushion at 16-8 by the end of the first period. The GAC Gold team would gradually get its lead to double-digits once the second period got going; enjoying a 25-13 advantage midway through the second period and a tough score in the paint by junior-to-be Rachel Kawiecki gave the GAC Gold team a 27-13 lead with 4:17 left. But the Hamline team, which had struggled on both ends of the floor thus far, finally found its trademark spunk and unleashed a 9-0 run down the stretch that cut the GAC Gold advantage to 27-22 by the halftime break. Even though the GAC Gold team was able to establish a bit more breathing room with a 31-22 lead by the 8:00 mark of the 3rd period, this pesky Hamline team again would make inroads and get things slimmed down again to just five down 33-28 near the midway point of the third period. With 3:50 left, it looked as if the GAC Gold team might be in some serious trouble clinging to a 33-30 advantage but the momentum ride that the Hamline team was riding on suddenly ran out of fuel and that allowed the GAC Gold lead to get on a run that saw them re-establish a double-digit advantage at 44-36 by the end of the third period. The GAC Gold team upped their lead to 50-36 midway through the fourth period as they coasted to the win.
Two interesting games in the 7:15 P.M. slot. Over on Court 1, two winners from the earlier time slot - the GAC Black team and the CSB team - two old MIAC rivals that know each other very well went at it. And the GAC Black team would get a big early lift on a three-point bomb by the aforementioned Baranick at the 7:50 mark of the opening period that put them up 3-2 but a battle-tested CSB team would come right back and forge a 12-7 advantage by the midway point and they would stretch that lead to 15-7 with 3:45 left. By the end of the first period anyway, things were pointing the CSB team's way with a 19-13 lead. But it wouldn't take long for the GAC Black team to shake whatever doldrums had been holding them back as they quickly closed the gap to one on a 5-0 push by the 8:20 mark of the second period down just 19-18. A lay-up by senior-to-be Syd Hauger would keep the GAC Black team right in the thick of things down 22-20 at the 6:55 mark. Then the GAC Black team would embark on a 6-0 push that would put them up 26-22 near the midway point of the second period and although the CSB would close the gap to just one down 26-25 with 3:33 left, the GAC Black team would finish up this second period on a 4-0 push that gave them a bit more breathing room up 30-25 at the halftime break. The CSB team would make another bid to close the gap once the third period got going; closing to within a single possession down 35-32 by the 8:00 mark but then the GAC Black team would launch a game-changing run that had their lead to 39-32 by the midway point of the third period and the CSB team was never able to fully recover from that. With 2:30 left, the GAC Black team had upped its lead to 45-36 and they still had a seven-point advantage at 47-40 by the end of the third period. It didn't take the GAC Black team to start pulling away once the fourth period started as they established a cozy fourteen point lead at 54-40 by the 7:30 mark and with 4:00 left, they enjoyed a 55-43 lead and got the win to close out a strong summer league for them........Over on Court 2, the GAC Gold team was taking on the UW-River Falls team and the latter was looking for some redemption after the disappointment in the earlier time slot. Both teams would trade three-point bombs in the early going of the opening period and by the midway point of the first period, the GAC Gold team would hold a slim 8-7 advantage. But the UW-River Falls team would get its high-octane offense rolling and with 2:00 left they would hold a 14-10 advantage and they would increase that lead to 19-13 by the end of the first period. The UW-River Falls team would up its lead to 21-13 in the early moments of the second period and by the midway point of the second period, the UW-River Falls team had a ten-point cushion at 25-15. Meanwhile, the GAC Gold team finally shook off the cobwebs that had been hampering them and cut the deficit down to seven down 27-20 with 1:00 left and by the halftime break, the GAC Gold team managed to slice one more point off that deficit down 27-21. The GAC Gold team managed to squeeze further; getting the deficit down to five points down 29-24 at the 8:00 mark of the third period and stayed in that five-point range down 37-32 with 3:30 left. With 2:25 left, the GAC Gold would get a big boost when sophomore-to-be Rylie Schnell drained a "3" that helped cut the deficit down to four down 39-35 and there still seemed to be hope when the GAC Gold was in the six-point range down 41-35 by the end of the third period. But any momentum that the GAC Gold team may have had vanished into thin air once the fourth period got going as the UW-River Falls team turned up the heat and started getting separation; upping their lead to 44-37 by the 8:10 mark and by the midway point, the UW-River Falls team was putting the finishing touches on this one with a sixteen-point advantage up 53-37 as the cruised to an easy win to end a good summer league for them.
Of course, the big enchilada on this night was the Championship Game in the 8:15 P.M. slot on Court 1 that pitted arguably the two best teams in this year's Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League - the Lady Hustlers team and the Wash-Ups team. A nice crowd had gathered for this one and you could just tell by the vibes that both teams were ready to rock and roll. But it would be the Wash-Ups team with the swag coming out of the gate as they totally befuddled their opponent as they came out on fire with two three-point bombs that had them up 6-0 by the 8:36 mark of the opening period and by the midway point of the first period, the Wash-Ups team would increase that lead to 8-0. A bit later, the Wash-Ups teams would up its lead to 10-0 when Macy Hatlestad (UST '21) knocked down a mid-range jumper from the top and the situation would continue to become even more dire for the Lady Hustlers team as they kept misfiring and missing seemingly easy lay-ups. With 4:36 left, the Wash-Ups team increased its lead to 13-0 and with 2:00 left, that lead would increase to 15-0. The Wash-Ups team would eventually get their lead up to a shocking 20-0 before the Lady Hustlers team finally dusted off the net on its basket at the tail end of the opening period. The Lady Hustlers team finally found some semblance of offense once the second period got going but they were unable to slow down the potent attack of the Wash-Ups team that kept throwing daggers on this night as they would enjoy a 24-10 advantage at the 7:45 mark and would maintain this fourteen-point edge with a 26-12 lead near the midway point of the second period. The Lady Hustlers team was able to trim the deficit down to eleven points at 26-15 with 2:45 left but they could not get back into single-digit range. And the Wash-Ups team got a big insurance three-point bomb by former UST and Lester Prairie standout Madi Radtke at the buzzer from the left corner that gave them a cozy 33-17 lead at the halftime break. The Lady Hustlers team would make another bid to crawl back into this contest as they had the deficit trimmed back down to eleven points again down 33-22 by the 8:10 mark of the third period but once again they would be turned back by a determined Wash-Ups team and Radtke would come through big time again with a sweet steal and lay-up the other way that would give them a 38-22 lead at the 6:13 mark. With 2:40 left in the third period, the Wash-Ups team would still be in firm control with a 40-25 advantage and they would still hold a commanding 42-29 lead by the end of the third period. The Lady Hustlers team would desperately try and find one more burst of magic once the fourth period got going but making a serious dent in the cushion was slowly but surely becoming a bridge too far as they would still trail by thirteen down 45-32 by the 7:45 mark and they could only shave off one point off the deficit near the midway juncture of the fourth period down 45-33. By this point, the Wash-Ups team could smell blood and closed in for the kill; increasing their lead to 49-33 with 4:02 left and 53-35 with 1:10 left and the celebration was on for them with sweet victory at the end!
