My very first game of this brand new 2023-24 season had me over on the St Paul side of town at Butler Center on the campus of the College of St. Catherine's for an important clash between visiting Concordia and host St. Kate's. As you likely recall, the Wildcats ran the Cobbers out of their own gym up in Moorhead last January and would later give Concordia a huge scare a little more than a month later at Butler Center before the Cobbers were able to eek out a win in the last few final frantic seconds. After knocking off UM-Morris to begin the season, the Cobbers had a bad stumble across the River in Wisconsin; losing a tough one to UW-Whitewater and then getting unceremoniously bounced by host UW-Stevens Point the following day before recovering last week over at Macalester with a nice win. St. Kate's meanwhile lost the opener to UW-La Crosse but then reeled off three straight wins to come into this contest with some momentum. And given the recent history between these two teams, you pretty much knew this one was going to be barn-burner and it certainly didn't disappoint.
Head Coach Don Mulhern had his Wildcats in a 2-3 zone defense to start this game out but that didn't seem to faze Concordia - at least initially anyway - as senior guard Jordyn Kahler casually drilled a three-point bomb from the left wing area at the 8:32 mark of the first period to put the Cobbers out in front 3-2. St. Kate's would quickly answer as junior guard Rachel Randleman would bury a "3" of her own from the left wing area at the 8:16 mark that made it a 5-3 ballgame but Concordia junior guard Carlee Sieben would get this game knotted at five a piece on her pretty drive along the left baseline and finish at the 7:05 mark. Sieben would follow that up with a pair of charity stripe shots after getting fouled at the 6:32 mark that had the Cobbers up 7-5 and when Sieben; the Grafton, ND native drained a "3" from the left wing area at the 5:37 mark, it looked as if Concordia had things going their way with a 10-7 advantage. But any thoughts of the home team fading early in this contest were quickly put to bed as the Wildcats gradually started taking control of this opening period. Freshman guard Hattie Fox; a surprising newcomer on this St. Kate's team, cut the deficit to one with a tough score in the paint at the 5:22 mark and then strong sophomore reserve guard Maddie Young would connect with a short jumper off the glass with 4:45 left that put the 'Cats back out in front 11-10. Young would follow that up with a pair of free throws after getting fouled with 3:43 left to maintain the one-point edge at 13-12 and with 2:22 left, Young would strike again with a tough offensive rebound and putback of her own miss that also drew a foul and her ensuing "and one" now had St. Kate's up 16-12. Then the Wildcats started inflicting more damage from behind the arc as two three-point bombs by slender junior forward Greta Schimnowski - one from the left corner with 1:53 left and another from the top of the key with 1:16 left - stretched the St. Kate's lead to eight at 22-14. Then sophomore reserve guard Kristen Lawton would take her cue and unleash a dagger "3" of her own from the right wing area at with :39 left that suddenly had the Wildcats up by double-digits at 25-14. Concordia would finally stop some of the bleeding with :26 left when diminutive senior reserve guard Maddie Guler banged home a "3" from the top of the key that got the Cobbs back to within single digits again down 25-17 but the up-tempo nature of this St. Kate's team and their ability to get hot was causing a ton of problems for Concordia Head Coach Kim Wagers and her team.
The Wildcats would hit the "go" button again once the second period got underway as a lay-up by Randleman at the 9:39 mark and two free throws by Fox at the 9:05 mark after she was fouled in a transition opportunity had St. Kate's up by double-digits again at 29-17 and threatened to put the visitors from the Fargo-Moorhead area between a rock and a hard place. The Cobbers would briefly pull back to within single digits again when junior forward Greta Tollefson banged home a "3" from the right top area at the 6:48 mark but when St. Kate's Fox would respond on the Wildcats ensuing possession with a lay-up at the 6:39 mark that also drew a foul with the ensuing "and one" to make it a 32-20 ballgame, Concordia's Wagers knew she had some defensive issues to try and make a quick fix on and took a match to a timeout. But even that stoppage in play didn't seem to deter the 'Cats as they had their up-tempo game in full gear. Fox would connect with a short jumper off the glass with 4:57 left and two free throws by Young after she was fouled with 3:35 left had St. Kate's up 36-22. The Cobbers' Sieben would give her team a lift with a much-needed three-point bomb from the right top area but Concordia was still unable to control much of the bleeding they were incurring as the 'Cats would stretch their lead to fourteen at 39-25 on one free throw by Fox after she was fouled with 1:30 left and a Fox steal and lay-up the other way with 1:15 left. Concordia would again get a bit of a reprieve when Kahler drained a "3" from the left corner with :54 left but the Cobbers still looked out of sorts as the teams drifted off to their locker rooms for the halftime break. Concordia was relying primarily on their perimeter shooting and thus far really hadn't been able to get anything going on inside plus the fact that the Wildcats were obviously setting the tempo in this game so far made it clear that the Cobbers had a ton of work in front of them if they wanted to get back into this one.
And St. Kate's threatened to put their opponent behind the proverbial 8-ball once the third period got going as Schimnowski would bury one of her trademark "3's" - this one from the left corner at the 9:18 mark - that gave the Wildcats their biggest lead of the day with a 42-28. But just when the Cobbers looked down and out, they once again turned to their primary weapon - senior guard Emily Beseman - who had an unusually quiet first half. At the 8:13 mark, the Swanville native uncorked a three-point bomb from the left top area that reduced the deficit to eleven at 42-31. But Concordia still had to weather a three-point storm from Wildcat sophomore reserve guard Kristen Lawton as she would drain one bomb from the left top area at the 6:36 mark and after the Cobbers' Kahler would answer with a bomb of her own from the right wing area, the 'Cats Lawton would strike again with another trey - this one from the top of the key at the 5:36 mark - that seemed to have St. Kate's in firm control up 48-36. But the Cobbers' Beseman would again show why she's such a difference-maker in a game as she would casually drain a cold-blooded "3" from the right corner at the 5:20 mark that got Concordia back to within single-digit range again down 48-39 and two free throws by Sieben after she was fouled at the 5:06 mark would trim that deficit down to seven at 48-41. Then, strong junior forward Makayla Anderson; who had struggled mightily in the first half with her shooting touch, bullied into the paint for a score with 4:47 left that drew a foul and her ensuing "and one" cut the deficit down to a tantalizing four points at 48-44. Then, in the unlikeliest fashion, the Cobbs cut the deficit down to a scant point when freshman reserve guard Genevieve Gruba drilled a "3" from the left wing area with 418 left and this 11-0 run by Concordia was more than enough to convince the Wildcats' Mulhern to call a timeout to get his troops calmed down and reorganized. St. Kate's tried to build some more breathing room again as Schimnowski would maneuver into the paint for a score with 3:56 left but the Cobbers would again crawl back to a single-point when Beseman knocked down a pair of freebies after getting fouled with 3:48 left and two more by Anderson after she was fouled with 3:01 left finally leveled this contest at 51 a piece. The Wildcats would again attempt a push to give them some cushion again as Fox would connect with a lay-up with 1:35 left and senior guard Karis Zezza would connect with a short, turnaround jumper with :54.9 left that gave St. Kate's a 55-51 advantage but Concordia wasted little time getting this game tied up again as junior forward Greta Tollefson knocked down a pair of free throws after getting fouled on a rebound with :53.7 left and with :19 left, Sieben would use a burst of speed to connect on a lay-up to make it 55-all. St. Kate's would assume a 57-55 lead when lanky junior forward Emme Golembiewski snared an offensive rebound for a putback with :01.3 left in this wild third period but the nice cushion that the Wildcats had at the halftime break and early on in the third period had vanished.
A rejuvenated Cobber team picked up where they left off once the fourth period got underway as a short shot from the right side by Kahler at the 9:44 mark got this game knotted up again at 57 and two free throws by Beseman after she was fouled in a transition opportunity at the 9:22 mark finally had Concordia out in front by a 59-57 count. The Wildcats would counter as Young would bang home a "3" from the right wing off the glass at the 8:54 mark and a pretty drive and finish by the reliable Zezza at the 8:23 mark seemed to give St. Kate's renewed hope again with a 62-59 edge. But those hopes would soon be dashed as the Cobbers unleashed a 10-0 run that changed the course of this game for good. Kahler would start off this run with a "3" from the right top area at the 8:11 mark that tied this game up again at 62 and Concordia would then take the lead for good when Beseman connected with a lay-up in transition after a steal at the 6:10 mark. Anderson would connect with a short shot off the glass at the 5:29 mark and then a dagger "3" by sophomore reserve guard Molly Musland from the left corner with 4:29 left pushed the Cobber lead to 69-62. To their credit, St. Kate's would pull back to within a single possession as two free throws by Zezza after she was fouled with 4:01 left and two more by Golembiewski after she was fouled with 2:26 left cut the Cobbs lead to 69-66 but any ray of hope would soon be dashed for good when Sieben unleashed a cold-blooded "3" from the left corner with 1:26 left to make it a 72-66 game. Sieben would add one insurance free throw with :38.9 left and a score in the paint by Tollefson with :13.9 left for good measure allowed Concordia to pocket a hard-earned 75-69 victory.
When I was finally able to corral Concordia's Wagers afterward, she was quick to shoulder the blame for the offensive woes that the Cobbers had in the first half ; particularly with trying to get the ball into the post position with Anderson that resulted in Concordia relying primarily on perimeter shooting. But, to their credit, Wagers and her staff made some adjustments at the halftime break by employing some full- and half-court pressure that resulted in some turnovers and points off of those turnovers. But I'd be amiss if I didn't mention Beseman figuring into the equation in some way. Again, she continues to show - just like she did last season - why she's the best player in the MIAC. Sure, she does score as her 14.9 ppg average from last season would suggest but it's more than that. She not only facilitates well, she makes the supporting cast around her that much better and they tend to play better when she's "on". And obviously she was "on" in that second half in more ways than one. You look at the final box score for this one and just purely from a numbers standpoint, it's kind of a mixed bag for both teams. St. Kate's had a decided 22-14 advantage in points in the paint. But, St. Kate's was also guilty of 20 turnovers in this game and the Cobbers had a decided edge in points off of turnovers at 28-19. Rebounding itself was very close with the 'Cats holding a 26-25 edge in that department and St. Kate's had a decided edge in those all-important "second chance" points at 11-4. But, Concordia was very, very good at the charity stripe on this night going 18-19 for 94.7% which is tough to beat while St. Kate's was 15-21 for 71.4%. Not bad either but in a close game, that's still leaving important points on the table. Now, not having been able to catch the Wildcats back in October when practices got underway due to my recovery from surgery was disappointing but from watching this team, it's clear that Mulhern now has not only some size and length in his starting line-up but he now finally has some decent depth to back that up. Although he was obviously disappointed at the final outcome of this one, I think one would have to think that there's reason for optimism when it comes to the Wildcats this season.
Concordia had a very balanced attack on this night and it was Sieben who led all scorers with her 20 points on this night while Beseman; who factored into the equation once the third period got going finished with 12 points and both Anderson and Kahler tallied 11 points each. Fox continues to be a very pleasant surprise for this St. Kate's team as she led the way with her while young tallied 12 points and Schimnowski finished with 11 points.
No comments:
Post a Comment