Anoka-Ramsey Holiday Classic - Bismarck St vs Anoka-Ramsey 12-20-24

 Made the trek up to Coon Rapids on this clear but cold December day with fresh snow on the ground - just in time for Christmas - to take in the 5:00 PM game up at Anoka-Ramsey's annual Holiday Classic - this one featuring visiting Bismarck St out of the Mon-Dak Athletic Conference taking on host Anoka-Ramsey of the newly-renamed Minnesota College Athletic Conference.  The Mystics were coming into this contest with a rather impressive 10-2 record with the only blemishes coming against Williston St and Northwest College.  The Golden Rams meanwhile were trying to steady the ship so to speak as they were sporting a 6-4 record into this young season and were definitely hoping to grease the skids for some bigger numbers on the correct side of the ledger.  I got settled into the Anoka-Ramsey Gymnasium early enough at the half of the men's game between Joliet Community College and RCTC.

To be completely honest, I wasn't quite sure what to expect from either side even though I had visited one of Anoka-Ramsey's early practices back in mid-October.  The Golden Rams would finally find some solid footing beginning at the 8:45 mark of the opening period when strong sophomore combo forward/post Bella Kanz muscled into the paint for a score which would be followed up less than a minute later at the 7:58 mark when lanky freshman post Mariam Alowonie connected with a lay-up off of an inbounds pass to make it 4-0.  Anoka-Ramsey would get its lead to 6-0 when Alowonie used her 6'0" frame to snare an offensive rebound of her own miss for a putback at the 7:04 mark before the Mystics were finally able to shake off the early cobwebs on a three-point bomb by freshman guard Aleah McPherson at the 6:50 mark.  Bismarck St closed the gap to one point at 6-5 when sophomore guard Jaiden Baker connected with a lay-up at the 6:30 mark and pushed ahead by one at 7-6 when Baker made a daring drive into traffic for a finish at the 5:42 mark.  The Golden Rams struck right back on a drive and finish by Kanz at the 5:25 mark that also drew a foul and Kanz made good on the "and one" to put Anoka-Ramsey back up to a 9-7 count.  Bismarck St would answer in this instance, however, as freshman guard Kali Dauenhauer would bury a "3" from the left top area at the 5:19 mark for a 10-9 Mystic lead and Bismarck St would increase its lead to two points when Baker unleashed a three-point bomb from the right corner with 3:16 left to make it 13-11.  Anoka-Ramsey would end this first period with a 4-0 push as one free throw by freshman reserve guard Tereya Vaughn after she was fouled with 2:59 left and one more by Alowonie after she was fouled with 1:37 left leveled the contest at 13 a piece and the Golden Rams would nudge ahead by a 15-13 count when sophomore point guard Sydney Hazuga connected with a pretty lay-up with just :02.4 as Anoka-Ramsey appeared to gain a head of steam.  

The above-referenced head of steam was no mirage once the second period got underway as Anoka-Ramsey unleashed a 16-4 burst that really changed the outlook of this contest.  One free throw by Alowonie after she was fouled at the 9:50 mark and a lay-up in transition by slender freshman combo forward/post O'Ciana Johnson at the 8:51 mark gave the Golden Rams an 18-13 lead.  Johnson would strike again for Anoka-Ramsey at the 7:21 mark with a short jumper in the lane and a three-point bomb by freshman guard Jade Lussier from the right wing area at the 6:47 mark upped the Golden Ram lead to 23-15.  Then Hazuga; the former Eau Claire Memorial (WI) standout, unleashed back-to-back three-point daggers from the top of the key - one at the 5:45 mark and the other at the 5:12 mark - that now had Anoka-Ramsey up 29-17 and Mystics Jason Harris; not at all liking how this one was unfolding, decided to take a thirty-second timeout to get his troops reorganized.  Still, Anoka-Ramsey would cap this run with 3:46 left on a lay-up by Vaughn with 3:46 left before Bismarck St could patch up some of this massive bleeding on a three-point bomb from the left top area by McPherson with 3:10 left.  Unfortunately for the Mystics, they would have to withstand some more three-point artillery by the Golden Rams.  Lussier would uncork one three-point bomb from the left corner with 2:48 left and Hazuga would uncork another one from the left top area with 2:17 left that stretched the Golden Ram lead to 37-20 before Bismarck St could finally whittle the deficit down a bit thanks to McPherson as she would first knock down a jumper from the left wing area with 2:06 left and then unleash a three-point bomb from the left top area with 1:36 left that had the gap cut to twelve at 37-25.  The Mystics would stay within that twelve-point range on a pair of free throws by Maya Vibeto with :17.9 left after she was fouled but on the wrong end of a 39-27 score and considering how things were going Anoka-Ramsey's way since the second period got underway, Bismarck St looked to be between a rock and a hard place as both teams headed for their respective locker rooms for the halftime break.

The outlook for the Mystics certainly didn't improve one iota once the third period got underway as Anoka-Ramsey unleashed a 12-1 run from the get-go.  Hazuga would bury one three-point bomb from the right top area at the 9:24 mark and Lussier would follow suit with a bomb from the left top area at the 9:05 mark that stretched the Golden Ram lead to 45-28.  Back-to-back lay-ups by Alowonie - one at the 8:30 mark and another at the 7:36 mark - got Anoka-Ramsey's lead to 49-28 and a tough score in the paint by sophomore guard Lynae Walker at the 7:11 mark capped this latest run as the Golden Ram lead ballooned to 51-28.  Bismarck St finally started finding some semblance of offense as one three-point bomb from the right top area by sophomore reserve combo forward/post Brynnlee Murdock at the 6:22 mark and another "3" by sophomore reserve forward Brooklyn Brendel from the right wing area at the 5:35 mark had the deficit down to nineteen at 53-34 but it was difficult for the Mystics to make much in the way of significant inroads on this cushion that Anoka-Ramsey had established.  A jumper along the right baseline by Vibeto with 3:15 left had the deficit down to 18 at 56-38 but the Golden Rams went right back to work as two scores by Alowonie - a score in the paint with 3:00 left and a lay-up with 2:29 left - got the lead to 60-38 and although Bismarck St was able to slice a few points off of this at the charity stripe on one free throw by sophomore reserve combo forward/post Trinidi Clarke after she was fouled with 2:15 left and two more by Vibeto with 1:09 left after she got fouled got the deficit down to nineteen at 60-41, things looked awfully blead at juncture for the Mystics.

It was pretty much the same story for Bismarck St once the fourth period got going as well.  Slender sophomore combo guard/forward/post Harys Beauchamp - who had been bottled up for the most part by the Golden Rams and held scoreless - finally got into the books with one free throw after getting fouled at the 9:25 mark but Anoka-Ramsey quickly made up for that as Johnson would get a tough score in the paint at the 9:10 mark and would also get one free throw to go down after getting fouled giving the Golden Rams a seemingly comfortable 63-42 lead.  Strangely enough, when things looked absolutely hopeless for Bismarck St, the Mystics finally started finding a way to get their high-octane offense into high gear.  Baker would get one free throw to go down after getting fouled at the 7:11 mark and Beauchamp used her 6'0" frame to make a hard drive into the lane for a finish at the 6:28 mark that cut the deficit to eighteen at 63-45.  Then McPherson got into the act as she would first connect on a lay-up in transition at the 5:31 mark and less than a minute later with 4:52 left the Bismarck native would drain a "3" from the left top area that narrowed the gap to thirteen at 63-50 and sensing newfound life in his team, Bismarck State's Harris called for a timeout to reset strategy.  The Mystics cut into this cushion even more when Vibeto snared an offensive rebound for a putback with 4:16 left that cut the deficit down to eleven at 63-52 before an alarmed Anoka-Ramsey team seemed to come awake again.  Kanz would get one free throw to go down after getting fouled with 2:31 left and would get one more freebie to cooperate after getting fouled in a transition opportunity with 2:15 left that seemed to make things "safe" again for the Golden Rams with a 67-52 lead but Bismarck St wasn't about to go away so easily.  One free throw by Vibeto with 2:00 left after she was fouled and then pairs of free throws - two by Murdock after she was fouled with 1:39 left and two more by the diminutive Vibeto after she was fouled with 1:24 left - got the deficit down to tenat 67-57.  Then after the Mystics forced an Anoka-Ramsety turnover with pressure defense, Bismarck St crawled back to within single-digit range on a nifty lay-up off of an inbounds pass by McPherson that had the Mystics down 67-59.  Again the Golden Rams would attempt some patch-up work on the boat as Alowonie got one free throw to go down after getting fouled with 1:11 left and then Kanz got a three-point play the old-fashioned way with a strong offensive rebound for a putback that also drew a foul and the obligatory "and one" by the former Maple Grove standout got the lead to 71-59 and one more free throw by Johnson with :58.3 left appeared to seal the deal for Anoka-Ramsey with a 72-59 advantage.  Still the Mystics refused to break out the proverbial white flag.  Brendel would bury a "3" from the right corner with :55 left and even though the Golden Rams responded on two free throws by Hazuga with :53 left after she was fouled, Bismarck St fought to the bitter end.  Vibeto would connect with a lay-up with :16.2 left and with just :06 left, Brendel would bury a "3" from the left wing area that had the deficit down to seven at 74-67 but the Mystics ultimately saw the sands of time run out on them as Anoka-Ramsey held on for a somewhat harrowing 74-67 victory.  

When one looks at the final box score for this one, you have to believe that Bismarck State's Harris could only shake his head in dismay at his team's inability to convert from the charity stripe wound up shooting only 50% for the game and anyone will tell you that that's simply not even close to being good enough and in a game like this that had things turn in their favor down the home stretch, this was exceptionally costly.  It wasn't just free throw shooting either as the Mystics shot 26.8% from FG range and were an ice-cold 21.3% from behind the arc.  And keep in mind that this Mystics team does have three-point shooting as its MO so when those three-point shot attempts were off the mark as they were for most of the contest, they were pretty-much one-dimensional.  Now, of course, you have to give credit to Anoka-Ramsey here too as their defense and overall athleticism created a lot of match-up problems for Bismarck St.  And consider too, Anoka-Ramsey had a whopping 38-20 advantage in points in the paint.  At the same time, the Golden Rams can't be completely absolved of any transgressions here either as their free throw shooting was suspect in this outing and the Golden Rams were guilty of 19 turnovers in this game and the Mystics had a 20-15 edge in points off of those turnovers.  But in the end, Anoka-Ramsey was able to do enough to make up for whatever mistakes they did make and come away with an important win and when I talked with Anoka-Ramsey Head Coach Samantha Doucette afterward, I got the feeling that this team still has a lot of work ahead of it but at the same time, they're on the right track.  And Doucette knew full and well of Bismarck State's ability to hit the three-point shot but the Golden Rams defense and athleticism had the Mystics befuddled on that end for a good chunk of the game.  Just as important, Anoka-Ramsey held Bismarck State's Beauchamp to just four points on this day.

One obvious bright spot for Doucette and her Anoka-Ramsey team is the sophomore point guard, Hazuga as her 18 points led all scorers and paced a very balanced Golden Ram attach. She's also a very good leader on the floor for this Golden Ram team as well.  Alowonie came up big as well for Anoka-Ramsey on this day with her 17 points while Lussier was solid with her 12 points and the Kanz tallied 10 points.  Surprisingly, it was Vibeto's 17 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double that paced Bismarck St on this day while McPherson wasn't far behind with her 15 points but she was only 3-12 from behind the arc on this day.  Brendel also poured in 12 points while tallied 10 points.     

Concordia vs Augsburg 12-14-24

 Made the relatively short haul over to Si Melby Hall on the campus of Augsburg University on this icy/rainy/snowy/icky Saturday afternoon to take in the last weekend of play before Christmas break as Concordia made another trip back down US Highway 10 and the BNSF Staples Sub mainline to the Twin Cities to take on host Augsburg.  Even though it was only mid-December, this game was crucial for the Cobbers as they've been on the skids as of late riding a four-game losing streak and needed desperately to get back into the win column and regain their confidence.  It's arguably been a struggle for the Auggies thus far as they were coming into this game with a 1-5 record and not a lot right going for them lately but today was another opportunity for them to get headed in the right direction.  I got settled into Si Melby Hall plenty early and watched an exciting finish in the men's game as the Auggies pulled off a thrilling last-second buzzer-beater to claim the dub.

Augsburg would break the ice in this game (slight pun intended with the icy weather that was gripping much of the upper Midwest on this day) as junior guard Wakinyela Bear would make a hard drive for a pretty finish at the 8:20 mark of the opening period but the Cobbers would respond.  Senior guard Carlee Sieben would bury a "3" from the top of the key at the 7:47 mark and two free throws by junior guard Taylor Safranski after she was fouled at the 6:40 mark upped the lead to 5-2.  Then senior guard Jordyn Kahler got a three-point play the old-fashioned way by snaring a steal in the backcourt and getting a lay-up out of it that also drew a foul and the ensuing "and one" by the former Wahpeton, ND standout pushed the Cobber lead to 8-4.  But Augsburg's lanky junior forward Amira LaDuke would start her big day at the 5:10 mark as she knocked down a pair of freebies after getting fouled that closed the gap to two points at 8-6.  More concerning for Concordia was the fact that sophomore reserve forward Genevieve Gruba picked up her second foul of the afternoon in this sequence and Cobber Head Coach Kim Wagers had little choice but to sit the former Enderlin, ND standout for a spell.  Still Concordia responded to this initial setback by embarking on a 7-0 run that opened up some more breathing room.  Strong senior forward Makayla Anderson started this push with a long jumper from the top of the key just inside the arc with 4:55 left and then a short jumper in the lane by junior reserve guard Molly Musland with 4:15 left boosted the lead to six at 12-6.  Then up-and-coming sophomore reserve guard Alexa Snesrud would get one free throw attempt to cooperate after getting fouled with 3:40 left and would get two more to go down after getting fouled again with 2:40 left that seemed to have the Cobbers in pretty good shape with a 15-6 advantage.  With 1:55 left, Snesrud would get to the charity stripe again after getting fouled and two more free throws by the former Cloquet standout maintained that nine-point lead at 17-8.  But things would quickly go to hell in a handbasket for the Fargo-Moorhead faithful as Augsburg did get things tightened up.  Junior reserve post Emma Kanz would make a hard drive for a finish with 1:45 left that also drew a foul and although she couldn't cash in on the "and one" attempt, the Cobbers' Anderson picked up her second foul of the day as well and Wagers wasted little time getting the former Bismarck Century (ND) standout yanked back to the bench for preservation purposes.  Then the Auggies would get the defit cut to four when sophomore standout guard Saylor Gallagher drained a "3" from the left corner with 1:01 left that made it a 17-13 game.  Again, Concordia would respond and get its lead back to nine as strong senior forward Greta Tollefson knocked down a pair of free throws after getting fouled with :48.8 left and a three-point bomb by Kahler from the left wing area with :27.2 left re-established the cushion that the Cobbers had but there was a price that was extracted from Concordia for that lead with both Anderson and Gruba with two fouls a piece in the first period alone.

A nine-point deficit; while not ideal, certainly didn't deter the Auggies from fighting back in this one and they slyly picked away at Concordia's lead once the second period got underway.  Sophomore forward Maecee Alexander would get a pair of free throws to go down after getting fouled at the 9:23 mark and Gallagher would add one freebie after she was fouled at the 9:00 mark that got the deficit down to six at 22-16.  The Cobbers would get their lead back to eight on two free throws by Safranski after she was fouled at the 8:39 mark to make it 24-16 and a lay-up by sophomore reserve post Maci Wheeldon at the 8:08 mark maintained the eight-point edge at 26-18.  And Concordia still appeared to be in full control when Kahler connected with a jumper from the left wing area at the 7:34 mark to keep things at an eight-point spread at 28-20.  But oh those young and tricky Auggies do have a way about them and they went right back to work.  Bear would drain a "3" from the right top area at the 7:17 mark but the real gut-punch for Concordia came at the 6:58 mark when the officials slapped the Cobbers with a technical foul (I'll have more on this later) and fifth-year senior guard Katie Manecke got one free throw to go down that reduced the lead to 28-24.  A bit later at the 6:46 mark, Bear would connect with a lay-up that got Augsburg back to within a single possession down 28-26.  LaDuke would use her length to snare an offensive rebound for a putback at the 5:19 mark to keep the Auggies within a single possession down 30-28 and would repeat this feat with 4:45 left that kept Augsburg within a single possession down 32-30.  Less than a minute later, LaDuke's heroics would get this game leveled as the former Cass Lake-Bena standout would connect on a short, turnaround jumper in the lane with 3:51 left to make it 32-all.  Then Gallagher would come through on Augsburg's subsequent possession as she made a hard drive for a finish to put the Auggies back on top in this one at 34-32 and with her team reeling once again, Concordia's Wagers took a thirty-second timeout to try and put out the flames.  The Cobbers regained the lead on a gutsy play by Snesrud as she snared an offensive rebound for a putback and drew a foul in the process and her obligatory freebie got Concordia back out in front by a 35-34 count.  But that lead didn't last long as Augsburg's Gallagher would again unleash terror from behind the arc with a three-point bomb from the top of the key with 2:28 left that pushed Augsburg back into the lead at 37-35.  Right back came the Cobbers as Wheeldon would get on free throw to go down after getting fouled with 2:20 left and a three-point bomb by Kahler from the right top area with 1:36 left got Concordia back out in front with 1:36 left at 39-37.  The Auggies' LaDuke would get this game knotted at 39 a piece with 1:07 left with her jumper from the left elbow area and although the Cobbers would get their nose out in front with just :00.5 left on an offensive rebound and putback by Wheeldon, the momentum swing sure seemed to be with this young Augsburg team at the moment and the Cobbers definitely had to get something cooking if they wanted to snare it back as they took a slim 41-39 lead into the locker room at the half.

Concordia appeared to be back on track offensively once the third period got going but it was still difficult to open up much in the way of breathing room.  Sieben would get things going with her jumper from the left wing area at the 9:37 mark to make it 43-39 but right back came the Auggies and LaDuke as she connected on an incredibly tough reverse lay-up underneath the basket at the 9:17 mark to keep Augsburg within a single possession.  The Cobbers would get their lead to four again at 45-41 when Anderson connected with one of her patented turnaround jumpers at the 9:01 mark.  Augsburg would again close the gap to two as - guess who - LaDuke dropped a pair of charity stripe shots after getting fouled at the 8:06 mark.  Concordia's Sieben tried a different tactic - burying a three-point bomb from the left top area to make it 48-43 but unfortunately for the Cobbers it was met with the same result as the Auggies' Gallagher would drain a trey of her own from the left wing area at the 7:23 mark that again closed the gap to just two points at 48-46.  Concordia was then finally able to shift gears and establish some more breathing room.  Two free throws by Anderson after she was fouled at the 6:35 mark and two more by Kahler after she was fouled at the 6:00 mark stretched the lead to six at 52-46 and although that wasn't that big of a deficit for the home team, Augsburg's position grew a bit more complicated a short time later at the 5:56 mark when LaDuke collected her third foul of the day and new Auggie Head Coach Mallie Doucet wasn't going to take any chances at this stage and had LaDuke retreat to the pine for a spell.  That provided a slightly larger opening for the Cobbers and they wasted little time in taking advantage of the situation.  Kahler would unleash one of her trademark three-point bombs from the left top area at the 5:51 mark and would follow that up a bit later with a short jumper at the 5:24 mark that gave Concordia a ten-point cushion at 57-47.  The Cobbers also got a boost when they got into the bonus with 4:52 left and Sieben would cap this key 11-1 run when she connected with a jumper from the left wing area with 4:44 left that grew the lead to twelve at 59-47 and Augsburg's Doucette knew the time was now to take a match to a thirty-second timeout in hopes of getting her troops reorganized.  The Auggies had their hopes revived a bit when freshman reserve guard Lani Fonoti drained a "3" from the left corner with 4:27 left but Concordia was not letting up on its grip for the moment as Wheeldon connected with a tough jumper along the right baseline with 4:12 left and two free throws by freshman reserve guard Brooklyn Christianson with 3:20 left gave the Cobbers their largest lead yet at 63-50.  To their credit, Augsburg got on a bit of a push that tightened things up a bit.  Bear would knock down a pair of free throws after getting fouled with 2:07 left and a short, turnaround jumper by LaDuke - carrying those three fouls - with 1:35 left got the Auggies back to within single-digit range down 63-54.  Junior reserve guard Melanie Delestrez would get one free throw to go down after getting fouled with :59 left as Augsburg cut into the deficit further.  Concordia would recover from this as Sieben would snare a steal and race the other way for an easy lay-up with :16.3 left but the Cobbers certainly weren't out of the woods just yet with a 65-55 lead.  

Augsburg's situation meanwhile would grow even more delicate once the fourth period got underway.  LaDuke picked up her fourth foul of the afternoon at the 9:18 mark and a bit later at the 9:01 mark, Gallagher collected her fourth foul as well and with Doucette's two primary scoring weapons sitting at the bench, the Auggies prospects dimmed considerably.  Concordia's Sieben would get a pair of free throws to go down after Gallagher's foul to make it 67-55 and Kahler would connect on a lay-up at the 8:45 mark to make it 69-55.  A three-point bomb by Musland from the left top area at the 5:47 mark maintained the status quo for a 72-58 Cobber lead.  With time now becoming a factor, Augsburg's Doucette had little choice but to roll the dice in hopes of tightening things up.  Manecke would connect with a lay-up at the 5:26 mark and a "3" by Fonoti with 3:50 left from the right corner got the Auggies back to within single-digit range again down 72-63.  Concordia's Anderson would re-build the double-digit advantage with a tough score in the paint with 3:07 left and one free throw after getting fouled with 2:45 left that made it a 75-63 ballgame.  The Auggies would climb back into single-digit range again but could never get close enough to truly threaten.  Delestrez would connect on a lay-up with 2:27 left and LaDuke would continue with her heroics despite the foul situation with a three-point bomb from the top of the key with 1:16 left that got the deficit down to seven at 75-68.  But LaDuke would be done for the day a bit later when she fouled the Cobbers' Sieben with 1:05 left and Sieben would calmly respond by dropping two free throws.  Snesrud would also come up big for Concordia in the waning moments as she dropped two pairs of free throws after getting fouled - with :29 left and again with :21.2 left to put Concordia up 81-70.  The Auggies would add to their ledger when Alexander was fouled behind the arc with :14.6 left and got a couple of free throws out of it but it wasn't nearly enough as the Cobbers got out of town with an 81-72 victory.  

You could kind of sense the relief on the Concordia side after this one as the last couple of weeks have been a rough one for the Cobbers who had to endure a somewhat unexpected four-game losing streak and things were definitely not looking bright after the loss to Bethel a mere ten days ago.  Just getting a win to break that skid as you go into the holiday break at the very least has to give you a boost.  Still, there's some things that you can't help but be concerned about from a Cobber standpoint when you look at the final box score.  True, Concordia was "better" in the turnover department today with "only" 13 (although it seemed like it was more than that) but there's still plenty of room for improvement as there's still some careless turnovers that shouldn't be happening.  More concerning, however, is the fact that the Cobbers were outrebounded by a 37-32 count and Augsburg also had a 24-20 advantage in points in the paint.  The Auggies also had an advantage in those all-important second-chance points at 13-10 but Concordia was able to withstand all that.  To be sure, there were positives out there for Concordia as well today.  Stellar free throw shooting was huge for the Cobbers on this day as they were 31-35 for 88.6% which is pretty solid.  The big one was the 17 turnovers for Augsburg and the fact that Concordia was able to cash in for 24 points off of those turnovers which was huge on this day.  The other thing that really stood out to me on this day from a Concordia standpoint was Snesrud.  She's really stepped up her all-around game and as I mentioned to Wagers and her staff afterward, she's just tough and that's something that the Cobbers desperately need right now.  One other item:  It was interesting to see Christianson get quality minutes out there on this day for Concordia and with fellow freshman guard Peyton Breidenbach out for an unspecified period of time after the injury she suffered at GAC last weekend, Wagers will need Christianson and others to step up.  

I really wasn't sure what to expect from Augsburg on this day with such a young team save for Manecke (5th year senior) and Cassidee Thorvig (senior).  But even with another L on the ledger, you do see potential for this squad and Doucette has some nice weapons to work with.  LaDuke has just grown her game so much and it doesn't matter whether she's out on the perimeter or down low.  She can do damage.  Ditto for the young sophomore, Gallagher, who's fitting in nicely with this team.  I think the big thing for the Auggies right now is that they've got to find some consistency which I know is not an easy thing for such a young team.  And they had there chances in this game.  The one big stat for them that stood out for me was from the charity stripe where Augsburg was 18-24 for a straight 75% which isn't terrible but you're still leaving some crucial points on the table that could have changed the complexion of this game at the very least.  

What a day it was for Concordia's Kahler as her 20 points not only led all scorers but paced a very-balanced Cobber attack on this day.  Sieben came up big in the second half of this contest and finished with 16 points.  The aforementioned Snesrud was pretty solid on the scoring front as well as she tallied 12 points while Anderson was her usual steady, solid, reliable self finishing with 11 points and just missing out on a double-double with nine rebounds.  Augsburg relied heavily on LaDuke's heroics and she responded with 19 points while both Bear and Gallagher finished with 14 points a piece.

Concordia vs GAC 12-7-24

 Made the trip down US Highway 169 and the Union Pacific's Mankato Sub mainline to St. Peter to catch this early season clash between visiting Concordia and host GAC.  I arrived early so I could enjoy a great lunch at the world-famous GAC Cafeteria (still the best food in the MIAC) and then got settled into Lund Arena to catch the second half of the men's game and get myself ready for the women's game.  The Cobbers have been on the skids as of late; dropping their last three games after a 3-0 start while the Gusties were coming into this contest with an unblemished 6-0 record.  So while GAC came into this game as a heavy favorite, they still had to guard against complacency.  

The Gusties would draw first blood in this contest as fifth-year senior forward Izzy (Izzy Izzy, you're making me dizzy) Quick would connect on a jumper from the right elbow area at the 9:36 mark of the opening period but right back came Concordia on its ensuing possession as strong senior forward Greta Tollefson buried a "3" from the right corner at the 9:17 mark to push the Cobbers out in front 3-2.  GAC would retake the lead a minute later at the 8:17 mark on a short jumper from the left side by senior point guard Kylie Baranick but the Gusties immediate fortunes seemed to take a hit a bit later at the 7:31 mark when fifth-year senior guard Syd Hauger collected her second foul of the afternoon and GAC Head Coach Laurie Kelly was not going to take any chances and quickly got her yanked to the bench.  This cat-and-mouse game would continue as the Cobbers regained the advantage on a pretty drive and finish by senior guard Jordyn Kahler to make it 5-4 but the Gusties would come right back as willowy fifth-year senior guard Emma (not evil) Kniefel would connect on a short jumper in the lane in transition at the 6:48 mark and also would get one free throw to go down after getting fouled at the 6:15 mark to put GAC out in front 7-5.  But right back came the Cobbers as Kahler would bang home a "3" from the right wing area at the 5:47 mark that had Concordia back out in front 8-7.  A bit later at the 5:16 mark, Kahler - the former Wahpeton, ND standout - connected with a jumper from the left wing area that pushed the Cobber lead to 10-7.  Not to be outdone, GAC would strike back as Kniefel connected with a short jumper off the glass off of an inbounds pass with 4:26 left and then senior reserve forward Morgan Kelly would knock down a short jumper off the glass with 3:09 left to put the Gusties out in front again by an 11-10 count.  Now it was time for Concordia to answer and they did as freshman reserve guard Peyton Breidenbach drained a "3" from the top of the key with 1:26 left as the Cobbers regained the advantage at 13-11.  Fittingly, GAC would get this game leveled at 13 a piece when sophomore reserve guard Emily Bowron connected on a lay-up with 1:15 left as this game morphed into the second period with a lot of questions left to be answered.  

The Gusties finally found some semblance of offensive efficiency once the second period got underway as a quick 6-0 push gave them a little bit of separation.  Strong senior forward Rachel Kawiecki muscled into the paint for one score at the 9:20 mark to put GAC out in front and a trademark steal and lay-up the other way by Kniefel at the 8:53 mark along with a pretty lay-up by sophomore reserve guard Kendyl Queensland at the 8:14 mark had the Gusties up 19-13.  Concordia quickly got things tightened up thanks to Kahler as she would knock down a jumper from the free throw line area at the 8:00 mark and would also get a pair of free throws to go down after getting fouled at the 7:23 mark to get back to within a single possession down 19-17.  The Gusties would once again attempt to open up some space as a short jumper off the glass by Kniefel at the 7:02 mark and one free throw by Morgan Kelly at the 5:48 mark gave GAC a bit more breathing room with a 22-17 lead but the Cobbers would come right back and get within a single possession again.  Breidenbach would connect on a pretty pull-up jumper in transition at the 5:00 mark to cut the deficit to three at 22-19 and an offensive rebound and putback by senior guard Carlee Sieben with 3:37 left kept Concordia in that three-point range down 24-21.  The Gusties' Kniefel would come up big a short time later on a lay-up by Kniefel that also drew a foul and the ensuing "and one" by the former Medford standout upped GAC's lead to 27-21.  Concordia would trim a point off of the deficit on one free throw by sophomore reserve guard Alexa Snesrud with :36.7 left when she was fouled and both teams would head for their locker rooms with the Gusties holding a 27-22 edge and it was arguably a glass half-full proposition for both sides.  Yes, you had the lead if you were GAC but there was a lot about this first half that just didn't seem "right" somehow.  And if you were Concordia, yes, your effort looked good and you were most definitely still in the thick of things but there were still opportunities and points left on the table that may have had you out in front had you converted on them.  

The Cobbers hopes definitely brightened in the early moments of the third period when Kahler drilled a "3" from the left wing area at the 8:27 mark that pulled them back to within a single possession down just 27-25 but that score may have been the wake-up call that GAC needed as they reeled off a 6-0 push.  Consecutive scores by Kawiecki - a short turnaround jumper from the right side at the 8:12 mark and a score in the paint at the 7:34 mark - pushed the Gustie lead to six at 31-25 and a short jumper in the lane by Quick at the 7:01 mark increased the lead to 33-25 and Concordia Head Coach Kim Wagers; perhaps seeing visions of what happened to her team on Wednesday night over at Bethel, called a thirty-second timeout to get her squad calmed down for two reasons:  (1) To try and get things tightened up again and (2) get them calmed down a bit as well because the heart and soul of this team; senior forward Makayla Anderson, went down with an apparent ankle injury at the 7:19 mark so the Cobbers were arguably dealing with a double whammy in a relatively short span of time.  Concordia would get a momentary reprieve when junior guard and three-point sharpshooter Taylor Safranski connected on a tough running jumper as the shot clock was expiring at the 6:01 mark that trimmed the deficit to six but then the Gusties would respond with a 9-0 push.  Quick would get on free throw to go down after getting fouled at the 5:41 mark and a lay-up by the always-reliable Baranick at the 5:25 mark had GAC up 36-27.  Then Kniefel would deliver one of her trademark dagger three-point bombs - this one coming from the left top area with 4:37 left that gave the Gusties their first double-digit advantage at 39-27.  If that wasn't bad enough for Concordia, they then had to watch the youngster Breidenbach go down with an apparent knee injury with 2:04 left and she had to be helped off the floor.  GAC's Quick would book-end this latest run by dropping a pair of freebies after getting fouled with :59 left to make it a 41-27 game and although the Cobbers got a score from Kahler when she snared an offensive rebound of her own miss and got a putback to go in with :23.5 left, it was about as nightmarish a third period for Concordia as you could imagine, not to mention they were on the wrong end of a 41-29 score.

The Cobbers would get a bit of a lift once the fourth period got underway as (1) Sieben would bury a "3" from the left wing area at the 9:45 mark and (2) Anderson was now back on the floor for Concordia as well.  The bad news was that there was still a lot of deficit to make up for and that would grow even more when the Gusties' Baranick uncorked a three-point bomb from the left top area at the 8:03 mark to make it 44-32.  The Cobbers would trim the deficit down to ten when Anderson connected with a short turnaround jumper at the 7:37 mark but at this point Concordia needed a sustained run with stops and they just couldn't get it.  GAC would continue to consolidate on its gains as Kniefel connected on a tough jumper along the right baseline at the 7:14 mark and one free throw by Queensland after she was fouled at the 6:27 mark gave the Gusties a 47-34 advantage.  Concordia's Tollefson would attempt to take matters into her own hands as she got one free throw to go down after getting fouled at the 5:29 mark and got a short turnaround jumper to go down as well as the shot clock was expiring with 3:14 left.  But again, not enough to significantly alter things significantly with the Cobbers still staring at a ten-point deficit at 47-37 with time now becoming a factor as well.  And now GAC was in position to put the finishing touches on this one which they did.  Hauger would knock down a pair of free throws after getting fouled with 2:56 left as would Kawiecki after she was fouled with 2:14 left.  Quick would put her mark on this game with a daring drive into traffic for a finish with 1:29 left and Kawiecki would get a lay-up off of an inbounds pass with :51.4 left.  Hauger's two free throws after she was fouled with :34.3 left would put the daisy on this one as the Gusties bagged a 57-42 victory.

When I was able to catch up with GAC's Laurie Kelly afterward, we were both in agreement that this wasn't what you would call a stellar offensive performance by the Gusties on the offensive end as there were struggles at time (but credit the Cobbers with some of that which I'll get to in a bit).  But whatever struggles they had at times, they made up for it on the defensive end.  "You can't have off-days on defense" Kelly said and she's absolutely spot-on with that assessment.  I think this game kind of exemplifies what makes GAC so good is that even if there are struggles in some aspects of their overall game, they can find ways to make up for that with their defense and today was no exception.  And I think what makes that possible is the great leadership that they have on the floor with three fifth-year seniors - Kniefel, Quick and Hauger.  Then you have seniors like Baranick, Kawiecki, and Morgan Kelly and from a pure leadership perspective, it just doesn't get much better than this.  Here's the other thing that I discussed with Kelly afterward as well.  I really like how the younger players are getting opportunities to grow and get experience as well and here I'm talking about players like Queensland, Bowron, sophomore forward Whitley Ronn and the new kid on the block, freshman guard Anna Goodman who could be the next big thing for the Gusties.  There's several other players who'll get their chance to prove themselves as well so things are definitely bright down in St. Peter.  The good news at the moment is that, on paper anyway, the short path to the first of the year isn't that taxing with St. Olaf and two teams out of the UMAC - Nortthwestern and Bethany Lutheran in the offing before GAC delves back into conference play in January.  

Meanwhile, another disappointing setback for Concordia but with much different overtones compared to this last Wednesday night.  First, I saw a MUCH-improved defensive effort from the Cobbers on this day and I think that effort played a big part in GAC shooting only 16-50 from FG range for 32% and 6-21 from behind the arc for 28.6% which together would normally put you in a much more favorable situation.  Just the overall energy - especially after the opening tip - was just so much better on this day and you saw how the Cobbers were getting into the passing lanes and causing a fair amount of disruption on a normally-potent Gustie offense.  Overall, many more positives on this day as compared to last Wednesday evening.  However, there's still some issues that Concordia has got to find a way to fix - most importantly taking care of the rock as the Cobbers were guilty of 24 turnovers on this day which is far too many against a team like GAC.  The Gusties had a slight overall rebounding edge at 28-25 which may or may not mean that much depending on your point of view.  However, the Gusties were able to get 20 points off of those Cobber turnovers and GAC also enjoyed a whopping 28-14 advantage in points in the paint.  Wagers and her staff have to feel some angst as well about the fact that Concordia didn't get to make much of a dent at the charity stripe on this day as they were 4-6 for 66.7%.  GAC can't be totally absolved here of transgressions either as the Gusties shot only 13-19 for 68.4% and Kelly and her staff certainly don't want that aspect to come back to bite them come February or March.  But from a Concordia perspective, you at least come away with a heckuva lot more positives from this game than you ever did this last Wednesday night.  And the good news for Wagers and her staff is that these issues can be worked on and fixed.  As I explained to Assistant Coaches Lauire Sieben and Terry Porter, when you play a team like GAC - especially on the road - your margin for error is so small that you almost need the "perfect" game; have almost the perfect "storm" to steal a game of this magnitude.  Two immediate concerns for Concordia right now are Anderson who aggravated an ankle sprain that she suffered a couple of weeks ago and Breidenbach who had ice on that knee after she came out of the locker room so let's keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best for both of them.     

Another stellar outing for GAC's Kniefel on this Saturday as she led her team - and all scorers - with her 19 points and she also got plenty of help from Kawiecki with her 10 points in a reasonably balanced offensive effort.  Quick may have struggled a bit at times on this day but when you look at the box score, it wasn't all doom and gloom for her as she finished with nine points and eight rebounds; just barely missing out on a double-double.  The Cobbers were paced by Kahler and her 16 points.  

Concordia vs Bethel 12-4-24

 Made the short run over to Robertson Center on the campus of Bethel University on this frigid early December evening for my very first game coverage of the 2024-25 season - and a critical early season clash between visiting Concordia and host Bethel.  The Cobbers; after a strong 3-0 start, suddenly and inexplicably hit the skids as they followed that up with road losses to both UW-River Falls and UW-La Crosse.  The Royals meanwhile were coming into this contest on relatively stable footing having dropped only one contest to aforementioned UW-La Crosse team.  I personally felt coming into this game that this was for all practical purposes a MUST win for Concordia if they wanted to re-establish themselves as a conference front-runner but also vitally important for Bethel as well as they were looking to climb back into contender status.  But the urgency of the situation for the Cobbers seemed to be the main headline for me coming into this contest and I felt like they had to set the tone early on.

Unfortunately for Concordia, it was the Royals who came out with the hot hand from the opening tip-off.  Junior guard Colette Duininck drove in (virtually unguarded) for an easy lay-up at the 9:48 mark of the opening period that got Bethel on the board and an offensive rebound for a putback by fifth-year senior Lydia Hay at the 9:16 mark and a lay-up by senior combo guard/forward Elly Schmitz at the 8:23 mark had they Royals on top 6-0.  To their credit, the Cobbers came back with a 8-0 run of their own.  Senior guard Jordyn Kahler would connect with a lay-up at the 7:20 mark and fellow senior forward Makayla Anderson would follow that up with a lay-up of her own at the 5:37 mark.  Junior reserve guard Molly Musland would get a tricky lay-up to go down with 4:16 left as the shot clock was expiring that leveled this game at six a piece.  Concordia would finally poke its nose out in front with 3:41 left when sophomore reserve guard Peyton Breidenbach knocked down a pair of free throws after getting fouled with 3:41 left to make it an 8-6 ballgame The Royals would retake the lead as fifth-year senior guard Anna Garfield would snare an offensive rebound for a putback with 3:32 left and would also knock down a pair of free throws after getting fouled in a transition opportunity with 3:16 left that gave Bethel a 10-8 advantage.  The Cobbers would again get this game on even terms as Musland would connect on a mid-range jumper from near the left elbow area with 2:54 left that had this game tied at 10 a piece and Concordia would eventually regain the lead at 12-11 when lanky sophomore reserve post Maci Wheeldon got a short, turnaround jumper to go down with 1:49 left.  But the Royals would own a one-point lead when slender junior reserve forward Ali Born snared a steal in the backcourt and got a lay-up out of it with :17 left to make it a 13-12 game as this one transitioned to the second period.

The Cobbers prospects definitely appeared to brighten when junior guard and three-point specialist Taylor Safranski drained a three-point bomb from the right top area at the 9:22 mark of the second period to put Concordia back on top by a 15-13 count but it was here where things first started to turn sour for Concordia as the Royals unleashed an 11-0 run that really turned this game around for Bethel.  Two scores in the paint by Schmitz - one at the 9:05 mark and again at the 8:32 mark - put the Royals back on top by a 17-15 count and although that alone wasn't that alarming for the Fargo-Moorhead crew, spirits definitely plummeted when Anderson; their primary anchor down low, picked up her second foul at the 8:12 mark on a charging call and Concordia Head Coach Kim Wagers wasn't in the mood to take any chances and she quickly yanked the former Bismarck Century standout to the bench for preservation purposes.  That's when the floodgates seemed to open up and Bethel took full advantage.  Sophomore reserve forward Cally Peterson slithered iinto the paint for one score at the 6:38 mark and then Duininck; the diminutive former Central Minnesota Christian standout, buried a "3" from the left wing area at the 5:57 mark to make it a 22-15 game.  Schmitz would cap this run at the 5:08 mark with her offensive rebound for a putback to make it 24-15 before the Cobbers could tighten this one up.  Wheeldon would connect on a lay-up attempt with 4:54 left and then senior point guard Carlee Sieben would finally get untracked and bury a "3" from the right top area with 1:28 left that made things a bit more manageable down 24-20.  Bethel would get its lead back to six on two occasions coming down the stretch as sophomore reserve forward Emily Erickson would snare an offensive rebound for a putback with 1:10 left and Born would make a daring drive into the lane for a finish with :42 left to give the Royals a 28-22 lead.  Concordia would get the deficit trimmed down to four again when Sieben made an almost-impossible score in the paint with just :02 left and although down only 28-24 - hardly an insurmountable deficit - it seemed larger than that because so much of the momentum was on Bethel's side.  Furthermore, the Cobbers were having all sorts of problems with Bethel's pressure defense and it had definitely taken Concordia out of its comfort zone.

The Royals would again push their lead to six when Hay; the former CSB and Wayzata standout, connected with a lay-up at the 9:34 mark of the third period but Concordia again appeared to stabilize things when Anderson would connect with a lay-up of her own at the 8:17 mark that also drew a foul and her ensuing "and one" had the Cobbers in decent shape down just 30-27.  But it was here where things once again fell apart for Concordia.  First, Kahler would pick up her third and fourth foul of the evening in succession - at the 7:24 mark and at the 7:06 mark - that forced Wagers to yank the former Wahpeton, ND standout and then Bethel would launch an 11-2 burst that put the Cobbers behind the 8-ball.  Schmitz would start things off with a routine score in the paint at the 6:26 mark and then Erickson would connect on a lay-up attempt at the 5:48 mark to make it 34-29.  Then sophomore reserve guard Macey Littlefield would bang home a "3" from the right wing area at the 5:07 mark and Erickson would follow that up with a score in the paint with 4:43 left that gave the Royals a ten-point cushion up 39-29 and Concordia's Wagers had seen more than enough to know that it was time to take a match to a timeout in hopes of getting her squad settled down.  Bethel would cap this run on a lay-up in transition with 2:09 left by Garfield before the Cobbers finally stopped some of the massive bleeding on a three-point bomb by junior reserve guard Taya Jeffrey from the left top area with :56.4 left but the damage had been done and down 41-32, Concordia was going to have to find some solutions - and quickly - if they were going to come back in this one.

The Cobbers would try once again to find tractive effort once the fourth period got underway as Safranski; the former Fargo Davies standout, connected with a jumper from the left elbow area at the 9:43 mark that cut the deficit down to seven at 41-34 with seemingly plenty of time left but the way things played out the rest of the way, it seemed like it was two steps forward and one step back proposition for Concordia as Kahler would collect her fifth and final foul of the evening at the 9:14 mark that sent her to the bench for good.  Then the Royals' Duininck would bang home a "3" from the top of the key at the 8:26 mark to re-establish the double-digit advantage at 44-34 before Concordia could try and peck away again.  Safranski would knock down a short jumper at the 7:26 mark and then Anderson would muscle into the paint for another score at the 6:41 mark that at least provided a ray of hope down 44-38 but the Cobbers could never get any closer as Bethel kept shutting off the valve.  Schmitz would knock down a pair of freebies after getting fouled at the 6:25 mark and Erickson would add a score in the paint to make it a ten-point game at 48-38 and an offensive rebound and putback by Born with 4:44 left maintained this ten-point cushion at 50-40.  Concordia would get a bit of a reprieve when Sieben drained a three-point bomb from the left wing area with 4:20 left but the Cobbers simply could not sustain any meaningful comeback attempt as Bethel was now in the process of putting the finishing touches on this one.  Erickson would snare an offensive rebound for a putback with 3:56 left and draw a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" got the lead back to ten at 53-43 and Born would grab an offensive rebound for a putback as well with 3:02 left to make it a 55-46 game.  Schmitz would make her mark on this game by doing most of the damage the rest of the way for the Royals with two free throws after getting fouled with 2:18 left and an offensive rebound for a putback with :56 left.  Pairs of free throws by Schmitz with :42.2 and :34.8 left helped Bethel get an important early season 63-50 conference win under its belt when the final buzzer sounded.

I was able to catch up with Bethel Head Coach Jon Herbrechtsmeyer; on crutches because of recent knee surgery but that didn't hold him or his team back on this night and he was very happy with his squad after this win.  I had spoken with him over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend at the Pat Patterson Girls HS Tournament over at Hamline and he even told me then that his squad was significantly far ahead from where it was a season ago.  I mentioned to him from the get-go when I caught up with him after the game that this was the trademark Bethel defense that the rest of MIAC Women's Basketball has come to know and hate with a passion unbridled and it was incredibly efficient on this night.  His only disappointment thus far?  The loss at UW-La Crosse back in mid-November.  "I got after them after that game" he remarked.  And it's obvious that they've responded as this win over the Cobbers is their third straight after that setback.  I know it's early in the season (early December) and perhaps we need to see more of this team to get a better "feel" for them but after seeing them on this night, it's clear to me that I obviously undervalued them when I came out with my MIAC picks a while back.  I think I had reason to at the time......I stand by what I said that they had the most to prove of the rest of the contenders in the MIAC but they're already showing a night and day difference from last year's team.  You look at their roster and then you watch them in action on the court, the first thing that strikes you is just how darned big they are.  Schmitz, Born, and Hay at 6;0" and Erickson at 5' 10" can help give you a solid frontline no matter what combination Herbrechtsmeyer decides to go with.  And this backcourt is vastly improved as well with Duininck now an experienced junior backed up by the sophomore Littlefield.  And we know their identity - playing that classic Bethel defense that can trap and smother you to death and create an array of scoring opportunities on the other end.  I think they have a little way to go before one could say that they're back on the same level that the 2020 squad was but they're well on their way to getting there I think. 

Meanwhile, on the Concordia side of things, if there was ever a time for a team to sit down in the front of the proverbial mirror and do some serious soul-searching, this would be it.  I'll be honest with you:  I was just shocked at how disheveled and befuddled the Cobbers looked on this night as they simply had few - if any - answers for what Bethel threw at them.  I mean, all you need to do is look at the final box score on this one and when you do, I guarantee that it will not be pretty.  Consider:  Bethel with a whopping 42-24 advantage on points in the paint.  23 (twenty-three!!!!) turnovers.  Bethel with a 25-13 advantage in those all-important second-chance points.  Bethel with an 11-4 advantage in fast-break points and a 26-18 advantage in bench points.  I mean, there's your ballgame right there folks.  True, the Cobbers were 12-13 from the charity stripe for 92.3% which is pretty damn good but that means little when all these other stats that I've outlined here are way out of whack for you.  But it was more than that.  Defensive lapses including uncontested lay-ups, failure to box out and just plain mental toughness that simply wasn't there on this night not to mention the lack of a sense of urgency.  I don't want to sound too harsh here but that's what the eye test was telling me on this night.  Even Wagers admitted afterward when I spoke with her that this team does not handle the physicality aspect of other teams well right now and we know that's something that must improve.  I think, just as important, this team is still searching for an identity for itself and it's a struggle when you don't have that identity - whatever that may be.  And the real daunting aspect is the road ahead which includes a roadie at defending MIAC Champion GAC on Saturday; not to mention the Transylvania tournament right before the first of the year where they'll square off with powerhouse Washington & Lee out of the ODAC in their opening game.  In short, the Cobbers have got to figure out some things and they've got to figure them out pretty danged soon.  I think this team is capable of doing just that but time is of the essence.

What a night it was for Schmitz as she led the team (and all scorers) on this night with her 19 points and just missed out on a double-double with her nine rebounds.  She got plenty of help on this night as well but what's somewhat surprising is that it was Erickson - the sophomore reserve - pouring 13 points that helped bolster the Bethel attack.  Sieben led the way for the Cobbers with her 12 points and Anderson was right behind with 11 points.           
  

MIAC Predictions For The 2024-25 Season

 Hard to believe that it's time to dust off this blog and lay out my picks for another season that just got underway this last weekend.  Am still very much immersed in the ups and downs of both my LA Rams and UCLA Bruins this fall but another exciting season is underway and there's a lot of interesting storylines out there this year.  So let's have at it!  

Title Contenders:

1.  GAC

2.  Concordia

No big surprise here that the two big guns from the last two seasons find themselves in familiar roles once again.  And it's no big surprise that the Gusties are once again hands-down favorites to win the MIAC for a fourth straight year.  And the primary reason for that is that you essentially have all the primary pieces from the last few years that make this team fly as high as they do with three fifth-year seniors - willowy combo guard/forward Emma (not evil) Kniefel, guard Syd Hauger and strong forward Izzy (Izzy Izzy, you're making me dizzy) Quick.  Mix in senior point guard Kylie Baranick, senior combo forward/post Morgan Kelly and senior forward/post Rachel Kawiecki and it's easy to see why  hopes and expectations are high down in St. Peter - as they should be.  But the quality of players certainly doesn't end there as Head Coach Laurie Kelly has an abundance of youngsters ready to step up at any given moment and two that stand out to me are junior guard Bobbie Bruns and sophomore guard Kendyl Queensland.  It's just a talent-rich squad that has seemingly everything going for it.  At the same time, we saw how this last season ended for them in a wild and excruciatingly disappointing fashion and you have to wonder if the pressure sometimes to make up for all that with a deep run might be a bit too much at times.  Perhaps but when you look at GAC's early portion of their schedule, they're certainly not backing down from anyone.  They've already claimed two wins over WIAC teams from this last weekend (UW-La Crosse and UW-Eau Claire) and coming up Thursday night this week is another big test - at UW-Stout which made a deep run of its own in the Dance this last season.  Then the following week they'll hop across the St. Croix River to take on always-dangerous UW-River Falls.  So there's little question that GAC is taking full advantage of the openings offered with a revised conference schedule to strengthen that SOS and that's definitely a good thing.  And even if they come away with all that with just one dent, it won't be that big of a deal.  They'll be fine and until someone knocks them off in the MIAC Championship Game, they're obviously still the team to beat, IMHO. 

Concordia meanwhile got an invite to the Promised Land this last season and in her sixth season at the helm of the Cobber program, Head Coach Kim Wagers and her staff are looking to build on this accomplishment and develop a solid base.  True, Concordia lost two big pieces from last year's team to graduation that went 20-6 and lost in the 1st round of the Dance this last season - Emily Beseman and Maddie Guler - but they do have the nucleus from last year's team returning along with some exciting newcomers.  Leading the way for Concordia this time around will be senior forward/post Makayla Anderson who grew her game by leaps and bounds last season and what's scary is that she'll likely be even better this season.  And her primary helpers are pretty solid in senior guard Carlee Sieben, fellow senior guard Jordyn Kahler and fellow senior forward Greta Tollefson.  Then you have a ton of experience providing help on both ends of the floor in junior guards Molly Musland and Taylor Safranski along with junior guard Taya Jeffrey who transferred in from Jamestown.  But perhaps the most intriguing - and exciting - aspect of this team are the sophomores and freshmen that Wagers now has on the squad.  We saw this last season what an impact that sophomore forward Genevieve Gruba had on this team and I suspect that sophomore post Maci Wheeldon is gradually being groomed to eventually hold down the spot currently occupied by the aforementioned Anderson.  Sophomore guard Alexa Snesrud got some quality minutes last season as well.  But there's a lot of new names on this roster that I don't recognize off the top of my head but whoever they are, they've definitely got some good length.  Ironically, Concordia starts its season tonight with a trip to UM-Morris and follow that up with a very interesting home game on Friday night against Providence - Manitoba.  But the real test comes the following two weeks as the Cobbers take full advantage of the extra slots for non-conference games by visiting UW-Stout on 11-23, UW-River Falls on 11-26 and at UW-La Crosse on 11-30.  Assuming that the Cobbers get through the first two games with relatively easy wins (they should), I think they'll have to get through that Wisconsin slate getting two out of three (which ain't bad) only because we've seen that it's taken the Cobbers a while before they hit their stride the last two seasons and when you consider the fact that their first two MIAC games are at Bethel and at GAC, they'll have little margin for error.

Circling Around The 3 & 4 Spots:

3.  St. Kate's

4.  Bethel

5.  Hamline

6.  CSB

What a season it was for Head Coach Don Mulhern and his St. Kate's Wildcats as they finished with the best record in program history last season by going 19-8 overall and 13-6 in conference play and making it to the semifinals in the MIAC Playoffs where they finally fell to Concordia.  The 'Cats did lose a big piece of last year's team to graduation in Karis Zezza but the other key pieces for this team are back.  The Wildcats will most likely lean heavily on the three-point prowess of senior forward Greta Schimnowski who can drain them from anywhere.  Helping her out will be lanky junior forward Emme Golembiewski who will undoubtedly be a force on the boards this season.  Then you've got a solid backcourt with senior guard Rachel Randleman who is arguably the glue on this team and junior Kaylee Miron inherits the point guard spot.  But the real exciting piece on Mulhern's squad is (now) sophomore Hattie Fox who made quite a splash on the MIAC Women's Basketball front last season and is poised to do even bigger things this time around.  Junior guard Maddie Young and sophomore forward Lily Peper will be important pieces coming off the bench and I would suspect that senior guard Maddy Manger will play a much more prominent role in the rotation off the bench as well with her experience.  The Wildcats dropped a pair of games this last weekend out in the Motherland (Redlands and Chapman) but have a huge non-conference game coming up Saturday 11-16 when they host UW-River Falls.  I like the Wildcats chances of getting that third playoff spot again this year but they have to stay relatively healthy in the process and they have to know that the competition will be just as tough (if not tougher) this time around.

Looking to make up for the last few years of disappointments is Bethel and Head Coach Jon Herbrechtsmeyer's team appears primed to make amends.  The Royals will be led by fifth-year senior guard Anna Garfield and she'll have plenty of help from senior combo guard/forward Elly Schmitz.  Junior forward Alli Born and sophomore forward Emily Erickson provide much-needed length down low but the real interesting addition to this team is fifth-year senior Lydia Hay who transferred in from CSB.  Sophomore guard Macey Littlefield and junior combo guard/forward Rosalie Penke should provide major contributions off the bench.  Bethel grabbed a pair of dubs this last weekend beating Greenville and then Westminster; a good start out of the gate for the Royals.  They take a trip down to UW-La Crosse on Friday where you'd have to think that they'll be tested much more.  Just from judging what they have this time around, Bethel should be good enough to at least get the fourth spot but also know and understand that given how the last few seasons have gone for the Royals, they also have the most to prove in my mind.

Down the road on Snelling Avenue are those always-tricky Hamline Pipers and Head Coach Josh Hersch is looking to take yet another step upward in an ultra-competitive MIAC.  We all know that the Pipers lost two big pieces from last year's team in Michaela Stamer and all-world Lydia Lecher.  This time around, the Pipers will lean heavily on senior point guard Kate Trachsel and junior guard Camille Cummings who can torch opponents from three-point land.  Junior combo guard/forward Sophie Stork is solid on both ends of the floor and sophomore combo guard/forward Anna Rynkiewich appears to be a pretty good up and comer for Hersch and his staff.  We all know that Hamline's bread and butter is the up-tempo style and Hersch has the players who love to play that kind of game.  What we don't know is if Hamline can make meaningful strides on defense and if they can find some consistency as well.  Those two items seem to be what's been holding Hamline back from taking that proverbial next step and we saw that Hamline split a pair of games this last weekend.  Still, there's just way too much talent here to discount this team too much and if they can get some things to go their way on the road, they could be right in the thick of things.

It seems as if you can always count on CSB being a major player in the MIAC Playoff race and this year's team is certainly no exception.  Head Coach Mike Durbin has another very talented - but young - roster.  Durbin and his staff will be counting heavily on senior guard Sophia Jonas to lead the way this season; especially now since fellow senior forward Morgan Chmielewski went down with an unfortunate ACL injury in an open gym practice early this fall.  And when you consider that the Bennies lost three players to graduation - Carla Meyer, Morgan Ebel and Lydia Hay (now at Bethel), it only exacerbates the season-ending injury that Chmielewski suffered.  Still, it's not all gloom and doom up in St. Joe as Durbin and his staff still have solid options with senior combo guard/forward Olivia Boily and junior guard Megan Morgan rounding out what should still be a pretty solid starting lineup.  The big challenge for Durbin and his staff will be developing the younger talent that he has and hoping that they can make solid contributions sooner rather than later.  The Bennies had to settle for a split this last weekend; drubbing UM-Morris but then dropping a tough decision to UW-River Falls.  Whether or not that will tell a tale of how this season will go for CSB is unclear at the moment but it at least underscores the importance of Durbin and his staff developing the younger players on his squad.

Lurking Right Behind:

7.  Carleton

8.  St. Scholastica

After having to unfortunately cancel last year's season, Head Coach Tammy Metcalf-Filzen and her Carleton Knights are back in full force this time around.  I guess you could say that the Knights are easily the biggest mystery team in the MIAC.  You've got three seniors (guard Nayeli Williams, guard Selma Vangstein and forward Bella Thomas) three juniors and a bunch of sophomores and freshmen.  And I don't think anyone is expecting the earth, moon and the stars to come with this team just yet.  But if there's one thing we know about Carleton teams coached by Metcalf-Filzen, they always play tough and they rarely beat themselves and can be your worst nightmare on any given night.  

The team to keep your eye on this season just may be St. Scholastica.  The Saints didn't lose anyone to graduation last year and, after a rough first year in MIAC play, they improved to 10-14 overall and 7-13 in conference play last season and they may be ready to take another step forward this time around.  The Saints will be led by junior guard Lexi Imdieke and sophomore combo guard/forward Hope Carlson should take her game a step further this season.  Again, the big challenge for Head Coach Jason Schmitz will be developing the younger talent on this team and hoping that the benefits will come sooner rather than later.  While I don't think this team is quite ready to be a prime time player in the MIAC Playoff race just yet, that's certainly not to say that they can't be somewhere down the road.  

Bringing Up The Rear:

9.  Macalester

10.  Augsburg

11.  St. Olaf

12.  SMU

Macalester is still a little tough to figure out.  There's a part of me that thinks that maybe they should be higher but I just don't know so I'm taking the safe route here.  In any event, Head Coach Katie Kollar has been hitting the recruiting trail hard and has a pretty solid roster in her pocket that features senior combo guard/forward Peyton Starks and fellow senior guards Jessica Sabbagh and Nicole Norton.  The Scots are a lot like Carleton in many respects because they play smart and they don't beat themselves but whether or not they can make a significant jump in the MIAC standings has thus far proven to be a bridge too far.  

Mallie Doucette takes over the reigns at Augsburg and the cupboard there certainly isn't bare by any stretch.  Doucette will rely on fifth-year senior Katie Manecke for not only leadership but scoring and defense as well.  The Auggies should also get significant contributions from junior guard Wakinyela Bear, fellow junior guard Melanie Delestrez and fellow junior forward Amira LaDuke for scoring punch.  Junior post Emma Kranz out of Iowa Lakes Community College will be a welcome addition for Doucette and her staff to patrol the area down low. 

There's also a new sheriff on the west side of Northfield these days as well with Megan Lueck assuming command at St. Olaf.  Lueck and her staff do have a nice senior class to lead the Oles this season:  guard Ziling Zhen, combo guard/forward Paige Yagodinski, guard Sarah Tangen and forward Sophia Kormann.  What we don't know a lot about are the young ones on this team and that ultimately will be the challenge for Lueck and her staff this season - providing reliable depth off the bench.  

Not to be outdone, there's also been a leadership change down in Winona as Courtney Shelton assumes the reigns at SMU.  Save for senior guard Maggie Newhouse and senior forward Alyssa Coleman, the Cardinals will be very young this season and SMU fans have to be patient with Shelton as she tries to grow the tree.  

So there you have it.  I'm definitely looking forward to another season and I know you all are too!  As always, feel free to fire away with thoughts.    

CSB Practice 10-17-24

 Made my way up US Highway 10 and the BNSF Staples Sub mainline on this sunny but windy and dusty day to St. Cloud and over to nearby St. Joseph to the campus of CSB to take in this early season practice by the Bennies.  I got there in plenty of time into the parking lot on the east side of Claire Lynch Hall and started walking toward the building when, lo and behold, I happened to catch up with one of the CSB players; senior Morgan Chmielewski who was wearing a black cast on her left leg and when I asked what happened, she didn't hesitate to give me the bad news - ACL - that she suffered on the first open gym earlier this semester and had the surgery a mere four weeks ago.  There's nothing worse than seeing an athlete have to suffer an injury and especially one like this as the road to recovery is frustrating and long.  Nonetheless, I had a very nice conversation with her as we walked into Claire Lynch and made our way downstairs where we eventually caught up with CSB Head Coach Mike Durbin who half-jokingly asked me if I had any miracle cures for Ms. Chmielewski's unfortunate ACL injury setback.  I had to reply in the negative but sure wish that I did.  

The first order of the day was a team meeting in the team room downstairs that Durbin and his staff graciously invited me to sit in.  After Durbin went over a few details for the team with regards to faculty letters and other details, Assistant Coach Rick Canton then made a presentation on the difference between working hard and competing and it was really interesting to watch and listen to.  As someone who played tennis competitively for a long time (my body can vouch for that, thank you), I had to learn the difference and I had to learn mental toughness as well and it was something that took me a while to really learn and understand because when I was in high school and playing a lot of tournaments, I really had issues with mental toughness and I really had to work on it and it wasn't until I was an adult that I finally started making strides with that but it was still something that I had to work on constantly.  It's the same deal for basketball players in college too because when you walk into a hostile environment, you've got to learn how to handle pressure situations against a tough opponent and inevitably, you're going to run into those situations.  And it's something that you're going to have to work on constantly.  Props to Coach Canton on that solid presentation.  

Once the team hits the floor, Durbin and the coaching staff has the team go through various warm-up and stretching drill to get ready for this evening's practice.  Former CSB standout and now Assistant Coach Alison Kendall leads the squad through their first important drill of the day as each player has two basketballs.  The first objective is to bounce both balls low but hard as you work across the floor.  It then gets modified to bouncing the ball higher as you work across the floor.  But Kendall is far from finished from challenging the squad as the next part of the drill has each player working across the court while bouncing each ball alternately.  Then, to complicate things further, Kendall has each player keep the alternate bounce and then switch each ball to the other hand.  Then, Kendall has each player bounce the ball alternately working across the floor and then bounce one of the balls behind their back.  Trust me when I tell you, it's not as easy as one might think.  

Next, Durbin has the team split into two groups on each side of the court where he has both groups work on a 5-on-0 "shell" drill to simulate proper offensive movement in the half court and setting proper screens.

The next drill is entitled "Mid-range Off D-Man (tempo)".  Here, Durbin has two dummy-like plastic poles (can't remember the exact name of them) with outstretch hands on them on each end of the floor.  You then have players coming off the side of the arc and they get fed a ball and they have to make a move around these dummy defensive poles and make a requisite number of lay-ups, mid-range jumpbers and then three-point shots.

Next is "Warrior 33-Corner 3".  Here, you have players coming off the side of the arc and they get fed a ball and then players have to make a requisite number of lay-ups, jumpers from the elbow/free throw line area and then three-point shots.

Next is an odd kind of drill called "3 vs 3 Pass To Corner/Close/Slot Drive".  It's odd because it initially looks like a 3-on-0 "shell" drill from the center court line but once the top player passes the ball to a teammate, she then has to immediately go over and defend her and it becomes a 2-on-1 drill.  Durbin has the team split into two groups for this.  

Next, Coach Canton brings the defensive aspect to center stage.  As the team is once again split into two groups, you have two players on each side of the basket and a defender comes off the baseline to defend.  Canton modifies this drill where players have to dribble the entire length of the floor with a defender on them.  With the team still in two groups, Canton also has each group do a 3-on-3 drill to work on defense around the perimeter area and proper switching.  A bit later, Canton switches this up to make it a 4-on-4 drill that makes things a bit more complicated.

Assistant Coach Steve Howe-Veenstra talks to the team about the jump-stop aspect and the three options a player has on the jump-stop:  (1) shoot (2) pass and (3) fake.

Then Coach Canton has the team do a full-court 5-on-0 "shell" drill to work on proper movement and passing in transition opportunities.  A bit later, he makes it a full-court 5-on-5 situation to see if the team is practicing what he's preaching.  

A bit later, Durbin has the team do some 5-on-5 half-court work in hopes of find-tuning a few things such as screening.  Then Durbin returns to the full-court 5-on-5 to see what things look like after the fine-tuning.  

Finally, to wrap up this evening, Durbin has the team gather around cetner court for a talk before calling it a night but several players stick around afterward to do some free-throw shooting.  

Outtakes:  As one can tell by looking at the CSB roster, this is an incredibly young roster with only two seniors - Chmielewski and Sophie Jonas.  And with Chmielewski out for the season with the ACL injury, that's a huge loss.  And that's not even talking about trying to replace three great seniors from last year's team who have now graduated - Carla Meyer, Morgan Ebel and Lydia Hay.  Still, with Jonas, fellow senior Olivia Boily and junior Megan Morgan, the Bennies still have an array of weapons and I have to figure that they'll ultimately be one of the four teams circling around like a buzzard with their eye on the 3rd place slot behind the first two teams (and we know who they are).  The big question then obviously is how quickly Durbin and his staff can bring the young ones along.  And Durbin certainly has some good ones.  Talking to him and his staff after practice, he sang praises about freshman Alyssa Sadlovsky out of Pierz whom he think will do big things..........You look at the schedule and you see either opportunity or a lawn full of thistles.  They start things off at home with UM-Morris out of the UMAC on Saturday 11-9 and then face UW-River Falls out of the WIAC the next day on Sunday 11-10.  On Wednesday 11-20, the Bennies travel to UW-Eau Claire out of the WIAC and then on Thanksgiving weekend, CSB makes a trip down the CPKC River Sub mainline down to La Crosse, WI where they'll take on Simpson out of the ARC on Saturday 11-30 and then face off against host UW-La Crosse the next day on Sunday 12-1.  Then the Bennies delve into MIAC play; hosting St. Olaf on 12-4 and Carleton on 12-7 before a return trip down the River to Winona to take on SMU - all three games winnable on paper anyway.  In mid-December, CSB will pack their summer gear and sunshades and sunblock and head to Puerto Rico where they'll face Caltech out of the SCIAC on 12-16 and then John Carroll out of the OAC on 12-17 before getting into the meat of MIAC play after the first of the year.  So obviously it will be important for CSB to take care of business where they're supposed to to avoid getting behind the proverbial 8-ball come early January.  

St. Kate's Practice 10-16-24

 Made my way over to the St Paul side of town on this pleasant October afternoon to take in one of the opening practices of the St. Kate's team.  I arrived at Butler Center shortly after 3:00 PM which gave me some time to catch up with Head Coach Don Mulhern who was in his office along with sophomore sensation Hattie Fox who played a huge role as a freshman last season in helping the Wildcats to there best record so far in program history at 19-8.  After some good conversation, I then headed upstairs to the Butler Center Gymnasium where players were already getting a good shoot-around in preparation for today's practice.  I also was able to catch up with Assistant Coach Geno Bullard who was upstairs as well.

After Bullard leads the team through various stretching and warm-up exercises to prepare for this practice, Mulhern has the team split into groups of three where each group does a 5-on-0 "shell" drill to simulate correct movement on offense and to set screens properly.

The next drill Mulhern has his team do is an interesting one entitled "1 2 Mabel Boston" (don't ask this former competitive tennis player what that means because I have NO clue).  Here, you have two offensive players at each elbow area and two more at the low ends.  Then you have a player inbounding the ball.  The idea here seems to be to have the two players down low come up and set screens for the two players on the elbow areas.  Mulhern again has his team split into three groups to do this and adds variations to the drill as necessary.  Things get somewhat more complicated when Mulhern adds five defenders to make this whole thing a bit more realistic.  

The next drill Mulhern has his team do is one that I've seen and heard of before - "Kentucky Shooting".  Best put, it's a pressure shooting drill and Mulhern has the team split into two groups.  Here, three players do a variety of lay-ups to start with and have to make a requisite number of them before they can move onto the next level which is short/medium-range jumpers from the elbow or free throw line areas.  Then, after a requisite number of shots are made from that area, then players graduate to three-point land where things obviously become a bit tougher.  

The next drill is called "Perimeter Post Breakdown" where the team is split into two groups and is a 4-on-4 half-court drill.  The idea here seems to be to force the ball out to the perimeter and deny the entry pass to the post player(s) down low.

Next, Mulhern again has the team split into two groups to do some 3-on-3 work with the emphasis appearing to be defensive pressure and correct switching.  A bit later with the team still in two groups, Coach Bullard has one group work on various dribbling drills and then they work on lay-ups as Bullard has one of those big pads to simulate contact by a defensive player down low.  Assistant Coach Paul Richie meanwhile has the other group work on post play and he, too, uses one of those big pads to simulate contact from a defensive player down low.

After Mulhern has the team do some 4-on-4 work with the emphasis being applying full- and half-court pressure, the next big drill is call the "Run & Jump Box & Diamond Drill".  This is a 5-on-5 situation with the defense near the center court area while the offensive players are closer to the basket.  In this drill, Mulhern throws the ball off the board for the (new) offensive team to rebound and head downcourt where they'll face the defensive players.  The goal here is to have the defensive team initiate half-court pressure and make things difficult for the offensive team to get set up in their half-court offense.  

Before this day is through, Mulhern has the team in a 5-on-5 half-court situation to work on some of the fine points they were working on earlier and put those into action.  At the end, Mulhern has the team at center court for one last talk before they call it a day.

Outtakes:  When I had some time to speak with Mulhern alone, I asked him how he felt about this upcoming season and he said, "We're fired up!"  And they should be considering the fact that the Wildcats are coming off their best season in program history with 19 wins and a third place finish in the MIAC regular season standings.  True, they lose last year's starting point guard and vocal lead Karis Zezza to graduation and I was surprised not to see Sydney Elliott on the team for her senior season.  However, the rest of the pieces from last year's team are back and healthy and seemingly ready-to-go.  The 'Cats will be led by lanky senior forward Greta Schimnowski who can unleash terror from behind the arc and also provide a lot of rebounding help.  Another player with a lot of length is junior Emme Golembiewski who really started coming into her own last season and is poised for a big year this season.  Senior Rachel Randleman is a very versatile player on both ends of the floor and arguably is the "glue" that holds this team together.  Junior Kaylee Miron looks to be the heir apparent at the coveted point guard position vacated by Zezza's graduation.  Don't let her 5'6" size fool you.  She's one of the toughest and grittiest players in the MIAC.  Then, of course, there's last year's freshman sensation - now sophomore - Fox who brings so much to the table and is so coachable per Mulhern.  And she's only going to be better this year.  Mulhern also seems pleased with his depth and that'll be important for the 'Cats this season if they hope to take that proverbial next step forward........The Wildcats schedule this season is an interesting one as they venture out west to the Motherland (aka California) to take on two SCIAC teams:  Redlands for the season opener on 11-8 and then Chapman the next day (11-9) in Orange County.  The next weekend, St. Kate's is back home in the comfy confines of Butler Center taking on UW-River Falls out of the WIAC on Saturday 11-16 and a few days later on 11-20, Martin Luther out of the UMAC will pay a visit.  Then on Saturday 11-23, the Wildcats will venture to the frigid shores of Gitche Gumee to take on Mulhern's old employer, UW-Superior.  Three MIAC games next (at Bethel, at SMU and hosting St. Olaf).  Right after the Christmas break, the 'Cats will pay a visit to Storm Lake, IA to take on Buena Vista out of the ARC and then hurry back home for a New Year's Eve afternoon tilt with UM-Morris out of the UMAC.  It'll be important for St. Kate's to come out of this early stretch with as few nicks as possible as their first two conference games after the first of the year are - gulp - GAC at home and then Concordia up in Moorhead.      

Anoka-Ramsey Practice 10-15-24

 Made my way up to Coon Rapids yesterday afternoon to a place I hadn't been to in a while - Anoka-Ramsey Community College - to cover the Anoka-Ramsey team's practice on this sunny but cool October afternoon.  I was able to catch up with Head Coach Samantha Doucette shortly upon my arrival and she's very excited and upbeat about the new season ahead.  The Golden Rams actually have some in-game experience already as they participated in the ICCAC JUCO Jam back in my home state of Iowa earlier this month where the team went 1-2.  Though far from being a barometer for how the team will perform this season, it gave Doucette a bit more vision as to where her squad is at and what they need to work on and improve.

After the team does various stretching and movement exercises to get themselves loosened up and ready to go on this Tuesday afternoon, Doucette has the team at the baseline for the first drill of the day where you have groups of three players come out and they have to make a requisite number of easy lay-ups in order to progress to the next level which is knocking down short/medium-range jumpers from near the elbow area.  After the requisite number is met there, the drill then transitions out behind the arc to knock down a requisite number of three-point shots which is obviously a bit more challenging.

Next, Doucette has the team split into groups of two players where one player works on a variety of jump shots while their partner rebounds for them and after a bit, the roles reverse.  Doucette goes by each basket; carefully watching her players' techniques with their shooting and offering encouragement and advice.  

On the next drill, Doucette has her squad near the center court line for a 2-on-2 drill where the emphasis is defensive pressure in full- and half-court pressure situations.  After a bit, Doucette changes up this drill whereby the players start at the baseline in a 1-on-1 situation to the half-court line to simulate pressure defense and some of the correct tactics to use.  

Then it's time for the team to work on their free throw shooting as Doucette has the team split up into groups of two again where each player has to make a requisite number of free throws.  

Next, Doucette has the squad to a 5-on-0 full-court "shell" drill where the emphasis is moving correctly in a transition situation.  After a bit, Doucette modifies things to make this more challenging by making it a real 5-on-5 situation to see if the offensive squad can execute what the were practicing a bit ago.  

Then, Doucette has the team doing a 5-on-5 half-court drill in hopes of doing some fine-tuning with both the offensive and defensive sides.  Doucette has to stop the drill on a number of occasions to point out flaws with the defense as she sees too much standing around.  In the first part of this drill, Doucette is experimenting with her 2-3 "match-up" zone defense to make sure her defensive players are moving correctly with the ball movement as they should be in any half-court situation.  Doucette also changes it up a bit by having her defense in man-to-man to oversee movement and switching.  Just judging how many times Doucette has to temporarily stop things during this whole drill seems to point out that there's a lot of work to be done here over the course of the next several weeks.  

Next, Doucette wants to try and put it all together in a full-court 5-on-5 situation and it becomes clear after a bit to this observer that the team still has a lot of work to do on both ends of the floor.  Specifically, the two things I saw - jacking up a few ill-advised three-pointers and a lack of defensive intensity - indicates that there's work to be done here.  But you also see flashes of potential when you see the athleticism and speed that this team has.  It's just a matter of harnessing it properly.  Shortly before 6:00 PM, Doucette and the team gather near the center court area for one last little pep talk before wrapping things up for the day.

Outtakes:  First, as I mentioned a bit ago, you definitely see the speed and athleticism that this team has and the potential that goes along with that.  Keep in mind, too, that Doucette still has a couple of players involved in fall sports (volleyball and soccer) that should be with the team in about 3 weeks or so that will provide depth and stability once the season gets fully underway.  A couple of items that Doucette and her new assistant are working on is (1) developing better team chemistry given some of the new players in the program this season and (2) working carefully but in a determined manner in getting her squad in top shape when they delve into the meat of this new season.  Doucette and I talked a bit about how difficult the transition can be for some players coming from high school basketball to college basketball as the game is simply faster and more physical at the next level and there's that inevitable adjustment period for the new players coming into a new situation that's never easy.  So that has to be factored in........Two players on this Anoka-Ramsey team definitely caught my attention during my visit:  Sophomore combo forward/post Jordan McMahon from St. Louis Park and sophomore guard Sydney Hazuga out of Eau Claire, WI.  Doucette will undoubtedly be counting on McMahon to patrol the area down low in the paint and one can definitely see her being a very versatile player at either the #4 or #5 spot and a rebounding machine as well.  Hazuga may very well turn out to be the three-point threat that Doucette needs in her offensive attack.  Her technique is very solid and you can tell she also has great touch in her short/medium-range jumpers as well.........You have to figure that Anoka-Ramsey will at least be one of the primary contenders for MCC honors this season in addition to RCTC (Rochester).  Again, for the Golden Rams, it's going to come down to how quickly they can put things together on both sides of the floor and develop that consistency that's needed to be a top team.  The tools are there for them to do that.   

Another Season Is Upon Us!

 Well, here we are as another October 15 is now here with a brand new 2024-25 season; always a great time.  And, with me being on vacation this week, I'm planning on visiting three practices and will provide a full report of each visit and am definitely looking forward to it.

Here we go!     

MIAC Coaching Changes Update

 Am a bit late with this as I was on vacation this last week but wanted to update everyone on the two recent coaching hires that have recently taken place on the MIAC Women's Basketball front.

Augsburg filled the vacancy left by Ted Riverso's retirement by snagging Mallie Doucette who had most recently been an assistant over at DII Concordia St Paul from 2022-24.  Before that, Doucette had stints at both UW-Eau Claire and Minnetonka HS and had played collegiately at St. Cloud St so it does seem like a reasonably solid hire by AD Jeff Swenson.  

St. Olaf meanwhile settled on a new coach as Interim AD (and former HC) Kelly Mahlum selected Megan Lueck who comes to Northfield after a six-year stint as an assistant at D1 South Dakota St.  Lueck also had previous stints at both Florida St and Mercer and had a solid playing career at UM-Duluth so this also looks to be a pretty solid "get" as well for the Oles in going forward.  

Like Courtney Shelton who came to SMU back in late April, both Doucette and Lueck face something of an uphill task in getting their programs back to relevancy status in a conference like the MIAC that - for right now anyway- is dominated by both GAC and Concordia with two or three other teams right below them so all three will have their work cut out for them when it comes to not only recruiting but getting players who will "fit" their respective systems which hopefully translates into a competitive product in a very competitive conference.  At the same time, these hires all appear to be very good as they bring a certain degree of youth and enthusiasm that can breathe fresh air and energy into programs that desperately need it.  Time is the ultimate teller, of course, but all three need a certain amount of time to "plant the seed" and let their respective trees grow. 

As always, please feel free to fire away with thoughts......    

Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League Results For Wednesday 7-24-24

 Here are the results of the games I was able to cover on the last night of the Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League:

6:15 PM Games

UW-Stout - 86

Leaky Roof - 35

Lions Black - 61

Retired Athletes - 50

7:15 PM Games

UW-Stout - 65

CSB - 49

Lions Gold - 54

Court Crashers - 51

UNW Eagles - 76

Luther - 65

Sara's Shooters - 58

KATZ - 38

8:15 PM Games

Lady Hustlers - 84

Free Agents - 77

The Mix Ups - 78

Currey Crew - 65

Arden Hills - 45

Anoka-Ramsey - 31

The HAMster Balls - 87

Guards Of The Galaxy - 46

Only two games in the 6:15 PM slot and the contest over on Court 1 between the Leaky Roof team and the UW-Stout team wasn't much of a contest at all as the latter came out with both barrels blazing from the opening tip-off as the UW-Stout team took a 5-0 lead at the 8:41 mark of the opening period and that would quickly grow to 12-0 by the 6:25 mark of the first period and they would hold this lead near the midway point.  A 12-1 blitz down the stretch had them up 24-1 by the end of the first period.  Things would only get worse once the second period got underway with the UW-Stout team up 26-1 at the 8:25 mark of the second period and by the midway point, the UW-Stout team was sitting on a 35-3 lead.  By the halftime break, the UW-Stout team's lead ballooned to 42-6.  By the 6:35 mark of the third period, the UW-Stout team's lead bulged to 46-6 before the Leaky Roof team finally found a little bit of offense to get into double digits down 55-11 with 3:15 left but things had long since been academic with the UW-Stout team rolling along with a 67-19 lead by the end of the third period.  By the 7:10 mark of the 4th period, the UW-Stout team had things in cruise control with a 70-21 advantage as the waltzed to an easy victory.......A much tighter contest was ensuing over on Court 2 between the Lions Black team and the Retired Athletes team.  This contest would be leveled at two a piece at the 9:35 mark of the opening period and a "3" by Meghan DuBois (Concordia St Paul '22) had the Retired Athletes team up 5-2 by the 8:50 mark of the first period and they would at least maintain this three-point edge up 9-6 near the midway point.  The Retired Athletes team would then embark on a 5-0 push that suddenly had them up 14-6 with 4:35 left after former UST and Park Center standout McKenna DuBois connected with a pretty lay-up.  The Lions Black team would quickly respond with a 6-0 run that had them down just 14-10 with 2:10 left and down by a single possession at 14-12 by the end of the first period.  The Lions Black team would carry this newfound momentum once the second period got underway, getting the game tied at 17-all by the 7:50 mark of the second period and then assuming a 19-17 lead by the 6:10 mark.  A 6-0 push by the Lions Black team would get that leade to 23-17 with 2:25 left and then a three-point bomb by senior-to-be Kylie Baranick pushed the lead to 28-17 with 1:05 left.  By the halftime break, the Lions Black team had unleashed a 16-0 blitz that had them up 33-17.  But the Lions Black team was far from finished as they went on a 9-0 run once the third period got underway that appeared to make this look like a rout with a 42-17 advantage by the 6:20 mark of the third period and they would hold this lead near the midway point.  The Retired Athletes team finally broke out of their extended slumber on a "3" by McKenna DuBois but the Lions Black team still had a sizable cushion up 42-27 although this lead would be trimmed a bit by the end of the third period at 43-30.  The Lions Black team would still hold a 45-30 advantage by the 8:15 mark of the fourth period but the Retired Athletes team finally got a ray of hope as former Park Center/Concordia St Paul/Sioux Falls standout Danielle Schaub buried a "3" at the 6:15 mark of the fourth period that cut into this deficit although the Lions Black team would still be holding onto a 49-36 at the midway point.  Undaunted, the Retired Athletes team kept plugging away as another three-point bomb by McKenna DuBois got the deficit down to ten at 49-39 with 3:40 left in regulation and they would crawl back to within single digit range down 51-42 with 3:09 left in regulation.  Alarmed, the Lions Black team would get their lead back to double digits at 56-42 with 2:20 left in regulation before the Retired Athletes team would make one last gasp - cutting the deficit down to eight at 58-50 with 1:12 left but the comeback attempt would prove to be a bridge too far as the Lions Black team held on for the tough win.

A much busier time in the 7:15 PM slot with four games going on.  On Court 1, the UW-Stout team; doing double-duty on this night, had a considerably tougher opponent to take on this time around as they faced off against the CSB team.  The CSB team would get off to a good start in this one; grabbing an 8-5 lead by the 7:45 mark of the 1st period but that didn't seem to faze the UW-Stout team as they would roar back to assume an 18-13 lead with 3:25 left in the first period although the CSB team would hang tough; getting back to within a single possession down 18-15 with 3:00 left.  Still, the UW-Stout team was able to re-establish the five-point edge at 23-18 by the end of the first period.  The UW-Stout team would then get a firmer grip on this game with a 27-20 lead by the 8:20 mark of the second period and grow the lead to nine at 32-23 with 3:05 left in the second period and by the halftime break, the UW-Stout team had assumed a double digit advantage at 40-28.  The UW-Stout team would up the lead to 42-28 by the 6:40 mark of the third period but the CSB team refused to go away as they would mount a comeback that would eventually have them back to within single-digit range down 45-38 with 1:10 left in the third period.  By the end of the third period, the outcome of this one appeared to be up in the air with the UW-Stout team up only by six at 47-41.  There was still hope for the CSB team down just 50-43 by the 8:30 mark of the fourth period but then the UW-Stout team but a 10-2 run by the UW-Stout team cleared up any doubts on this one as they would hold a 60-45 lead with 2:50 left in regulation and would claim their second dub on this night.......A very good game was ensuing over on Court 2 between the Lions Gold team and the Court Crashers team and this one would be leveled at six a piece by the 7:45 mark of the opening period and by the midway point of the first period, the Lions Gold team would be clinging to a 9-8 advantage.  This one would stay neck-and-neck and by the end of the first period, the Court Crashers team had turned the tables to hold a 15-14 edge.  This game would be knotted again at 19-all by the 8:00 mark of the second period and the Court Crashers team would be hanging on to a 23-21 lead by the midway point of the second period.  The Lions Gold team would then find some magic and go on the first significant push that had them up 29-24 with 1:15 left and a 4-0 push grew the lead to nine at 33-24 by the halftime break.  The Lions Gold team would grow this lead to 38-27 by the 8:05 mark of the third period but an 8-0 run by the Court Crashers team narrowed this lead to only 38-35 near the midway point of the third period.  The Lions Gold team would get a bit more breathing room with a 43-39 lead with 3:05 left but the Court Crashers team would embark on another push that suddenly had them up 46-45 by the end of the third period.  The Court Crashers team would grow their lead to 51-47 by the 7:45 mark of the fourth period but that lead would be narrowed up a bit at 51-48 near the midway point of the fourth period.  With 3:45 left in regulation, the Lions Black team had cut the deficit down to a scant point at 51-50 and the Court Crashers team would be nursing this same lead with just 1:30 left.  The Lions Gold team would save the best for last as they assumed a 52-51 lead with :35 left in regulation and added another score for insurance as they claimed an exciting victory.......Another good game was taking place on Court 3 between the Luther team and the UNW Eagles team and this one would be knotted up at two a piece by the 7:42 mark of the opening period.  The UNW Eagles team would hold a 7-6 edge near the midway point of the first period but the Luther team would come back down the stretch and they would hold a 24-22 advantage by the end of the first period.  The Luther team would be holding a 27-24 lead by the 8:15 mark of the second period and they would get the lead to four at 35-31 near the midway point of the second period.  But the UNW Eagles team did not falter and they would gradually come back down the stretch and hold a 40-39 lead by the halftime break.  The UNW Eagles team would be holding a 44-41 advantage at the 7:20 mark of the third period and things were still very tight by the midway point of the third period with the UNW Eagles team trying to hang on with a 49-47 lead.  It was here, however, where the UNW Eagles team found a burst of energy and went on a 12-3 run to assume a 61-50 lead with 3:00 left and they would grow this lead to 63-50 by the end of the third period.  The Luther team was unable to rekindle the earlier magic it had in this contest as the UNW Eagles team had a 67-54 lead near the midway point of the fourth period and although the Luther team would make one last gambit to try and get into this thing down the stretch, the deficit was too much to overcome as the UNW Eagles team got the win on this night.......An intriguing contest was taking place over on Court 4 between the Sara's Shooters team and the KATZ team that was coming off a big win on Tuesday night.  The Sara's Shooters team would grab a 2-0 advantage at the 9:10 mark of the opening period and this game would be leveled at four a piece near the midway point of the first period.  This game would still be tied at 11-all with 1:10 left and fittingly this game would be deadlocked at 13 a piece by the end of the first period.  The Sara's Shooters team would get the upper hand once the second period got underway and they would hold a 23-18 advantage near the midway point of the second period but the KATZ team was staying within striking distance; down 25-22 with 1:20 left in the second period and down only 28-24 by the halftime break.  The Sara's Shooters team would still be hanging on to this 28-24 advantage by the 8:40 mark of the third period and with 4:05 left in the third period, things still appeared to be very much in doubt with the Sara's Shooters team clinging to a 31-29 advantage.  With 3:35 left, this game was leveled again at 31 and even though the Sara's Shooters team would hold a 34-31 advantage by the end of the third period, this one definitely looked to be up for grabs.  But the KATZ team appeared to run out of gas once the fourth period got underway as the Sara's Shooters team got their lead to five at 41-36 by the 6:40 mark of the fourth period and would grow that lead to 43-36 near the midway point of the fourth period.  The Sara's Shooters team managed to cruise down the stretch for the relatively easy win.

On Court 1 in the 8:15 PM slot, two alumni/mixed teams were going at it as the Lady Hustlers team was taking on the Free Agents team.  This one would be nip-and-tuck as well from the get-go with the Free Agents team holding an 11-10 edge near the midway point of the opening period and would be up 16-12 by the end of the first period.  The Lady Hustlers team would crawl back to within single-digit range down 16-14 by the 8:10 mark of the second period and would stay close and with 3:30 left in the second period, this game would be tied at 24-all.  By the halftime break, the Free Agents team would be holding on to an uncertain 32-30 lead.  Things seemed even more uncertain as the Lady Hustlers team assumed a 44-40 advantage near the midway point of the third period and the Lady Hustlers team would at least hold the upper hand down the stretch as they owned a 56-54 lead.  The Lady Hustlers team still had things going its way near the midway point of the fourth period with a 70-68 lead but the Free Agents team would soon get this gamed knotted again at 70 a piece with 4:25 left in regulation.  But the Lady Hustlers team would not break down the stretch as they earned the tough win on this night.......A strange game meanwhile would be ensuing over on Court 2 between The Mix Ups team and the Currey Crew and although The Mix Ups team would hold a 2-0 advantage by the 9:25 mark of the opening period, things would soon go south for this team as the Currey Crew used its namesake three-point shooting prowess to hold a 19-12 lead near the midway point of the first period.  The Currey Crew team would grow this lead to 24-16 with 2:00 left and would be up 27-20 by the end of the first period.  The Currey Crew team would see its lead shrink to just four at 27-23 by the 8:20 mark of the second period but they would have a bit more breathing room up 36-29 near the midway point of the second period and they would own a 39-33 advantage with 3:30 left.  The Currey Crew team would get on another push down the stretch and by the halftime break, the Currey Crew team was in very good shape up 48-37.  The Currey Crew team would still be holding a 48-40 lead by the 8:40 mark of the third period but some craziness (or stupidity depending upon your point of view) would soon set in as one of the players on The Mix Ups team; who had been having a back-and-forth with the game officials, decided to take a page from my book during my competitive tennis-playing days and unleashed a barrage of expletives that promptly got her tossed.  Luckily for The Mix Ups team, the game continued and this incident somehow gave The Mix Ups team new life as they would go on a big run that would have them up 57-53 with 3:19 left in the third period.  And The Mix Ups team was far from finished as they would embark on an 8-0 push to own a 65-53 lead by the end of the third period.  The Currey Crew team was unable to recover once the fourth period got underway with The Mix Ups team holding a 69-53 advantage at the 7:10 mark of the fourth period.  By the midway point of the fourth period, The Mix Ups team was cruising up 72-57 and was able to coast the rest of the way for the wild, weird win.......Things were somewhat more calm over on Court 3 in this time slot as the Anoka-Ramsey team was taking on the Arden Hills team.  Although defense would take center stage early on with the Arden Hills team owning a 2-0 edge at the 9:05 mark of the opening period and a 5-0 lead near the midway point of the first period, the Arden Hills team was able to find its groove and opened up a 13-6 advantage with 1:05 left and they would hold this lead by the end of the first period.  The Arden Hills team would be up 18-10 by the 7:20 mark of the second period and hold an 18-12 lead near the midway point of the second period.  The Arden Hills team would be holding form with a 21-14 advantage with 1:30 left and by the halftime break, the Arden Hills team had established a ten-point cushion up 24-14.  The Arden Hills team would grow this lead to 31-14 by the 7:55 mark of the third period and double-up its opponent at 36-18 with 3:25 left in the third period and would own a 40-23 lead by the end of the third period.  The struggles for the Anoka-Ramsey team would continue once the fourth period got underway with the Arden Hills team up 42-27 near the midway point of the fourth period and they would have things in cruise control the rest of the way for the win.......Over on Court 4, the Guards Of The Galaxy team was trying to match wits with The HAMster Balls team but the latter would assume control of this contest early on as The HAMster Balls team would own an 11-6 advantage at the 6:10 mark of the opening period and by the end of the first period, The HAMster Balls team had a ten-point cushion at 24-14.  Things would continue to go south for the Guards Of The Galaxy team as The HAMster Balls team got its lead to 36-20 by the 6:10 mark of the second period and by the halftime break, The HAMster Balls team owned a cozy 43-24 advantage.  Not much would change once the fourth period got underway with The HAMster Balls team owning a 45-27 lead at the 8:15 mark of the third period and got the lead to twenty at 47-27 at the 7:25 mark.  The HAMster Balls lead ballooned to 61-34 with 2:25 left and although the Guards Of The Galaxy team did get a bit of a spark on a pretty lay-up by Marisa Gustafson (GAC '21) a short time later, they were still on the wrong end of a 66-38 score at the end of the third period.  The HAMster Balls team would continue to pour it on once the fourth period got underway as they upped the lead to 70-44 by the 7:10 mark of the fourth period as they romped to an easy win.

Just want to give a shout out to Bruce Smith of the Midtown YWCA for putting together another great and fun Summer League and to all the officials and players who helped make it happen.  Great job everyone!