Another interesting (not to mention a bit wild and weird too) week and weekend in MIAC Women's Hoops and while there aren't any real significant changes from the week before, there's still some adjustments to make on this Sunday morning so let's take a crack at this:
1. GAC
2. Concordia
3. St. Kate's
4. Bethel
5. CSB
6. Augsburg
7. St. Scholastica
8. (tie) Hamline & Macalester
9. St. Olaf
10. SMU
With GAC, it's not so much about what happened this last week but more about what DIDN'T happen - specifically yesterday with their scheduled home game against Augsburg. True, the Gusties routinely took care of biz this last Monday night up at CSB and had Wednesday night off before yesterday's slated home game with Augsburg. This contest got called by officials and game managers yesterday because of condensation dripping down on the court from the skylights which apparently happens when it's cold outside (which it was yesterday) and the sun is out as well. The heat from inside Lund Arena subsequently rises and the sun melts the frost on the skylights and the condensation that results has nowhere else to go but down on the floor of Lund Arena which resulted in two players slipping in the early moments of that game. They were unable to get this leakage to stop and game officials and managers had no choice but to call the contest. Now, it's my understanding that, per NCAA rules anyway, that when this game gets rescheduled (whenever THAT is), they'll pick it up precisely at the 8:11 mark of the second period and go from there. A few thoughts here: (1) GAC absolutely HAS to get this problem fixed AHORA because the last thing you want is to have this dynamic festering which could possibly rear its ugly head again somewhere down the road. (2) Worse yet, if you're GAC, you have to hope and pray that this sad scenario from yesterday alone doesn't prevent you from possibly hosting a first/second round NCAA Tournament pod at your facility. Let's face it - it could. (3) Exactly WHEN do you try and reschedule this game with Augsburg? You look at the calendar - and the schedule coming up as it is and the windows of opportunity aren't as large as you might initially think. The best guess here is that they'd have to try and do it on either a Monday night or Thursday night (preferably a Monday night I would think). But you have to get both parties to agree to a date and time. It's possible that the conference might have to step in here and dictate a date/time when this should be done. We'll see. Meanwhile, for the near term anyway, the Gusties head over to Northfield on Wednesday night to face St. Olaf and then host St. Kate's next Saturday - games which, on paper anyway, should be W's for them without too much fuss or argument but it'll be interesting to see how this business with the Augsburg game gets handled.........The Cobbers on the other hand had no such distractions and they sent three opponents brave enough to venture up US Highway 10 and the BNSF Staples Sub mainline to Moorhead in the cold weather this last week back home with their tails between their legs - Augsburg on Monday night, St. Kate's on Wednesday night and then Bethel yesterday - and making a statement in doing so as well. They'll host Macalester this Wednesday evening before coming down to the Cities to take on Hamline this next Saturday. You look at the schedule for Concordia and things are setting up very well for them and you can bet that they have February 7 circled on their calendar when GAC has to make the trip up to Moorhead.
Speaking of St. Kate's, it really wasn't that great of a week for them. I neglected to mention last weekend that they would face off against SMU last Monday night in a non-conference game setting because of Carleton cancelling their season and the need for both teams to fill holes in their schedule. They got the win on Monday night at home in Butler Center but didn't look particularly great in doing it as SMU gave them fits all game long before the 'Cats finally prevailed in the end. They followed up that lackluster performance on Monday night by getting a "C" note dropped on them by Concordia up in Moorhead on Wednesday night and thankfully had yesterday off to prepare for a very challenging week ahead - making the short hop over to Leonard Center on Monday night to take on an always-tricky Macalester team, hosting a vastly-improved St. Scholastica team on Wednesday night and then hopping on US Highway 169 and the Union Pacific's Mankato Sub mainline down to St. Peter to face GAC next Saturday. Needless to say, if you're the Wildcats, you want desperately to come out of this week at LEAST 2-1........Meanwhile, if you're Bethel, you can only complain so much as you at least came away with a split this last week and you're in very good shape with a vastly-improved young team that's starting to hit its stride. Now, this next week is not going to be easy as these roadies continue for the Royals as they'll make the run over to the Minneapolis side of town to take on Augsburg on Wednesday night before making the run down US Highway 61 and the Canadian Pacific Kansas City River Sub mainline to Winona to face SMU next Saturday. Tiring road trips? Yeah. Doable? Of course.
Ahhh, those CSB Bennies continue to mystify and confuse everyone - including yours truly. They got hammered at home in Claire Lynch by GAC on Monday night but recovered a couple of nights later to race past SMU in said home venue. On paper, they should have taken care of business against Hamline at venerable Hutton Arena yesterday but couldn't close the deal down the stretch. Because of scheduling quirks with the Carleton thing, the Bennies get a bit of a respite this week before coming back down to the Cities next Saturday to take on Macalester........What a wild, weird week it was for Augsburg. You kind of knew that things were going to go the way they did for the Auggies last Monday night up in Moorhead but they once again got rescued by heroics - this time up on the shores of Gitche Gumee by senior guard Katie Manecke as her last-second buzzer-beater got the Auggies past a vastly improved St. Scholastica team. And then, of course, the absolutely bizarre situation that ensued yesterday at Lund Arena down in St. Peter against GAC. So I guess a split is a helluva lot better than going 0-2. But there's little time to enjoy the fruits of victory as Bethel will pay a visit to Si Melby Hall on Wednesday night in a huge game before making the run down to Northfield next Sautrday to face St. Olaf.
I have St. Scholastica firmly in the seventh spot this AM. And I think they absolutely deserve to be there. They got a split this last week; humbling St. Olaf down in Northfield on Monday night and that tough win over at Macalester yesterday that I covered. One could argue that the Saints could have (and perhaps should have) been 3-0 this last week had it not been for the aforementioned heroics by Ms. Manecke of Augsburg last Wednesday night. This next week, the Saints have a huge chance to consolidate on their latest gains but if they're going to do so, they'll have to come back down to the Cities on Wednesday evening to take on St. Kate's at Butler Center in another important contest.......To be honest, I've all but given up on Hamline this season. True, they turned things around yesterday in knocking off CSB but after discouraging losses at Macalester last Monday night and then to Bethel at home last Wednesday night, I just don't see much of a path for them in finding a way to climb back into the MIAC Playoff chase - especially when I see the teams currently ahead of them and what they've got coming up this coming week - down at SMU on Wednesday night before (gulp) Concordia comes to town next Saturday.......Macalester has been an incredibly intriguing team as of late. They got two big wins this last week - against Hamline in OT on Monday night and then besting St. Olaf on Wednesday night before dropping that tough one yesterday to St. Scholastica yesterday - all in the friendly confines of Leonard Center. Ideally, the Scots naturally would have preferred to go 3-0 but given where this program has been as of late and how Head Coach Katie Kollar is slowly but surely getting things turned around, this may be a team to keep your eye on. They've got a home game with St. Kate's tomorrow night before heading up to Moorhead on Wednesday night and then hosting CSB next Saturday. Nobody is expecting Macalester to do the unthinkable here but it'll be interesting to see how they respond to the challenge.
So, an interesting and wild, weird week for sure. Please feel free to fire away with thoughts as always.
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