Made the relatively short run over to Arden Hills on this sunny early February day over to Robertson Center on the campus of Bethel University to take in this important clash between visiting GAC - currently ranked sixth in the nation - and host Bethel. The Gusties were coming into this contest on a ten-game winning streak after the tough loss down in Florida to fourth-ranked Rhode Island and save for the early January contest against Concordia, the Gusties have been pretty much running roughshod over conference opponents. The Royals meanwhile were coming into this contest with an impressive streak of their own; winning six of their last seven games and by doing so they've managed to climb into third place in the MIAC standings. So while this young Bethel team appeared to decisive underdogs against this deep and experienced GAC team, they were certainly more than ready to roll the dice.
GAC would come out of opening gates quickly; bolting out to a 7-2 advantage in the opening minutes of the first period. Senior forward Izzy (Izzy Izzy, you're making me dizzy) Quick started things off by knocking down a pair of free throws after getting fouled on a lay-up attempt at the 9:50 mark and a lay-up by junior point guard Kylie Baranick at the 9:24 mark had the Gusties up 4-2. The aforementioned 7-2 lead came when senior guard Syd Hauger banged home a "3" from the right wing area at the 8:39 mark before Bethel could get the gap closed to a single possession. Junior combo guard/forward Elly Schmitz would connect with a lay-up at the 8:14 mark that cut the deficit to three at 7-4 and a score in the paint by slender freshman forward Emily Erickson at the 7:24 mark kept the Royals in that three-point range down 9-6. But then GAC would unleash a 6-0 run as willowy senior guard Emma (not evil) Kniefel drained a "3" from the left top area at the 7:09 mark and one free throw by Quick after she was fouled in a transition opportunity at the 6:41 mark had the Gusties up 13-6. A bit later, Baranick would snare a steal near midcourt and would promptly feed Kniefel who would cash in on an easy lay-up at the 6:27 mark as that lead stretched to 15-6. Alarmed, the Royals would get this deficit slimmed down a bit as Schmitz would bury a "3" from the left top area at the 6:00 mark that cut this to a six-point game at 15-9 and a lay-up by senior guard Anna Garfield at the 5:38 mark kept Bethel in that six-point range down 17-11. But staying within striking distance was starting to become a tougher and tougher proposition for this young Royals team as GAC got a tighter grip on this contest as Head Coach Laurie Kelly started employing some full-court pressure defense that allowed the Gusties to open up their lead again. Kniefel would connect with a short jumper from the right side in transition with 3:26 left and a score in the paint by Hauger with 2:37 left gave GAC their first double-digit lead of the day at 21-11. Two free throws by Baranick after she was fouled with 1:31 left upped the lead to 23-11 and although the Royals were able to briefly climb back into single-digit range again on two free throws by junior reserve combo guard/forward Lauren Johnson after she was fouled with 1:06 left and a pretty drive and finish by freshman reserve forward Cally Peterson with :13 left, the Gusties got their cushion back to ten when the reliable Hauger somehow was able to snare an offensive rebound and get a putback out of it with just :00.5 left to give GAC a 25-15 lead. Perhaps the only fly in the ointment for the Gusties thus far was that Baranick was handicapped a bit with two fouls on her.
GAC would re-establish that twelve point lead in the early moments of the second period when Hauger got a tough score in the paint at the 9:48 mark but the Royal would then embark on another bid to get the gap narrowed. Erickson would use her long 5'10" frame to snare an offensive rebound for a putback at the 8:49 mark and the former Chisago Lakes standout would follow that up a bit later with a score in the paint that also drew a foul and her ensuing "and one" appeared to have Bethel right back in the thick of things again down 27-20 at the 8:29 mark. Freshman reserve guard Macey Littlefield also got in on the act as the former Centennial standout would bang home a "3" from the right corner at the 6:35 mark that kept the Royals in reasonably decent shape down eight at 31-23. But it was here that GAC turned on the trademark jets and went on a decisive 12-0 run that changed the complexion of this game for good. Quick would connect on a lay-up at the 6:18 mark that also drew a foul and the former Champlin Park standout would nail the obligatory "and one". Then strong junior forward Rachel Kawiecki connected on a short, turnaround jumper at the 5:10 mark that had the Gustie lead at 36-23. Not long afterward, Kawiecki would get sent to the charity stripe after getting fouled with 4:46 left and the former Holy Angels standout got both free throw attempts to cooperate to up the lead to 38-23. With 3:38 left, Hauger would bury a heart-breaking "3" from the left wing area that stretched the lead to 41-23 and Royals Head Coach Jon Herbrechtsmeyer; not at all liking how things were unfolding, called a thirty-second timeout in hopes of quickly rectifying the situation. Still, GAC would cap this run on a score in the paint with 3:18 left by senior reserve guard Riley Queensland before Bethel finally stopped some of the massive bleeding on a lay-up by Johnson with 2:56 left. But the Gusties would close out this second period to gain a commanding advantage. Hauger would start things off with a three-point play the old-fashioned way - a drive and finish with 1:54 left that also drew a foul with the ensuing "and one". Baranick would knock down a pair of freebies after getting fouled with :48.4 left and Hauger would add another pair of free throws for good measure after getting fouled with :35.3 left and GAC took a hefty 50-27 lead into the locker room at the half.
Bethel tried to find some traction once the third period got underway but being able to take significant bites out of this already-sizable deficit was proving to be a hard row to hoe. Erickson would get one free throw to go down after getting fouled at the 8:52 mark and sophomore combo guard/forward Rosalie Penke would connect with a lay-up at the 7:21 mark that cut the Gustie lead to 52-30. A bit later, Penke would unleash a "3" from the left wing area at the 6:44 mark that had that deficit reduced a bit more at 54-33. But as mentioned earlier, trying to slow down this potent and balanced GAC attack was akin to pulling teeth from a lion. Hauger would muscle into the paint for one score at the 6:36 mark to make it a 56-33 game and the only problematic thing for Head Coach Laurie Kelly and her staff was that Kawiecki would pick up her third and fourth fouls of the contest at the 5:58 and 5:38 marks, respectively and had to retreat to the bench for a spell. But even that element didn't slow the Gusties down. Kniefel would casually bury a "3" from the top of the key with 3:55 left and lanky junior reserve forward Morgan Kelly would knock down a pair of free throws after getting fouled with 3:13 left and with 2:41 left, Morgan Kelly would use her 6'0" frame to snare an offensive rebound for a putback to make it a 63-38 game. Quick would follow suit with the same heroics with 1:54 left and surprising freshman reserve guard Emily Bowron would use a burst of speed to connect with a lay-up with 1:03 left to make it a 67-40 ballgame. Kniefel would get into the paint for one more score with :28 left and although the Royals got a bit of a reprieve when Penke knocked down a pair of freebies after getting fouled with :09.3 left, Bethel was still on the wrong side of a 69-44 score.
GAC's Laurie Kelly would insert Kawiecki back into the line-up at the beginning of the fourth period and she would promptly foul out at the 9:34 mark - much to Laurie Kelly's chagrin. But again, this minor setback was not going to slow down the Gustie attack. Quick would connect on a routine lay-up at the 9:07 mark and Baranick would knock down a pair of free throws after getting fouled at the 8:25 mark to make it 73-44. Another surprising freshman on this team - reserve guard Kendyl Queensland - got into the books when she was left open at the top of the key at the 7:30 mark and she would bury a three-point bomb that bulged the GAC lead to thirty at 76-46. With this contest already a forgone conclusion, both Bethel's Herbrechtsmeyer and GAC's Kelly slowly started inserting more reserve players into this game as the main chain gangs on both sides were done for the day. Both teams would also soon get into the bonus on the foul front and the Gusties were able to close this one out at the charity stripe down the stretch. Morgan Kelly would knock down a pair after getting fouled at the 6:45 mark and Bowron would get one to go down after getting fouled with 4:30 left. For good measure, sophomore reserve guard Bobbie Bruns would cap this one off with a pretty drive and finish with :07.1 left as GAC pocketed a very convincing 81-57 victory.
When I caught up with the Gusties' Laurie Kelly afterward, I had to point out to her that the one item that really caught my eye on this day is how much her younger players are stepping up and providing valuable minutes off the bench. Specifically, I saw really good things on this day from Bowron, Kendyl Queensland and freshman forward Emy Wolkow. "They know that they're in there to give the starters a rest" Laurie Kelly said but added that "They 'get it' ". And that's one of the things that is making this GAC team so incredibly good and, at times - dominant. And consider too, you've also got a lot of experience coming off that bench too in Riley Queensland and senior reserve guard Lexi Schermann as well. This is a team that is totally together in more ways than one and it's one heartbeat and you see it on the floor and on the bench and it's incredibly cool to watch. I would be remiss if I didn't mention the officiating on this day and anyone who follows this blog knows full and well that I rarely, if ever, comment on the officiating aspect of things. But on this day, it was close to being on the abysmal side and it really wasn't good for either team to be totally honest. More than once during this game, Laurie Kelly had some choice words for the officials and I can't say that I totally blame her either. I probably would have reverted back to my tennis-playing days and gone in full Fran McCaffery-mode and got tossed. 😄 But seriously, I don't expect officials to be perfect and we all know that you're never going to get the perfectly-officiated game. But there was some stuff on this day that was patently bad. You look at the final box score on this and you'll see that it was pretty much all GAC on this day. If I'm Herbrechtsmeyer, the only item that would really be a sore spot with me on this outing was the free throw shooting where the Royals were only 20-27 for 74.1% which contrasts with GAC going 22-25 for a straight 88%. That's really good. But we know that this Bethel team is young and while they've made some impressive strides this season, they're still probably a year or two away from being back to where they were four years ago. We'll see. But there's definitely hope on the horizon for Herbrechtsmeyer and his staff with this young team. You've got to plant the seed and let it grow......
And here's the other thing that impresses me about GAC: You look at the box score on this and one of the things that catches your eye from the get-go is just how incredibly balanced this team is in scoring and it was no different on this day. Kniefel's 20 points paced the way but right behind was the ever-reliable Hauger with 19 points. Then you had the acrobatic Quick with 12 points and steady and solid Baranick with 10 points. You simply cannot focus on one player on this team because if you do, you're inviting trouble. On the Bethel side, it was a stellar day for the youngster, Erickson as her 22 points led all scorers on this day. But Erickson had to shoulder the scoring load on this day and didn't get a lot of help which will obviously be a challenge for Herbrechtsmeyer and his staff to find a bit more balance on the scoring front.
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