Made the short run over the Robertson Center on the campus of Bethel University on this New Year's eve afternoon to take in this enticing non-conference game between UW-Stout of the WIAC and host Bethel. The Blue Devils were coming into this game on a four-game win streak; the last two in a pre-Christmas classic down in St. Petersburg, FL where they knocked off Berry on a last-second buzzer-beater and then demolished Grove City the next day. The Royals had just come back from Florida from an after-Christmas classic down in Daytona Beach but with mixed results - knocking off Amherst but then getting boat-raced by perennial powerhouse Scranton the next day. So for the Royals, it was a quick trip home and little time for preparation for this important non-conference clash that likely would have big implications on both teams SOS (strength of schedule) later on in the season.
Defense would take center stage in the first few minutes of the opening period but it would be UW-Stout finding an easier path to offensive efficiency. Senior forward Amanda Giesen would get the Blue Devils going with a lay-up at the 7:48 mark and would add a pair of free throws after getting fouled at the 6:10 mark to put UW-Stout up 4-2. Then do-it-all senior guard Raegan Sorensen would make a quick slash into the paint for a score to get the lead to 6-2 before the Royals cut the deficit to two on a pair of free throws by senior combo guard/forward Elly Schmitz after she was fouled with 4:35 left but Bethel would continue to struggle on the offensive end of the floor which allowed the Blue Devils to slowly grow their lead. Freshman reserve guard Mary Berg got into the paint for one score with 4:19 left and a lay-up by senior reserve guard Elissa Lodermeier with 3:20 left gave UW-Stout at 10-5 lead. By this time, Royals Head Coach Jon Herbrechtsmeyer, very concerned with the ineptness on the offensive end of the floor, took a timeout with 2:26 left in hopes of finding a few quick fixes. But the Blue Devils would get their cushion to double digits as Sorensen would connect on a lay-up with 2:16 left and slender senior guard Sam Schaeffer would bang home a "3" from the right top area with 1:50 left that gave UW-Stout a 15-5 advantage before Bethel could finally get things tightened up a bit. Sophomore reserve forward Cally Peterson got into the paint for one score with 1:31 left and then fifth-year senior Anna Garfield did likewise with :49 left that trimmed the deficit to six at 15-9 but that's as close as the Royals would get the rest of this first period. The Blue Devils would get their lead to eight on a pair of free throws by strong senior guard Anna Mutch with :34.2 left and although Bethel sliced a point off of this deficit on one free throw by fifth-year senior Lydia Hay with :20.8 left, not much went right for the Royals in this first period and they definitely looked to be out of their element on their home floor.
Bethel appeared to make amends for all of their early transgressions once the second period got underway. Schmitz would make a hard drive for a finish at the 9:15 mark and a score in the paint by Hay a bit later at the 8:47 mark suddenly had the Royals back to within a single possession down 17-14 and all appeared to be good again. But UW-Stout had vastly different ideas and they went on the offensive again with a 10-0 run. Sorensen would make another quick slash for a lay-up at the 8:22 mark and a pair of freebies by Giesen after she was fouled at the 7:50 mark got the Blue Devil lead up to seven at 21-14. Less than a minute later at the 7:07 mark, Sorensen would strike again - this time on a pretty score in the paint off of an inbounds pass and one more free throw by Giesen after she was fouled in a transition opportunity at the 6:33 mark rebuilt that earlier ten-point cushion at 24-14. Then at the 5:20 mark, senior reserve guard Allison Letcher would cap this run after getting fouled behind the arc and the former Windom Area standout would cash in on all three free throw attempts to make it 27-14. Bethel's Herbrechtsmeyer at this point was forced to take a match to another timeout as he knew his team was possibly in a hole that they couldn't climb out of. This stoppage in play might've been exactly what the doctor ordered for the Royals as they were slowly able to crawl their way back into single-digit range again. Junior point guard Colette Duininck would knock down a pair of free throws after getting fouled in a transition opportunity with 4:10 left and sophomore reserve forward Emily Erickson would also cash in on a pair of freebies after getting fouled with 3:34 left that had the deficit down to eleven at 29-18. UW-Stout looked to be off and running again when Sorensen connected with a jumper from the right elbow area after a steal with 2:15 left that pushed the Blue Devil lead up to 31-18 but Bethel kept clawing and scratching away. Garfield would get one free throw to go down after getting fouled with 2:01 left and less than a minute later, Peterson would connect on a lay-up in transition with 1:33 left that cut the deficit to ten at 31.21. With :57 left, Erickson would connect on a lay-up that had the Royals back to within single digits at 31-23 and with just :02.2 left before the halftime buzzer, Garfield would bury a cold-blooded "3" from the right top area that had the deficit down to seven at 33-26 so although outplayed for the most part thus far, there did seem to be some hope on the horizon for Bethel as both teams headed to their respective locker rooms for the halftime break.
UW-Stout was able to at least maintain this seven-point advantage in the early going of the third period. Junior forward Rosella Wille connected on a short jumper in the lane to make it a 35-28 game and Giesen would convert on a pair of free throws after getting fouled at the 6:47 mark that maintained this seven-point cushion at 37-30. But maintaining this cushion became a tougher proposition for the Blue Devils as this third period wore on as Bethel's Herbrechtsmeyer changed things up on the defensive side by going to either a 1-2-2 or a 2-3 "match-up" zone defense that effectively bottled things up in the middle and made it considerably more difficult for the Blue Devils to penetrate inside as they had done in the first half. This also provided an opening for the Royals to start chipping away as well. Pairs of free throws by Garfield - at the 6:39 mark and again at the 6:15 mark after she was fouled in a transition opportunity - had Bethel back to within a single possession down 37-34 and two more by Erickson after she was fouled with 4:41 left kept the Royals in single-possession range down 39-36. With 4:27 left, Bethel clearly had momentum on their side as Garfield connected on a lay-up in transition that sliced the deficit to a scant point at 39-38 and that prompted Blue Devils Head Coach Hannah Iverson to call a timeout in hopes of stemming this newfound energy that the home team had. Still, the Royals were not letting up on the accelerator as Schmitz knocked down one free throw after getting fouled with 3:20 left that not only leveled the contest at 39 a piece but also saw UW-Stout's Wille retreat to the bench with three fouls. With 1:32 left, Bethel finally poked its nose out in front by a 41-39 count on an Erickson lay-up and they would maintain this two-point edge on a pretty drive and finish by Garfield with :51 left. UW-Stout would regain the lead on a fantastic tip-in play by the athletic Mutch with :24.9 left that also drew a foul and, along with the obligatory "and one", put the Blue Devils back out in front by a 44-43 count but still Bethel seemed to be right where they needed to be.
And that notion seemed to be reinforced when the Royals' Schmitz muscled into the paint for a score at the 9:43 mark of the fourth period that shoved Bethel back out front by a 45-44 count. The Blue Devils would counter as Letcher would uncork a "3" from the left corner at the 9:06 mark and one free throw by Sorensen after she was fouled at the 8:31 mark pushed UW-Stout back on top 48-45. But things appeared to sour once more for the Blue Devils as Wille collected her fourth foul of the afternoon at the 8:06 mark and Bethel appeared to consolidate on this opportunity as Erickson would connect on a lay-up at the 8:02 mark and one free throw by sophomore reserve guard Macey Littlefield after she was fouled at the 6:47 mark had this game leveled again at 48. But it was here where the senior leadership of the Blue Devils really stood out as they proceeded to take over this game. Mutch would bang home a "3" from the left wing area at the 5:44 mark and two free throws by Giesen after she was fouled at the 5:20 mark gave UW-Stout a five-point advantage at 53-48. A critical sequence took place right about the 5:00 mark when the Royals' Hay was in the process of making a hard drive for a lay-up and it appeared as though she may have been fouled. However, the officials saw things differently and called Hay for traveling - much to the chagrin of Bethel's Herbrechtsmeyer and his staff who protested the call vociferously to no avail. That opened the door for this experienced and seasoned Blue Devils team to stretch out its lead which they did. Mutch would follow-up on her earlier heroics by knocking down a jumper from the right elbow area with 4:42 left to make it 55-48 and Mutch would repeat this feat with a jumper from the same right elbow area with 3:56 left that maintained this seven-point edge at 57-50. The Royals meanwhile were unable to rekindle the earlier magic that they had in the third period on the offensive end and UW-Stout would put its opponent behind the proverbial 8-ball when Berg connected on a short jumper in the lane with 2:00 left to make it a 59-50 ballgame. Bethel would make one last-ditch attempt at narrowing this deficit as Erickson would slither into the paint for one score with 1:35 left and two free throws by Garfield after she was fouled with :35.7 left got the deficit down to six at 59-53 and a pretty reverse lay-up by Schmitz with :10.6 left had the deficit down to five but bringing this one all the way back would prove to be a bridge too far for the Royals on this day. UW-Stout's Schaeffer would get sent to the charity stripe after getting fouled with :08.9 left and she dropped a pair of insurance free throws as the Blue Devils got out of Dodge with a hard-earned 62-55 victory.
As much as I've watched this UW-Stout team play online this last season when the Blue Devils made their magical run to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament last season, it wasn't easy to appreciate how incredibly resourceful and resilient this team is. But now; finally getting to watch them in action and seeing what they do and how they do it, I have a newfound appreciation for just how efficient and smart this team plays. Not that they're always perfect at times but they almost always know what to do and when to do it and they found a way again on this day when things threatened to go against them on the road against a very good opponent. But here's the other thing you have to understand too. This is a team that's already been beset with injuries to key players in this young season. The aforementioned Sorensen was out back in late November and fifth-year senior guard Lexi Wagner - arguably their best three-point shooter - has been out for a spell as well although from talking to some parents on the UW-Stout side after the game, she may possibly be back by this coming weekend which would be welcome news for Iverson and her staff. Because of the injuries, there was some tough sledding for the Blue Devils back in November as they lost home games to the two top favorites in the MIAC - GAC and Concordia. But UW-Stout responded as an experienced and senior-laden team would - beating Hamline and UW-Superior and then going down to Florida and knocking off Berry on a thrilling buzzer-beater and then rolling over Grove City in the Championship Game. Now, to be sure, the road ahead for the Blue Devils is a challenging one as they go to UW-Oshkosh (b'gosh) on Saturday and have a date with a tricky UW-River Falls team, and then roadies at WIAC favorite UW-Whitewater and at up-and-coming UW-La Crosse. But, with this newfound head of steam the UW-Stout seems to have, you've got to at least consider them one of the favorites to challenge UW-Whitewater for WIAC honors. But here's the other thing that catches my eye when it comes to the Blue Devils: They're so guard-oriented but they're long, too. They're just so darned athletic and skilled that they're able to create several match-up problems for opponents. And what can you say about Sorensen; the Centuria, WI native who practically willed this team to the WIAC Championship Title and a berth in the NCAA Sweet 16 last season. She's just simply out of this world in what she can do on both ends of the floor. Good luck trying to guard her one-on-one. She keeps finding ways to burn opponents and she's going to continue to do so. Bottom line here - buy stock in the UW-Stout women's basketball team.
On the other side of the coin, it's certainly a disappointing setback for the Royals who, as I mentioned earlier, basically had Tuesday AM to really "prepare" for this game after the trip back from Florida and despite the lopsided loss to Scranton on Sunday which they followed up with the loss on this day, I still think Bethel's in a good place with a 7-3 overall record. And things seem to be on their side schedule-wise with the Royals delving into conference play against St. Olaf, CSB, Macalester and Carleton in their first four games before hosting GAC on Saturday (1-18). So they've got a very good opportunity to build themselves back up for that important clash at Robertson Center. But they've got to get some things cleaned up in the meantime, too. You look at the final box score on this one and you'll see that the Royals were guilty of 22 turnovers on this day which is almost unheard of for a Herbrechtsmeyer-coached team as they're usually doing that to opponents. And considering the fact that UW-Stout got 25 points off of those boo-boos seemed to be the big difference in this one. Another stat that stands out: UW-Stout had an 8-2 advantage in those all-important second-chance points and we saw that one unbelievable tip-in by Mutch that contributed to that. Bethel was 22-28. The Royals could shore up the charity stripe shooting as they were 22-28 from the line for 78.6% which isn't terrible but in a close game like this, you're still leaving points on the table. Contrast that with UW-Stout going 25-28 for 89.3% which is pretty solid and that's what senior-laden and experienced teams normally do.
It was a very balanced scoring attack that helped the Blue Devils get the dub on this day as both Sorensen and Giesen poured in 15 points a piece and Mutch wasn't far behind with her 11 points. And Sorensen and her 5'7" frame led the team in rebounds as well with seven. Garfield and Erickson had to shoulder the load for Bethel on this day as Garfield finished with 17 points to lead all scorers and Erickson tallied 14 points.
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