Made the run back up to Coon Rapids and Anoka-Ramsey Community College on this late Friday afternoon with darkness already settling in to take in a big early season clash in the MCAC between visiting Northland Community & Technical College located up in Thief River Falls and host Anoka-Ramsey. The visiting Pioneers were coming into this game hoping to build on their already-perfect 4-0 record while the Golden Rams were coming in with a solid 4-1 record; their only blemish coming at the hands of DMACC down in Boone, IA early this month. So this one figured to be a good one.
Northland started out this game in man-to-man "D" but that certainly didn't faze the Golden Rams as they came out with both barrels blazing. Sophomore guard Jada Lussier would bang home a three-point bomb at the 9:06 mark of the opening period and a tough drive into the lane and finish by sophomore post Mariam Alowonle a short time later at the 8:42 mark had Anoka-Ramsey up 5-0. The Pioneers got into the scoring column on their subsequent possession when slender freshman forward Faith Lilly slithered into the paint for a score at the 8:23 mark but then the Golden Rams embarked on a 6-1 push. Two scores by sophomore guard Anisa Longs - a short jumper in the lane at the 8:05 mark and a lay-up at the 7:37 mark - along with a lay-up by freshman reserve guard Novi Sands-Hannah at the 6:46 mark pushed the Anoka-Ramsey lead to 11-3. The Pioneers appeared to be in a tough spot at this point but they were able to settle down a bit and get this one closer. Lilly was able to score in the paint off of an inbounds pass at the 6:30 mark and two free throws by freshman combo guard/forward Josie Peterson after she was fouled at the 6:04 mark and a score in the paint by sophomore reserve post Lola Garrett at the 5:25 mark had Northland back to within a single possession down 13-10. Now it was the Golden Rams turn to turn up the heat as they embarked on a 7-3 push. Alowonle got into the paint for a score with 4:20 left and then Longs would unleash a three-point bomb from the left top area with 3:29 left that got Anoka-Ramsey's lead to 18-10. The Pioneers would counter with a "3" from sophomore reserve guard Brooklyn Sarauer from the left wing area with 3:14 left but then the Golden Rams would answer right back when sophomore combo guard/forward Tereya McDaniel-Vaughn darted into the lane for a finish with 1:33 left to make it a 20-13 game. Then fellow sophomore combo guard/forward Destiny Casey's drive into the lane for a finish with :49 left maintained the seven-point edge at 22-15 and when Casey followed that up with a three-point bomb from the left top area with just :00.3 left in this first period that extended Anoka-Ramsey's lead to eight at 25-17, things were looking very good for the home team.
After struggling offensively in the first period, Northland was at least able to find more answers with the ball once the second period got underway. Freshman reserve guard Kenzie Dahl would drill a "3" from the left corner area at the 9:43 mark but the Golden Rams stepped up their attack again. McDaniel-Vaughan would make a nifty drive along the left baseline for a lay-up at the 9:21 mark and then Longs would connect on a lay-up at the 8:55 mark that gave Anoka-Ramsey their biggest lead yet at 29-20. Despite the fact that the Golden Rams were trying to plug up the middle with their 1-3-1 zone defense, Northland's Dahl still found ways to score in traffic as she would first make a daring drive into the lane for a finish at the 8:13 mark and a tough score in the paint at the 6:33 mark had the Pioneers back to within striking distance again down 29-24. Scores in the paint by Lilly at the 5:59 mark and by Garrett at the 5:32 mark kept Northland in that five-point range down 33-28. One free throw by Sarauer after she was fouled with 4:54 left and two more by Dahl after she was fouled with 4:32 left suddenly had the Pioneers back to within a single possession down 33-31. Perhaps even more alarming for Anoka-Ramsey Head Coach Samantha Doucette was that Alowonle was whistled for her second foul of the evening with 4:01 left and Doucette was quick to yank her back to the pine for preservation purposes and this opened up the door for Northland to take full advantage of the situation. Dahl would sink two more freebies after getting fouled with 3:20 left to level the contest at 33 a piece and when Sarauer drained a "3" from the right corner area with 2:46 left, the Pioneers had their first lead of the game at 36-33. Northland would grow their lead to four when sophomore combo guard/forward Jade Reese got a pair of free throws to go down after getting fouled with 2:20 left to make it 38-34 and then Dahl would do more damage from the charity stripe; getting one free throw to go down after getting fouled with 1:24 left and two more after getting fouled with :18 left as the Pioneers took a somewhat surprising 41-36 lead into the locker room at the half.
The Golden Rams needed a spark coming out of the locker room to get them going again and a three-point bomb by Lussier from the right wing area at the 9:37 mark of the third period appeared to be exactly what the doctor ordered but hopes for Anoka-Ramsey appeared to take another hit when Alowonle picked up her third foul of the night at the 8:33 mark that sent her to the bench again. That allowed Northland to hold firm for the time being as Peterson would grab a rebound of her own miss for a putback at the 8:18 mark and one Peterson free throw after she was fouled at the 7:09 mark got the Pioneer lead back to four at 44-39. But the Golden Rams; with renewed spirit and vigor, kept chipping away at this deficit. Two scores by McDaniel-Vaughn - a lay-up at the 6:53 mark and a lay-up in transition at the 6:25 mark - cut the deficit to one at 44-43. Northland got a bit more breathing room on a lay-up by sophomore post Sierra Westberg at the 6:01 mark to make it 46-43 but Anoka-Ramsey would quickly answer as freshman reserve guard ShaiAnne Jackson got one free throw to go down after getting fouled at the 5:39 mark and then fellow freshman reserve guard Charis McKenzie would connect on a lay-up in transition with 4:49 left that had this contest knotted up at 46 a piece. Then, Alowonle, riding those three fouls, got a three-point play the old-fashioned way with a lay-up that drew a foul and her ensuing "and one" with 4:23 left now had the Golden Rams in front 49-46. That lead would grow to five when Casey connected with a lay-up in transition with 4:06 left but right back came Northland. Reese would make a hard drive into the lane for a finish with 3:22 left and when Dahl unleashed a three-point bomb from the top of the key with 2:30 left that had this one tied up again at 51-all, momentum seemed to go back to the Pioneers. But all of that excitement turned on a dime when Anoka-Ramsey's Lussier answered with a three-point bomb of her own from the left wing area on the Golden Rams' subsequent possession with 2:07 left that had them back out in front by a 54-51 count. Still, Northland's Lilly was able to get into the paint for a score with 1:53 left and even though Anoka-Ramsey's Longs snared a steal and raced the other way for a lay-up with 1:07 left, there was still a lot of uncertainty in this one with the Golden Rams nursing a 56-53 advantage.
Anoka-Ramsey went right to work in the early moments of the fourth period to erase some of that uncertainty that existed as Longs would drain a "3" from the left top area at the 9:17 mark and when McDaniel-Vaughn connected on a lay-up off of an inbounds pass at the 8:36 mark, the Golden Rams enjoyed an eight-point advantage at 61-53. But Northland would gradually work themselves back into this contest as two scores by Dahl - one in the paint at the 8:20 mark and a lay-up in transition at the 7:06 mark - had the Pioneers back to within a single possession down just 61-59 with a ton of time left. But just when Northland seemed to be on the cusp of leveling this contest again and with a Golden Rams team that saw its star post player - Alowonle - now saddled with four fouls, Anoka-Ramsey found a way to wrest away control of this one for good. And it would be Lussier again coming up big for the Golden Rams as she drained a cold-blooded "3" from the right wing area at the 6:01 mark to make it a 64-59 game and a lay-up by Alowonle at the 5:26 mark maintained the five-point edge at 66-61. The Pioneers would make it a one-possession game again when freshman guard Ashlyn Nelson knocked down a short jumper from the right side at the 5:09 mark but again Anoka-Ramsey was quick to answer as Sands-Hannah connected on a lay-up at the 5:00 mark to get the spread back to five at 68-63. Then Northland's hopes sunk further when Lilly picked up her fourth foul of the game with 4:24 left and the Golden Rams were quick to zero in on the kill. Casey would knock down a pair of free throws after getting fouled with 4:22 left to make it 70-63 and now Anoka-Ramsey was in the bonus as well. With 3:05 left, Longs alertly snared a steal in the backcourt and got a lay-up out of it that stretched the lead to nine at 72-63 and Pioneers Head Coach Shannon Nelson clearly saw her squad's chances of coming back in this one going up in smoke and called for a halt to the action in hopes of a quick fix. But Anoka-Ramsey was able to get the job done down the stretch from the charity stripe down the stretch. Longs would get one free throw to go down after getting fouled with 2:26 left as would McDaniel-Vaughn with 1:52 left that now had the Golden Rams up 74-64. With 1:07 left, Lussier would effectively put a bow tie on this one as she delivered a killer "3" from the left corner area that put Anoka-Ramsey up 77-65. Casey would add one free throw after getting fouled with :56 left and Alowonle would add a lay-up for insurance with :42.3 left and despite two free throws by Northland's Dahl after she was fouled with :35.6 left and a lay-up in transition by Peterson with :13.4 left, the Golden Rams claimed a tough and exciting 80-70 victory.
When you look at the final box score for this one and when I look back on this, you have to pin the blame on two things for the Pioneers faltering in this one when it counted: (1) free throw shooting and (2) shooting 39.3% from FG range (and a lot of those missed shots were easy "bunny" shots). And when you consider that Northland had a decided advantage in bench points at 37-9 and a slight advantage on the boards at 43-38, those two items stand out even more. I can almost forgive the missed easy "bunnies" that the Pioneers were unable to cash in on but my goodness, you've GOT to shoot better than 60% from the charity stripe. You just have to and had they been better, it's entirely possible that they find a way to come out on top. Now, to be sure, I can't absolve Anoka-Ramsey from their transgressions at the charity stripe either as they shot 52.6% from the line. But the difference was that they found ways to make up for that although I'm sure Doucette will have her squad putting in some extra time from the charity stripe in practice before the Thanksgiving holiday. Without question, the saving grace for the Golden Rams on this night was Lussier coming through in the clutch with three-point bombs when her team needed them and also being able to steady the ship while Alowonle battled through foul trouble. Lussier is the glue that holds this team together and there's little doubt in my mind that she'll be playing at the next level somewhere.
I suppose, too, that when all five of your starters finish in double figures scoring-wise, that does tend to give you an advantage as well as this was the case for Anoka-Ramsey. Longs' 20 points led the way but she had plenty of help as the aforementioned Lussier poured in 15 points (including going 5-6 from downtown) and McDaniel wasn't far behind with her 13 points. Casey finished with 12 points and Alowonle; even with foul trouble, had a "double-double" finishing with 11 points and 14 rebounds. Northland's Dahl was spectacular at times on this night as her "double-double" of 26 points (to lead all scorers) and 12 rebounds would suggest. Both Lilly and Peterson chipped in with 12 points a piece.
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