Magical Run For GAC Ends In The Elite 8

 Had to let my emotions calm down before I decided to finally post something regarding the magic carpet ride that GAC had in the NCAA Tournament - a magical run that came to an end tonight in the Elite 8 out at Bowdoin in Brunswick, ME as the Gusties fell 61-50 to Smith out of the NEWMAC as the Pioneers replicated last year's feat of winning an Elite 8 game at this very same venue.  

I have to admit that tonight's game was an incredibly frustrating one to watch from a GAC standpoint.  When the Gusties grabbed a 22-13 lead at the 8:22 mark of the second period, you couldn't help but think that maybe this was where they were going to pull away and take control of this one for good.  In fact, GAC was still in very good shape with a 25-17 lead near the midway point of the second period.  Curiously, the Gusties seemed to go into a funk on the offensive end as Smith kept picking away and eventually the Pioneers would own a 30-29 lead by the halftime break.  GAC would get the lead back early on in the third period but the Gusties were unable to hold onto that lead as Smith seemed to get in a groove offensively.  Still, GAC was down only one possession at 47-44 at the end of the third period and I still held out hope that the Gusties would finally break out of their offensive doldrums and take over the game.  Alas, that didn't happen on this night as Smith gradually increased its lead as the fourth period progressed.  When you look at the final box score on this one, you'll see that both teams were pretty comparable in shooting from FG range (GAC 22-51 for 43.1% and Smith 22-52 for 42.3%) and the Gusties actually had a slight edge in rebounds at 33-31.  But the two things that killed GAC tonight was (1) shooting from downtown where the Gusties were an ice-cold 1-9 for 11.1%.  Smith wasn't all that great either (5-13 for 38.5%) but they didn't have to be as GAC simply could not knock 'em down when it counted.  The other thing (2) that proved to be a killer for the Gusties was that they gave up 11 second-chance points to the Pioneers and, yeah, that was a killer.  Throw in the fact that GAC was guilty of 16 turnovers on this night as well and you can easily see that this simply wasn't the Gusties night.  It was definitely a bitter pill to swallow.

More importantly though, my heart aches for the six seniors on this team that have given so much for not only this GAC program but for MIAC Women's Basketball in general.  Emma Kniefel, Syd Hauger, Izzy Quick, Kylie Baranick, Rachel Kawiecki and Morgan Kelly - thank you for the memories.

I'll have more to say on this season in the not too distant future..... 

  

NCAA Tournament 2nd Round Game - Wartburg vs GAC 3-8-25

 The right to advance on to the Sweet 16 was on the line on this Saturday night at Lund Arena as Wartburg; regular season and playoff champs of the ARC took on GAC; the regular season and playoff champs of the MIAC.  So fitting in so many ways, I suppose, that these two would hook up in the NCAA Tournament.  The Knights had survived a grueling first round game by one point in getting past UW-Stevens Point on Friday night while the Gusties survived a big-time scare and had to go to an extra session to fend off a gamey Wisconsin Lutheran team.  I got settled into the press area about an hour before tip-off and had plenty of time to watch and study both teams prior to game time and you could just feel the tension in the air for this titanic matchup. 

That this was going to be a tight and hard-fought affair was evident early on.  Wartburg started this game out in a 2-3 matchup zone defense that initially held the Gusties at bay as the Knights took an early 4-0 lead.  Fifth-year senior guard Sara Faber would start things off by slashing into the paint and getting a pretty floater to go down at the 8:05 mark of the opening period and a score in the paint by another fifth-year senior - forward Lauren Woeste at the 7:21 had Wartburg in a good spot before GAC finally overcame its slow start.  Fifth-year senior guard Syd Hauger would knock down a jumper from the right wing area at the 7:01 mark and two free throws by yet another fifth-year senior - willowy guard Emma (not evil) Kniefel after she was fouled in a transition opportunity at the 5:58 mark, got this game leveled at four a piece.  But the Gusties were hardly satisfied with just getting the game tied as they were able to build on this.  Hauger would knock down a jumper from the top of the key at the 5:25 mark and a short jumper from the right side by Kniefel with 4:40 left capped this early run and had GAC up 8-4.  Undeterred, the Knights quickly regained the lead.  Another one of Wartburg's fifth-year seniors, guard Britney Young, would soon bury a three-point bomb from the left wing area with 4:22 left and a short time later Faber would rely on her craftiness to snare a steal and race the other way for a lay-up with 4:02 left that pushed the Knights ahead 9-8.  The Gusties would take the lead back again as senior reserve forward Morgan Kelly connected on a jumper from the right wing area with 3:25 left and then still another fifth-year senior made her presence felt as forward Izzy (Izzy Izzy, you're making me dizzy) Quick made a hard drive for a finish that also drew a foul in the process and the ensuing "and one" by the former Champlin Park standout had GAC up 13-9.  Wartburg would close the gap to one thanks to a three-point bomb by sophomore reserve guard Grace Hennessy from the left wing area with 2:22 left and although the Gusties would take a 15-12 lead on a jumper from the right wing area by senior forward Rachel Kaweicki with 2:07 left but the Knights would close the gap to one at 15-14 once again as yet another fifth-year senior; forward Jaedon Murphy, would knock down a pair of free throws after getting fouled with 1:01 left.  Needless to say, experience was playing a big role in this tight affair thus far.

Wartburg would replicate what it did in the opening period - building a lead - once the second period got underway.  Woeste was able to snare a steal and she was off to the races for an easy lay-up at the 9:46 mark to put the Knights back up 16-15 and another one of the Knights fifth-year senior army; reserve forward Natalie Bearbower, would drain a "3" from the top of the key as the shot clock was expiring at the 8:54 mark that gave Wartburg a 19-15 lead.  But no panic was in evidence on the Gustie side as they bounced right back.  Senior point guard Kylie Baranick would calmly bury a three-point bomb from the left wing area at the 8:07 mark and two free throws by Kawiecki after she was fouled at the 5:23 mark put GAC back out in front 20-19.  The Knights would regain the upper hand as Faber would bury a "3" of her own from the left top area with 4:14 left that had them up 22-20 and a score in the paint by Woeste with 3:12 left maintained the two-point advantage at 24-22.  But it was here where the Gusties were able to end this second period on a 9-2 run.  Back-to-back lay-ups - one by Kniefel with 2:24 left and another one by Baranick with 1:58 left - had GAC back out in front 26-24 and one more lay-up by Kniefel with :44.3 left maintained the two-point lead at 28-26.  Then, with just :03.6 left, Quick would come through again as she knocked down a jumper along the left baseline that drew a foul in the process and her obligatory freebie gave the Gusties a five-point cushion as both teams headed to their locker rooms.  A quick check of the halftime box score showed that Wartburg had a slight edge on the boards at 14-12 along with an edge in points in the paint at 12-8.  However, Knights Head Coach Bob Amsberry had to be irked that his squad had been guilty of 14 turnovers thus far along with the fact that the Gusties feasted on those turnovers by getting 15 points out of them.

GAC would assume its largest lead yet when Baranick knocked down a jumper from the free throw line area at the 9:06 mark of the third period before the Knights could get things going again on their end with a 9-2 push.  Junior guard Lauren Donlea would unleash a three-point bomb from the right wing area at the 8:44 mark and Young would follow suit with a three-point bomb of her own from the right corner at the 7:20 mark that had the deficit down to three at 35-32.  Wartburg would then unleash more terror from behind the arc as Faber would bang home a "3" from the right top area at the 6:44 mark that leveled this game at 35 and Gusties Head Coach Laurie Kelly; not at all like how this third period was going for her team, called for a thirty-second timeout.  That short stoppage in play initially seemed to have a positive effect for GAC as they were able to forge a small lead.  Quick would make a hard drive for a finish at the 5:14 mark that put the Gusties back out in front at 37-35 and one free throw by Baranick after she was fouled with 4:38 left upped that lead to 38-35.  But Wartburg would get the job done at the charity stripe down the stretch of this third period while GAC would come up empty.  Hennesy would get a pair of free throws to go down after getting fouled with 1:39 left as would Faber after she was fouled with :07.6 left as the Knights carried a 39-38 advantage into the fourth period.

The tension inside Lund Arena became more noticeable once the fourth period got underway as Wartburg was able to grow its lead to 41-38 on two free throws by Faber after she was fouled at the 9:46 mark and the Knights would maintain this three-point edge on a tough, one-handed shot off the glass by Murphy at the 8:47 mark that made it 43-40.  With the Gusties still struggling to find solid footing on the offensive end, Wartburg upped its lead to four at 45-41 when Murphy connected on a lay-up and there was just this sensation that it was probably going to be now or never for the Gusties if they were going to make a stand.  And GAC did exactly that as on their ensuing possession, Baranick buried a cold-hearted "3" from the right top area at the 6:20 mark that cut the deficit down to one at 45-44 and after a foiled Knights possession, Kniefel would knock down a jumper from near the free throw line area at the 5:41 mark that pushed the Gusties back out in front 46-45 and one free throw by Hauger after she was fouled in a transition opportunity with 4:58 left upped the lead to two at 47-45 but GAC certainly wasn't out of the woods yet by any stretch.  After Wartburg closed the gap to one again on one free throw by Faber after she was fouled with 3:38 left, the Gusties were able to establish a bit more breathing room as Morgan Kelly knocked down a jumper from the right elbow area with 3:24 left and a drive and pretty lay-up by Kniefel with 2:40 left gave GAC a five-point cushion at 51-46 but the Knights were in no mood to let their host off the hook that easily.  After Wartburg's Amsberry called a subsequent timeout, the Knights were able to make things perilous for the home crowd again.  Faber would connect on a lay-up with 1:16 left that pulled Wartburg back to within a single possession and then the Knights were able to force a turnover with :50 left and quickly set up shop on the offensive end.  With :31. 6 left, Murphy would get fouled and she would get both free throw attempts to go down that cut the deficit to a scant point at 51-50 and once again, things were hanging in the balance.  GAC's Laurie Kelly would call a thirty-second timeout to set up strategy on their ensuing possession.  With :28.7 left, Baranick would get fouled and even though she couldn't get the front end to cooperate, the back-end attempt was true that not only had the Gusties up 52-50 but now GAC was in the bonus as well.  A short time later with :23.4 left, GAC's Kawiecki maybe made the defensive play of the night when she forced a jump ball and with the possession arrow in favor of the Gusties, there was finally light at the end of the tunnel.  Kniefel would be fouled almost immediately thereafter with :22.6 left and the former Medford standout got both free throws to go down that made it 54-50.  Wartburg's Amsberry would call for a thirty-second timeout in hopes of finding some quick magic but by this point, he was probably forced to roll the dice a bit more than he would have normally liked.  With :10.8 left, the Knights were trying to inbound the ball on a long pass but Woeste's pass was too high for Murphy to snare and that effectively choked off the last ray of hope Wartburg had in this game.  The Gusties Laurie Kelly would use her last thirty-second timeout to ensure everyone knew what they had to do and with :07.8 left, GAC's Kniefel would get fouled and once again, Kniefel came through from the charity stripe with two insurance free throws and the Knights last lifeline was gone as the Gusties advanced to the Sweet 16 with a thrilling 56-50 victory. 

To say that GAC's Laurie Kelly was thrilled, relieved, happy or just plain excited for her team to be making this program's second foray into the Sweet 16 would probably be a massive understatement but she had every right to be feeling all these emotions when she, Kniefel, Baranick and daughter Morgan Kelly got into the postgame press conference.  "I've felt this feeling only one other time for this team to have this opportunity" she opened up with on her overall thoughts for this game.  "The other time was on the road so to be able to do this on Gus Young Court in Lund Center with that many Gusties yelling and cheering for you.....There are very few Division III athletes that get to play in moments or games like that and to be able to do it on your own home court - it's surreal.  It's priceless and I think my heart is completely full with gratitude and there's so much pride for these young women for what they were able to do in representing this team tonight."  I first asked Laurie Kelly about how every possession on each side seemed to be a battle within itself and with this contest as tight as it was for so long and how her squad was able to maintain its composure and never once wavered.  "When you come to play "off" time like this, every possession really matters!  You play like each one could be your last.......My hat goes off to Wartburg; what a tremendous basketball program and great team.  We knew it'd be a battle from the tip.....They have a lot of size and fifth-year seniors and veteran players so you knew that this would be a tough game for somebody today......I knew we could walk off the floor whether we won or lost and I knew we left everything on the floor and both teams did that.....Very different story from where we were yesterday where we just didn't get into the 'groove' of Gustavus basketball but today it was who we were and just like that five minute overtime (from last night) I just knew that's where we were gonna be today and I absolutely felt that for all four quarters and this is why you do it....I hear things all the time like the harder it is, the better it is and I've said that a lot in a lot of tough games.....To be really great, you've got to be a team that's going to go to battle each night for each other and you've gotta have each other's back.  And that is definitely us and that is who they are and when push came to shove, we stepped up and made big plays and these young women have the key to the success of our program.....I haven't felt this good after a win in a really long time."  I also asked Laurie Kelly about what transpired when Wartburg got a lead on them in the fourth period and how they were able to fend off such a tough situation in a critical moment of the game and how they prepared for all of Wartburg's offensive weapons.  "We were poised......We didn't play our best basketball by any means....If you look at the numbers, we weren't that great behind the three-point  line, we missed some free throws that we hadn't missed from the night before and we had some people that struggled to finish around the rim.  But we 'gritted" it out; just a lot of grit and energy and effort and it's defensively where we were able to get it done and it's what we've hung our hat on all year long.....In the end, 50 points against a team that averages a lot more than that.  We shut down some of their big scorers and we got some of them in foul trouble early so I think the gameplan of how we thought we could take this game was done really really well.  But rebounding was something that we felt was going to be pretty even that could be a difference-maker as well as the turnovers.  The thing about Wartburg is that this team has turned the ball over a little more than they have in the past and I thought we were able to take advantage defensively by forcing some turnovers which gave us some things in transition."  Kniefel was asked about what was going through her head coming down in the home stretch when she had to either hit a tough shot or sink critical free throws.  "I've done so many things in that gym; there really wasn't much going through my head."  Because Kniefel as well as Hauger and Quick have been in these big moments before, they know how to handle these situations so well and they were all exceptionally solid on both ends of the floor when they had to be on this night.  

Wartburg's Amsberry was a bit more solemn in his team's postgame presser but was able to hold his disappointment over his team's loss in check.  "Yeah, it just wasn't our night......I thought we defended extremely well against a really good team.....I think most nights when we hold a team to 56, we win....We couldn't get enough shots to go down...We turned it over too much....Thought we made some really good adjustments coming out of the half.....It just wasn't our night.....Honestly, I've moved on from this....I have ten seniors in that locker room and it was really hard to decide who to bring (Murphy and senior reserve guard Faith Trelka were there with him).  I think these two represent us in different ways but you're going to get the same thing and it's about us loving each other and trusting each other and the journey......This game doesn't spoil any of that.....I'm at peace with where we are today because they do it the right way.  We've got a lot of great kids.  We gave it everything we have......Every day we have hard conversations; just about loving each other and doing this journey together."  I asked Amsberry about how this particular game seemed to have an aura of either an Elite 8 game or even a Final Four game as opposed to being a second-round game given the records of each team and the high hopes that both teams had coming into this NCAA Tournament.  "Yeah.....I mean, we've been there and it did have that 'feel'.  We're in a great region.  I think we're in the best region in the country and we're gonna have matches like this....It's just part of the deal and I think other teams in other regions have different challenges and we're okay with that.....We're not Whitman and we can't host because we're too far from people but we're in a region where you're going to have a matchup like this in the second round and you embrace it and we think if we matched up with 'em again, we can beat them.  We've never shied away from any of that.  I've never not liked our draw and I don't know if it's nine or ten years in a row but we've had to play some of the best and I've never not liked our draw.  We go in with the challenge in front of you and we prepare and we do what we can do.  Some things in life you can't control.....We're never going to make excuses......Our loss tonight was us.  There's some things we could've done way better.  I could have made some better calls.....But I'm in a really good place right now and I feel good about who we are."  I also asked him about some of the specific adjustments his team made coming out of the halftime break.  "We wanted to get some different 'touches' on the offensive end and we slowed down a little bit and were a little more deliberate in specific 'touches'......I thought it allowed us to slow the game down; to see the game happen.....We were in a zone offense......And it allowed us to get some great looks."  Both Murphy and Young talked about the amazing bond that this team has had over the last few years but the actual winning was just a small part of it.  Both felt grateful to be a part of this program and the lasting friendships that they'll both have for life.  I've always had a ton of respect for this Wartburg program and being around them - if only for a relatively short period of time - only underscores what a quality group of people this program has.

It's funny when you look at the final box score of this one because one could easily come away with the feeling that maybe the Knights could have and perhaps should have prevailed in this one had a few things gone differently.  To be sure, rebounding was practically dead-even so that category I think you could toss out the window.  You look closer and you'll see that the Knights shot slightly better from FG range going 16-39 for a straight 41%  while GAC was 20-50 for a straight 40%.  Wartburg was 7-16 from downtown for 43.8% while the Gusties were an icy 2-11 for 18.2%.  And Wartburg was better at the charity stripe on this night going 11-14 for 78.6% while the Gusties were 14-20 for a straight 70%.  The Knights had a slight advantage in points in the paint at 18-16 and had a decided edge in those all-important second-chance points at 6-2.  No, what did in Wartburg on this night were those 24 turnovers they were guilty of and the fact that GAC was able to cash in at the bank getting 26 points off of those turnovers.  It just shows you how effective GAC's defensive schemes are and how much havoc they can wreak with their defense alone and that will win you games as it did on this night.  

What a way for Kniefel to finish out her career at Lund Arena as her 20 points not only paced the Gusties in this win but led all scorers as well.  Baranick was her usual steady, reliable self as she finished with 12 points.  Kawiecki meanwhile had "only" five points but she grabbed eight rebounds on this night; six of them on the defensive end which were huge.  Faber closed out her great Wartburg career as she paced the Knights attack with her 17 points.

NCAA Tournament 1st Round Game - Wisconsin Lutheran vs GAC 3-7-25

 The second game on this Friday night at Lund Arena featured Wisconsin Lutheran taking on host GAC.  The Warriors were coming into this contest with a solid 21-7 record and beat St. Norbert to claim the NACC Championship Game title and that conference's AQ to get into the Dance.  The Gusties meanwhile were coming in with a great 26-1 record and had beaten regular season co-champ Bethel in the MIAC Championship Game.  Because of the time spent in the postgame press conferences from the previous game, I got settled back into Lund Arena at the 4:16 mark of the first period with the contest leveled at eight a piece.  

Both teams looked sluggish and out of sorts on the offensive end when I was ready to go with both teams missing out on several opportunities.  Finally, with 3:03 left, the Gusties shook the growing cobwebs on their basket when fifth-year senior guard Emma (not evil) Kniefel knocked down a jumper from the left elbow area and a little less than a minute later with 2:25 left, senior reserve forward Morgan Kelly connected on a jumper from near the free throw line area that put GAC up 12-8.  The Warriors had one chance to add to their ledger before this opening period was in the books but it slipped through their hands when junior combo guard/forward Jayden Hill got sent to the charity stripe after getting fouled with :55.7 left but the Kenosha, WI native was unable to cash in on either attempt so off we went to the second period in this low-scoring affair.

And Wisconsin Lutheran's prospects certainly weren't looking any brighter once the second period got underway as they still seemed to be in quicksand on the offensive end plus the fact that freshman guard Lily Oiler got whistled for her second foul of the night at the 5:59 mark.  To be sure, the Gusties weren't exactly setting the world on fire either with their normally-potent offensive attack but they were finally able to add to their safety net when Kniefel knocked down a jumper from the left elbow area off the glass at the 5:42 mark to make it a 14-8 ballgame and that lead would grow to 16-8 when senior point guard Kylie Baranick made a hard drive for a finish with 4:01 left.  Finally, after what seemed to take a couple of lifetimes, Wisconsin Lutheran finally found some semblance of offense.  Hill made up for her earlier transgression on the missed charity stripe attempts from the previous period and knocked down a short jumper off the glass with 3:38 left but the Gusties rebuilt that eight-point pad on a lay-up in transition by Kniefel with 2:33 left and Wisconsin Lutheran Head Coach Klay Knueppel; not happy at all with the way things had been going for his team, took a match to a timeout in hopes of lighting a fire for his squad for the last couple of minutes.  That stoppage in play had a very positive effect on the Warriors as they closed out this second period on a 7-2 push that tightened this one up.  Freshman guard Abby Cole would make a nifty drive for a finish with 2:06 left and with :43 left, Cole would strike again as she would unleash a three-point bomb from the right wing area that closed the gap to five at 20-15.  Then, just before the halftime buzzer sounded, Hill would connect on an almost impossible lay-up with just :00.2 left that cut GAC's lead to 20-17 as both teams headed to their locker rooms.  Wisconsin Lutheran's Knueppel had to feel good about the fact that his squad thus far had a slight edge on the boards by a 17-14 count but they had to clean up things in the turnover department as the Gusties had thus far got 11 points off of Warrior miscues.

GAC would increase it's safety net to five at the 9:42 mark of the third period when senior forward Rachel Kawiecki got a pair of free throws to go down after getting fouled but growing this cushion quickly proved to be problematic as the Warriors came out with new vigor and urgence and quickly worked their way back into this game and shook off all of the previous issues that had slowed them down in the first half.  Senior guard Kara Troxel would bury a "3" from the right corner at the 9:13 mark and then fellow senior guard Janiyah Goner would slither into the paint for another score at the 8:24 mark that got this game tied at 22-all.  Alarmed, the Gusties would try and recover as senior guard Syd Hauger would bang home a "3" from the left top area at the 7:18 mark to get them back out in front at 25-22 but that didn't last long as Wisconsin Lutheran was just getting into their groove.  Senior point guard Lexy Smit would get one free throw to go down after getting fouled at the 6:27 mark and then Hill would strike again at the 5:52 mark by snaring a steal and racing the other way for a lay-up that leveled this contest again at 25.  With 4:49 left, the Warriors would get out in front for the first time since the early moments of the opening period when Smit knocked down a short, turnaround jumper to make it 27-25 and Wisconsin Lutheran would up its lead to three at 29-26 when Cole maneuvered into the paint for a score with 4:11 left.  GAC finally got things into gear as Kniefel connected on a short, turnaround jumper with 3:42 left and two free throws by Kawiecki after she was fouled with 1:44 left pushed the Gusties back out in front 30-29.  Wisconsin Lutheran would take the lead right back on two free throws by Cole after she was fouled with 1:22 left but GAC would get the game knotted at 31 a piece when senior forward Izzy (Izzy Izzy, you're making me dizzy) Quick got one free throw to go down after getting fouled with 1:10 left.  Still, the Warriors would take a two-point lead at 33-31 when Cole connected on an incredibly pretty reverse lay-up underneath the basket with :54 left and even though the Gusties got the game tied again at 33-all on a jumper from the right wing area by Quick with just :21 left, there was a sense of uneasiness swirling around the partisan home crowd in Lund Arena as this one went to the fourth period.

GAC hoped to grab momentum (and control) at the beginning of this fourth period and a pretty reverse lay-up by Kniefel at the 8:50 mark was definitely the start the partisan Gustie crowd had hoped for but this stubborn Wisconsin Lutheran team refused to give in.  Smit would unleash terror from behind the arc as she would bang home a "3" from the left top area at the 8:01 mark as the Warriors regained the lead at 36-35 and although GAC would take the lead back when Baranick uncorked a three-point bomb of her own from the right wing area at the 7:35 mark, the Warriors were far from finished.  Goner would connect on a lay-up at the 7:18 mark to tie the contest again at 38 and then Hill would come through again for Wisconsin Lutheran when she muscled into the paint for a score and drew a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" pushed the Warriors out in front 41-38.  After a foiled Gustie possession, Wisconsin Lutheran would inflict more damage when Hill connected on a lay-up at the 6:06 mark that had the Warriors up by five at 43-38 and GAC Head Coach Laurie Kelly, remembering all too well about what happened a year ago, wasted little time in calling for a halt to the action.  The Gusties would get a bit of a reprieve when Kniefel knocked down a short jumper in the lane in a transition opportunity with 4:31 left but Wisconsin Lutheran would put its opponent in an even deeper hole when Troxel banged home a "3" from the top of the key with 3:55 left that now had the Warriors up by six at 46-40 and now GAC was effectively fighting for its life.  The Gusties first started crawling back when Kniefel dropped a pair of free throws after getting fouled with 3:00 left  and with 2:31 left, Kniefel would strike again by connecting on a short jumper in transition that had GAC back to within a single possession down 46-44.  But the Gusties still had work to do as Wisconsin Lutheran upped its lead to 47-44 when sophomore forward Margie Stevens got one free throw to go down after getting fouled with 1:33 left.  Indeed, GAC's prospects appeared to dim when they came up empty on their ensuing possession but the Warriors would soon turn the ball over and with the Gusties coming down to their last few lifelines, Laurie Kelly called for a thirty-second timeout with :42.2 left to draw up strategy.  On GAC's ensuing possession the Gusties carefully worked the ball around the court and with the shot clock ticking down, Kniefel got the ball and although guarded, was able to elevate and drain a three-point bomb from the left top area with :17 left that not only had Lund Center exploding but also tied the contest at 47 a piece.  Still time for Wisconsin Lutheran to set up a possible game winning play, of course, as the Warriors Knueppel quickly called for a thirty-second timeout to set up strategy.  But on the ensuing Wisconsin Lutheran possession, Stevens would get whistled for an offensive foul that effectively choked off that opportunity.  Now it was GAC's Laurie Kelly's turn to call for a thirty-second timeout with just :02.5 left.  On the first inbound attempt, the Gusties were forced to burn their last timeout as they were unable to get anyone open.  On the second inbound attempt, GAC tried a long pass down low from inside the midcourt line but it was intercepted by the Warriors with just :00.4 left on the clock.  Knueppel would then use his last thirty-second timeout in hopes of drawing up a miracle but the Wisconsin Lutheran inbound attempt was knocked away so off to overtime we went with this issue unresolved at 47 a piece.

Whether or not the Warriors ran out of gas at this point is uncertain but it soon became obvious that their window of opportunity had come and gone once the extra session was underway.  GAC would get its nose out in front first on a tough score in the paint by Kawiecki with 4:46 left and although the Warriors would tie the game at 49 a piece on two free throws by Troxel after she was fouled with 3:30 left, the Gusties then seized control of this game for good.  Kawiecki would come up with back-to-back scores - a jumper from the left elbow area with 3:08 left and a short, turnaround jumper with 2:25 left - that now had GAC up 53-49.  The Warriors fortunes plummeted even further when Stevens picked up her fifth and final foul of the night during Kawiecki's splurge and GAC was now in position to put a bow tie on this thing once and for all after the thirty-second timeout by Wisconsin Lutheran's Knueppel.  Quick would get one free throw to go down after getting fouled with 1:47 left and then Hauger would deliver the dagger of daggers - a three-point bomb from the left wing area with 1:01 left that now had the Gusties up 57-49.  Baranick would add a pair of insurance free throws for good measure as well - once with :29.5 left and again with :20.7 left as GAC put last year's heartbreak against Trine in the rear view mirror and advanced to the second round with an utterly thrilling 61-49 victory.  

A happy and extremely relieved Laurie Kelly of GAC along with Hauger, Baranick and Morgan Kelly were in the press conference room afterward.  Kelly first remarked - tongue in cheek - about perhaps coloring her hair after this latest first round scare before moving on to more important items.  "We didn't start in our 'groove', we struggled to finish shots around the rim."  Defensively, Laurie Kelly liked what they did; especially holding them scoreless from the first media timeout to the second media timeout.  And she pointed out that defense is what this team hangs its hat on and the fact that they held Wisconsin Lutheran to 49 points in 45 minutes speaks volumes about what they were able to accomplish defensively.  "Are we a better offensively?" she asked rhetorically.  "Yes, but we're here today because of what we did on defense.:  Laurie Kelly was quick to give Wisconsin Lutheran a ton of credit as they were ready to play and that they battled until the very last possession.  I asked Laurie Kelly about the second period when things seemed to stall out offensively for the Gusties even though they had the lead.  "I just thought we looked a little lethargic on offense."  She gave the Warriors credit as they made things problematic for the Gusties with their athleticism and the fact that they were able to "pack it in" down low on defense which made it difficult for her team to penetrate.  "I just thought we looked like our tempo was slower than normal" she added.  But she also felt that her squad finally found that long-awaited rhythm in that extra seassion when they finally pulled away.  "When we get stops, we typically score in transition" she said but all the missed opportunities in transition during the game prior to the overtime period were somewhat deflating from an energy standpoint.  Kelly also pointed out to her team prior to this game that in the NCAA Tournament, possessions matter and it's the difference between advancing and going home.  And Laurie Kelly added that she and her staff and squad are trying to enjoy the moment as much as they can; finally getting the chance to host and getting to advance as well.  I also asked Laurie Kelly about what adjustments she had to make when Wisconsin Lutheran got a bit of a lead in that fourth period.  "For a while, we took our 'bigs' out and we went 'small'; went a little more quick and athletic.......After out timeout, we just went back to the foundation of our defensive principles about how we were going to stop the penetration and the 'dribble-drive' and we made some changes on the switching and that really helped us in the overtime and we kind of found our 'groove'.  We started hitting shots that we typically make and you can see how that propelled us."  

Despite the tough overtime loss, Wisconsin Lutheran's Knueppel - along with several of his players - tried to keep things upbeat as possible even though the disappointment was still present.  "We had a hard time coming here (to the press conference) and I've been doing this for a long time."  I asked Knueppel about the rough patch his team seemed to hit by the time I got settled in with 4:16 left with the game tied at eight a piece and the Warriors went on an extended dry spell.  "That's been us all year....That's been kind of our struggle all year where we get into stretches where we don't score.....We hit some '3's' early on in a game and then we go on stretches where we don't score.....During a timeout, I just we're playing really good defense, we just gotta make shots......But they just kept fighting and they battled."  I mentioned to Knueppel that I thought, in many ways, that his team caused more problems for GAC than the other way around.  "I have really good assistant coaches.....We talked about going 'five in - five out' which we haven't really done for a while but we said we're gonna spread 'em out and get some one-on-one opportunities with our quick players......We had success sometimes and sometimes we didn't but we had 'em spread out and chasin' us around and we had more success scoring in the second half."  

When you look at the final box score on this one, it's kind of a mixed bag for both teams.  GAC had a slight edge on the boards but only at 32-29 and the turnover department kind of evened out although the Warriors did wind up having a few more at 20-17.  What's interesting is that Wisconsin Lutheran actually had a decided edge in points in the paint at 28-20.  But, at the end of the day, what likely doomed the Warriors was the overall shooting percentage - even if GAC's numbers weren't that great either.  Wisconsin Lutheran was 19-55 from FG range for 34.5% and there's some outings where you can get away with that.  But from behind the arc, the Warriors shot only 4-21 for 19% and that aspect was going to come back to bite you at some point.  Then from the charity stripe, Wisconsin Lutheran was 7-12 for 58.3% and you've heard me harp on this subject ad nauseum, that's leaving some critical points on the table and in a close game, guess what, that's going to cost you.  GAC meanwhile was a solid 17-20 from the free throw line for a straight 85% and that was a big factor coming down the stretch of this one.  They closed the door in that extra session and those free throws sure helped.

What can you say about Kniefel and her willingness to lay it all out there when it counts.  She did so again on this night and she simply refused to let her team lose and she easily led all scorers with her 20 points.  Both Hauger and Baranick were their steady, reliable selves as they pitched in with 14 and 11 points, respectively.  Morgan Kelly was also very solid on this night as well as she tallied 10 points to round out a pretty balanced attack by GAC.  Over on the Wisconsin Lutheran side, Hill had a fantastic game as she recorded a double-double with 15 points and10 rebounds while Troxel wasn't far behind with her 13 points.  

NCAA Tournament - 1st Round Game - UW-Stevens Point vs Wartburg 3-7-25

 Made the easy drive down US Highway 169 and the Union Pacific's Mankato Sub mainline to St. Peter on this sunny and pleasant early March afternoon to get situated in Lund Arena on the campus of Gustavus Adolphus College for this 1st/2nd round pod being hosted by GAC - a first-time affair for this program.  The first game of this evening featured UW-Stevens Point out of the WIAC which got into the Dance with an at-large bid and Wartburg; champions of the ARC.  The Pointers were coming into the NCAA Tournament with an overall record of 18-8 in a very competitive WIAC Conference that sent five teams to the Dance.  The Knights meanwhile were coming in with a sparkling 25-2 record and had won both the ARC regular season title and the ARC Championship Game to claim that conference's AQ to the Dance.

As you can imagine, both teams came out a bit sluggish offensively with both teams having to endure a case of the jitters and it wasn't until the 8:22 mark of the opening period when UW-Stevens Point finally broke the ice on a score in the paint by senior combo guard/forward Alexa Thomson.  The Pointers would grab a 4-2 advantage when sophomore reserve combo guard/forward Alexa Truchon connected on a short jumper along the left baseline at the 7:37 mark but Wartburg would then take its cue.  Slender fifth-year senior Lauren Woeste slithered into the paint for a score to tie the game at the 7:16 mark and then the Knights would poke their nose out in front on a pretty drive and finish by sophomore reserve forward Lauren Golinghorst at the 6:16 mark to make it a 6-4 ballgame.  UW-Stevens Point would reclaim the lead on a three-point bomb by senior guard Courtney Krueger from the left wing area at the 5:14 mark but things would go downhill from there for the Pointers as Wartburg seized control.  Golinghorst would connect on a lay-up in transition with 4:05 left and would follow that up with another lay-up with 3:32 left that helped spark a 10-0 run.  Fifth-year senior reserve guard Natalie Bearbower would drain a "3" from the right wing area with 2:11 left and then fellow fifth-year senior guard Sara Faber would bury a "3" of her ownfrom the top of the key with 1:48 left that had the Knights out in front 16-7 and UW-Stevens Point Head Coach Matt Hockett; seeing his squad out of sorts on the offensive end, called for a holt for the action.  Still the Pointers couldn't get anything to fall in the remaining time of this first period and things definitely were not looking promising for the Stevens Point faithful.

UW-Stevens Point finally dusted off the cobwebs forming on its basket at the 9:20 mark of the second period when junior guard Maija Rice knocked down a jumper from the top of the key just inside the arc but the Knights were not relinquishing control of this game just yet.  Sophmore reserve guard Grace Hennessy would bury a "3" from the top of the key at the 8:59 mark and a score in the paint by fifth-year senior forward Jaedon Murphy at the 8:19 mark appeared to have Wartburg in great shape with a 21-10 advantage.  But it was here where the Pointers turned up their intensity on defense as they slyly took their opponent out of their comfort zone and battled back.  Krueger would connect on a short jumper in the lane in a transition opportunity at the 7:01 mark and would follow that up a bit later at the 5:14 mark with a drive into the lane and a pretty floater that cut the deficit down to seven at 21-14.  Then freshman reserve forward Aubrey Smith would bang home a "3" from the left wing area with 4:42 left and when fellow freshman reserve guard Brenna Gehri made a hard drive for a lay-up with 3:37 left, UW-Stevens Point was suddenly back to within a single possession down 21-19.  Then senior foward Gabby Gawlitta made her presence felt as she would grab an offensive rebound of her own miss with 2:50 left and get a putback that also drew a foul and her ensuing "and one" now pushed the Pointers back in front 22-21.  Gawlitta would also knock down a pair of free throws after getting fouled with 1:53 left to cap this unexpected 14-0 blitz that extended the UW-Stevens Point lead to 24-21 before the Knights finally ended their extended dry spell on one free throw by Faber after she was fouled with 1:46 left.  Wartburg would then get the game leveled on an offensive rebound and putback by Woeste with :29.3 left but the Pointers would take a 26-24 lead into the locker room at the half on a pair of free throws by Rice after she was fouled with :12 left and for the Knights; who definitely seemed in control of things after the first period, looked out of sorts and it definitely appeared that the physicality aspect of UW-Stevens Point had definitely tipped the scales in their favor.

Neither team could seem to gain much of an advantage once the third period got underway as things were tight througout.  Wartburg would regain the lead at 27-26 on a three-point bomb by fifth-year senior guard Britney Young from the left wing area are at the 9:42 mark but the Pointers would grab it right back at 28-27 when Thomson snared an offensive rebound for a putback at the 9:11 left.  UW-Stevens Point would assume a 31-29 lead on a three-point bomb by sophmore reserve guard Karissa Smith from the left corner at the 8:34 mark but right back came the Knights as they got this one leveled at 31 on a drive into the lane and pretty floater by Young at the 8:02 mark.  Defense would take center stage over the next couple of minutes but the Pointers would get themselves back out in front on a three-point bomb by freshman reserve guard Maddie Murphy at the 5:39 mark to make it 34-31 but Wartburg would respond with a 4-0 push as Golinghorst muscled into the paint for a score at the 5:11 mark and two free throws by Faber after she was fouled with 4:22 left pushed the Knights back out in front by a 35-34 count.  Now it was UW-Stevens Point's turn to respond as Thomson connected with a short jumper from the right side with 4:04 left that gave the Pointers a 36-35 edge.  Then it was Wartburg's turn to reclaim the lead as Woeste would get one free throw to go down after getting fouled with :50 left and two more by Hennessy after she was fouled with :35.7 left gave the Knights a 38-36 lead but some of the temporary relief by that was wiped away for Wartburg when Jaedon Murphy picked up her third foul of the evening with just :02.6 left.  

But UW-Stevens Point wasn't without foul issues either and that issue reared its ugly head for the Pointers at the 9:48 mark of the fourth period when Gawlitta was whistled for her fourth foul of the evening and Hockett was in no mood to gamble with one of his "bigs" and quickly yanked her to the bench for preservation purposes.  That sequence seemed to give Wartburg a bit of an opening and Faber would come through for the Knights as she would get a tough score in the paint at the 9:24 mark and a Faber lay-up in transition at the 8:53 mark had Wartburg up 40-38.  The Knights would maintain this two-point edge when Woeste grabbed an offensive rebound of her own miss for a putback at the 7:53 mark that had Wartburg up 42-40.  But this back-and-forth affair would take another turn as the Pointers would grab the upper hand.  Thomson would knock down a pair of free throws after getting fouled at the 7:37  mark and she would follow that up a bit later at the 6:57 mark with a jumper from the left elbow area that gave UW-Stevens Point a 44-42 lead.  The Knights would get the game leveled on a lay-up by Golinghorst at the 5:46 mark but then the Pointers would proceed to put their opponent behind the eight-ball with a 5-0 push.  Thomson would grab an offensive rebound for a putback that also drew a foul and her ensuing "and one" put UW-Stevens Point in front 47-44 at the 5:03 mark.  Then Rice would knock down a jumper in the lane with 4:33 left that now had the Pointers up 49-44 and Wartburg Head Coach Bob Amsberry; now seeing his team possibly being in the danger zone in a first-round NCAA Tournament game, took a match a timeout in hopes of some quick fixes to this mess.  The Knights would quickly respond as Jaedon Murphy connected on a lay-up off of an inbounds pass with 4:23 left and then Golinghorst would grab an offensive rebound for a putback after a steal that now had the deficit down to one at 49-48.  But UW-Stevens Point certainly didn't seem willing to let go of this small advantage.  Rice would maneuver into the paint for one score with 3:38 left that gave the Pointers a 51-48 lead and although Wartburg would cut it to one on two free throws by Jaedon Murphy after she was fouled with 3:20 left, the Pointers opened up some more space as Krueger buried what looked to be a dagger "3" from the left wing area with 2:22 left that gave UW-Stevens Point a 54-50 lead.  The Knights would quickly cut that down to one point as Hennessy unleashed a three-point bomb of her own from the left corner with 2:11 left but UW-Stevens Point was able to increase its safety net to three points on a pair of free throws by Rice after she was fouled with 1:54 left.  The Pointers would ultimately lose Gawlitta to foul trouble after she picked up her fifth foul of the night with 1:25 left but there was no time to worry about that now as they had to focus on choking off their opponent.  Wartburg's Young would see her three-point shot attempt with 1:05 left rattle out and with :49.1 left, UW-Stevens Point Hockett would call a timeout in hopes of closing this one out.  But the Pointers would come up empty on their ensuing possession and with :24.3 left, Wartburg closed things to a scant point at 56-55 when Golinghorst made a hard drive into the lane for a finish.  But now the Knights had to foul and UW-Stevens Point's Krueger would get sent to the charity stripe with :20.9 left.  But Krueger was unable to cash in on either free throw attempt and now the Knights had their chance as they got the ball over midcourt and set up their offense.  But things nearly went awry for Wartburg as they almost lost the ball at midcourt but luckily regained possession with just :04.1 left in regulation.  Both teams would take timeouts in hopes of doing whatever they needed to do to secure ultimate victory.  With the clock winding down, Wartburg's Faber would make a last-gasp drive into the lane and although her shot attempt was errant, the officials whistled UW-Stevens Point senior post Kelly McIntyre for the foul; much to the chagrin of the Pointers Hockett and his players and the faithful in the stands.  Faber calmly dropped both free throw attempts to put the Knights out in front 57-56 with just :01.3 left on the clock.  UW-Stevens Point's Hockett took his last thirty-second timeout in hopes of drawing up one last play.  The Pointers got the ball inbounded to Rice and she went up to launch a three-point shot attempt as the buzzer sounded that banged off the rim and although there was some incidental contact, no foul was called despite vehement protests from the Pointer contingent as Wartburg was able to get out of Dodge with the slim 57-56 victory to advance into the second round.

Wartburg's Amsberry was quick to give UW-Stevens Point a lot of credit following the Knights narrow win,  "Hats off to Stevens Point - they had a great year and gave us a tremendous challenge tonight.....They had us late and our kids made some really big plays....I respect how they (Stevens Point) did it all year and they are trending upward.  But our team - they find ways and they've just done it over and over......I think that in the NCAA Tournament; to make a run, you've got to have a game or two where it comes down to something like this and when we got down by five, we were able to get some big stops.....I couldn't be more proud of this group and certainly how they play the game but more so as people because they've had a tremendous impact on our program.  I asked Amsberry about the adjustments he had to make at the halftime break after the Knights looked so out of sorts on the offensive end in that second period.  "I thought they did a good job of taking us out of who we want to be and our whole thing going into this game was staying true to who we are and in that second quarter they got us out of that; no question.  I thought in the second half we did a better job of getting the touches we wanted and where we wanted and that's just credit to our players for being able to do that."  I also asked Amsberry about the physicality aspect and how UW-Stevens Point seemed to use that to their advantage in this game.  "They're physical......I don't know what impact that had....We've faced teams before that are physical but for us it's just a matter of being able to play through that."  

As you can imagine, it was a very emotional UW-Stevens Point contingent that came into the press conference afterward and the sadness and disappointment was clearly etched on their faces; including Hockett's as he was emotional.  He talked about how this game; despite the loss, was a "win" in many ways; not just for the team but for this program as well as it's been a while since they've been on this stage.  He also talked about the four seniors at length - Krueger, Gawlitta, McIntyre and Thomson - and what they've meant to the program and this team.  "They love that name on the front of their jerseys" he said and he also talked about how this group stayed together despite the previous rough seasons where the wins seemed to be few and far between.  "They mean the world to me."  I aksed Hockett about his team's struggles offensively in that first period and what they did to turn things around once the second period got underway.  "I think maybe they were a little too 'keyed up" in that first period and I think they just really 'settled in' and it became a really good basketball game.....It came down to execution and it came down to the care and love and belief in one another to make the right plays."  "It wasn't all perfect" he added as he mentioned the 23 turnovers his team was guilty of on this night.  But he didn't second-guess his squad's toughness.  "We're battle-tested.....We've been playing tournament basketball since February 15th and we had to beat UW-Eau Claire just to get into our conference tournament and we put together a win against a tough UW-Stout team and a UW-La Crosse team who are both in the NCAA Tournament and you look at our schedule, the last three games we played prior to the NCAA Tournament were teams from our conference who are in the NCAA Tournament and that doesn't happen in every gym across the country.....They're used to playing in these types of games."  

Nobody can certainly ever doubt the toughness of this Pointer team; certainly on the boards where they enjoyed a 33-24 edge and UW-Stevens Point also had an edge in this all-important second-chance points at 12-8.  But when you look closer at the box score, you'll also see that Wartburg had a decided edge in points in the paint at 30-20 and a big edge in bench points as well at 25-11.  But perhaps the biggest item that stands out for me and how the Knights ultimately prevailed was at the charity stripe where Wartburg was 12-14 for 85.7% which is pretty solid.  Contrast that with UW-Stevens Point going 11-16 for 68.8%.  Just those few misses proved costly for the Pointers on this night.

UW-Stevens Point relied heavily on Thomson and Rice for scoring production and they certainly didn't disappoint as they finished with 13 and 11 points, respectively.  Wartburg was somewhat better-balanced as Golinghorst's 14 points led all scorers and both Jaedon Murphy and Faber tallied 10 points a piece to pace the Knights.

Selection Monday Reaction - Congrats To Both GAC & Bethel - But A LOT Of Questions Remain

 Just got done watching the NCAA Tournament Selection Show here not quite a half hour ago and am still trying to digest a lot of how things were done here.  But we'll get to that in a bit.  Our first order of this day is to shout out huge congratulations to both GAC and Bethel for securing tournament bids as expected.  The Gusties will indeed host a pod at Lund Arena on Friday 3-7 and Saturday 3-8 and here's what it looks like:

Wartburg (25-2) vs UW-Stevens Point (18-8)

GAC (26-1) vs Wisconsin Lutheran (21-7)

So Wartburg out of the ARC will take on UW-Stevens Point out of the WIAC in the first game at Lund Arena.  I would likely have to go with Wartburg on this one.  GAC I think would have to be a prohibitive favorite over Wisconsin Lutheran in the second game on Friday night.  The two winners would then meet Saturday evening for the right to advance to the Sweet 16.

Bethel meanwhile gets shipped off to the pod hosted by UW-Oshkosh and here's how that pod shapes up:

Bethel (22-5) vs DePauw (20-6)

UW-Oshkosh (23-4) vs Calvin (18-10)

On paper anyway, this looks like a favorable matchup for the Royals to at least advance to the second round.  UW-Oshkosh (b'gosh) will take on a hot Calvin team that knocked off Trine in the MIAA Championship Game in the nightcap on Friday evening with the two winners meeting on Saturday evening for the right to advance to the Sweet 16.

Beyond that, there's a ton of questions I have regarding about who got placed where in this shindig.

1.  How does UW-Stout; which was listed at number 23 in the NPI rankings that came out yesterday (four spots below Bethel which is 19 BTW) get to host a pod?  Look, don't misunderstand me here - absolutely the Blue Devils belong in this thing and that's not being disputed.  But being four spots below Bethel and getting to host while the Royals are forced to take their show on the road at the UW-Oshkosh pod doesn't make a lot of sense to me here.  If it's pure geographics, I get it - well, sort of.  But if it's indeed purely based on geographics, how then does UW-Stout get the nod to host over Bethel?  And mind you, UW-Stout lost to UW-Whitewater in the WIAC Semifinals while Bethel made it to the MIAC Championship Game where they lost to a higher-ranked team.  Make it make sense here, NCAA.

2.  So, if the idea is that two conference opponents are not supposed to meet until the Sweet 16 round, can someone explain to me how UW-La Crosse wound up in the UW-Whitewater pod for a potential second round matchup?  Not saying that that's how it's going to play out, of course, but it's certainly a possibility.

3.  And, speaking of the UW-Stout pod, how does Whitman out of the NWC, get flown to Wisconsin for this?  Whitman, mind you, has a number 5 ranking in the last NPI rankings that came out yesterday yet the NCAA Tournament Committee decided to fly them to play in the UW-Stout pad at Menomonie?  Again, make this make sense, almighty NCAA.  You have FIVE teams from the WIAC getting in but instead of flying either UW-Stevens Point or UW-La Crosse down south, out west or out east, you instead choose to keep them all in-region and take the number five team in the country and place them in the UW-Stout bracket of all places.  You can bet that there's a lot of unhappy people out in Walla Walla, WA right now and I can't say as I blame them.  They deserve better than this.  

I'm guessing I'm not the only one with a lot of questions right now.  But, for the time being, let's all raise our glasses to the Gusties and the Royals!   

Looking Ahead To Selection Monday

 Well, here we are on the eve of the NCAA Selection show tomorrow (Monday 3-3) that you'll be able to watch on the D3 Hoops site.  So here's what we're likely looking at as far as the teams getting in - though nothing is official yet and we certainly don't know where everybody's going to be going yet.  But we have (we think) a pretty good idea of who's getting in:  

So, if the numbers are right here, the first 16 teams listed should likely get to host 1st/2nd round pods this coming Friday evening.  And, of course, you'll notice that GAC is listed at number seven on the NPI rankings so there's little doubt now that the Gusties will get to host.  Bethel meanwhile fell to the nineteenth spot so they'll be going on the road somewhere - most likely over to UW-Whitewater.  But what other teams will come to the pod hosted by GAC?  One could logically argue (I suppose) that UW-Superior (UMAC), UW-Stout (WIAC), and Wartburg (ARC) would be likely candidates.  Then again, it's possible that Wartburg could get shipped off to one of the two likely WIAC hosts - either UW-Whitewater or UW-Oshkosh which could bring in a Wisconsin Lutheran or a Ripon.  We'll see.  

For me, the bigger question is if the WIAC does indeed get five teams in (and, judging from the above, it certainly would appear that way), exactly how/where do you place all these teams?  Keep in mind, conference opponents are not supposed to meet in the NCAA Tournament until the Sweet 16 round so somebody; maybe two of these WIAC teams, are going to get shipped down south, out west or out east and you know that's a situation that the NCAA Tournament Committee would prefer to avoid for a 1st/2nd round situation but in this particular case, there's not much of a choice.  

Obviously, the proof will be in the pudding tomorrow (Monday afternoon) so make sure you tune into the Selection Show which you can watch on the D3 Hoops site.  

MIAC Championship Game - GAC vs Bethel 3-1-25

 Made the easy drive back over the Robertson Center on the campus of Bethel University on this sunny but cold first day of March to take in the grand finale of the MIAC Women's Basketball season - the MIAC Championship Game with this one featuring second-seeded GAC and the number one seed, Bethel.  The Gusties and the Royals had not only split their regular season series but both had also earned a share of the MIAC regular season title so this game would fittingly be the rubber match between the two.  The Gusties had easily waltzed past Hamline in one semifinal game on Thursday night while the Royals demolished CSB in the other semifinal to force this matchup.  As you can imagine, Robertson was packed and rocking on this day and with the atmosphere and the pressure and everything else, you knew it was definitely going to be "on" this day.

And Robertson Center was about ready to explode when the Royals drew first blood in this contest - on a short, turnaround jumper by senior combo guard/forward Elly Schmitz at the 9:40 mark of the opening period and Bethel would hold a 4-2 advantage when fifth-year senior Anna Garfield was able to connect on a lay-up off of an inbounds pass as the shot clock was expiring at the 8:18 mark.  The Gusties were then able to assume their first lead of the afternoon when senior reserve forward Rachel Kawiecki knocked down a jumper from the right elbow area at the 8:00 mark and shortly thereafter, willowy fifth-year senior guard Emma (not evil) Kniefel would connect on a jumper from the right wing after a steal in the backcourt to push GAC out in front by a 6-4 count.  The Royals were able to get this game leveled at six a piece when sophomore reserve forward Emily Erickson connected on a lay-up at the 6:39 mark but it was here that Bethel ran into their first rough patch of the afternoon and the Gusties were able to capitalize on it with an 8-0 push.  Kniefel would knock down a pair of free throws after getting fouled at the 5:45 mark and a jumper from the right elbow area by sophomore reserve forward Whitley Ronn with 4:34 left had GAC out in front 10-6.  With 3:46 left, fellow sophomore reserve guard Kendyl Queensland scored on a pretty give-and-go lay-up and shortly thereafter, Kniefel would connect on a lay-up in transition with 3:22 left as the Gusties surged to a 14-6 lead before Bethel could finally trim things up a bit on a short jumper off the glass by Schmitz with 3:00 left.  GAC, however, was able to maintain its newfound space as senior point guard Kyle Baranick would cash in on a perfectly executed give-and-go lay-up with 2:01 left to make it 16-8 and the Royals could only make a couple of nibbles in the latter stages of this first period from the charity stripe as Garfield would get one free throw to go down after getting fouled with 1:44 left as would Erickson with 1:10 left.  But the Gusties would up their lead to seven when Kawiecki got one free throw to go down when she was fouled with just :00.7 left on the clock that gave GAC a 17-10 advantage.

The Gusties would expand their lead to double digits early on in the second period as Kawiecki was able to snare an offensive rebound of her own miss for a putback with 9:19 left and then Ronn was able to make a hard drive into the lane for a finish at the 7:40 mark that now had GAC up 21-10.  That prospect finally got the Royals attention as they went to work to tighten things up again.  Erickson would get a pair of free throws to go down after getting fouled at the 7:23 mark and a three-point bomb by Schmitz from the right corner at the 6:47 mark had the deficit down to six at 21-15.  Bethel would call on Schmitz again a short time later at the 5:33 mark and she would respond with a hard drive and lay-up that had the Royals right back in the thick of things again down 21-17.  But just when the partisan Bethel contingent inside Robertson Center on this day finally started feeling good about their team's chances, GAC would unleash a 14-4 run that was indeed a setback for the home team.  Senior combo forward/post Morgan Kelly would connect on a jumper from the left wing area at the 5:33 mark and with 3:16 left, Kniefel would bury a heartbreaking "3" from the right corner as the shot clock was expiring that pushed the Gustie lead to 26-17.  With 2:36 left, Kniefel would get sent to the charity stripe after getting fouled and the former Medford standout got a pair of freebies out of the deal to make it 28-17.  With 1:59 left, Kawiecki would add a short, turnaround jumper in the lane and with 1:22 left, Kniefel would connect a short jumper that now had GAC up 32-19.  The Royals' Garfield would take a bite out of this deficit with one free throw after getting fouled with :49.1 left but the Gusties would add more to their expanding ledger as Kawiecki would connect on a lay-up that also drew a foul and the ensuing "and one" by the former Holy Angels standout had GAC up by fifteen at 35-20.  Bethel's Garfield was able to add one more free throw after getting fouled with :04.2 left but down a coupled of touchdowns at 35-21, the Royals were definitely in a fix.  What was unexpected, however, was the controversy that soon ensued as the Gusties were bringing the ball back up the court.  GAC's Morgan Kelly was near the center court; ready to set a screen as Kniefel was bringing the ball up the court who in turn was being hounded by the Royals' Schmitz.  Schmitz collided with Morgan Kelly right at the midcourt line and Morgan Kelly got the worst of it as she was sent to the floor and appeared to be in significant discomfort.  Kniefel was unable to get the last-gasp three-point shot to go down but the immediate concern for the Gusties was Morgan Kelly who was still on the floor.  GAC Head Coach Laurie Kelly; obviously and understandably upset, rushed out onto the court as the halftime buzzer sounded and gave the officials a piece of her mind about the whole business .  Thankfully, Morgan Kelly was able to get up under her own power and was apparently okay.  Bethel Head Coach Jon Herbrechtsmeyer and his staff had other worries on their minds - particularly the fact that his team had so far been out-rebounded by a 17-7 count and that his squad had committed seven turnovers thus far and that the Gusties got 13 points off of those turnovers.  Overall shooting was another concern as the Royals just were not being very efficient as they had gone 7-20 from FG range for 35% and were only 1-5 from downtown for 20%.  Free throw shooting was another area of concern with the Royals going only 6-11 for 54.5% and against a team like GAC, you didn't exactly have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that that was a losing proposition.

The Gusties' Morgan Kelly had obviously shaken off any ill-effects of that midcourt collision right before the halftime buzzer as she started out this third period by connecting on a jumper from the right wing area at the 9:24 mark that now had GAC up sixteen at 37-21.  The Royals knew they had to get to work and they were able to get this deficit down to ten in the span of less than a minute.  Junior combo guard/forward Rosalie Penke would bury a "3" from the top of the key at the 9:03 mark and then Bethel definitely seemed re-energized when Schmitz drained a "3" from the right wing area at the 8:09 mark that had the Gustie lead down to 37-27.  GAC would calmly respond as fifth-year senior guard Syd Hauger knocked down a jumper from the free throw line area at the 7:49 mark and fellow fifth-year senior forward Izzy (Izzy Izzy, you're making me dizzy) Quick would get one free throw to go down after getting fouled at the 7:23 mark that had the Gusties up 40-27.  Bethel would embark on another bid in hopes of tightening this one up again as Garfield would make a crafty drive for a lay-up at the 7:00 mark and at the 6:08 mark, slender junior reserve forward Alli Born would bang home a "3" from the left top area that again had the deficit down to ten at 42-32 and the Bethel student section crazies were roaring in approval.  Once again, things would fall apart for the Royals as GAC went on a push to increase its safety net.  Baranick would get one free throw to go down after getting fouled with 4:32 left as would Hauger with 4:19 left that not only had the Gusties up 44-32 but GAC was now in the bonus as well.  With 3:37 left, Morgan Kelly would connect on a short, turnaround jumper in the lane and when Kniefel knocked down a short jumper in a transition opportunity with 3:09 left, the Gustie lead was stretched out to 48-33 and Bethel's Herbrechtsmeyer knew full and well his team was in the danger zone and promptly took a match to a timeout to get his troops reorganized.  The Royals were finally able to find some semblance of offensive production but they weren't able to make much of a dent in the deficit they were facing.  Junior point guard Colette Duininck; with the shot clock winding down, made a daring drive into traffic with 2:35 left and connected on a pretty floater and two free throws by Garfield after she was fouled with 1:59 left had the deficit down to thirteen at 50-37.  GAC's Hauger would inflict more pain, however, when she snared a steal near midcourt and was off to the races the other way for an easy lay-up with :57 left to make it 52-37 and although Bethel's Garfield would add free throws after getting fouled - once with :40.3 left and again with just :00.1 left, the Royals were still on the wrong end of a 52-39 score once this third period came to a close.

Bethel initially looked to be in an even more shaky position at the beginning of the fourth period when fifth-year senior forward Lydia Hay was whistled for her third foul of the afternoon at the 9:50 mark but here, Herbrechtsmeyer was willing to roll the dice and keep one of his "bigs" in the game.  In any event, the Royals seemed to find new life on consecutive three-point bombs that suddenly had Bethel back within single-digit range.  Penke would find the range from the right top area at the 9:20 mark and Duininck; the former Central Minnesota Christian standout, unleashed a bomb from the right wing area at the 8:30 mark that suddenly cut GAC's lead down to seven at 52-45 and the Gusties' Laurie Kelly wasted little time in calling for a halt to the action to make some quick adjustments.  Still, Bethel managed to hang around in this seven-point range as Garfield would make a hard drive for a finish at the 7:33 mark to keep the deficit at seven at 54-47 and after GAC's Quick muscled into the paint for a score at the 7:06 mark that also drew a foul and added the obligatory "and one" the Gustie lead was up to ten again at 57-47.  The Royals finally got that deficit back down to seven again with 4:40 left when Penke made a hard drive into the lane for a finish that also drew a foul and Penke's ensuing "and one" had the Gustie lead down to 57-50.  The last real window of opportunity for Bethel came with 3:43 left when Penke banged home a "3" from the right top area that now had the deficit down to six at 59-53 with a ton of time left.  Unfortunately for the Royals, GAC firmly sealed up whatever leaks were found as Bethel could never get closer than that down the home stretch.  Once the Gusties got into the bonus with 3:17 left, the writing was pretty much on the wall for this contest as GAC made a concerted effort to close this one out from the charity stripe.  Hauger would get one free throw to go down after getting fouled with 2:01 left and Baranick would add a pair as well after getting fouled with :43.1 left that increased the Gusties' safety net to nine at 62-53.  Hauger would add yet another pair of freebies after getting fouled with :22.6 left and Baranick would add two more for insurance after getting fouled with :11 left as GAC claimed its fourth straight MIAC Championship Game with a 66-53 victory.  

I was first able to catch up with Bethel's Herbrechtsmeyer afterward and I mentioned to him that every time his squad seemed to be close to getting to within striking distance, the Gusties shut the door each time.  "Yeah, they're (GAC) a poised team and their physicality today was certainly a big factor.....We didn't rebound well and obviously we didn't shoot well either."  But Herbrechtsmeyer did try and put a positive spin on this latest setback.  "We needed a game like this.....Stout was our last single-digit game and this one was single-digits for a while."  Herbrechtsmeyer was quick to acknowledge that the experience factor that the Gusties had in games like this was another big factor but he was still bullish on his squad and said "I like my kids coming back."  Herbrechtsmeyer also weighed in on what the outcome of this game and those in the surrounding conferences - specifically the WIAC - means for his squad come Monday's NCAA Tournament Selection Show.  "Whitewater probably moves into a hosting spot because they beat Oshkosh so they'll jump us (in the NPI rankings) into the top 16 and we'll probably end up there......Oshkosh would still probably be too high and they can't put us down to Gustavus because conference teams aren't supposed to meet until the Sweet 16 so we'll probably be going to Whitewater."  

When I was able to catch up with GAC's Laurie Kelly, I had to offer compliments on her squad's defensive effort on this day that effectively bottled up a potent Bethel attack.  "When you have this many veteran players that have been playing together for so long - four years this group has been together - they almost don't even have to talk; they just know each other and that's been a lot of hard work on their part; extra time in the gym.  So we've really bought into your shots coming out.....The defense is just about your heart, your effort and we've kind of hung our hat on that and when games haven't gone well offensively, we've been able to get it done defensively."  I also had to ask Laurie Kelly; now having her team with a very high NPI ranking, about what it'll be like to be finally hosting a 1st/2nd round pod at their place.  "I don't know" she replied but there's little doubt that this will be a very exciting time for GAC to have things on their home floor for a change after being denied the last two years of having a chance to host.  But, as Laurie Kelly pointed out, they've got to be able to hold serve at home.  "Getting out of the first/second round has kind of been our achilles heel" she admitted but having a 1st/2nd round pod at home is a big advantage nonetheless.  More than anything, Laurie Kelly wants this team; this group to really enjoy the moment and soak it all up.  I think this time around, GAC is poised to make a significant run.  They've got the goods to do it.  You certainly can't deny that.

The first two items on the final box score that grabbed my attention right away were rebounds and turnovers.  The Gusties outrebounded Bethel 28-17 and the Royals simply gave up too many offensive rebounds in this game (10) as even Herbrechtsmeyer admitted afterward.  Bethel was also guilty of 21 turnovers on this day and what made matters worse for the Royals is that GAC got 25 points off of those boo-boos.  GAC also enjoyed an advantage in points in the paint at 24-18 and also had the edge in bench points at 16-9.  The other stat that really stood out to me was at the charity stripe where the Royals were only 12-20 for a straight 60% and anyone who knows a thing or two about basketball will tell you that that's not even close to being good enough and this aspect definitely left some much-needed points on the table for Bethel.  Not that GAC was perfect either (23-30 for 76.7%) but they were able to make up for it in other areas.  

What an afternoon it was for GAC's Kniefel as her 19 points easily led all scorers and she was perfect from the charity stripe going 6-6.  Both Hauger and Kawiecki finished with 10 points and Kawiecki had a double-double with 10 rebounds as she was a monster on the boards.  Garfield had to shoulder most of the load for Bethel on this day as she finished with 15 points while both Schmitz and Penke finished with 12 points a piece.