Bethany Lutheran vs Northwestern 1-13-17

Made the drive over to Roseville on the late afternoon of Friday the 13th over to Ericksen Center on the campus of Northwestern University to take in an important UMAC clash between visiting Bethany Lutheran and host Northwestern.  I last caught the Vikings right before the first of the year when they lost at Macalester and although they've been in the midst of a so-so year, they've been able to get off to a solid start in 2017; recording home wins against both Finlandia and Northland so Head Coach Lyle Jones was hoping to come into this contest tonight with a bit of a head of steam.  The Eagles have had their share of struggles this season as well but they were able to come away with a split on their pre-holiday trip out to the Motherland and came away with a split last weekend with a win at Crown and a loss at UM-Morris.  With both teams tied for second place in the UMAC, this game would be critical for both squad's hopes going forward.

The Vikings got off to a good start in this contest; building a 6-2 lead in the early going.  Junior forward Dakota Ellinghuysen was able to get into the paint for one score at the 9:01 mark and the Peterson native also snared an offensive rebound for a putback at the 7:06 mark for a 4-2 Bethany Lutheran lead.  Junior Brooke Henning's score in the paint at the 6:34 mark established the aforementioned four-point advantage but the Eagles would answer that with a 7-0 run.  One free throw by sophomore guard Taryn Tumbleson at the 6:22 mark and a jumper from the left wing area by newcomer junior reserve forward/post Abby Peterson at the 6:09 mark trimmed the deficit to a scant point at 6-5.  Junior guard Amy Berglund's jumper from the left wing area with 4:44 left gave Northwestern its first lead of the evening at 7-6 and a Peterson lay-up with 4:11 left expanded that lead to 9-6.  Senior reserve forward Anna Balcom answered the call for her Viking teammates as her score in the paint drew Bethany Lutheran back to a single point again at 9-8 but the Eagles continued with their push.  Tumbleson made a hard drive and finish with 1:55 left to get the lead to three points at 11-8 and then senior forward Emily VanLith was able to snare a steal on defense and then dash coast-to-coast for a lay-up that also drew a foul and sent the Minot, North Dakota native to the line for the "and one" and suddenly Northwestern's lead was up to six at 14-8.  A jumper from the right wing by Viking sophomore guard Haley Sandin cut the deficit down to four points at 14-10 but the first period ended on a sour note for Jones and Bethany Lutheran as senior guard Minnie Federick-Childress picked up her third foul with just :31.9 left in the opening period.  The Eagles' Tumbleson was able to knock down one freebie out of the opportunity and Northwestern took a 15-10 lead going into the second period.

And things didn't get any better for the Vikings in the early moments of the second period either. Peterson was quickly becoming a thorn in the side of Bethany Lutheran and back-to-back scores - a jumper in the lane at the 9:25 mark and a drive along the left baseline and finish at the 8:51 mark - had the Eagles up 19-10.  VanLith was unable to knock down two charity stripe shots a bit later but more than made up for that missed opportunity as her jumper along the left baseline at the 7:18 mark now had Northwestern up double-digits at 21-10 and Jones knew full and well that his Viking team was in serious trouble at that point and called for a thirty-second timeout.  Eagle Head Coach Aaron Kahl and his patented 2-3 match-up zone defense was causing all sorts of problems for Bethany Lutheran in their half-court offense and for a while it seemed like they couldn't hit the broadside of a barn.  Finally, junior reserve guard Rachel Sorensen's three-point bomb from the left corner at the 5:48 mark brushed away the cobwebs that were forming on the Viking basket but, more importantly, seemed to give Bethany Lutheran a bit of a lift.  One Ellinghuysen free throw at the 5:25 mark reduced the deficit down to seven points at 21-14 and a short shot by junior reserve forward Shelby Sicheneder with 4:24 left kept the Vikings in that seven-point range trailing 23-16.  An offensive rebound and putback by Tumbleson with 4:05 left expanded Northwestern's lead to nine points at 25-16 and things became quite tenuous again for Bethany Lutheran when Sandin was saddled with her third foul of the night.  But Jones decided to roll the dice at this stage and kept the Zimmerman native in the ballgame.  That gamble appeared to pay off as Sandin was able to knock down a jumper from the right corner off of an inbounds pass with 3:19 left that ignited a 6-0 push.  One Sicheneder charity stripe shot with 2:39 left and another Sorensen three-point bomb - this one from the right corner with 2:15 left - now had the Vikings back to within a single possession trailing 25-22.  A Sicheneder score in the paint with 1:37 left kept Bethany Lutheran in that single possession range trialing 27-24 but it looked as if the Eagles might make one more meaningful push before the half.  Freshman reserve guard Jazinae Patterson knocked down a jumper from the right elbow area with 1:14 left and a Berglund jumper along the left baseline with just :20 left seemed to give Northwestern a bit more of a safe cushion up seven at 31-24.  But the Vikings Sorensen stole the spotlight right before the halftime buzzer as she was camping out in her favorite spot - the right corner - and got the ball on the last Bethany Lutheran possession of the first half and calmly dropped a dagger "3" with just :00.2 left that trimmed the Eagle lead down to four points at 31-27 as both teams headed to the locker rooms for the halftime recess.  A check of the first half box score shows that the Vikings indeed struggled with their shooting for a good chunk of the first half; going 11-31 for 35.5% and it was Sorensen's three-point bombs that definitely helped keep Bethany Lutheran from facing a big deficit.  Northwestern shot a decent 48.3% from FG range and held a slight advantage on the boards at 19-15.

The Vikings were looking to steal the momentum that Northwestern seemed to have for a good chunk of the first and second periods and promptly started off the third period with a 7-0 run.  Henning knocked down a jumper from near the free throw line at the 9:52 mark and a short shot by senior guard Christina Wickingson at the 8:40 mark knotted the issue at 31 a piece.  Both teams seemed to stall out a bit offensively over the next minute and a half but at the 6:56 mark, Wickingson struck again - this time with a three-point bomb from the left wing area that propelled Bethany Lutheran into the lead for the first time since the early moments of the first period.  A somewhat shocked Eagles squad came right back to tie the contest at 34-all on senior guard Tiffany Stubbs' "3" from the right corner at the 6:22 mark.  Two Sandin free throws at the 6:00 mark had the Vikings back up at 36-34 but Stubbs would strike again for Northwestern when she buried another three-point bomb - this one from the right wing area at the 5:51 mark that gave the Eagles the lead back at 37-36.  But Bethany Lutheran refused to be silenced and Sorensen; who was having a huge game on this night, casually dropped another three-point bomb - this one from the right top area at the 5:16 mark that gave the Vikings a two-point advantage at 39-37 and a Sorensen jumper from the left wing in transition with 3:53 left in the third period helped maintain that two-point edge at 41-39.  Moreover, Bethany Lutheran's Jones decided to change things up a bit defensively and give the Eagles a taste of their own medicine by switching to a 2-3 zone.  Still, Northwestern was able to recapture a bit of momentum down the stretch of this third period as two VanLith freebies with 2:12 left and a Tumbleson "3" from the right corner with 1:24 left had the Eagles out in front 44-41.  A Patterson drive into the lane with a pretty one-handed finish with :21 left capped this 7-0 push with a 46-41 lead but Bethany Lutheran had the last say of this third period when Henning snared an offensive rebound for a putback and was fouled in the process.  Though she was unable to knock down the "and one", the fact that the Vikings got themselves back to within one possession trailing 46-43 was an indication that they weren't going anywhere anytime soon.

Two Ellinghuysen freebies at the 9:41 mark of the fourth and final period drew Bethany Lutheran tantalizingly close trailing by just one at 46-45 but the Eagles were able to rekindle some of the fire they found in the first and second periods and proceeded to go on a 6-0 push.  Stubbs; the Ames, Iowa native, uncorked another three-point bomb - this one from the left corner at the 9:20 mark and a Stubbs jumper from the left elbow area at the 8:35 mark gave Northwestern a bit more breathing room with a 51-45 lead.  One free throw by senior reserve post Jessica Brown added to that lead at 52-45 at the 7:41 mark but right back came the Vikings with a 7-0 run.  Ellinghuysen dropped two charity stripe shots at the 7:26 mark and then it was Sandin with a drive into the lane and a pretty finish off the glass at the 5:50 mark that again had Bethany Lutheran back to within a single possession trailing 52-49.  Then Frederick-Childress; who had to sit helplessly on the bench for most of the first half with those three fouls she garnered in the first period alone, finally got into the scoring column with her defensive prowess as she snared a steal like a thief in the night and dashed the other way for a lay-up that also drew a foul and the Flint, Michigan native's ensuing freebie suddenly had this contest tied up again at 52-all.  Now it was the Eagles turn to respond.  Stubbs again came up huge for Northwestern when they needed her the most and she buried another "3" - this one from the right wing area with 4:39 left and then Peterson; who had been relatively quiet since that solid first half she had, connected with a short jumper off the glass in a transition opportunity that gave the Eagles a five-point lead again at 57-52 and Bethany Lutheran's Jones called a thirty-second timeout to try and find a way to bring his team back and it didn't take long for them to do it either. Henning; while not necessarily considered a three-point threat, dropped one anyway from the top of the key when left open with 3:09 left and a tough drive and finish by Sandin with 2:26 left had this game tied up again at 57 a piece.  Northwestern would recapture a four-point advantage on two free throws by junior guard Andrea Zimpel with 2:16 left and a drive and finish off of an inbounds pass by Stubbs who was just having a fabulous second half that made it a 61-57 ballgame.  Yet, once again, the Vikings would respond.  Sandin was sent to the line with 1:25 left and calmly dropped two free throws and after Bethany Lutheran was able to get a stop on the ensuing Eagle possession, Henning was fouled on an offensive rebound by Tumbleson with 1:01 left and this is where things got a bit dicey.  Henning dropped the front-end attempt but the back-end attempt rimmed out that now had Northwestern clinging to a precarious one-point advantage at 61-60.  And the Eagles were arguably a bit anxious on their ensuing possession as both Zimpel and Stubbs missed three-point shot attempts and, with :31.8 left, Bethany Lutheran now had their chance.  After a timeout, the Vikings got the ball at mid-court and carefully worked the ball around; looking for any hint of a crack in that Eagle 2-3 zone defense where they might be able to penetrate or perhaps set a screen and set up a three-point attempt.  But Northwestern was holding firm; showing no cracks in their defense and with :11.6 left, Jones called another timeout to try and set up one last play.  On the ensuing inbounds, Frederick-Childress got the ball near the top of the key and decided to gamble and drove right into the heart of the Eagle defense with just under :04 left to try and put up a lay-up.  The shot attempt, however, was a bit off-balance and Northwestern's Berglund got a piece of it and Tumbleson was there for the defensive rebound.  She was immediately fouled and the Eagles' Kahl called a thirty-second timeout to discuss strategy on how to kill off these last few seconds.  Bethany Lutheran's best chance had come and gone and now Jones had no choice but to roll the dice again and try to somehow get a steal on the inbounds pass.  The gamble failed and the ball got to VanLith who put in an insurance lay-up with just :00.9 left as Northwestern claimed a thrilling 63-60 victory.

I managed to catch up afterward with an incredibly disappointed Jones of Bethany Lutheran to ask him what caused his squad to come up short on this night.  He pointed to two factors:  "Boxing out and rebounding" he said.  He pointed out that his squad, for the most part, did a good job defensively but that the Eagles would often milk the shot clock on their possessions and someone would miss an assignment defensively at the end and the result would be an easy Northwestern basket.  Still, I think he has to be encouraged by how his squad hung tough when things looked bleak for them in the first half.  Now it's just a matter of correcting the little mistakes and moving forward.  Meanwhile, a happy and relieved Kahl was soaking up the enjoyment of this night and was quick to admit that he was worried when Bethany Lutheran went to a 2-3 zone defense of their own in the second half.  Still, "a huge win for us" he said; noting that his squad is still a step behind both UW-Superior and UM-Morris in the UMAC standings.  But one positive going forward for Northwestern is that Tumbleson is now back and fully healthy after suffering a back injury shortly after practices began in October and she can be a big difference-maker for this Eagle squad when she's on top of her game.  Stubbs; who was held in check during the first half, exploded in the second half and her 16 points led the way for Northwestern on this night.  Peterson, the transfer from St. Leo College in Florida who joined the team after the semester break, had a big first half and she followed up with 12 points and Tumbleson added 11 points.  VanLith had a solid outing on this night as well with her nine points and 10 rebounds.  Sorensen; who did most of her damage behind the arc on this night, led the way for Bethany Lutheran with her 14 points while Sandin added 12 points and Henning chipped in with 10 points.  Jones no doubt could only wince at Northwestern's 41-34 edge on the boards and 22 turnovers on this night did not help the Vikings cause either.  Two more important factors in this contest as well that gave Northwestern an edge:  The Eagles had a 22-16 advantage in second-chance points and had a decided 28-20 advantage in points in the paint.