NCAA Tournament 2nd Round Game - Chicago vs UST 3-3-18

After a busy day covering two high school sectional up at Anoka, I made the long trek down to St. Paul and UST's Anderson Athletic Center and Schoenecker Arena for the second round NCAA Tournament game between Chicago of the UAA and MIAC Champion and host UST.  The Maroons advanced to this Saturday evening game by virtue of their win over Wisconsin Lutheran and UST likewise with their win over Chapman.  These two teams had met in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year on this very same floor and the Tommies had to survive a big scare to hang on for a 73-69 victory and there was every reason to think that this game could be just as competitive as last year's tilt. 

Chicago looked to be clicking on all cylinders early on as they built an early 4-0 lead thanks to sophomore forward Taylor Lake's two scores.  The Mars, Pennsylvania native made two hard drives for finishes - once at the 9:43 mark and again at the 9:02 mark of the opening period - for the early advantage.  Fellow sophomore guard Miranda Burt helped maintain the four-point edge with her lay-up at the 8:29 mark to make it 6-2 before the Tommies could get things going with their offense.  Junior guard Kaylie Brazil drained a "3" from the right top area at the 7:44 mark and two free throws by fellow junior guard Lucia Renikoff at the 5:31 mark put UST out in front by a 7-6 count.  The Maroons would counter on a Lake lay-up at the 5:13 mark but then the visitors from Chicago would have to withstand back-to-back three-point bombs by the Tommies - one by senior point guard Maddie Wolkow with 4:14 left and another one by Brazil with 3:42 left that had UST up 13-8.  The Maroons managed to cut the deficit down to one point as sophomore point guard Mia Farrell snared a steal and dashed the other way for a lay-up with 2:22 left and junior sensation forward Olariche Obi connected with a one-handed jumper in the lane with 1:16 left that had Chicago right back in the thick of things down 13-12.  The Tommies would get the lead to three points on a tough, one-handed scoop shot by freshman guard/forward Kaia Porter with :27 left but everything so far indicated that this one would be a knock 'em down, drag it out fight.

Both teams traded three-point blows in the early moments of the second period - one by UST's Porter from the top of the key at the 9:15 mark and the other one by Chicago senior reserve guard Elizabeth Nye from the right wing area at the 9:0 mark - that kept the Tommies in front by three at 18-15.  Maroon freshman reserve guard Marissa Igunbor helped draw her team closer with a lay-up in transition at the 8:35 mark before UST could start stretching things out a bit.  Junior post Hannah Spaulding snared an offensive rebound for a putback and drew a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" at the 7:29 mark got the Tommie lead to four at 21-17.  A Spaulding score in the paint at the 6:06 mark got the lead to five at 23-18 and two free throws by Renikoff with 4:43 left pushed the lead to seven points at 25-18.  Then Spaulding was able to collect an offensive rebound of her own miss for a putback with 3:50 left to complete this 9-1 run and a 27-18 UST lead.  Chicago temporarily stopped this Tommie drive as Obi connected with a short jumper with 3:17 left but then UST would close out this second period with a 9-2 run.  Spaulding dropped two free throws after getting fouled with 2:32 left and then exciting new freshman reserve guard Madi Radtke; who made a big splash the night before against Chapman, got into the act again with a drive and finish that also drew a foul and the ensuing "and one" by the former Lester Prairie standout with 1:51 left suddenly had the Tommies up double-digits at 32-20.  Renikoff would get one free throw to go down with :16.6 left and after the Maroons were unable to cash in on their ensuing possession, Brazil put an exclamation point on this great second period by UST with a running three-pointer from the top of the key in transition with just :00.1 left as the Tommies took a cozy 36-22 lead into the locker room at the half.  A check of the first half box score shows that Chicago's FG percentage dropped precipitously in the 2nd period as they were only 4-15 for 26.7% from going 6-15 in the first period for 40%.  UST had a decided edge in rebounds at 19-14 and the Maroons were not getting the job done on Spaulding either as she had already collected 10 points thus far.

Chicago could ill-afford to try and play "catch-up" with the Tommies; knowing what a dead-end road that can be as so many other teams found out the hard way this season.  A "3" from the right wing by Farrell at the 9:14 mark of the third period trimmed the deficit down to eleven at 36-25 and a Burt lay-up in transition that also drew a foul and resulted in an "and one" at the 8:05 mark got the deficit down to ten points at 38-28.  The Tommies however decided to make things tough on its opponent and a "3" from the right wing by Brazil at the 6:20 mark got the lead back up to thirteen at 41-28.  The Maroons would counter on a "3" by Igunbor from the right wing area at the 6:03 mark to get the deficit back to ten points at 41-31 but when UST's Spaulding got into the paint for a score at the 5:17 mark to get the lead to twelve at 43-31, it looked as if Chicago's chances to get back into this one were slim at best.  But the Maroons were not about to go quietly into the night having come this far; specifically Farrell as she single-handedly got Chicago back into the thick of things with a 10-4 run.  The Bolingbrook, Illinois native first unleashed a "3" from the left top area at the 5:06 mark and followed that up with another three-point bomb from the right top area with 4:27 left that had the Maroons back in single-digit range again down eight at 45-37.  Farrell would drop two free throws with 3:21 left and a Farrell drive and finish with 1:02 left now had Chicago down by only six at 47-41.  The Tommies' Renikoff would answer the call for her team before the end of this third period with her "3" from the left wing area with :40 left and a lay-up with :03 left that at least got UST's safety net back up to ten points at 52-42 but the Tommies knew that their opponent was not going away anytime soon.

Further evidence of Chicago's tenacity was shown in the first five minutes of the fourth period as the Maroons embarked on an 18-5 run that propelled them into the lead.  One Lake free throw with 9:46 left got Chicago back to within single digits down by nine at 52-43 and then Lake unleashed a "3" from the top of the key at the 9:08 mark that cut the deficit down to six points at 52-46.  UST's Porter tried to stymie this comeback attempt with her "3" from the right wing area at the 8:07 mark but the Maroons kept coming.  Burt connected with a short jumper at the 7:50 mark and a score in the paint by Lake at the 6:51 mark cut the deficit down to five points at 55-50.  Porter again tried to bail the Tommies out with her lay-up at the 6:36 mark but two scores by Chicago's Obi - a lay-up at the 6:06 mark and a score in the paint at the 5:12 mark - finally had the Maroons in single-possession range again down 57-54 and UST Head Coach Ruth Sinn knew things were precarious by this point and she called a thirty-second timeout to try and make some quick adjustments.  Chicago still continued with its push and although Farrell missed an easy lay-up in transition with 4:52 left, she made up for that a little more than ten seconds later when she snared a steal and dashed the other way for a lay-up with 4:38 left that now had the Maroons down by only one at 57-56 and two Obi free throws with 3:48 left not only pushed Chicago back out in front for the first time since the midway point of the first period at 58-57 but now the Tommies' Spaulding had been tagged with her fourth foul of the night as well.  But just when it looked as if UST could have been had, they resisted the temptation to break out the panic button and instead calmly and assuredly got this one turned around.  On the ensuing Tommie possession, Renikoff made a hard drive into traffic for a finish with 3:35 left that got UST back out in front at 59-58.  The Maroons subsequently turned the ball over on their next possession and Nye was tagged with her fourth foul of the night with 3:17 left.  With 2:45 left, the Tommies' Porter was able to muscle inside off of an inbounds pass for a score to increase the lead to three points at 61-58.  Chicago's Farrell would get sent to the charity stripe after she was fouled in a transition opportunity with 1:39 left and her two free throws again had the Maroons down by just one at 61-60.  Chicago was able to force a turnover and had a chance to retake the lead but Lake was unable to connect with a lay-up attempt with just under a minute left so now the Tommies had to nurse a one-point lead and milk some clock as well in the process.  Working the ball carefully around the perimeter to avoid a steal by the Maroons, Wolkow got a free look from the left wing area with :19.6 left and she banged home a dagger "3" that now gave UST a two-possession lead at 64-60.  Farrell would get sent to the line on Chicago's ensuing possession and her two free throws with :14.4 left cut the deficit down to two points at 64-62 but the Maroons had to figure out a way to not only get a stop but preserve some clock in the process.  As it wasy, the Tommies' Spaulding would get fouled with :13.2 left and she got both of her free throw attempts to go down that again made it a two-possession game at 66-62.  UST harrassed the Maroons on their subsequent possession and when Farrell was unable to connect with a lay-up with :03.6 left, Chicago's dream died right there.  UST's Sinn called a timeout to ensure that her Tommie team had a plan on the ensuing inbounds pass and with :02.3, Wolkow would get fouled and she sank two free throws for insurance and a 68-62 UST lead.  Chicago Head Coach Carissa Sain-Knoche would call a timeout in hopes of pulling off a miracle but it was not to be and the Tommies advanced on to the Sweet 16 with a hard-fought victory.

Sain-Knoche had to struggle a bit in the beginning to find the words she wanted to use but was very proud of the way her team fought after being down double-digits at the half.  "Yeah, it was a good game....I thought in the second half we really played with conviction which we needed.....But it was a battle."  One question I posed to Sain-Knoche was the fact that they were getting outrebounded in the first half by a 19-14 count and that they really picked up the intensity in the fourth period with the comeback attempt and, in the process, forced 21 turnovers in all on this night on a UST team that is known for how well they normally take care of the ball.  "We definitely did emphasize those things (during the halftime break) and reminded them of who we are and how we play and make sure that we're doing what we're supposed to be doing in different spots and in the second half they did a great job on defense."  The Maroons two seniors; Nye and reserve guard Madison Dunbar joined Sain-Knoche in the press room afterward and both expressed how much they loved being in the program for four years and how each of the players on the team genuinely care and love each other and that they wouldn't trade the experience for anything and that they'll loyally follow the program going forward even if their playing days are done.  UST's Sinn afterward; who brought in both Spaulding and Wolkow with her into the press room, had nothing but praise for Chicago after the Tommies' hard-fought victory.  "First of all, Chicago is a phenomenal team....And we've had the opportunity to play them in the second round twice now and when the pairings were announced, I was excited....They have a fantastic team and their style of defense and how they attack offensively with the personnel they have, they do a fantastic job......We knew it was going to be a war....We knew it was going to be about two different styles of defense and who could control and we were fortunate enough to be able to control the first half and in the second half we lost that momentum but I was proud of the girls and how they finished out the game when things weren't going our way so they did a nice job of that."  I asked Sinn specifically about how her squad managed to keep their cool when Chicago made its big fourth period run to briefly take a lead and how they managed to turn it around.  "One of the things we've done all year long and even this last summer when we had an opportunity to travel abroad, we talked to the team about when you come off of a Final Four experience like we did last year, you want to get back there and you can't play like that....You have to play in the 'here and the now' and invest in the process so all year long we've done that.  We did that back in August when we went to Greece and we did that when we started the preseason....So when we get into the position like we were against Augsburg or tonight, we just keep focusing on 'What do we have to do' and I think they did a good job of it...And even when we lost the momentum, we weren't thinking about the past or the future, we're just thinking about what can we control right now."  I also asked Wolkow about the big "3" she hit with :19.6 left that got the Tommies a two-possession lead at 64-60 when things were still hanging in the balance and if she felt additional pressure to hit that shot when she took it.  "No...I mean, we do plays like that every single day in practice.....I didn't feel any extra pressure." 

Chicago definitely did a much better job in the rebounding department in the second half as they narrowed the Tommies' margin on the board by two at 34-32 and the fact that they forced an almost unheard of 21 UST turnovers on this night definitely helped get them into position to steal this one.  Would that one missed easy lay-up in transition with 4:52 left in the game changed things?  We'll never know now, of course, but in close, tight games it usually comes down to the little things and UST does a very good job in executing the little things.  It doesn't seem like much but UST did a great job on the charity stripe on this night going 15-16 for the game while Chicago was 12-15 and sometimes it's just little things like that that can make a difference.  The Maroons had a nice balanced attack on this night with Farrell leading all scorers with her 23 points while Lake added 13 points and Obi tallied 11 points.  The same was also true of UST on this night as well with Spaulding leading the way with 19 points while both Renikoff and Brazil added 12 points a piece.  Wolkow had only eight points on this night but three of those came when the Tommies needed them while nursing that one point lead with just under twenty seconds left.