NCAA Tournament Regional Final Game - Wartburg vs UST 3-9-19

Another trip over to the St. Paul side of town - this one in a gooky mix of sleet and snow - was made on this late Saturday afternoon to ready myself for the NCAA Tournament Regional Final Game between Wartburg out of the ARC and UST out of the MIAC.  The Knights had sent UW-Oshkosh packing in Friday night's first game while the Tommies had to endure quite possibly the most dramatic game of this NCAA Tournament to get past defending national champion Amherst.  My big concern coming into this game from a UST perspective was how much gas they would have in the tank - physically as well as emotionally - after what they went through last night with Amherst.  Couple that with the fact that it was Wartburg who handed UST their only blemish of the year back down in Waverly, Iowa just before the first of the year and that the Knights had knocked the Tommies out of the tournament three years ago and there were probably some who couldn't help but think that there might be some de ja vu on this Saturday night. 

UST got off to a solid enough start in this one as senior guard Lucia Renikoff drained a "3" right off the bat at the 9:07 mark of the first period from the left corner just as the shot clock was expiring and a "3" from the right top area by sophomore reserve guard Kelsie Cox at the 7:42 mark had the Tommies up 6-2.  Wartburg managed to get things knotted up as senior post Adrienne Boettger was able to score in the paint off the glass at the 6:29 mark and a lay-up by sophomore guard Ally Conrad at the 5:03 mark had this one tied at 6-all.  Cox would strike again for UST with her second three-point bomb of the night from the left wing area with 4:33 left but the Knights would respond quickly as sophomore reserve guard Payton Draper drained a "3" of her own from the right wing area with 4:15 left to get this one deadlocked again at 9-all.  Wartburg Head Coach Bob Amsberry was employing a 2-3 "matchup" zone defense in hopes of clogging up the middle but that didn't seem to faze Tommie senior All-American post Hannah Spaulding who first got into the paint for a score with 4:03 left and then showed her versatility by draining a "3" from the left top area with 2:43 left that had UST up 14-9.  Knight sophomore reserve forward Kaitlyn Volesky got a score in the paint with 2:30 left that allowed Wartburg to crawl back to within a single possession down 14-11 but then Tommie senior reserve guard Bobbi Brendefur expanded UST's lead again with her three-point bomb from the right wing area with 1:43 left.  Again the Knights would close the gap when Draper unleashed her second trey of the game - this one from the left wing area - with 1:32 left but UST would close out this first period on two Spaulding free throws with :32.3 left that gave them a 19-14 lead going into the second period. 

Normally, a five-point deficit wouldn't be that big of a deal and even against UST, the Knights were still certainly right in the thick of things once the second period got underway.  But the Tommies soon made Wartburg regret the twenty-point pounding they applied back in late December.  Sophomore reserve guard Macy Hatlestad would connect with a lay-up at the 9:40 mark and then UST unleashed back-to-back three-point bombs - one from Cox (again) from the left wing area at the 8:55 mark and another one from Spaulding at the 8:10 mark - that suddenly pushed the lead to thirteen at 27-14 and the Knights' Amsberry immediately called for a thirty-second timeout for some quick patchwork.  Junior forward Amanda Brainerd managed to pull Wartburg a bit closer with two free throws at the 7:52 mark but then the Tommies' Renikoff unleashed back-to-back three-point bombs of her own - one from the right top area at the 7:23 mark and another one from the left top area at the 6:39 mark - that now had the lead at seventeen points at 33-16.  Cox would add one free throw after getting fouled at the 5:38 mark before the Knights could get a bit of a reprieve when Brainerd made a drive for a finish off of an inbounds pass with 4:56 left and drew a foul in the process and the resulting "and one" had the deficit down to fifteen at 34-19.  But then Wartburg was once again on the wrong end of an artillery barrage as the Tommies' Cox unleashed her fourth three-point bomb of the night - this one coming from the left top area with 4:35 left - and a lay-up by freshman reserve guard Mia Krogseng in transition with 4:06 left now had UST up by twenty at 39-19.  The Knights tried desperately to get close again as Draper connected with a lay-up with 3:35 left and junior forward Emma Gerdes swished a "3" from the right wing area with 2:33 left to get the deficit down to fifteen points at 39-24. UST would push their lead forward again as Hatlestad connected with a lay-up with 2:09 left and then Spaulding would grab an offensive rebound for a putback of her own miss with :55 left to make it 43-26 and although Wartburg's Brainerd would get one free throw to go down after getting fouled with :23.6 left, the Knights still had a lot of making up to do as both teams trotted to their respective locker rooms for the halftime break.  Surprisingly, rebounds were close when you look at the first half box score with UST holding a 15-14 edge there but the Knights were guilty of seven first half turnovers.  It was really the fact that the Tommies were setting the city of St. Paul on fire with their shooting; going 15-28 from FG range for 53.6% and 10-18 from downtown for 55.6%.  Wartburg meanwhile shot only 10-26 from FG range for 38.5%.

UST put the Knights further in the hole in the opening moments of the third period as a routine score in the paint by Spaulding at the 9:08 mark and a three-point bomb by Renikoff from the left top area got the Tommie lead to 48-27.  Wartburg would again attempt to trim this increasing cushion as a score in the paint by Boettger at the 8:20 mark and a lay-up off of an inbounds pass by Volesky at the 7:17 mark temporarily reduced the deficit to eighteen but then UST went on another rampage as Porter banged home a "3" from the left top area at the 7:06 mark and then Renikoff made a nifty steal and raced the other way for an easy lay-up at the 6:41 mark to make ti 54-31 and the Knights' Amsberry was immediately clamoring for another thirty-second timeout.  But even this short stoppage did not deter the Tommie Express as Porter would unleash another back-breaking "3" - this one from the right corner - at the 5:05 mark and would also get a score in the paint with 3:20 left that now had UST up 59-33.  Freshman reserve post Brynne Rolland got into the paint for another score with 2:52 left and a Brendefur lay-up with 1:43 left now ballooned the lead to 63-35.  The Knights were now bailing water in a small boat on a rough Lake Superior at this point and although they would get three late scores as Volesky would make a drive along the right baseline for a finish with 1:29 left and Boettger would drop two free throws after getting fouled with :56.6 left along with another pair with :18.4 left in this demoralizing third period, things looked pretty grim with the Tommies holding a sizable 67-41 advantage.

To their credit, Wartburg refused to give up the ship just yet as sophomore forward Tori Hazard got two free throws to go down at the 9:22 mark of the fourth period and one more at the 8:35 mark and a jumper from the right wing area by Boettger at the 7:46 mark had the deficit down to twenty-one at 67-46 but that was cold comfort on this night for the Knight faithful.  The Tommies' Renikoff would get two three-point plays that erased any doubt as to how this one was going to go - one by the "new" way with a bomb from the right wing area at the 7:17 mark and another one the old-fashioned way as she connected with a lay-up at the 6:13 mark and drew a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" had the lead at 73-46.  Porter would get another score in the paint at the 5:33 mark and two Cox free throws with 4:12 left would make it 77-48.  Wartburg is a proud team, however, and even though the outcome was no longer in doubt, they still fought valiantly.  Hazard would connect with one lay-up with 3:58 left and two Brainerd free throws with 3:27 left and another Hazard lay-up with 2:58 left had the deficit down to twenty-three at 77-54.  But the Tommies were now ready to put the finishing touches on this one as they prepared to punch their ticket to the Final Four.  Senior point guard Kaylie Brazil drained a "3" from the left corner with 2:39 left and a drive into the lane and finish by Renikoff with 1:16 left as the shot clock was expiring made it 82-54.  Freshman reserve guard Mia Krogseng would add a "3" of her own from the top of the key with :36 left for good measure and although Wartburg's Draper would add two free throws for the Knights total with :16 left, UST punched its ticket to their second Final Four in three years with a resounding 85-56 win. 

Wartburg's Amsberry said afterward in the post-game press conference that was also attended by Gerdes and Boettger.  "Yeah, ya know....I didn't think that we were great defensively early on and we made mistakes and they took advantage and they've got a lot of confidence in their shots....They've got great players."  I asked Amsberry if he thought that UST showed anything differently than they did back just before the first of the year down in Waverly when the Knights won.  "Not really, no.....obviously they shot a lot better (tonight).....They didn't shoot well at our place....It was kind of the other way at our place; it wasn't as high-scoring and we kind of got it going against them.....They didn't really do anything different tonight but they made a lot of shots."  Amsberry admitted that even though he knew this group of players this season was good, even he was surprised by what they accomplished given all the talent that graduated from last year's Final Four team.  Both Gerdes and Boettger had to fight back the tears toward the end when they talked about what this season was like and how much they love being able to play for Amsberry and the Wartburg program.  You can view the entire Wartburg press conference on this link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCB9cOZS-Dw

UST Head Coach Ruth Sinn at the UST post-game press conference was obviously happy as were seniors Renikoff, Spaulding and Brazil who also attended.  Sinn:  "When you get into a tournament atmosphere like that; especially going to the Final Four, it's an electric feeling......So you need to continue to focus on how do we stay together, how do we stay 'present' and not feel the pressure? ......Wartburg has got an incredible team.  In December, we played them and they took it to us.  It was our only loss of the season and they caught us off-guard.  It was a great learning opportunity.....Since that game, we have learned that we've changed and we've grown and I was really proud of our effort tonight.  These young ladies (Renikoff, Spaulding and Brazil) have done an incredible job all year and they've done it through attention to detail.  They're holding each other to high standards."  Sinn also pointed out how incredible it is how the coaches not only have to do their job but what's really great is that the players become coaches in a way as well for the younger underclassmen.  I asked Sinn specifically about my concerns coming into this contest how much the team would have in the tank - physically and emotionally - after last night's epic thriller with Amherst.  "We've prepared for this moment.....Our two tournaments throughout the year.....We went out to Oregon and played George Fox and Lewis & Clark so we were prepared for a back-to-back situation.  We did that at Christmas going down to Wartburg and back-to-back....We played Wash U and Wartburg - two teams in the Elite 8 so we're prepared for that."  You can view the entire UST press conference at this link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4GyUzyoWaM

In checking the final box score, again, rebounds were not that big of a deal with UST holding a 29-25 edge and turnovers weren't that big either as Wartburg had 11 to UST's eight.  It just really came down to the Tommies' defense which held the Knights to 17-45 from FG range for 37.8% and 3-8 from downtown for 37.5%.  They're not kidding when they say that defense wins championships.  Renikoff; in her final performance at Schoenecker Arena, led the way (and led all scorers) with her 22 points while Spaulding recorded yet another "double-double" with 16 points and 14 rebounds.  Cox set the City of St. Paul on fire on this night with her 15 points and Porter had 12 points.  Boettger led the way for Wartburg in the losing effort with her 12 points while both Brainerd and Draper tallied ten points.