Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League Results For Wednesday 7-31-19

Here are the results from the final night of the Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League:


6:00 P.M. Games

Southwest Minnesota State - 42
UST Purple - 35

GAC Alumni - 57
GAC Gold - 51


6:50 P.M. Games

Concordia St. Paul - 52
Twin City Swish - 37

Superhoopers - 50
UST Black - 45


7:45 P.M. Games

Consolation Championship Game

GAC Alumni - 45
Southwest Minnesota State - 38

Championship Game

Superhoopers - 60
Concordia St. Paul - 49


On this final night of the Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League for this year, we were treated to some very good games by all the participating teams on this night.  In the 6:00 P.M. slot, a very intriguing consolation semifinal contest was taking place on Court 1 between the Southwest Minnesota State team and the UST Purple team.  The UST Purple team got off to a solid start in this one; getting a 4-0 lead early and holding an 8-5 lead by the end of the first period; thanks to a score in the paint by junior-to-be Madi Radtke.  The Southwest Minnesota State team would get this game tied at 8-all early in the second period and by the midway point of the second period the Southwest Minnesota State team was holding the lead at 11-10.  By the halftime break, not much had changed in this tight battle with the Southwest Minnesota State team holding a slim 18-16 edge.  By the midway point of the third period, the Southwest Minnesota State team was able to get a bit more breathing room with a 25-20 lead and down the stretch of the third period, the Southwest Minnesota State team embarked on a key run that was highlighted by a last-second shot that now saw them up by ten at 32-22.  The Southwest Minnesota State team would still enjoy that ten-point cushion at 40-30 midway through the fourth period and the UST Purple team could get no closer than seven points in the final minutes as the Southwest Minnesota State team advanced to the consolation final.  On Court 2, it was a battle of former Gusties versus current Gusties as the GAC Alumni team was taking on the GAC Gold team.  What made this game so special and fun to watch was the battle of sisters as Miranda Rice (GAC '18) for the GAC Alumni team was up against younger sis and freshman-to-be Maddy Rice and it was awesome to watch.  The GAC Alumni team would hold a 7-4 lead midway through the opening period and a lay-up in transition by Kelsey Carpenter (GAC '17) had the GAC Alumni team up 13-11 by the end of the first period.  The GAC Gold team would take its cue and grab a 16-15 advantage midway through the second period but the GAC Alumni team would get on a push down the stretch and three-point bombs by both Justine Lee (GAC '19) and Annie Odegard (GAC '17) had the GAC Alumni team in good shape up 31-20 at the half.  The GAC Alumni team still enjoyed that eleven-point cushion midway through the third period up 35-26 but the GAC Gold team would catch fire down the stretch of the third period and had the deficit down to a single-possession at 37-34.  The GAC Alumni team avoided impending disaster and righted the ship to hold a 44-37 lead by the end of the third period.  The GAC Alumni team was still up by seven at 50-43 midway through the fourth period but the GAC Gold team would manage to put one more scare into their mentors as they crawled back to within a single-possession again down 51-48 with 2:51 left but the GAC Alumni team did all the right things in the last two minutes and held on for the tough victory to advance into the consolation championship game.

The championship bracket semifinals took place in the 6:50 P.M. slot and it featured two highly-anticipated games.  Court 1 saw a match-up between two teams that had been on a roll pretty much all summer long as the Concordia St Paul team was taking on the Twin City Swish team.  The Twin City Swish team held a 6-4 lead early on and led 8-6 midway through the opening period and by the end of the first period, things were looking very good for the Twin City Swish team as they held a somewhat surprising 14-9 advantage.  But this Concordia St Paul team hung tough and forged a 15-15 deadlock midway through the second period and a lay-up in transition by junior-to-be Danielle Schaub allowed the Concordia St Paul team to take a 17-15 lead a bit later.  That may have been the spark that the Concordia St Paul team was looking for as they got on a push as a lay-up by sophomore-to-be Meghan DuBois and a "3" by junior-to-be Riley Wheatcraft allowed the Concordia St Paul team to hold a 26-18 lead by the halftime break.  Wheatcraft would drain another key three-point bomb early on in the third period that helped the Concordia St Paul team to grab a cozy 34-20 advantage and by the midway point of the third period the Concordia St Paul team had their lead at 37-22.  By the start of the fourth period, the Concordia St Paul team grew their lead to 43-27 and the Twin City Swish team could never recover as the Concordia St Paul team advanced to the title game.  A much tighter battle was ensuing meanwhile over on Court 2 in the other championship bracket semifinal between the Superhoopers team and the UST Black team.  The UST Black team got off to a good start in this one; getting a 6-2 lead early on and they held a 13-6 advantage midway through the first period but the Superhoopers team soon found their groove and got on a roll and late scores by both Ashley Ellis-Milan (Minnesota '10) and Jamie Jones (Concordia St. Paul '10) had them up 20-17 by the end of the first period.  The UST Black team would come right back and forge a 20-20 deadlock midway through the second period and a "3" by junior-to-be Madi Radtke gave the UST Black team a 25-20 lead a short time later.  But the Superhoopers team would end this second period on a 6-0 push that gave them a 26-25 lead at the halftime break.  The Superhoopers team would continue to hold the upper hand up 34-31 midway through the third period and that lead would grow to five points at 40-35 by the end of the third period.  The UST Black team was not going away anytime soon, however, and one score by Radtke and another one by sophomore-to-be Ellie Wolkow had the UST Black team within a single-possession down 43-40 early in the fourth period.  Defense took center stage in this contest down the stretch and by the midway point of the fourth period, the Superhoopers team was hanging on for dear life with a 43-42 lead and they were still not out of the woods with a 47-44 lead with 2:50 left.  But the Superhoopers team managed to hang on and get critical stops down the stretch to hang on for an incredibly tough win to advance to the title game.

So everything game down to the last two games in the 7:45 P.M. slot on this night.  Court 2 was the setting for the consolation championship between the GAC Alumni team and the Southwest Minnesota State team.  The Southwest Minnesota State team got off to a very good start in this one; building a 7-2 lead midway through the first period but the GAC Alumni team was not deterred and they managed to tighten up things to a single possession down 14-11 by the end of the first period.  An Annie Odegard (GAC '17) "3" allowed the GAC Alumni team to get this game tied at 14 a piece early in the second period and a Miranda Rice (GAC '18) score in the paint had this one tied up again at 16-all a bit later.  Things would still be tied at 21-all midway through the second period but the Southwest Minnesota State team would manage to get on a push and hold a 26-21 lead by the halftime break.  But this GAC Alumni team would come out strong once the third period got underway and they would take the lead at 29-28 midway through the third period and would hold a 34-32 advantage by the end of the third period.  With its confidence ballooning, the GAC Alumni team would take control of things once the fourth period got underway with Rice doing most of the damage on both ends of the floor and was unstoppable at times and they would build a 45-34 lead midway through the fourth period and with 2:00 left, they were up 45-38 which is how this one ended with the GAC Alumni team having a strong showing all summer long for the third place trophy.  Finally, Court 1 was the centerpiece in this time slot for the Big Enchilada, the Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League Championship Game.  And fittingly, it came down to the two teams who were most dominant this year - the Concordia St Paul team and the Superhoopers team.  The Superhoopers team would grab a 9-5 advantage midway through the first period and managed to hold that four-point edge at 12-8 by the end of the first period with things still close.  But the big difference came in the second period when the Superhoopers team exploded on a big run to get a 22-10 advantage early on in the second period.  The Concordia St Paul team had a nice response, however, as they managed a push of their own down the stretch of the second period to climb back to within single digits down 34-26 by the halftime break.  The Superhoopers team managed to widen their cushion again in the early moments of the third period to ten points at 40-30 but again the Concordia St Paul team showed a lot of grit in getting back into this one.  A three-point bomb by junior-to-be Danielle Schaub allowed the Concordia St Paul team to get back to single-digit range again down 43-35 late in the third period and the Concordia St Paul team would come out strong in the fourth period as a pretty drive and finish by sophomore-to-be Meghan DuBois suddenly had them right back in the thick of things down 45-40 with a ton of time left.  But just when the Superhoopers team looked the most vulnerable, their experience and skill set proved to be the difference as they turned away this comeback attempt and built their cushion back up to double digits for good.  A "3" by Jamie Jones (Concordia St Paul '10) gave the Superhoopers team a 54-42 lead midway through the fourth period and they would get important stops down the stretch as the Superhoopers team took the title by a final score of 60-49.             

Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League Results For Wednesday 7-24-19

I realize I'm late getting this in but after being on the road for most of this last weekend, it couldn't be helped.


5:00 P.M. Games

GAC Gold - 55
UW-River Falls - 36

Anoka-Ramsey - 47
Hamline - 40


5:55 P.M. Games

UST Purple - 73
Millennials - 40

GAC Gold - 52
Hamline - 41

Minnesota's Best - 44
NIACC - 32


6:50 P.M. Games

Southwest Minnesota State - 50
GAC Black - 36

GAC Alumni - 55
St. Kate's - 51

UST Purple - 58
Anoka-Ramsey - 22


7:45 P.M. Games

Southwest Minnesota State - 63
Minnesota's Best - 50

Twin City Swish - 50
Macalester - 44


Got settled in at halftime of the games going on in the 5:00 P.M. slot.....Over on Court 1, the GAC Gold team held a rather comfy 34-18 lead on the UW-River Falls team at the half and although the latter was able to cut into that deficit a bit during the third period, they still found themselves down by fifteen by the start of the fourth period at 37-22.  The GAC Gold team put more distance between themselves and their opponent up 49-30 midway through the fourth period enroute to the easy win.  Things were a bit tighter over on Court 2 with the Anoka-Ramsey team up 28-23 at the halftime break on the Hamline team and although key three-point bombs in the third period helped the Anoka-Ramsey team extend their lead to eleven points at 36-25 midway through the third period and as much as 42-27 by the start of the fourth period, the Hamline team  refused to give up and managed to get back into single-digit range toward the end before falling.

Three games in the 5:55 P.M. slot had me doing the roaming thing again.  On Court 1, the UST Purple team; likely still smarting from their second upset loss to the Macalester team in as many weeks, took out their frustrations on the Millennials team that, for the most part anyway, had had a good showing in this year's summer league.  But on this evening, they ran into a brick wall as the UST Purple team jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead and were up 14-3 by the midway point of the opening period.  Up 25-8 by the start of the second period, a 7-0 push by the UST Purple team extended that lead to 32-8 midway through the second period and by the halftime break, they had a commanding 41-14 advantage.  Things didn't get any better for the Millennials team as they found themselves on the wrong end of a 51-18 score midway through the third period and by the start of the fourth period, things were pretty much academic with the UST Purple enjoying a 63-26 advantage enroute to the blowout win.  A much closer contest was ensuing over on Court 2 between the GAC Gold team and the Hamline team as the latter was up 7-6 midway through the first period and the Hamline team held a 12-8 lead by the end of the first period.  The Hamline team still held the upper hand in this one with an 18-16 advantage midway through the second period and a 26-23 lead at the halftime break.  But the GAC Gold team managed to turn the tables once the third period got underway; getting things tied up at 31 a piece midway through the third period and by the end of the third period, the GAC Gold team had poked its nose out in front by a 39-37 count.  Two free throws by freshman-to-be Maddy Rice had the GAC Gold team up 43-40 midway through the fourth period and two more free throws by Maddy Rice got the lead to 47-41 with 3:25 left as the GAC Gold team claimed a hard-fought victory.  Over on Court 3, the NIACC team was taking on the Minnesota's Best team and here the latter jumped out to a 6-0 advantage midway through the first period and led 9-5 by the end of the first period.  The Minnesota's Best team stretched their lead to 14-5 midway through the second period and led 23-7 by the halftime break.  The NIACC team managed to overcome its cold-shooting performance once the third period got underway but were still down 29-15 midway through the third period and by the start of the fourth period the Minnesota's Best team held a commanding 36-17 lead.  Not much changed once the fourth period got underway with the Minnesota's Best team still up comfortably 43-28 midway through the fourth period enroute to the victory.

In the 6:50 P.M. slot, an interesting contest was ensuing between the GAC Black team and the Southwest Minnesota State team and things would be very tight early on with things tied at 3-all early on and 8-all midway through the first period.  The Southwest Minnesota State team was finally able to get the upper hand with a key push down the stretch of the opening period to hold a 16-11 lead by the start of the second period.  The Southwest Minnesota State team still enjoyed the five-point edge at 22-17 midway through the second period but the GAC Black team managed to tighten things up by the halftime break as the Southwest Minnesota State team was up by only a bucket at 24-22.  The GAC Black team would have this game tied at 26-all early in the third period and things looked up for grabs but the Southwest Minnesota State team would slowly regain control up 30-26 midway through the third period and by the end of the third period that lead grew to 34-26.  By the midway point of the fourth period the Southwest Minnesota State team had control up 42-30 as they avoided the upset.  A very good game was taking place over on Court 2 between the St. Kate's team and the GAC Alumni team and the St. Kate's team got off to a very good start in this one as they were up 11-5 midway through the opening period and although the GAC Alumni team got a boost from a Kelsey Carpenter (GAC '17) three-point bomb before the first period buzzer, the St. Kate's team was still enjoying a 17-12 advantage.  The GAC Alumni team, however, used its skill set and experience to slyly cut into the deficit in the second period as they were down by only a point at 18-17 midway through the second period and they would have the game tied at 20-all a short time later.  The St. Kate's team had a 26-25 lead at the halftime break but the momentum turned in the third period for the GAC Alumni team as a Miranda Rice (GAC '18) "3" was huge as they poked their nose out in front 29-28 early in the third period.  The St. Kate's team managed to come right back to reclaim the lead at 30-29 midway through the third period and they still held that one-point advantage at 37-36 by the start of the fourth period.  But the GAC Alumni team took the lead for good early on in the fourth period on two Miranda Rice freebies and a Carpenter jumper at 41-39 and by the midway point of the fourth period the GAC Alumni team grew the lead to five points at 46-41.  Both Miranda Rice and Carpenter would get the job done at the charity stripe down the stretch as the GAC Alumni team held on for a tough win.  No such drama over on Court 3 as the UST Purple team had its way with the young Anoka-Ramsey team as the UST Purple team was up 6-1 midway through the first period and led 18-11 by the start of the second period.  The UST Purple team's lead grew to 27-13 midway through the second period and there was little doubt as to how this one was going to turn out as the UST Purple team was up 35-18 at the half.  The UST Purple team would be up 47-20 midway through the third period and led 54-20 by the start of the fourth period as they cruised to an easy victory.

Finally, in the 7:45 P.M. slot on this night, an interesting matchup was taking place over on Court 1 between the Southwest Minnesota team - fresh off of its victory in the earlier time slot - and the Minnesota's Best team which had also emerged victorious earlier as well.  The Southwest Minnesota State team had a 13-7 edge midway through the first period but that lead would grow to nine points at 29-20 by the end of the opening period thanks to some clutch three-point shooting.  The Southwest Minnesota State team saw their lead balloon to 43-20 midway through the second period and by the halftime break things were looking very good for the Southwest Minnesota State team as they enjoyed a 52-26 lead.  Not much changed once the third period got underway as the Southwest Minnesota State team was up 55-34 midway through the third period and led 58-39 by the start of the fourth period as they had things in cruise control the rest of the way.  The other game in this time slot took place over on Court 2 between the Twin City Swish team and the Macalester team which had been flying high as of late with two thrilling wins over the heavily-favored UST Purple team.  The Macalester team got off to a decent start in this one; up 10-6 midway through the first period but the Twin City Swish team was able to reduce the deficit to a scant point at 14-13 at the end of the first period.  The Twin City Swish team poked its nose out in front by a 21-20 count midway through the second period and things would be knotted at 24 a piece by the halftime break.  The Macalester team regained the lead at 30-28 midway through the third period and a lay-up in transition by senior-to-be Holly Hull had things looking very good for the Macalester team as they held a 36-30 advantage a bit later.  But the Twin City Swish team showed a lot of resilience and got the deficit down to just two points at 38-36 at the end of the third period and once the fourth period got underway, the Twin City Swish team slowly started to gain control of things; up 41-38 early in the fourth period.  Still, the Macalester team; which had been in these close affairs more than once this summer, got things tied up again at 41 a piece midway through the fourth period and it looked as if the Macalester team might be able to pull off yet another miracle for the third week in a row.  But on this night, the Macalester team saw their luck run out as they never could quite seem to find a big score at the right time and that allowed the Twin City Swish team to get a 46-41 lead late in the game as they advanced with a tough victory.