An Incredibly Empty Feeling.... 3-13-20

As I sit at home here on this Friday evening; thinking about how I would normally be at Williams Arena right now covering the Girl's State Tournament, I've been trying all day to get my feelings and emotions into perspective after I found out this morning that the MSHSL, somewhat predicatably, decided to put a fork in the rest of the Girl's Tournament and the Boy's Section finals that were supposed to happen tonight and the subsequent state tournament for them this next week due to the Covid-19 outbreak.  I think after it was announced yesterday that the third place and consolation games had been wiped out and that attendance would be limited to immediate family members only and essential staff and credentialed media (such as myself), I think you could kind of see the almost inevitable end coming but I was still shocked nonetheless and it really made me think about things during the day today as I took most of the time trying to get my blog caught up from yesterday's semifinal games in both Class AAA and Class AAAA.

First, my heart simply breaks in half for the seniors on the teams that had anticipated getting at least three games out of this deal and some were lucky to get two out of it.  It's such an unprecedented way for a season to end and, as badly as I feel about things, consider how these young ladies feel right  now and what they wouldn't give to be able to put that uniform on one more time with pride and ball out and leave it out there on the floor.  Sadly, they won't get to do that now and there's nothing anyone can do about it.  I think it's safe to say that they'll always be asking "What if" for years to come; wondering what might have been had they been able to play that last game.  There's some who have even suggested on social media that maybe these teams should just meet up - unofficially - to settle it in their minds once and for all in some gym and I wouldn't blame them if they did somewhere down the road.  Hell, if they did, I'd gladly go and watch.  😁   

And it's the same story on the college side as well.  The Division III tournament was wiped out not to mention both DI and DII sides and my hearts go out to the seniors to all those teams.  I'm just thankful that the Bethel pod the previous weekend went on as planned without a hitch.  To all these seniors, I simply say "Thank you!"  You will not be forgotten.

While I know the decisions for both the various high school leagues and NCAA/NAIA to undertake, I understand what they did and why they did it.  These are unprecedented times in which we live right now and I believe that this too, shall pass.  For me personally, this even affects me on the tennis side as the USTA has shuttered events/tournaments for the time being and it's hard to tell when things will get back to "normal" again.  I'm just trying to do my part.

In the meantime, stay safe and vigilant everyone.   

 

2020 Minnesota Girl's State Tournament - Class AAAA Semifinal Game - Farmington vs STMA 3-12-20

The nightcap at Williams Arena on this Thursday night was the highly-anticipated Class AAAA semifinal game between Farmington and STMA.  Of all the games at this state tournament, this one by far and away was the one I was looking forward to the most. 

STMA would draw first blood in this contest at the 17:25 mark when junior guard Kendal Cox connected with a lay-up that drew a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" gave the Knights a 3-0 lead.  Farmington would come right back, however, and assume a 4-3 lead on a short jumper by junior guard Peyton Blandin at the 16:03 mark and another short Blandin jumper at the 15:31 mark increased that lead to 6-3.  Junior post Sophie Hart's short jumper in the lane at the 13:52 mark gave the Tigers a 10-6 lead and a lay-up by senior guard Katelyn Mohr at the 12:43 mark that drew a foul with the resulting "and one" now had Farmington up 15-8.  STMA would claw their way back into this game, however, and a "3" by sophomore guard Emma Miller at the 9:05 mark had the Knights back to within a single possession down 17-15.  At the 9:19 mark, STMA's senior forward Vanessa Alexander would score in the paint to get this one tied at 17.  Farmington would take its cue and establish a 21-17 lead with 6:25 left and two free throws by junior guard Paige Kindseth with 5:15 left increased that lead to 23-17.  Blandin's short jumper a bit later increased the lead to eight at 25-17 and sophomore guard Rose Willie's pretty reverse lay-up with 4:05 left now gave the Tigers a ten-point cushion at 27-17 and STMA now had its work cut out for them.  With 2:32 left, Blandin would connect with a lay-up in transition for 31-19 Farmington lead and an offensive rebound and putback by Hart made it 33-22.  STMA senior guard Mackenzie Kramer finally got untracked with her three-point bomb with 1:11 left but for the Knights, it was a long time coming and although STMA was able to get back into single-digit range down 36-27 by the halftime break, they were going to need more of the Kramer artillery to narrow the gap.  One of the reasons for Farmington's first half success was that they held a 21-13 edge on the boards and their defense limited STMA to 9-25 from FG range for 36% and 4-12 from downtown for 33.3%.

STMA got a big lift when freshman forward Tessa Johnson drained a "3" at the 17:02 mark to reduce the deficit to eight at 38-30 and another "3" by senior guard Lily Tennyson at the 16:10 mark reduced that deficit to five at 38-33.  With 15:26 left, Johnson would drain another "3" to bring the Knights back to within a single possession down 38-36 and this bombs away attack caused Farmington Head Coach Liz Carpentier to call a timeout to try and make some quick defensive adjustments.  Johnson would strike again at the 14:18 mark to keep STMA in that two-point range down 40-38.  Farmington recovered somewhat and two Hart free throws at the 11:59 mark gave the Tigers more breathing room up 44-38.  Right back came STMA though and a "3" by Miller at the 10:33 mark suddenly had this one tied at 44.  Farmington would again push the "go" button and get a 48-45 lead at the 9:25 mark and with 8:50 left, the Tigers grew that lead to 52-45.  With just over 6:00 left, Farmington's Blandin drained a back-breaking "3" to give the Tigers a 57-48 advantage but less than a minute later with 5:22 left, STMA had that deficit whittled down to five points at 57-52.  But with 4:45 left, the Tigers again increased their lead to nine at 61-52 and with 4:20 left, they had a double-digit advantage at 63-52 and now the Knights were clearly under the gun.  With 4:00 left, Blandin's lay-up in ttransition maintained the eleven-point edge at 65-54.  With 2:35 left and a 67-54 lead, Farmington now started playing keep-away on the offensive end and started applying the finishing touches from the charity stripe and Farmington would advance to Saturday night's championship game with a 78-59 victory. 

STMA Head Coach Kent Hamre was in the press conference afterward with both Kramer and Johnson.  Hamre on the flow of this game:  "It just seemed like we were just constantly battling to try and get uphill and they'd make a run....And when you're constantly fighting back, it's tough to keep that momentum going....And as good of a team as they are, you just can't give them that many runs....We worked for every point we got and they were getting a lot of putbacks and we knew going into the game that we'd have to keep them off of the offensive boards and that Hart's (Sophie of Farmington) is a heckuva player....She does such a nice job on the offensive boards....We tried many different things and we threw everything but the kitchen sink at her today....."  I asked Hamre if Farmington's size - particularly Hart - bothered his team more than they might have originally anticipated.  "It did" he replied.  He pointed out that he felt that if squad could get into more transition opportunites it would neutralize some of their half-court strength.  But he knew his team would have to make the most of their outside game and the Knights outside game on this night just wasn't enough to overcome the strength that Farmington has with their inside game.  Hamre also felt that Kramer needed to get more touches on this night and that just didn't happen.  In listening to Kramer talk about this game and her career at STMA, it's beyond obvious how incredibly smart this young woman is and how incredibly wise she is beyond her years and she will be a smashing success at the next level.  Hamre also talked about how much his five seniors and the rest of this team means to him and that they did everything asked of them to get to this point and he lamented about not having a third-place game this year "but, it's something out of our control" he said.  Farmington's Carpentier was joined in the Farmington portion of the postgame press conference by both Hart and senior guard Molly Mogensen who's been out of action with a foot injury.  Carpentier on the game itself:  "Thank you....Well, first off, congratulations to STMA....They're a phenomenal basketball team with a lot of weapons and it's a tough match-up......I think that overall, we dominated the paint which was one of our goals; I thought both defensively, we turned it up in the second half and offensively, I thought that most of our shots came on the attack of the offensive rebound."  I asked Carpentier about how her team's defense on this night made STMA a little more one-dimensional than they wanted to be at the most crucial stretches of this contest.  "Yes, we talked about at halftime about just staying out on their players....And constantly in timeouts in the second half; we said we're not coming off to help; we had Sophie (Hart) in the paint and that she could own that and that we really wanted to take away the three."  Carpentier also heaped a lot of praise on Hart and her court awareness during this game.  "Sophie's a smart basketball player....She moved as you saw when we drove to the basket, she moved to the middle of the paint; she knew where the openings were coming from."  And even when STMA switched up defenses on them, she was still able to get the ball into the middle for scores.  I asked Carpentier as well about what's different with this team - now anyway - as they prepare to get ready for Hopkins on Saturday night than it was when they played the Royals earlier in the season and lost.  "I think we're more composed for certain situations....That playing that game back in December on our home court, we had kids that weren't ready for the 'big' game....And now they are and you can tell that in our last three games that we won some pretty big games; close games....We had different kids step up in every different situation so I think that playing that game back in December has only helped us.....We have grown....We have matured....We've stepped up in big-time roles and we filled those so we're going to come out and we're going to be more composed and relaxed."  Mogensen talked about - albeit with tears - about how she's had to play the role of supporting teammate on the bench while injured and it was easy to see the pain that she felt of being injured and not being able to be in on the action.  But she's been there supporting her teammates in every way she can.  "I miss the energy" she said with tears. 

When you glance at the final box score for this one, the one item that jumps out at you right away was Farmington's domination on the boards on this night by a stunning 41-25 count and, by far and away, it was Hart inflicting most of that damage.  Her individual stats are simply stunning - a "double-double" of 21 points and 16 rebounds - wow indeed!  And she's just a junior.  To their credit, STMA suffered "only" nine turnovers on this night but that rebounding gap and their inability to come up with more three-point bombs on this night really hurt them.  Besides Hart's heroics, it would be unfair not to mention Blandin whose 22 points on this night actually paced the Tigers and three players - Paige Kindseth, Mohr and Willie - all finished with 10 points on this night.  On the STMA side, Johnson poured in 27 points to lead all scorers and Kramer finished with 12 points. 

2020 Minnesota Girl's State Tournament - Class AAAA Semifinal Game - Hopkins vs Stillwater 3-12-20

The first game on tap on this Thursday night would pit top-seeded and undefeated Hopkins against fifth-seeded Stillwater.  The Royals breezed past Cambridge-Isanti on Wednesday morning while the Ponies summarily dismissed Park Center in their opening game yesterday.  And while Hopkins would be the heavy favorite in this one again, there was no reason to think that Stillwater wouldn't be able to provide the favorite a bit of a run for their money.

This game, of course, would be a rematch of last year's state title game and a score in the paint by sophomore forward/post Maya Nnaji at the 16:24 mark of the first half would give Hopkins a 4-2 edge.  Freshman forward Taylor Woodson's lay-up at the 13:51 mark pushed the lead to 10-4.  By the 10:52 mark, the Royals had expanded that lead to 16-4 and compounding Stillwater's problem was that they were certainly getting opportunities to score but they were unable to capitalize on a lot of those opportunities.  A "3" by - who else - senior guard Paige Bueckers at the 10:32 mark grew the Hopkins lead to 19-4 and would grow to 21-4 when sophomore guard Amaya Battle knocked down a jumper at the 9:30 mark.  Stillwater finally broke its prolonged drought with 8:03 left when speedy junior point guard Alexis Pratt knocked down two free throws after getting fouled but the climb back into this one was steep to say the least and although Pratt would score on a nifty drive and lay-up with 6:32 left, the Ponies were still staring at a 25-8 deficit.  Senior forward Liza Karlen's jumper with 5:32 left dented this cushion a little bit with Stillwater down 27-11 and one more Pratt free throw with 5:12 left reduced the deficit to fifteen at 27-12.  A Pratt "3" with 4:20 left made further inroads with the deficit cut to twelve at 27-15.  This got the attention of Hopkins as they went back to work re-establishing its cushion.  A pretty drive and finish by Bueckers with 1:43 left got the lead to seventeen and 33-16.  Stillwater would get a lift on a "3" by Liza Karlen with :48 left to get the deficit back down to twelve at 33-21 and Liza Karlen's offensive rebound and putback with just :12 left had the Ponies feeling infinitely better about themselves down by just ten at the halftime break at 33-23.  A quick check of the halftime stats show that Stillwater was guilty of 20 first half turnovers but was able to make some of that up on the rebounding end where the Ponies held a 19-16 advantage.  And Stillwater wasn't shooting all that badly either despite that extended drought they had as they were 3-6 from behind the arc for 50% and were 4-6 from the charity stripe for 66.7%.

Hopkins would increase its lead to fourteen at 37-23 by the 15:11 mark of the second half and two Bueckers free throws at the 14:53 mark would up the lead to sixteen at 39-24.  Stillwater would reduce the deficit to eleven when Liza Karlen connected with a lay-up in transition at the 12:14 mark at 39-28 that provided a ray of hope and another Liza Karlen lay-up would keep the Ponies in that eleven-point range a bit later.  But that ray of hope soon fizzled out by the 9:50 mark as Hopkins had their cushion built back up to eighteen at 48-30.  With 7:13 left, that lead grew to 51-32 and it was evident that whatever small window that Stillwater may have had at the beginning of this second period was now gone for good.  With 4:52 left, Hopkins was enjoying a 55-36 advantage and with 3:16 left Nnaji would connect with a lay-up that drew a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" gave the Royals a twenty-point cushion at 58-38.  Bueckers would give the crowd at the Barn something to roar about with her steal and lay-up the other way with 1:45 left and Hopkins cruised their way into Saturday night's Championship Game with a convincing 66-40 victory.   

Stillwater Head Coach Willie Taylor was in the press conference afterward along with both Liza Karlen and Pratt.  Taylor on falling behind early:  "When you're playing that team (Hopkins), you just can't do that....You just cannot come into that first half like we did....And we had twenty-one turnovers in the first half; we're averaging about ten to twelve a game.....We had problems with their press because we didn't practice against it....We hadn't been pressed all year long and being pressed today, I knew it'd be tough."  I mentioned to Taylor that I thought his squad did a good job of tightening things up early on in the second half and there was a small window of opportunity for them but it quickly shut on them.  "A couple of things....Our kids work hard; they work really hard....When we started to make our comeback, I don't think we did what we normally do....We had our shooters open but when we got pressed we got down on ourselves and that hurt us....Second, Paige Bueckers....She's good.  Really really good.  When she was on the floor, she was coaching her team....She's a very talented basketball player and she's a coach on the floor."  Pratt talked about how small the passing lanes were on offense against Hopkins and even when she thought she made a good pass, they were always there.  Taylor lamented about all the missed lay-ups his team had in just the first half alone.  "You can't have all those missed lay-ups....You have to make those!"  Hopkins Head Coach brought both Bueckers and Woodson into the Hopkins portion of the postgame press conference.  Cosgriff on his overall thoughts of the game:  "Survive and advance!.....I mean, honestly, they're a very good team and we watched a ton of film on them.....Unfortunately for them, I've got Paige Bueckers and she makes everybody else good out there....We've got some good young players coming up so we're just happy to be moving on to the next one."  I mentioned to Cosgriff that I thought Stillwater did a good job of tightening things up a bit by the halftime break and I asked him about what adjustments he felt he needed to make coming into the second half.  "Well, I felt we needed to become more aggressive....I felt that we became a little bit complacent and we weren't transitioning the basketball as well as we should have and some of our players became tentative and we talked about that at halftime....We wanted to be pushing the ball and attacking the basket."  Cosgriff felt that his team did a better job in the second half of limiting whatever runs that Stillwater made.  Bueckers noted that it was still something of a disappointment that her squad didn't win state championships in her first two years at Hopkins but getting last year's trophy helped make up for that and that she wanted to get one more.  Cosgriff also noted that anyone who thinks that his Hopkins teams aren't going to press you is sadly mistaken.  "It's what we do....If anyone thinks that we're not going to press you, you haven't done your homework." 

A check of the final box score shows that that darn Hopkins press did indeed force 31 Stillwater turnovers on this Thursday night and although Stillwater's Liza Karlen was a monster on the board on this night with her 14 rebounds, it wasn't enough to overcome that.  Somewhat ironically, it would be Woodson's 21 points leading all scorers on this night while Bueckers would add 15 points and Nnaji would finish with 12 points.  On the Stillwater side, just a monster night for Liza Karlen with her 17 points and those 14 rebounds for a "double-double" and Pratt would finish with 13 points.   

2020 Minnesota Girl's State Tournament - Class AAA Semifinal Game - Becker vs Waconia 3-12-20

The other Class AAA semifinal game on this Thursday afternoon was one I was definitely looking forward to as Becker; last year's state runner-up, was taking on Waconia.  Becker came into this state tournament with a solid 25-2 record while Waconia was arguably an underdog in this one as they entered this state tournament with a 19-10 record.  But you knew somehow that this game could be a very interesting one despite all the Covid-19 implications now swirling around this state tournament.

Becker would grab a 6-4 lead by the 14:20 mark of this first half and a lay-up by sophomore Maren Westin at the 12:57 mark would increase the Bulldogs lead to 8-4.  Two more quick scores would make it 12-4 by the 12:21 mark and Waconia Head Coach Dusty Neibauer knew his team was clearly in the danger zone and called for a thirty-second halt to the action to get his team calmed down.  But a Westin "3" at the 11:46 mark would push the Becker lead to 15-7 and the pressure defense the Bulldogs were applying was causing all sorts of problems for this Waconia team.  The Wildcats were down 20-12 by the 9:25 mark and two free throws by junior Dani Dykstra at the 9:11 mark had the deficit down to six at 20-14.  Senior forward Natalie Meath would connect with a lay-up in transition with 8:47 left that drew a foul in the process and although she couldn't cash in on the "and one", the Wildcats were still in that six-point range down 22-16.  A "3" by junior guard Sydni Olson with 6:35 left kept Waconia in that six-point range down 25-19.  Becker would quickly respond and build a ten-point 29-19 advantage with 5:55 left and a "3" by junior guard Julia Bengston with 5:30 left would up that lead to 32-19.  Fellow junior guard Courtney Nuest would add a "3" with 4:45 left to make it a 37-27 game.  With 3:00 left in the first half, Becker's lead had grown to 43-31 and a short jumper in the lane by sophomore guard Adeline Kent off of an inbounds pass had the Bulldogs in great shape up 47-31 and Becker would take a twenty-point cushion into the locker room at the halftime break up 54-34.  A quick check of the halftime stats show that Waconia's 12 first half turnovers played a big part in their demise in this first half and the fact that Becker held a sizable 26-17 edge on the boards thus far was not helping the Wildcats cause at all.

The positives were few and far between for Waconia as Becker would continue to widen the gap in the early moments of the second half.  Junior guard Alayna Lindquist's lay-up at the 14:40 mark extended the Bulldogs lead to 63-38 and a Kent lay-up at the 12:56 mark made it 67-43.  Waconia's Meath would drain a "3" at the 11:12 mark but the Wildcats needed an extended run to get back into this one.  Becker's Bengston would connect with a lay-up at the 10:19 mark to make it 75-51.  To their credit, the Wildcats would keep battling and would get within twenty at 79-62 with 7:30 left
and a lay-up in transition by sophomore forward Audrey Swanson with 5:03 left had the deficit down to eighteen but the gap would simply be too much to overcome for this Waconia team.  Becker freshman guard Ayla Brown would nail a "3" with 3:53 left to give the Bulldogs a 90-67 lead.  For good measure, Becker's freshman Maren Westin would add a three-point play the old-fashioned way with just over two minutes left and the Bulldogs would roll into the Championship Game on Saturday night for a much-awaited rematch with DeLaSalle with a 96-75 triumph. 

Waconia's Niebauer talked about how his team's season actually started last year in the section final loss and how that had a lasting impact on this team.  He talked about how his team doubled down and worked hard to get to this point as Waconia had never been to the state tournament before.  He also mentioned about how Waconia was nearly shoved up to AAAA status this year but luckily remained in the AAA field.  But the possibility still forced Niebauer to schedule a lot of AAAA teams this season and said it was a learning experience for his team.  But the tougher competition forced his team to not only get more physical and stronger but mentally tougher as well.  I asked Niebauer about Becker's ability to push the ball up the court with the players they have and that once they were able to get some separation, it really made things difficult for his team.  "We didn't finish well ourselves in the paint....And that sets them up to outlet push down the sideline and all five of their girls can run and push the ball up the court....We have a tendency to, when we miss shots, to get in our own heads.....So, even when we would score, they're so quick to inbound and push outlet and we didn't talk as well in transition and we just dug ourselves too big of a hole with foul trouble and everything else.....And we didn't rebound the ball very well either."  Niebauer also pointed out that Becker's #23 (Megan Gamble) "just killed us".  I also asked Niebauer about what this experience has meant for his team and what they have to do going forward to get another chance like this.  "We have to keep getting better 'physically' because that's the thing about Becker and these other teams you see out here....They don't count on a foul being called.  They're going to finish no matter what and we're still kind of 'hoping'.  We're hoping for calls to go our way and we're halfway there.....But it's about strength and control....And again if we finish well, we're at least in striking distance but when it's twenty points against a team that shot the ball as well as they did today, it felt like a gulf and that's what it was."  Niebauer also lamented that his team never could put together consecutive stops that might have changed things up a bit. 

Becker Head Coach Dan Baird felt like it was his team's shot-making ability that helped his team advance on this day.  "It was our shot-making....Our girls, they put a ton of time in during the summer......We have a lot of girls that our involved in our 20,000 shot program that our youth association puts on and it showed on a night like tonight."  I pointed out to Baird that I thought his team just looked so much more relaxed out on the floor compared to last year.  "One thing that I've told the girls all season, and I don't know if they've believed it or not, but we're twenty points better....We would have beaten last year's team by twenty points and I've said that consistently through the year because we're just bigger, we're stronger, quicker and the kids put a ton of time on their skills in the off-season and, it shows....Now we've got the rematch that we wanted and we just gotta go out and do that on the big stage."  I also asked Baird about this core of juniors that he has on this team and the leadership process and how that has evolved.  "You know, it was a growing process."  He pointed out how Julia Bengston has been a leader for this squad since the eighth grade and how even the girls in upper grades looked up toward her for leadership.  "She just does things the right way" Baird added. 

When you look at the final box score for this one, you immediately see that Becker had an incredibly balanced scoring attack on this day with Bengston's 20 points leading the way and Westin was right behind with 19 points.  Kent would add 15 points and Nuest had 12 points and Gamble finished with 10 points.  On the Waconia side, Swanson's 16 points led the way while Addy Salzer had 14 points and Meath would have 11 points while Tess Johnson had 10 points.  Becker had a sizable edge on the boards by a 40-32 count and Waconia had 19 turnovers on this day as well.     

2020 Minnesota Girl's State Tournament - Class AAA Semifinal Game - DeLaSalle vs Simley 3-12-20

De
Back at Williams Arena on this Thursday and, with everything going on throughout this great country with the Coronavirus shuttering several events; including the B1G Tournament, I was somewhat surprised that the doors weren't taped shut.  Got myself settled in on press row courtside on this day and after fighting the Wifi connection which seemingly took forever, I'm ready to go with this game at the 10:48 mark of the first half with DeLaSalle holding a 10-8 lead in what so far has been a very tightly contested contest.  I had seen the Islanders play only once this season and this would be my very first look at the Spartans who came into this state tournament with a sparkling 27-2 record.

Simley would assume a 14-10 advantage at the 9:12 mark of this first half on a pretty three-point bomb by senior guard Sydney Stensgard from the right wing area and a Stensgard coast-to-coast lay-up with 7:54 left would increase that lead to 18-12.  DeLaSalle would get this deficit trimmed to just one point with 6:49 left at 18-17 when freshman guard Kennedy Klick drained a "3" and a lay-up in transition by sophomore guard Sydney Runsewe with 5:32 left would push the Islanders into the lead at 19-18 in this low-scoring affair.  Simley would manage to push back into the lead again at 25-21 but DeLaSalle would get this game tied and would push ahead with 1:50 left at 27-25 when senior forward Nurjei Weems connected with a lay-up in transition.  The Islanders would get a big lift with two Runsewe three-point bombs within the last minute and would carry a 33-25 lead into the locker room at the halftime break.  A quick check of the halftime stats shows that Simley was guilty of ten first half turnovers that negated their 22-13 edge on the boards thus far.  DeLaSalle was shooting well in this first half thus far going 14-30 for 46.7% and 5-11 from behind the arc for 45.5%.  And Runsewe's 11 first half point were pacing the Islanders as well.

DeLaSalle would stretch it's lead to nine early in the second half at 35-26 but Simley's Stensgard would get fouled at the 15:57 mark and get at least one free throw to go down that helped trim the deficit down to six at 35-29.  A lay-up in transition by senior guard Zareia Chevre at the 15:10 mark helped make further inroads for the Spartans but DeLaSalle sophomore guard Kiani Lockett would connect with a lay-up at the 13:55 mark that drew a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" would get the Islanders' lead to ten points at 43-33.  A Runsewe one-handed jumper at the 12:03 marked pushed DeLaSalle's lead to 49-35 and Klick's offensive rebound and putback at the 11:20 mark would make it 51-35 that prompted Simley Head Coach Mark Stensgard to call a timeout as things were clearly getting away from his team at this point.  Klick would connect with a pretty lay-up in transition at the 9:57 mark and two Lockett free throws at the 9:10 mark gave the Islanders a twenty-point cushion at 57-37.   With DeLaSalle holding a sizable 62-49 advantage with 6:45 left, the Islanders were now deliberately taking time off the clock and were getting to the charity stripe now that they were in the double-bonus which effectively sealed Simley's fate in this one.  A Weems lay-up with 4:22 left gave DeLaSalle a 68-44 advantage and the Islanders would cruise into Saturday night's Championship Game with a resounding 74-52 victory. 

Simley's Mark Stensgard noted the physicality of this contest in the postgame press conference and admitted that his team wasn't always patient on offense and some questionable shot selection and errant shots sometimes led to easy transition baskets by DeLaSalle.  The Islanders's Head Coach Tanysha Scott was in agreement that their ability to get into transition for easy baskets was key when I asked her about that element in their second half gameplan.  Runsewe led the DeLaSalle attack on this day with her 19 points.  Simley was paced by sophomore Ascheampoman Danso's 18 points. 

2020 Minnesota Girl's State Tournament - Class AAAA Quarterfinal Game - Lakeville North vs STMA 3-11-20

The 4:00 P.M. game on this Wednesday afternoon featured another intriguing contest with Lakeville North taking on third-seeded STMA.  The Panthers had caught fire in the Section 3AAAA tournament and catapulted their way to Williams Arena with a win over Rosemount.  The Knights meanwhile ran roughshod in Section 8AAAA and defeated Maple Grove in that championship game to return to state.  I had watched STMA play earlier this season and knew full and well that this is a very explosive team.

That explosiveness was in full view as STMA bolted out to a 17-10 lead by the 11:20 mark of the first half.  Knights senior guard Mackenzie Kramer would make that lead grow to 19-10 with her two free throws at the 10:28 mark.  Lakeville North would cut into this deficit on a score in the paint by sophomore guard Michaela Juaire at the 9:28 mark but STMA's Kramer would build it back up with her three-point bomb from the left corner with 8:51 left.  With 7:14 left, Kramer would again strike from behind the arc that would grow the Knights lead to thirteen at 29-16.  With 5:15 left in the first half, Lakeville North senior standout guard Lauren Jensen would make a hard drive for a finish to reduce the deficit to eleven at 29-18 but STMA would answer that with another three-point bomb - this one by senior forward Lily Tennyson with 5:15 left and Kramer would unleash another "3" with 4:35 left to make it 35-18.  With 3:37 left, lanky freshman guard Tessa Johnson would unleash a "3" of her own to grow the lead to 38-20 and with 2:24 left, Tennyson would connect with another three-point bomb - this one from the left corner to make it 41-22.  With just :06 left, Kramer would bury a cold-blooded "3" from the top as STMA took a cozy 45-25 lead into the locker room at the half.  A quick check of the stats at the half showed that Lakeville North and Head Coach Shelly Clemons had indeed had to endure an artillery barrage of three-point bombs from their opponent.  For starters, STMA was 15-25 from FG range for 60% and 11-18 from behind the arc for 61%.  Compare that with Lakeville North's 11-28 from FG range for 39.3% and 2-11 from downtown for 18.2% .  And Lakeville North was going to have to find some way to slow down STMA's Kramer who had already collected 18 first half points. 

To their credit, the Panthers started showing signs of life early in the second half and had the deficit trimmed down to sixteen at 45-29 by the 14:58 mark and a steal and lay-up by Jensen at the 14:10 mark kept the deficit at 16 at 47-31.  Senior guard Morgan Robison's lay-up at the 13: 32 mark made further inroads and that prompted STMA Head Coach Kent Hamre to take a match to a timeout to discuss things with his team.  Still, with 13:10 left, senior guard Sarah Kuma would get one free throw to go down and then with 12:48 left, Kuma would strike again with a lay-up that now had the deficit down to eleven at 47-36.  But the Panthers could never quite find that one big three-pointer that might have seriously swung the momentum in their favor and that allowed STMA to slowly but surely steady the ship.  At the 9:17 mark, the Knights lead had grown back to thirteen at 51-38 and a Johnson "3" from the right corner at the 8:50 mark increased that lead to 54-38.  With 5:50 left, STMA sophomore guard Emma Miller delivered a cold-blooded "3" to make ti 59-45.  Still, Lakeville North would make one last gamble and a "3" by Kuma with 4:02 left finally drew the Panthers back within single-digit range down 59-50 and a Jensen lay-up with 2:46 left kept Lakeville North in that nine-point range down 61-52.  With 1:58 left, Kuma would make things even more interesting with one free throw to trim the deficit to eight at 61-53.  With 1:08 left, Jensen would bang home a "3" from the right wing to get the deficit down to seven at 63-56.  But STMA would close the door for good.  Two free throws by junior guard Kendal Cox with :48 left and two more by Johnson with :27 left helped seal the deal as the Knights advanced to the semifinals with a 67-58 victory.

Lakeville North's Clemons was more than willing to accept the blame for the artillery barrage of three-point bombs her team had to absorb in that first half as she said that she and her staff concentrated on getting the "gaps" closed in the half court and was hopeful that they wouldn't endure a Nuremberg-like air raid that they absorbed in that first half.  "We knew that they had good shooters.....I kind of take the fall for that one because I think we over-emphasized the drive in practice and we really wanted to cover gaps and we did a good job of doing that.  Unfortunately, they (the team) kind of gave up the three-point shot.....We were kind of relying on; hoping that they'd miss the first one or two and get cold out there but the opposite happened and, so, we had to adjust in the second half and the adjustment seemed to work.  Looking back, I sure wish we would have started the game that way."  I asked Clemons specifically about the little run they made at the beginning of the second half that allowed them to narrow the deficit somewhat.  "I think that, they hit so many threes in that first half and we're a team that emphasizes defense so much......So when teams get hot on us, I think it makes us a little flat on the offensive end.....We're really energized making stops and getting it out and play in the open court on the offensive end....And when they keep shooting it like that and we take it out we get a little flat; standing around."  I asked Lakeville North's Jensen about the struggles she and her team had to endure this season and how they seemed to find themselves again just in the nick of time for the Section 1AAAA tournament and into the State Tournament.  "Yeah.....We've had a really tough schedule and we talked about that a lot....Even though we lost some games, it really helped us and we learned a lot and it's a long season....And we knew if we kept working, we knew that everything would fall into place."  STMA's Hamre would be in the press conference room a bit later along with Kramer and Hamre was gushing with pride about how Kramer just broke the STMA all-time scoring record with today's game.  I asked Hamre about even though his team had a great shooting performance in the first half, I thought his squad stepped things up on defense as well.  "Yeah, we talked about getting two or three stops in a row; to limit their possessions.....Unfortunately we're not a team with a lot of long possessions.  We want to push the ball."  I asked Hamre if there was perhaps any panic that might have set in with his team when Lakeville North got the deficit down to single digits late in the game.  "For me, yes there was panic; probably not for the kids....But for me there was panic....You look across the court on the other side and you've got a Lauren Jensen who can take over a game.....You get a kid like that, she's pretty tough to stop so yeah, there was a little bit of panic."  Hamre also talked about the school's move to the Lake Conference and he said that, without question, it's made his squad a better and tougher team because they knew night in and night out, they were going to have an incredibly tough opponent to play and there's simply no nights off in that conference. 

Even though STMA cooled off somewhat in that second half from downtown, they still wound up shooting 13-25 for the game for 52%.  And although Lakeville North did pick up their shooting in the second half, it still wasn't enough to overcome that twenty-point deficit they faced at the half.  Indeed, what a day it was for STMA's Kramer as she tallied 22 points enroute to breaking the STMA all-time scoring record - congrats to her!  But Kramer got a lot of help from Johnson with 15 points and Cox who added 12 points and Tennyson who finished with 11 points to round out a very balanced attack.  Lakeville North's Jensen would also finish with 22 points on this day and Kuma would add 17 points. 

2020 Minnesota Girl's State Tournament - Class AAAA Quarterfnal Game - Eden Prairie vs Farmington 3-11-20

The early afternoon game at Williams Arena on this day featured another intriguing match-up pitting Eden Prairie; the champ out of Section 2AAAA and the seventh seed in this tournament going up against second-seeded and highly-regarded Farmington; the champ out of Section 1AAAA with a sparkling 27-2 record.  I had seen Eden Prairie play once during the regular season but this would be my first and highly-anticipated look at the Tigers.

Farmington junior guard Maleah Scott would give her team a 3-2 lead at the 16:27 mark with her three-point bomb from the left wing area but Eden Prairie would come right back and establish a 7-5 lead by the 15:20 mark as it was obvious that both teams were pumped and ready to play.  Eagle junior guard Destinee Bursch would expand her team's lead to 9-5 at the 15:00 mark with her jumper from the left wing area but Farmington would soon close to a single possession thanks to a three-point bomb by senior guard Katelyn Mohr at the 13:20 mark down 11-10.  Sophomore guard Rose Willie's two free throws at the 11:33 mark kept the Tigers in that one point range down 13-12 and by the 10:58 mark, Farmington had assumed a 15-12 advantage.  The Eagles would keep their cool, however, and a pretty drive and finish by Nneka Obiazor at the 9:43 mark helped push Eden Prairie back into the lead at 17-15.  Right back would come Farmington, though, and a three-point bomb from the top of the key by junior guard Payton Blandin with 8:52 left pushed the Tigers back out in fron 18-17.  This back-and-forth battle would continue with Eden Prairie establishing a 21-18 lead with 7:00 left.  But a 7-0 burst by the Tigers had them out in front 25-21 and a Mohr "3" with 5:13 left grew that lead to a touchdown at 28-21 and a concerned Eden Prairie Head Coach Ellen Wiese thought it best to call for a halt to the action to make some quick adjustments.  With 3:45 left, Mohr would again deliver a three-point dagger to make it 31-23 before Eden Prairie's Bursch could counter with a "3" of her own with 2:45 left.  The Eagles would get another lift as well when freshman guard Molly Lenz drained a "3" with 1:45 left that suddenly reduced the deficit to four at 33-29.  Sophomore guard Myra Moorjani would draw the Eagles back to within a single possession with her two free throws with 1:29 left and although Farmington recovered just enough to grow their lead to five at 36-31 by the halftime break, it was a far better sight than what the Eagles were facing earlier.  A quick check of the halftime stats showed that Farmington did enjoy a 17-12 advantage on the boards but they also had more turnovers than Eden Prairie did at 7-4.  Plus, Farmington Head Coach Liz Carpentier and her squad likely had to feel a little letdown after being on the cusp of getting a sizable lead and having it shrink right before their very eyes. 

Eden Praire managed to stay in that five-point range down 38-33 at the 15:30 mark of the second half and the Eagles managed to shrink the deficit to three points at the 13:34 mark on two Obiazor free throws.  The fact that scoring was suddenly coming at something at a premium for Farmington in the opening part of the second half left the door open for the Eagles and when Bursch nailed a "3" for Eden Prairie at the 12:03 mark, that deficit was finally reduced to just a scant point 41-40.  That got the Tigers attention real quick as they went on a 5-0 burst to establish some more breathing room up 46-40 but getting this Eden Prairie team to simply go away was becoming more and more of a difficult proposition.  With 6:25 left, Eagle senior forward Natalie Mazurek scored down low and drew a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" had the deficit down to five at 50-45.  With 4:25 left, an offensive rebound and putback by Mazurek finally got Eden Prairie back to within a single possession down 50-47 and, with a mountain of time left in this one, bringing this one back didn't seem like an outlandish idea at all.  With 2:55 left, Bursch would drain a "3" from the right corner that had the deficit down to two at 52-50.  But the Eagles' hopes took a hit with 2:00 left when Farmington got into the double-bonus and with a 55-50 lead in the Tigers pocket, Farmington definitely looked to be in good shape to close this one out from the charity stripe.  Still, Eden Prairie refused to go away.  With 1:03 left, Bursch made a nifty steal in the backcourt and got a lay-up out of it that drew a foul in the process and although she couldn't cash in on the "and one", the deficit was now down to a scant point at 55-54.  But the Eagles would commit a costly turnover with just :41.1 left and with :37.6 left, a flagrant foul was assessed to Eden Prairie much to the chagrin of Wiese who argued vigorously.  Farmington junior guard Paige Kindseth got one free throw out of the deal to go down to make it 56-54 but even with possession of the ball, the Tigers were far from out of the woods just yet.  With :27 left, Obiazor got a steal and was going in for a lay-up but the attempt rolled off.  With :22 left, Farmington junior post Sophie Hart would get fouled and she at least got the back end of the two-shot deal to go down to make it 57-54.  Now Eden Prairie was down to pretty much their last best shot but that little opening soon died when the Eagles committed a costly turnover.  With :08.4 left, Farmington's Blandin would get one free throw attempt to go down as the Tigers escaped with a 58-54 victory. 

Eden Prairie's Wiese lamented afterward that her team "just wasn't quite consistent enough down the stretch when it needed to be".  She also was disappointed with the questionable flagrant foul that was called on her team in those frantic final two minutes and knew full and well that her team had opportunities and just couldn't cash in.  But she did respond positively when I asked her about how she's helped lay the groundwork at Eden Prairie for not only this week but for the years to come as well and even she wasn't sure if she'd be at the state tournament with one of her teams in only her third season.  Farmington's Carpentier would remark afterward about how proud she was of her team's defensive effort and how it was a unique match-up for her team considering Eden Prairie's size.  While much of the talk during the Farmington portion of the press conference centered around those last two minutes, I asked Carpentier if that narrow victory over Rochester Mayo in the Class 1AAAA Championship Game prepared her team for this kind of atmosphere.  "Absolutely" she said.  She mentioned that the crowd and noise didn't faze her team that much and that they talked about how that section championship was really like their first state tournament game.  Farmington was led by Blandin's 18 points while Eden Prairie's Bursch led her team with 19 points in the losing effort. 

2020 Minnesota Girl's State Tournament - Class AAAA Quarterfinal Game - Stillwater vs Park Center 3-11-20

The high noon showdown at Williams Arena on this day would be the much-anticipated showdown between fifth-seeded Stillwater and fourth-seeded Park Center.  These two teams met back in November with Park Center winning a close game by a score of 75-69.  The Ponies, however, cruised through the Section 4AAAA tournament and handily defeated East Ridge to earn their berth to state.  The Pirates meanwhile had a slightly tougher time but still got the job done in Section 5AAAA and got a solid win over Centennial in the section final to earn their first state trip since 2017.

Given the styles of each team, you knew both teams were going to be getting up and down the floor at every opportunity and the Ponies sure seemed to be making the most of their opportunities early on; building an early 5-0 lead on the strength of a three-point bomb by speedy junior point guard Alexis Pratt.  Fellow junior guard Gianna Carr would add a "3" of her own a bit later as Stillwater had an 8-2 lead by the 15:00 mark of the first half.  Sophomore guard Amber Scalia would connect on a lay-up in transition at the 14:39 mark to extend Stillwater's lead to 10-2 and Park Center Head Coach Barb Metcalfe would subsequently call a timeout to get her squad regrouped.  Still, another Scalia lay-up in transition at the 12:40 mark had Stillwater up 16-4 and a Pratt "3" at the 10:57 mark gave the Ponies a sizable 21-6 advantage.  Park Center finally got back into single-digit range again down 21-12 by the 9:22 mark and a jumper by senior guard Lauren Frost at the 9:03 mark cut the deficit down to seven at 21-14.  Stillwater's Scalia would knock down a jumper to put the Ponies up 25-14 and a drive into the lane and finish by senior forward Liza Karlen with 6:49 left upped Stillwater's lead to 30-14 and once again, Park Center's Metcalfe was forced to burn another timeout in hopes of finding some quick solutions.  The Pirates' problems were compounded by the fact that Stillwater was getting second and third opportunities on their offensive possessions while the Pirates thus far were limited to a one shot and done deal.  Stillwater's Pratt would connect with a lay-up with 3:21 left to make it 37-18 and a Pratt offensive rebound and putback with 2:09 left made it 39-18.  Pirate eighth-grade guard Alivia McGill would get a couple of jumpers to go down in the last two minutes to trim the deficit and junior standout Adalia McKenzie would drain a "3" from the left wing with :25 left but the Pirates were still on the wrong end of a 39-26 score at the half.  A quick check of the stats at the halftime break showed that Stillwater's Pratt was doing the most damage thus far with her 13 points while Liza Karlen wasn't far behind with 10 points.  On the Park Center side, it was McGill's nine points leading the way and clearly the Pirates had a lot of work to do to get back into this one. 

Park Center appeared to get a lift when senior guard Kayla Cox got a lay-up after a steal in the backcourt at the 16:32 mark of the second half thanks to the pressure defense the Pirates are famous for.  A score in the paint by McKenzie at the 16:02 mark had the deficit shrunk down to eleven at 41-30 and a lay-up by senior guard Lauren Frost got Park Center into single-digit range shortly thereafter.  Alarmed, Stillwater would get their lead back up to eighteen after senior forward Grace Cote nailed at "3" at the 14:03 mark at 50-32 and the Pirates were clearly back at Square One again.  Cote would nail another "3" at the 13:00 mark to make it a twenty-point game at 53-33.  Park Center's McKenzie would respond with consecutive baskets but trailing 55-38 by the 11:37 mark, the Pirates could ill-afford to be satisfied with simply trading scores with their opponent.  By the 10:09 mark, Stillwater's lead was at twenty again at 58-38 and it was becoming clear that the Pirates were getting outworked, outrebounded and outhustled by a hungrier opponent.  That lead would grow to 62-38 with 8:11 left and a pretty drive/fake and lay-up by Stillwater's Pratt at the 6:52 mark would make it 64-40.  Cote would drain a "3" with 5:05 left for a 71-42 lead.  Park Center could only make incremental dents down the stretch as Stillwater rolled into the semifinals with a resounding 82-52 victory. 

It was certainly a disappointing outing for the Pirates on this day and Park Center's Metcalfe called the first half "the worst half of basketball we played all year".  Still, a comeback was a doable proposition and the fact that the Pirates climbed back to within single digits early on in that second half did provide hope.  But Metcalfe noted that things quickly got away from her squad and, unbeknownst to me, it's possible that McKenzie may not have ben 100% for this game.  Meanwhile, on the Stillwater side, I asked Head Coach Willie Taylor about how I thought his team looked exceptionally "hungry" on this day.  "They'd better be!" he laughed.  But he was proud of the effort his team gave this day and Pratt and Liza Karlen who were in the press conference as well both thought that this team's chemistry has only become better as this season has progressed......McKenzie's 18 points would lead the way on this day for Park Center while Pratt had an outstanding day for Stillwater as she led the way with her 23 points.     

2020 Minnesota Girl's State Tournament - Class AAAA Quarterfinal Game - Cambridge-Isanti vs Hopkins 3-11-20

The first game on tap at venerable Williams Arena on this Wednesday morning featured defending Class AAAA champ at top-seeded Hopkins going up against upstart and eighth-seeded Cambridge-Isanti.  This would be my first look at the Bluejackets and while Hopkins would be the prohibitive favorite in this one, you still have to play the game.

Cambridge-Isanti would manage to hang tough; down only 8-6 by the 15:21 mark of the first half but a "3" by K. K. Adams would extend Hopkins lead to 11-6 at the 14:45 mark.  A Maya Nnaji short jumper in the lane at the 13:07 mark extended the Royals lead to nine at 17-8 and by the 11:39 mark, another Nnaji score in the paint would extend that lead to 21-8.  Cambridge-Isanti was having a devil of a time with their half-court offense due to the size and length of this Hopkins team and good looks were - so far anyway - few and far between.  A short jumper by Amme Sheforgen got the deficit down to 15 for the Bluejackets at the 9:10 mark at 27-12 and a Sheforgen "3" with 7:35 left had the deficit at 16 points at 31-15.  But getting on an extended run was another matter entirely for this Cambridge-Isanti team and with 4:35 left in this first half, Hopkins had established a twenty-point cushion at 39-19 after Nnaji sank two free throws.  And, to be sure, senior superstar Paige Bueckers was doing her thing, too, and if she wasn't scoring, she was dishing out sweet assists.  By the halftime break, Hopkins had established a thirty-point cushion at 54-24 so there was certainly little doubt as to how this one was going to turn out.  Just to give you an idea of how dominant Hopkins' Nnaji was, she had 17 first half points alone.

  Not much would change pattern-wise in this game as Hopkins would continue with its sizable lead.  Although the Bluejackets had trimmed to deficit down to 25 with 8:14 left at 67-42, getting on any kind of extended run was out of the question.  Cambridge-Isanti senior guard Payton Larkin would drain a "3" from the left wing at the 7:09 mark that got the deficit down to twenty-one at 67-46 and fellow senior guard Jackie Olander would connect with a lay-up with 5:56 left to get within twenty at 67-48 but that's as close as the Bluejackets could get as Hopkins would apply the finishing touches on this one as they would cruise to an 85-55 victory. 

Somewhat surprisingly, it was Nnaji's 23 points that led the way for Hopkins on this day.    

Previewing The 2020 Minnesota Girl's State Tournament

It's that time of year again to preview the grand show and showcase for Girl's High School Basketball in the state.  I'm planning on covering things at Williams Arena beginning tomorrow (Wednesday) through Saturday night and I'll do my best to provide game recaps although I expect things to be a bit more challenging this time around with the lack of programs and the other cost-saving measures the MSHSL has decided to adopt recently.  But, all that aside, let's look at each class and provide a synopsis of what to expect:


Class A - This always seems to be the most unpredictable field of all and because I'm not close to and normally don't get to cover any Class A schools, this is field I know the least about.  However, I think it's only fair to point the needle to number-one seed Minneota in this group as they've been here before and know what it's all about.  However, I would expect second-seeded Cromwell-Wright to give them a stern challenge should they meet up in the Championship Game on Saturday at high noon.


Class AA -  Rochester Lourdes is the number-one seed in this group but don't underestimate second-seeded Sauk Centre as they seem to get here all the time and Head Coach Scott Bergman always seems to know what buttons to push to get his squad ready.  New London-Spicer is an interesting team at the third-seed and fifth-seeded Waseca could surprise. 


Class AAA - DeLaSalle is the top-seed here and perhaps rightfully so but I'm banking on second-seeded Becker here.  I didn't get to cover this team this year but this group is the real deal and they showed it by getting to the Class AAA Championship Game last year where they were defeated by the Islanders.  Holy Angels is another team to keep your eye on and they're probably the last team anyone in this field wants to see. 


Class AAAA - Okay, now we're getting into an area that I know a little more about here.....First off, know and understand that Hopkins absolutely should be the number-one seed here, without question.  Look, when you have someone like Paige Bueckers leading the way for your team, how can you possibly go wrong.  But, as I learned right after the Christmas break, this Hopkins team is more than just Bueckers.  Sophomore post Maya Nnaji has really been a force down low and she can easily pick up the slack if necessary.  So, in short, Hopkins is going to be the heavy favorite here and I have no problem with that.  I think Park Center, the program I'm closest to, has the potential to do some damage but, unfortunately for them, they're in the same section as Hopkins.  I know second-seeded Farmington has been highly-regarded all year long and I haven't had the opportunity to see them play.  But, if I had to gamble and give one team in this entire a field a shot to do the unthinkable, I'd lay my money out on STMA.  I'm tellin' ya, this group is incredible to watch when they're clicking on all cylinders and they had Hopkins in a bad spot in Lindbergh Center back in January before the Royals rallied to win in the second half.  I really like this team and they will be the one team you will want to keep your eye on.  Trust me.


Well, it all starts tomorrow at 10:00 A.M. at the Barn with top-seeded Hopkins taking on eighth-seeded Cambridge-Isanti.  Hope to see your there this week or weekend. 

NCAA Tournament 2nd Round Game - Bethany Lutheran vs UW-Oshkosh 3-7-20

Was back over at Robertson Center on this Saturday night as Friday night's winners - Bethany Lutheran out of the UMAC and UW-Oshkosh of the WIAC - prepared to face off in the second round with the winner advancing to the Sweet Sixteen next weekend.  The Vikings, of course, had won an emotionally-exhausting thriller with host Bethel while the Titans had routinely taken care of business against Edgewood in the opener on Friday night.  I did have to wonder a bit about how much Bethany Lutheran might have left in the tank after the exciting win over Bethel and how they would handle the size the UW-Oshkosh has across the floor.

The Titans would certainly get off to a very good start in this one; building a 5-1 lead where scoring would initially come at something of a premium in this first period.  Sophomore guard Brooke Freitag would draw first blood in this contest with her "3" from the right wing area at the 9:26 mark as the shot clock was expiring and a lay-up by junior guard Leah Porath at the 5:24 mark established the early advantage for UW-Oshkosh.  The Vikings finally got their first field goal of the game when strong junior forward/post Hanna Geistfeld snared an offensive rebound for a putback with 3:16 left but the Titans were able to spread the gap even further as two free throws by junior forward Nikki Arneson with 3:01 left and two three-point bombs by junior reserve post Karsyn Rueth - one from the right top area with 1:50 left and another from the top of the key with 1:23 left - gave UW-Oshkosh a ten-point cushion at 13-3.  Bethany Lutheran junior guard Abby Olson finally got untracked with 1:10 left when she drained a "3" from the right wing area but the Titans still appeared to be in excellent shape when Porath connected with a lay-up in transition with :38 left as UW-Oshkosh carried a 15-6 lead going into the second period. 

The lack of scoring from the first period was certainly more than made up for once the second period got underway.  The Vikings; after struggling in the opening period, started lighting things up.  Two Geistfeld free throws at the 9:48 mark cut the deficit to seven and a Geistfeld score in the paint at the 8:42 mark kept Bethany Lutheran in that seven-point range down 17-10.  The Vikings would make further inroads when senior guard Emily Skrien drained a "3" from the left top area at the 7:07 mark before UW-Oshkosh could widen things out again.  Sophomore reserve guard Claire Staples sneaked into the paint for one score at the 6:47 mark and Freitag's second three-point bomb on this Saturday night - this one from the right corner at the 6:02 mark - re-established the nine-point lead that the Titans enjoyed earlier at 22-13.  But Bethany Lutheran would slowly chip away at this deficit and eventually take the lead.  Geistfeld would bully into the paint for one score at the 5:36 mark and draw a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" got the deficit down to six at 22-16.  A Geistfeld lay-up with 4:45 left kept the Vikings in that six-point range down 24-18 and a "3" from the left wing area by willowy junior forward Kenlie Pytleski with 4:07 left got the deficit down to five at 26-21.  With 2:08 left, Skrien would strike again from behind the arc with her bomb from the right wing off the glass to pull Bethany Lutheran back to within a single possession down 27-24 and a lay-up by sophomore reserve guard Laura Ellinghuysen with 1:31 left reduced the deficit to a scant point at 27-26.  With just :14 left on the clock, Olson would put the feather on this second period Viking burst with her three-point bomb from the top of the key that thrust Bethany Lutheran out in front 29-27 and Vikings Head Coach Lyle Jones was only too happy to take that two-point advantage with him and his squad into the locker room at the half.  A check of the first half box score shows that Bethany Lutheran certainly did pick things up offensively in that second period as they were 8-13 from FG range for 61.5% and 4-6 from downtown for for 66.7%.  Just as important, they were a perfect 3-3 from the charity stripe in the second period alone.  UW-Oshkosh meanwhile had cooled down considerably in this second period as they were 5-13 from FG range for 38.5% and 1-4 from behind the arc for 25% while in the first period, the Titans were 3-7 from downtown for 42.9%. 

UW-Oshkosh looked to have the quick response once the third period got underway as senior forward Emily Miller would connect with a lay-up at the 9:53 mark to tie the game and an Arneson lay-up at the 9:16 mark pushed the Titans back out in front by a 31-29 count.  But a 10-2 Bethany Lutheran run; courtesy of Olson out of Montevideo, had the Titans on their heels.  Olson would first knock down a jumper from the right top area at the 7:52 mark that also drew a foul in the process and her obligatory free throw pushed the Vikings back out in front 32-31.  Less than a minute later, Olson would bang home a "3" from the right wing area at the 7:19 mark to make it a four-point game at 35-31.  UW-Oshkosh would score on a drive and finish by senior guard Olivia Campbell at the 7:05 mark but right back came Olson and this Bethany Lutheran team as Olson would knock down a short jumper at the 6:57 mark to re-establish the four-point edge at 37-33 and an Olson lay-up at the 5:46 mark increased the lead to six at 39-33.  The Titans would tighten things up again when Freitag connected with a lay-up with 4:46 left but the Vikings were far from finished with this third period offensive.  Skrien would bury her third trey of this ballgame with a bomb from the top of the key with 3:57 left to make it 42-35 and a drive and finish by freshman reserve guard Skylar Cotten with 3:25 left maintained the seven-point edge at 44-37.  With 2:07 left, Ellinghuysen would drain a back-breaking "3" from the left corner to get the lead to eight at 47-39 and with 1:46 left, things deteriorated further for the Titans when a technical foul was called which allowed Olson to knock down two free throws for a ten-point lead at 49-39.  Cotten would knock down a short jumper with :47 left to make it 51-39 and one free throw by junior reserve forward Natasha Young with just :00.4 left in this third period maintained the twelve-point lead at 52-40 and, facing a double-digit deficit, UW-Oshkosh appeared to be buried. 

It's unclear what UW-Oshkosh Head Coach Brad Fischer told his team in that huddle before the start of the fourth period but, whatever it was, it certainly lit a fire under the Titans as they exploded out of the gates with an astonishing 18-0 run that Bethany Lutheran never could quite recover from.  Freitag would start this amazing push with her lay-up at the 9:20 mark and then two three-point plays the old-fashioned way tightened things up very quickly.  Porath would make a hard drive for a finish that drew a foul in the process at the 8:46 mark and her ensuing "and one" reduced the deficit to seven at 52-45.  Then Arneson would do the same herself less than a minute later at the 8:07 mark and her obligatory free throw suddenly had the deficit shrunk to four points at 52-48.  At the 6:05 mark, Porath would strike again with her drive and finish that brought the Titans from the brink back to within a single possession down 52-50 and Bethany Lutheran's Jones had seen more than enough to know that a full timeout was warranted.  But even this stoppage in play did not have the desired effect.  Campbell would drain a "3" from the right corner at the 5:07 mark to push UW-Oshkosh back out in front at 53-52 and an offensive rebound and putback by Arneson with 4:31 left made it 55-52.  The cherry on top of this big run by the Titans was a three-point bomb by Porath from the left top area with 3:44 left that expanded this newly-found lead to six at 58-52 and Bethany Lutheran's Jones was once again clamoring for a timeout in hopes of finding a quick solution to the deluge his team was facing.  To their credit, the Vikings looked to have things corrected as Geistfeld would knock down one free throw after getting fouled with 3:22 left and a Pytleski "3" from the left top area with 2:24 left brought Bethany Lutheran back to within a single possession down 58-56 with a mountain of time left.  But the hope amongst the Viking contingent took a hit less than thirty seconds later when the Titans' Porath nailed a "3" from the right corner with 1:57 left to make it 61-56 and now Bethany Lutheran had to fight just to make this a one-possession game again.  Two Geistfeld free throws would shrink the deficit to three at 61-58 with 1:39 left but UW-Oshkosh would again up the spread to five when Porath connected with a lay-up on the Titans ensuing possession with 1:27 left.  With 1:16 left, Bethany Lutheran's Geistfeld would again get sent to the foul line and she responded knocking down both free throws to again tighten things up down 63-60.  The Vikings would get an important stop on the other end which appeared to set up their best chance but with :34 left, a Pytleski three-point shot attempt missed its mark and UW-Oshkosh's Porath would be there for the rebound and was immediately fouled.  Porath was able to get one free throw out of the deal with :33.9 left to at least make it a two-possession game at 64-60 and on Bethany Lutheran's next offensive trip, a Skrien three-point attempt missed its mark as well and the Titan's Arneson was there for the defensive rebound.  She would be fouled with :18.8 left and got one free throw to go down out of the deal to make it 65-60.  The Vikings' Jones would again call timeout to set something up for a quick score but UW-Oshkosh's Campbell would deliver the stake in the heart of this Bethany Lutheran team with her perfectly-timed steal of the inbounds pass and would get the ball to Porath who was fouled with :12.2 left.  Porath would get both free throw attempts to go down and UW-Oshkosh would advance on to the Sweet Sixteen with a tough 67-60 victory. 

UW-Oskosh's Fischer was joined by both Porath and Arneson in the postgame press conference.  Fischer:  "Oh man....A lot happens....Obviously a lot of good stuff for us in the fourth quarter and I think I have to re-watch it to see exactly how it kind of went down.....We had two really bad quarters; second and third quarter which had all to do with Bethany Lutheran.  They're so well-coached; probably one of the best-coached teams I've seen.....They know exactly who they are and what they're trying to do and they're so consistent....They made things so hard for us.....We kind of got to that backs against the wall spot where we either had to come out swinging or we were going home....I'm just so proud of these two (Porath and Arneson)......We get to play another week which is probably the best thing about all this."  I asked both Porath and Arneson about what was going through their minds when that fourth period began being down by double digits.  Porath:  "I think our season has prepared us for this....I mean, we've been in so many close games where we've been down or up....We held our composure and we played this possession by possession; we knew that we're not going to win this game in one stop or one basket.....I mean, we just played really well together; found an open person and attacked them."  I asked Fischer about, despite the fact that his team got off to the kind of start it had hoped for, things got away from them in the second and third periods and what Bethany Lutheran was doing to them.  "They switched to a zone and we've actually played pretty well against zone this year....And I thought that slowed us down a little bit....We went from moving and cutting pretty well.....And the first quarter was how we liked to play; low-scoring and we were able to get stops....And I do like to think that we let our lack of offense affect our defense and we talked about that at halftime.....And then we get into the third quarter where we were missing a shot, having a dead possession or it was a turnover or a terrible shot and then we'd walk down the floor and hang our heads about it and they made us pay for it.....So I thought we lost our composure there in the third quarter and it was just a backs against the wall and we had to come out swinging and these guys do that."  I also got to ask Arneson about the battle down low against Bethany Lutheran's Geistfeld.  "Well, she's just a great player.....She can shoot the three, she can drive and defend; she can do everything.....We talked about going on her defensively and we had to focus on her."  Arneson also got a laugh during the press conference when she was asked about how tough it was to stay out of foul trouble in this one.  "Well, I've always been a fouler so, I've been through this once or twice before.....My team needed me in the second half - defensively and I knew they needed me offensively as well." 

Bethany Lutheran's Jones was joined by both Skrien and Pytleski in their portion of the postgame press conference.  Jones:  "Well, we threw a lot at them.....But I think the girls played hard and I know they (UW-Oshkosh) made a pretty good surge in the fourth quarter.....And that Porath girl, Leah, she kind of put that team on her back......We tried the best we could; we were switching defenses up and that fourth quarter kind of got us."  I asked Jones about what UW-Oshkosh did specifically that caught them off guard in that crucial fourth period.  "Well, I think that one thing they did is that they changed up a little bit on our matchup defense....We lost a couple girls on assignments.....Offensively, we had some freshmen in there.....They made some mistakes but really it's just the whole team....I think it's just a great situation for our kids to get here and to play that well.....Each year we set goals and we were starting to set goals in the locker room right after this loss and we want to get back here and we want to win."  I asked both Pytleski and Skrien how hard it was going from the "hunter" mode as they were last night against Bethel to the "hunted" mode as they were tonight with a double-digit lead going into the fourth period.  Pytleski:  "I think it was definitely a different feeling when we were going up against a number six in the nation (Bethel).....But there wasn't anybody we were going to overlook by any means.....And they (UW-Oshkosh) weren't someone we were going to overlook."  I also asked Skrien about when she decided to transfer out of UW-River Falls to Bethany Lutheran; a place much closer to her hometown of Nicollet.  "It's been the best decision I've ever made.....I made the mistake of not going there right out of high school....But it's definitely been great."  Jones also had nothing but praise for these two as he called them leaders and both speak their minds. 

When you glance at the final box score on this one, there isn't a lot that necessarily stands out at first glance.  As an example, UW-Oshkosh had a slight edge on the boards at 35-32 but as dig deeper into the box score, you do start seeing some things that likely had a big hand in Bethany Lutheran's downfall at the most critical juncture.  One was the turnovers on this night where the Vikings were guilty of 19 and the Titans had only 10 turnovers.  And then you see that UW-Oshkosh got 20 points off of those turnovers.  Another big item you find when you dig deeper:  UW-Oshkosh held a sizable edge in points in the paint by a 32-16 margin.  And while Bethany Lutheran certainly shot well in that second period and still shot respectably in the third period, the shooting fell of precipitously in that fourth period and they finished going 19-49 for 38.8% from FG range and 9-26 from behind the arc for 34.6%.  Free throw shooting wasn't as good on this night either as the Vikings finished 13-18 for 72.2%.  But the stats always don't show everything either.  What can you say about Porath and her takeover ability in this game?  She definitely did put her team on her back and now they're still dancing their way to the Sweet Sixteen.  She easily led all scorers on this night with her 27 points while Arneson had a "double-double" with 12 points and 11 rebounds.  Freitag also had a solid night as well with her 11 points.  On the Bethany Lutheran front, it was Olson's 18 points leading the way while Geistfeld finished with 14 points. 

NCAA Tournament 1st Round Game - Bethany Lutheran vs Bethel 3-6-20

Robertson Center was packed to the max for the nightcap game on this Friday evening that featured the anticipated match-up between UMAC champion Bethany Lutheran and MIAC champ and host Bethel.  I thought I had seen this place like never before the weekend before for the MIAC Championship Game but the student section was simply packed to the max on both the main and upper levels and was hyped and ready to go for this one as everyone else was, including your's truly.  I, of course, had watched and covered this Viking team right before the first of the year when they came from behind to beat St. Kate's in overtime and Bethany Lutheran would maintain its grip on the UMAC throughout the season; losing only once at Northwestern.  Bethel meanwhile had won its very first MIAC regular season title since 1994 and its very first MIAC Championship Game and had only one blemish on its record all year long - the loss at SMU - and this team appeared to be primed and ready to strut its stuff in their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2015.

The big surprise right before tip-off was that Royals senior point guard Haylee Barker would be held out of this contest due to concussion protocol and in her place on this night was her capable replacement in junior Michaela Craigan.  Everything else, however, seemed to go according to form as Bethel would get off to a solid start in the opening period.  Craigan would get the home team on the board first with her free throw at the 9:41 mark and despite the fact that Bethany Lutheran junior guard Abby Olson wowed the crowd with her coast-to-coast lay-up at the 8:27 mark, the Royals were clicking on all cylinders.  Senior forward (and MIAC Player of the Year) Taite Anderson would connect with a lay-up at the 7:54 mark and an offensive rebound and putback by junior guard Bella Williams at the 5:34 mark gave Bethel a 5-2 advantage.  That lead would grow to 8-2 when sophomore reserve guard Sydney Blandin; unfazed by the loud crowd and the pressure of the moment, casually drained a "3" from the right top area at the 5:02 mark.  But the Vikings wouldn't be fazed either by this dynamic environment and they responded with a surprising 13-1 run.  Olson would first drop a pair of free throws after getting fouled with 4:36 left and two more by junior reserve forward Natasha Young with 4:11 left had Bethany Lutheran back within a single possession down 8-6.  Strong junior forward/post Hanna Geistfeld would get sent to the line as well with 3:49 left and her two freebies had this game tied at 8 a piece.  Then junior reserve guard Emilee Gustin would race coast-to-coast and finish with a pretty lay-up with 2:58 left to push Bethany Lutheran out in front 10-8 and that lead would grow to 12-8 when junior forward Kenlie Pytleski knocked down a pair of free throws after getting fouled with 2:41 left.  Pytleski would cap this run in grand fashion with her three-point bomb from the right top area with 1:41 left to give the Vikings a 15-9 lead.  That got the attention of Bethel and they responded to get this game tied.  Freshman reserve forward Emma Schultz buried a "3" from the right corner with :43 left and with just :00.2 left before this first period ended, Blandin would again calmly come to the rescue of her team with her "3" from the left top area as this one was now deadlocked at 15 a piece going into the second period.

Bethany Lutheran would poke its nose out in front again at the 9:06 mark of the second period on the strength of two Pytleski charity stripe shots but it was here that the Royals got their home crowd and student section in hysteria with an 11-2 run.  Schultz would start this push with her second trey of this night - this one coming from the left top area at the 7:45 mark to push Bethel back out in front 18-17 and a Taite Anderson lay-up at the 7:17 mark would make it a 20-17 game.  Junior forward Makenna Pearson would drop one free throw after getting fouled with 4:36 left and just less than thirty seconds later, the former Blaine standout would strike again behind the arc with a three-point bomb from the right top area with 4:07 left to extend the lead to seven at 24-17.  Pearson's defensive prowess would come to the forefront a bit later when she snared a steal in the backcourt and got a lay-up out of it with 3:35 left to maintain the seven-point edge at 26-19 before the Vikings could find their groove again.  Olson; the sharp-shooter out of Montevideo, drained her first trey of this game from the left top area with 3:15 left and another three-point bomb - this one by freshman reserve guard Skylar Cotten from the right corner with 1:17 left - suddenly had Bethany Lutheran back in business down by just a single possession at 27-25.  The Royals, however, would get some of their breathing room back as junior reserve forward Elizabeth Schwarz connected with a short shout and drew a foul in the process with 1:01 left and her ensuing "and one" got the lead back to five points at 30-25.  With :44.6 left, Taite Anderson muscled her way in for a lay-up that drew a foul as well and her ensuing "and one" not only stretched the lead to eight at 33-25 but even worse for Bethany Lutheran was that Geistfeld had just collected her third foul of the night right before the halftime break which only had to compound the problems facing the Vikings and Head Coach Lyle Jones as both teams headed for their respective locker rooms for the halftime break.  Meanwhile, Bethel Head Coach Jon Herbrechtsmeyer had to feel good knowing that his pressure defense seemed to be doing its job as the halftime box score would suggest; forcing 15 Viking turnovers thus far.  Moreover, the Royals held a sizable edge in points in the paint at 12-6 and had a 7-0 edge in those all-important "second chance" points.  But while neither team necessarily shot the lights out in this first half, Herbrechtsmeyer's optimism had to dim a little bit when he saw that his squad was only 6-12 from the charity stripe for a straight 50% while Bethany Lutheran was a perfect 10-10 from the foul line; a number that likely was one of the reasons they were still very much in this game.

The Royals appeared to have their opponent in a vice grip in the early moments of the third period as slender freshman guard Kat Brown-Erdal knocked down a short jumper off the glass after a steal in the backcourt at the 9:35 mark and another Pearson "3" - this one from the left top area at the 9:08 mark - seemed to put Bethel in full control up 38-25 with the Vikings suddenly reeling; especially when Olson picked up her third foul a bit later at the 8:34 mark.  But while Bethany Lutheran appeared to be at its most vulnerable spot yet, they were able to steady the ship as they had done all season long when the waters got rough.  Two scores by Geistfeld - an offensive rebound and putback of her own miss at the 6:36 mark and a score in the paint at the 6:00 mark - had the Vikings back in single-digit range again down 38-29.  Then Olson; undaunted by that third foul, banged home a "3" from the right wing area at the 5:10 mark to pull Bethany Lutheran closer down 40-32.  The Royals looked to be off and running again when Taite Anderson connected with a lay-up with 4:45 left and would also drop two free throws with 4:26 left and with a 44-32 lead, Bethel certainly did appear to be in great shape.  It was here, however, where this contest seemed to turn on a dime as this Viking team showed incredible character and grit and unleashed a shocking 14-2 run that now had this raucous Bethel student section suddenly on edge.  It started innocently enough when Pytleski slithered into the paint for one score with 4:10 left but exploded in full force when Gustin buried a cold-blooded "3" from the top of the key with 3:28 left that had Bethany Lutheran back in single-digit range again down 44-37.  Olson would bury a "3" of her own with 1:35 left from the left corner to reduce the deficit to six at 46-40 and then senior guard Emily Skrien; held in check for most of this game, finally found her touch from behind the arc with :59.1 left with a bomb from the left corner that suddenly pulled the Vikings back to within a single possession down 46-43.  With just :14.7 left, Olson used a burst of speed to connect with a lay-up that drew a foul in the process and her obligatory free throw now had this one all knotted at 46 and all of the momentum that Bethel had just a short while ago had vanished mysteriously into thin air.   

The excitement on the Viking side meanwhile tempered a bit when Geistfeld had to retreat to the pine when she collected her fourth foul of the night at the 8:37 mark and order looked to be restored when Bethel's Brown-Erdal drained a "3" from the top of the key off of an inbounds pass at the 8:31 mark to push the Royals back out in front 49-46.  But Bethany Lutheran wouldn't stay down for long, however, as Gustin would connect with a lay-up at the 6:27 mark and despite the fact that Geistfeld would foul out of this contest at the 5:51 mark, the Vikings now seemed to have a ton of confidence - as well as momentum - on their side.  At the 5:24 mark, Olson would race down the court like a tardy "City of Los Angeles" passenger train for a coast-to-coast lay-up to put Bethany Lutheran out in front for the first time since early in the second period at 50-49.  The Royals would regain the advantage on their subsequent possession when Schwarz muscled into the paint for a score at the 5:07 mark and with 4:09 left, Taite Anderson was able to get into the paint for a score off of an inbounds pass to give Bethel a 53-50 lead.  But less than a minute later, the Vikings had this game tied again with Gustin unleashed a three-point bomb from the left top area with 3:25 left.  That was matched by the Royals as Brown-Erdal buried a "3" of her own from the right corner with 3:08 left to give Bethel the lead back at 56-53.  But that lead wouldn't last long as the Vikings would regain it on the strength of a short jumper in the lane by Olson with 2:55 left and two Skrien free throws with 2:32 left to make it 57-56.  But right back would come the Royals as Schwarz would get into the paint for a score with 2:23 left that also drew a foul and although Schwarz couldn't cash in on the ensuing "and one", Bethel was back up 58-57.  With the tension inside Robertson Center very real and the crowd on the edge of its seats, Bethany Lutheran would show the calm resolve of a champion when it counted.  The Vikings would get a critical stop when Bethel's Brown-Erdal was unable to connect on a lay-up attempt with 1:25 left and with 1:11 left, Skrien would get sent to the foul line and the former Nicollet standout got both free throw attempts to go down to put the Vikings back out in front at 59-58.  Bethel's Herbrechtsmeyer would call a thirty-second timeout to set up strategy for the next possession but the Royals would inexplicably turn the ball over a short time later.  With :22.2 left, Bethany Lutheran's Gustin would be fouled and she would knock down both attempts to now make it 61-58.  Now Bethel needed a three-point shot to force overtime but the Vikings were doing everything to harass every perimeter look the Royals were getting.  With :11 left, Pearson probably got the best look she was going to get behind the arc and launched a bomb attempt but it was off the mark and Bethany Lutheran's Olson was there for the defensive rebound.  She would be immediately fouled and got the front end to go down to now make it a two-possession game at 62-58.  Bethel would have one last chance and, in desperation, Pearson would launch an errant three-point bomb attempt that fell harmlessly into the arms of the Vikings' Gustin and Bethany Lutheran celebrated in a shocked and stunned Robertson Center to advance to the second round. 

Bethany Lutheran's Jones was joined by Olson, Pytleski and Gustin in the postgame press conference.  Jones:  We came into the tournament; we'd been fighting all year to get here....Once we got here, as far as the play went, it was really tough....Our girls, they just kind of gutted it out and it was a real grind the whole way in....And, in the end, we scored more points.....And it was just a good win for us.....Just the teamwork, all year they've never let up.  They've just ground it out all the time.  We've come back in games being nineteen down and, so, those things are good in the tourney, especially now."  Right off the bat, I asked Jones about how this team seems to keep finding a way to win these types of games in the most dire situations.  I specifically brought up the St. Kate's game just before the first of the year when they had to come from behind to win in overtime.  "I just think, since we started the year, they're just a group....They all get along together and they work hard and compete hard in practices; I mean, it's very competitive.  But they know that when they leave the floor, that all goes away so it's not like they just come out and practice.  They just come out and get after it.  They're used to a lot of stress in practice.  We (the coaches) work them really hard....They just never give up....I mean, that's just one of the things with this group that is just outstanding; they will never give up."  I also asked Jones about that critical coast-to-coast lay-up by Olson and how fast she's able to get up and down the floor in those situations and what a boost that was for the team late in the game.  "It was....We talked to her (Olson) about it and when she gets someone on her hip, I don't think there's anyone faster so we want her to go north and south as fast as she can.....And you saw she does; she goes pretty fast.....And all year she's done that; she's stopped and pulled up and hit some '3's even on a 2-on-1 break; she'll do that or she'll take it all the way in so, just a tough player for us and she's really hard to guard north and south.  I haven't had anyone or seen anyone yet that can stop her."  I also asked Jones about the challenge of the short turnaround time in this situation; to enjoy this win tonight and then come back and play a very good UW-Oshkosh team on Saturday night.  "Well, not egotistically, but we've prepared all year for a lot of teams.....We're watching the MIAC all the time and we're watching the UMAC.....We've watched everybody......But yes, we'll go back and look at some more film on them but we've seen them play about three or four times."  You can watch the entire Bethany Lutheran press conference on You Tube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTeFfJSfU8c

As lighthearted and fun as the Bethany Lutheran press conference was, it was in stark contrast to the Bethel postgame press conference where the pain and tears were clearly etched on the faces of Herbrechtsmeyer along with Taite Anderson and Barker who was unable to play on this night due to concussion protocol.  Herbrechtsmeyer:  "Forgive us....This is kind of a hard time for us....I want to first of all say....It's not about the loss; that we're sad.....We're sad because it's over.....And we're sad because it's over because it happened....This does not take away from everything this group accomplished...And I want to first of all, thank these two (Taite Anderson and Barker) for their growth over four years....It's been amazing; particularly this year to see how they've both stepped up and landed.....We've done things that have never been done; a MIAC regular season conference championship for the first time in almost thirty years.....A first ever MIAC Playoff Championship.....A loss tonight does not take away from that....We're disappointed obviously but the growth in them and what they're going to do later in life because of the experiences and the hardships they've had to fight through have prepared them for what's next.  And I know it's hard for them right now but I couldn't be more proud of everything they've done and the culture they've helped create; it will live on past them."  Both Taite Anderson and Barker gave brief, tear-filled statements about what their four years at Bethel has meant to them and how special it's been for them.  I asked Herbrechtsmeyer about one stat that stood out right away on the final box score - the fact that Bethany Lutheran outrebounded his team by a 41-32 count on this night and how that doesn't happen very often.  "No.....But that's a tribute to their defense.....They made us miss a lot of shots....But if you look, we out-rebounded them 10-5 on the offensive boards.....We missed a lot of shots and their defense was in a better position to get those rebounds than we are.....It certainly wasn't a lack of effort on our part....Simply, our execution wasn't quite what we wanted it to be and, you know, it's tough because our senior point guard (Barker).....We didn't quite get the same looks tonight without (Haylee) as we might have had with her....But, that's the way these things go....It's the next girl up and I couldn't be more proud of some of the kids who stepped in for her and, shots didn't go in but, at the end of the day, you tip your hat at Bethany Lutheran.....They played a good game....We made some shots, they made a few more....And it doesn't take away from a great season."  I also asked Herbrechtsmeyer about the key run that Bethany Lutheran had down the stretch of the third period that was the turning point in this game and perhaps if some panic might have set in with his team.  "No...., no....I maybe should have taken a timeout there but, all season, I've trusted this group....And, in a media timeout game where you only have four....My feeling was that I could trust this group and, the bottom line is that Bethany Lutheran's a pretty good ball club and, we still forced twenty-six turnovers.....We didn't shoot free throws very well and we missed some shots that we normally make and if a few of those go our way and you don't lose the lead, maybe we're feeling differently right now but...."

Herbrechtsmeyer, of course, pointed out the 26 turnovers his team forced on the Vikings on this night but a closer look at the final box score reveals some shocking and ugly numbers from a Bethel standpoint.  Right away, the first one that tends to jump out at you was that the Royals were 8-17 from the charity stripe for 47.1%.  8 of 17!!!  Let that one sink in for a moment.  Then, to break this one down further, consider the fact that, in that critical third period when the Vikings got things turned around, Bethel was only 1-7 from behind the arc for 14.3% while Bethany Lutheran was a perfect 4-4.  Indeed, for the game, the Royals finished 21-66 from FG range for 31.8% and 8-33 from downtown for 24.2% and even the layman will tell you that, those two figures; combined with the dismal free throw shooting, likely won't get the job done.  Now, compare that with the final numbers for Bethany Lutheran where, maybe they didn't set the world on fire from FG range going 18-46 for 39.1%, they did considerably better from behind the arc going 8-15 for 53.3% and, perhaps even more important, were 18-21 from the foul line for 85.7%.  Throw that in with the earlier-mentioned rebounding aspect and those are numbers that will help you win a basketball game against a very good team.  There's a part of me, too, that looks back on all this (and don't think I didn't think about this beforehand because I did) and wonders if the idea of having your very first NCAA pod and game at home in your facility might have been more of a pressure-cooker for Bethel than what they initially anticipated.  Let's be honest here.....They're a very good team but when you do something like this for the very first time, there's always going to be a certain amount of added pressure placed on you to perform and win and that might have caught up with them more than what they might like to admit.  I'll also say this as well:  My heart couldn't help but break for Barker who had to sit out this game due to the concussion protocol.  Had the Royals been able to snare this game, it's quite likely she would have been cleared to play Saturday night and it's a shame she didn't get to at least show her stuff on both ends of the floor.  It's something that'll likely haunt her for a long time to come.

Bethany Lutheran's Olson did indeed shine brightly on this Friday night as her 21 points led all scorers and Gustin had a surprisingly strong night coming off the bench and finished with 12 points and was 2-2 from behind the arc.  Geistfeld; who finished with "only" eight points on this night and fouled out with more than five minutes left in the game, was still a beast underneath as her 12 rebounds would suggest.  Taite Anderson finished a fabulous career at Bethel as her 15 points led the way for her team on this night and Schwarz finished with 12 points.           


 

NCAA Tournament 1st Round Game - Edgewood vs UW-Oshkosh 3-6-20

Went directly from work on this sunny Friday afternoon from downtown Minneapolis up to Robertson Center on the campus of Bethel University for the 1st/2nd NCAA Tournament pod being hosted by Bethel University.  The 5:00 P.M. game on this Friday evening would pit Edgewood out of the NACC going up against heavily-favored UW-Oshkosh out of the WIAC.  The Eagles defeated conference rival Benedictine in the NACC Championship Game while the Titans had come roaring back from a sub-par regular season to shock everyone and win the WIAC Championship Game.  This would be my first look at Edgewood and although I had seen UW-Oshkosh play before, the make-up of this team was a bit different from last year.

Both teams would convert early in the opening period as the Titans drew first blood in this contest on a lay-up by junior guard Leah Porath at the 9:47 mark and Edgewood would respond on a score in the paint by junior guard Alyssa Lemirande at the 8:57 mark.  Then the game would be delayed for nearly ten minutes as one of the players on the floor literally and figuratively DID draw blood which prompted the floor crew at Robertson Center to spend considerable time getting things cleaned and polished up again.  The Eagles would poke their nose out in front when play resumed as sophomore guard Bria Lemirande would get sent to the charity stripe after getting fouled at the 8:16 mark and her two free throws made it a 4-2 game.  But that would prompt the first push in this game by the Titans in the form of a 7-0 run.  Senior forward Emily Miller would connect with a lay-up at the 7:58 mark and strong junior forward Nikki Arneson would drain a "3" from the right corner at the 6:58 mark to put UW-Oshkosh back into the lead at 7-4.  That lead would grow to 9-4 when Porath connected with a short, turnaround jumper off the glass at the 6:28 mark before the Eagles could tighten things up again thank to the Lemirande sisters.  Bria would get one free throw to go down after getting fouled at the 6:17 mark and Alyssa would connect with a lay-up with 4:39 left that helped get Edgewood back to within a single possession down 9-7.  But another 7-0 Titan push would widen the gap even more.  Arneson would make a hard drive for a finish with 3:55 left and two Arneson free throws with 3:29 left got UW-Oshkosh some more breathing room up 13-7.  That lead would expand to nine when sophomore reserve guard Katie Ludwig banged home a "3" from the left corner with 2:46 left before Edgewood's Alyssa Lemirande tightened things up a bit with her lay-up with 2:24 left to reduce the deficit to seven at 16-9.  The Eagles would stay in that seven-point range at 18-11 when sophomore forward Lexi Walter knocked down a short jumper with 1:19 left and hope grew in the Edgewood camp when Alyssa Lemirande connected with a lay-up with :54 left that whittled the deficit down to five at 18-13.  The Titans would get their safety net back up to eight points when junior reserve post Karsyn Rueth drained a "3" from the left corner with :32 left but the Eagles stayed within striking distance to end this first period when Walter connected with a jumper from the free throw line area with just :12 left so being down at this point by six at 21-15 didn't seem like such a bad proposition for Edgewood; particularly in the underdog role.

For the casual observer, the Eagles best opportunity to get their teeth into this ballgame most likely came at the beginning of the second period as they opened with having possession of the ball and a chance to cut things down to at least a four-point game or perhaps even claw back within a single possession.  Instead, this is precisely where UW-Oshkosh had vastly different plans and started putting distance between themselves and their opponent.  A score in the paint by Arneson at the 8:48 mark prompted a key 7-0 Titan push that Edgewood never could recover from.  Arneson would follow up that score less than a minute later with a lay-up at the 8:10 mark to give UW-Oshkosh their first double-digit advantage at 25-15 and the exclamation point on this run was applied by senior guard/forward Olivia Campbell as she buried a "3" from the left wing area to expand the lead to thirteen at 28-15.  The Eagles tried to answer as junior guard Abby Shane knocked down one free throw after getting fouled at the 5:08 mark and Bria Lemirande would do the same after getting fouled with 4:25 left.  UW-Oshkosh would widen that gap more on a score in the paint by sophomore reserve guard Claire Staples at the 4:13 mark and two Ludwig free throws with 2:48 left to make it 32-17.  Edgewood freshman guard Emma Klein would give her team a boost when she banged home a "3" from the right wing area with 2:32 left and a Klein drive and finish with 1:36 left still kept things reasonably close at 34-22.  But UW-Oshkosh's Arneson would close out this second period with a score in the paint with 1:12 left and one free throw with just :04.1 left as the Titans took a somewhat cozy 37-22 lead into the locker room at the half.  A check of the first half box score shows that UW-Oshkosh's defense played a big role thus far as they held the Eagles to just 8-30 from FG range for 26.7% and Edgewood shot only 1-8 from downtown for 12.5%.  Compare that UW-Oshkosh's 14-33 from FG range for 42.4% and 4-7 from behind the arc for 57.1%.  And the Titans were doing well from the charity stripe so far going 5-6 for 83.3%.  UW-Oshkosh also owned a sizable edge in points in the paint by a 20-10 margin and Edgewood Head Coach Chaia Huff had to be concerned about the eight first half turnovers her team was guilty of as well. 

As badly as Edgewood needed to tighten things up at the beginning of the second period, that need was particularly acute once the third period got underway.  Instead, the Eagles' fate was quickly sealed as UW-Oshkosh ripped off a 13-0 run.  Campbell would get sent to the line at the 9:17 mark after getting fouled and although she couldn't cash in on the free throw attempt, the Titans were able to snare the offensive rebound and Porath would get a short jumper in the lane at the 9:09 mark to start this run.  Sophomore guard Brooke Freitag would increase UW-Oshkosh's lead to twenty points at 42-22 when she connected with a lay-up at the 8:05 mark that drew a foul in the process and knocked down the ensuing "and one".  Arneson would make a hard drive for a finish at the 7:43 mark and a Porath jumper from the left elbow area at the 7:02 mark now made it 46-22.  Porath would also get one free throw to go down at the 5:44 mark when she was fouled and Arneson would cap this run when she connected on a pretty give-and-go lay-up that drew a foul in the process and sank the obligatory free throw to now make it a 50-22 ballgame.  Edgewood was finally able to stop the massive bleeding taking place when Bria Lemirande connected with a lay-up with 3:57 left and freshman reserve forward Mia Edwards got into the paint for a score with 2:36 left.  Alyssa Lemirande would connecte with a lay-up in transition as well with 2:12 left and although the Titans were still up comfortably at 50-28, UW-Oshkosh Head Coach Brad Fischer decided to call a timeout anyway just to let his team catch its collective breath.  That stoppage in play paid off as the Titans erased any doubt about how this one was going to go by ending this third period with a 5-0 push.  Sophomore reserve forward Abby Kaiser knocked down one free throw after getting fouled with 1:45 left and two more by Porath with :38.1 left made it 53-28.  A Freitag lay-up with just :04 left gave UW-Oshkosh an almost insurmountable 55-28 advantage as this one morphed into the fourth period.

Scoring would come at something of a premium once the fourth and final period got underway but that didn't really matter too much from a Titan standpoint as they were comfortably and in full control of this one.  Ludwig would knock down two charity stripe shots after getting fouled at the 7:35 mark and Staples would get a jumper from near the free throw line to go down at the 5:30 mark to make it 59-29.  Edgewood would get some late scores to make this one respectable, however, as Edwards connected with a lay-up at the 5:02 mark and Shane would get one free throw to go down after getting fouled with 4:07 left.  Junior reserve guard Jennifer Freeman would drain a "3" as well from the left wing area with 3:28 left.  Sophomore Mady Pahl would connect with a lay-up with 2:17 left to reduce the deficit to twenty-two at 59-37.  Sophomore reserve guard Parker Fetherston would make a three-point play the old-fashioned way with her lay-up in transition with 1:59 left that drew a foul in the process along with the ensuing "and one" as well.  But UW-Oshkosh would put the daisy on this one for good as freshman reserve guard Ashley Wissink connected with a lay-up with :33.4 left as the Titans marched on to the second round with a convincing 61-40 victory. 

UW-Oshkosh's Fischer felt a sense of relief in the postgame press conference afterward getting through this first round match-up relatively unscathed.  "Yeah....I'm proud of our team....Anytime you win that state (WIAC) tournament, there's a sense of pride....Half the field goes home tonight so to still be standing feels really good.....We did a great job defensively....This is a team (Edgewood) that scores a lot of points and had a great year....I thought we were super-active in 'gaps'; knocking the ball loose and creating some uncomfortable situations for them and our scout team did a great job getting us ready this week....We feel fortunate to keep playing.....and I'm just proud of our kids getting this first win under our belt."  I asked Fischer about the late run his team got in coming down the stretch of the regular season and then wreaking havoc in the WIAC Playoffs culminating with the win over UW-Eau Claire in the WIAC Championship Game.  "Yeah, we found ourselves about three or four weeks ago....At the start of February, things weren't looking great and we weren't playing well."  Fischer was afraid that perhaps he and his staff weren't going to be able to get things turned around in time but he gave his squad a lot of credit for getting things turned around in just the nick of time.  "These guys turned it 'on' and started playing their best basketball and we were just kind of at a point where we didn't have a choice anymore.....We're going to be better or we're going to be done and they turned the corner and I think that we really believed that when the (WIAC) tournament started that we were going to win it and the more we played, the better we played and the more we believed and now that we got here we kind of feel the same way......Obviously we know how good everyone is in this tournament.....The next round is going to be a huge challenge but we have a high level of confidence right now and when we play really well we're tough to beat."  I also asked Fischer about the experience factor coming into this NCAA Tournament and how being here before is a big factor as well.  "Yeah, you can ask these guys.....I think experience helps a lot.....I think even in the day-to-day and what we do once you get here and how the days go I think kind of helps kind of ease in to it for us and nothing is the 'first time' for this group.....We don't really have a lot of freshmen in the rotation so this is an experienced group that's played in the Sweet Sixteen before so that's kind of what we talked about as the year went on; we've seen every situation really.....So now we just feel like we gotta go play; and however it plays it we've been in that spot before and we kind of felt that same way today...."  Campbell, Porath and Arneson were also in the press conference and all three got a laugh when I brought up about how I spoke with a friend of mine; Jessie Rabas, who graduated last year from UW-Oshkosh and was a great player on this team, who kind of gave me an idea of what to look for on this team before the game started.  You can watch the entire press conference on You Tube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7owwA7KpjCA

Edgewood's Huff along with the Lemirande duo of Alyssa and Bria were in on the Eagles' postgame press conference.  Huff:  "I think we learned a lot today and that's good for us....We've had quite the run the last few years and think this was a good game for us to measure where we're at.....We knew it would be....We were hoping we'd be a little better but I think we'll grow a lot from it....I think that some of the things we wanted to do worked but some didn't and....I think that's something we can go forward with....I'm really proud of them....Hopefully we can keep it rolling."  I asked both of the Lemirande sisters about the fact that this team is so incredibly young with no seniors and how this experience this time around will prepare them for the next opportunity and both were in agreement that this will be huge for them going forward.  The pair has been playing since both can remember and it's obvious how much they love the game and playing with each other.  I also asked Huff about what I thought was the critical juncture of this ballgame - at the beginning of the second period when they had possession of the ball and were down by just six and had an opportunity to tighten things up a bit.  Huff was seemingly in agreement but had to give credit where credit was due.  "Their defense is really tough...We knew it would be.  They're long, athletic, quick.....We feel like we're very quick and athletic...Not so long.  So we knew that'd be a little bit tough.  And we needed our shots to go in when we had opportunity and we talked about that pregame...When we get the opportunity we had to put the ball in because when you play a team like UW-Oshkosh, when they get an opportunity, they do....And so, we felt like we didn't do that; we didn't match that and we felt like we needed some kids to step up and they didn't......We needed a little more 'swag'....We needed a little more confidence to put the ball in when we had our opportunity."  Additionally, I asked Huff about the unfamiliarity factor that always seems to come into play in the NCAA Tournament in that while you can watch teams on film, you really don't know for sure what you're entirely getting until you step onto the floor and even then, your window for grasping everything is relatively small.  "Yeah, we talked a lot about that......Honestly, it's been a rebuilding program at Edgewood and I've tried to evaluate each year our next step to get us there and how we challenge that and this year kind of took me by surprise....Bria (Lemirande) came and Bria made all the difference for us and was a little sooner for us than what I thought....And, we gotta get our schedule a little tougher; we gotta start playing some of the WIAC schools and, that would have helped us today.....We've been scouting them the last couple of days and wish that we'd have played a couple (WIAC schools); we'd have had a couple under our belt.  We'd have had a better idea of what was coming at us.....We had two losses prior to today and both of those losses were to really good teams in our conference and both the second time we played them, we beat them pretty good and we learned a lot from that first time and carried that into the second time and I thought that we didn't have that with us today and I knew it was going to be a 'smack' and I wasn't sure how we'd handle it so I think in the future, we'll get our schedule tougher."  You can view the entire Edgewood press conference on You tube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oCWbiOJ--0

When I glance at the final box score for this game, I was definitely surprised to see that rebounds were dead-even for this game at 39 and I would not have expected that.  From there, however, the numbers were decidedly in UW-Oshkosh's favor.  They shot 22-63 from FG range for 34.9% compared to Edgewood's 15-56 for 26.8% and although the Titans didn't set the world on fire from behind the arc going 4-18 for 22.2%, it was still better than the Eagles as they finished a woeful 2-20 for 10%.  And Edgewood's Huff had to be disappointed with her team's free throw shooting as they finished 8-18 for 44% and you simply have to do better from that from the charity stripe.  The Eagles also suffered 18 turnovers on this evening compared to UW-Oshkosh's 11 and the Titans enjoyed a hefty 34-22 advantage in points in the paint.  The Titan's Arneson was simply a beast on this night as she led the UW-Oshkosh scoring with her 21 points and Porath added 11 points.  Edgewood's Alyssa Lemirande was the only Eagles player in double figures scoring-wise on this night with her 10 points.