Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League Results For Wednesday 7-12-23

 Definitely a fun night with some great games on this Wednesday night!  

6:15 P.M. Games

Hamline - 40

St. Kate's - 39

CSB - 66

Retired Athletes -38

GAC Black - 38

Anoka-Ramsey - 34  OT

7:15 P.M. Games

UW-Eau Claire - 90

Guards Of The Galaxy - 76

Wash-Ups - 78

Luther - 28

UW-River Falls - 61

Bethel - 35

The 6:15 P.M. slot on this Wednesday nigh certainly didn't disappoint with two great games going on - one of them on Court 1 that saw the St. Kate's team taking on the Hamline team in a battle of MIAC rivals that know each other very well.  The St. Kate's team got off to a solid start in this one; grabbing a 4-0 lead by the 8:45 mark of the opening period and they would still have that four-point edge up 6-2 with 3:50 left in the first period.  The Hamline team; which struggled out of the gate in this one, finally found its shooting touch and got some offense going down the stretch of the opening period but still trailed 11-8 by the end of the first period.  Undeterred, the Hamline team would poke its nose out in front by the midway juncture of the second period at 15-13 and they get some more breathing room with a 20-15 advantage with 1:25 left.  But the St. Kate's team was not going to stay down for long as they embarked on a 6-2 push down the stretch that had them right back in the thick of things down just 22-21 by the halftime break.  With its newfound momentum, the St. Kate's team would go on a 9-2 run that had them up 30-24 near the midway point of the third period but you knew the Hamline team wasn't going anywhere either and they quickly clawed their way right back into it as they had the deficit down to two at 32-30 with 1:45 left in the third period and by the end of the third period, the St. Kate's team was still clinging to that two-point lead at 34-32.  The St. Kate's team would still hold a slight upper hand once the fourth period got going and by the midway point of the fourth period, they would still have that two-point edge up 39-37 but the never-say-die Hamline team got this one leveled at 39 with just over 3:00 remaining in regulation and with 1:45 left things were still up in the air with this contest still deadlocked at 39.  The Hamline team would be the benefactor of a free throw that would put them up 40-39 and although the St. Kate's teams would have a handful of opportunities to steal the W - including a heave-ho desperation shot in the waning seconds, the Hamline team held on for a thrilling and fun win.......Over on Court 2, the Retired Athletes team was taking on the CSB team and although the Retired Athletes team got off to a good start in this one; taking a 5-0 lead early on thank to a "3" by Danielle Schaub (Sioux Falls '22) and would manage to grow that lead to 9-2 by the 6:50 mark of the first period, things started to go slowly south for them as the CSB cleverly worked their way back into this one; leveling the contest at 13 a piece with 3:50 left and just before the buzzer that ended this first period, the CSB team would connect on a lay-up that would put them ahead to stay at 15-13.  Things would still be relatively close once the second period got going with the CSB team up 17-14 by the 6:08 mark of the second period and they would hold a 23-17 lead with 3:50 left but the home stretch saw the Retired Athletes team dig themselves into a hole they would not be able to crawl out of as the CSB team would hold a 28-19 advantage with 1:50 left and by the halftime break, the CSB team had established a cozy 34-21 lead.  The CSB team would hold a 28-16 lead by the 7:45 mark of the third period and by the midway point of the third period, the CSB team's lead had ballooned to 42-26.  By the end of the third period, the CSB team was enjoying a 48-33 advantage and at the midway point of the fourth period, there was little doubt as to how this one was going to end with the CSB team up 55-35 as they cruised to an easy win.......The other wild game of the night took place on Court 3 that featured an intriguing matchup between the Anoka-Ramsey team and the GAC Black team.  The Anoka-Ramsey team would use its speed and athleticism to grab a 4-0 lead by the 8:00 mark of the opening period and they would maintain this four-point edge with a 6-2 lead near the midway point of the first period.  The Anoka-Ramsey team would hold a 13-8 lead with :45 left in the first period but a daring coast-to-coast drive and finish by junior-to-be Kylie Baranick in the closing seconds got the GAC Black team back to within a single possession down 13-10 at the end of the first period.  But the Anoka-Ramsey team would still manage to hold the upper hand in this contest as they would be up 15-11 near the midway point of the second period and would hold a 21-16 lead with 1:15 left.  A resourceful GAC Black team, however, would get a late score to stay within a single possession down just 21-18 by the halftime break.  The Anoka-Ramsey team's lead would be cut to 21-20 by the 7:50 mark of the third period and the GAC Black team would finally poke its nose out in front when senior-to-be Izzy (Izzy Izzy, you're making me dizzy) Quick connected on a lay-up in transition at the 6:30 mark that now had the GAC Black team up 23-22.  The GAC Black team would still be clinging to this one-poing edge at 24-23 with 1:55 left but the Anoka-Ramsey team would retake the lead at 25-24 with 1:20 left and they would hold this lead by the end of the third period.  The GAC Black team would come right back and snare that lead away at 30-29 by the 7:30 mark of the fourth period and they would hold the upper hand with 3:30 left up 32-30.  But a gamey Anoka-Ramsey team would not go quietly into the night without a fight and they would retake the lead at 34-33 with just :44 left in regulation.  Baranick would come through for the GAC Black team; getting one free throw to go down with :34 left that leveled the contest and neither team could connect in the waning seconds so off to overtime we went.  In the extra session, the GAC Black team would get a big lift from Quick as the former Champlin Park standout would make a hard drive for a finish with 1:50 left to make it a 36-34 ballgame and Baranick would get a couple of insurance free throws with :19 left as the GAC Black team held on for an exciting and fun win.

Over on Court 1 in the 7:15 P.M. slot, the storyline here was who could light up the scoreboard the most as this battle between the Guards Of The Galaxy team and the UW-Eau Claire team was a scoring fest from the get-go with any real defensive tactics sitting in the audience.  The UW-Eau Claire team would hold a 6-5 lead by the 8:30 mark of the opening period and they would still have the upper hand with an 11-9 advantage by the midway point of the first period.  The UW-Eau Claire team would hold an 18-15 edge with 2:00 left and by the end of the first period, they would have a bit more breathing room with a 24-20 lead. Things appeared to be going good for the UW-Eau Claire team as they stretched the lead to 27-20 early in the second period but then the Guards Of The Galaxy team put things into second gear; going on a big run that enabled them to take a 35-31 lead by the midway point of the second period.  A lay-up by Alison Hinck (GAC '21) had the Guards Of The Galaxy team up 40-36 with 4:07 left.  Although that lead would be trimmed to 42-40 with 1:50 left, Hinck - the former White Bear Lake standout - buried a three-point bomb with :25 left to make it a 45-40 game but right back came the UW-Eau Claire team as they would get a "3" of their own to go down right before the buzzer that trimmed the Galaxy Of The Guards team's lead to 45-43 at the halftime break.  The Galaxy Of The Guards team got another big lift when Marisa Gustafson (GAC '21) drained a pretty "3" of her own that had them up 48-43 early on in the third period but the UW-Eau Claire team would come right back and grab a 58-56 lead midway through the third period.  The Guards Of The Galaxy team would answer and get this contest knotted up at 62 with 2:25 left and by the end of the third period, things were up in the air with this game leveled at 64.  But things would slowly go south for the Guards Of The Galaxy team as they seemed to run out of petro once the fourth period got going.  The UW-Eau Claire team would own a 72-68 lead near the midway point of the fourth period and that lead would grow to 76-68 with 4:15 left.  With 2:45 left, the UW-Eau Claire team was crusing up 83-68 as they would claim not only the win but likely the highest scoring output thus far in the Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League.......No such drama over on Court 2 that saw the Luther team taking on the Wash-Ups team and it didn't take long to see how things were going to flow in this one with the latter up 5-0 by the 7:43 mark of the opening period.  With 2:20 left, the Wash-Ups team's lead ballooned to 20-2 and by the end of the first period, the Wash-Ups team was rolling up 25-4.  That lead would grow to 29-4 early on in the second period and with 3:15 left, the Wash-Ups team was enjoying a 38-11 advantage and although the Luther team would find some semblance of offense down the stretch, they were still staring at a 48-16 deficit by the halftime break.  Not much would change in this one with the Wash-Ups team up 46-20 midway through the third period and by the end of the third period, that lead had grown to 57-23.  By the midway point of the fourth period, things were pretty much academic with the Wash-Ups team enjoying a 69-23 lead as they had things in cruise control the rest of the way.......It was a similar story over on Court 3 in this time slot that featured a clash between MIAC and WIAC opponents that saw the Bethel team taking on the UW-River Falls team.  It didn't take long for the UW-River Falls team to unleash its offensive prowess as they took a somewhat surprising 7-0 lead by the midway point of the first period and by the end of the first period, the UW-River Falls team would be enjoying a 15-6 advantage.  By the midway point of the second period, the UW-River Falls team was cruising; up 26-8 and although the Bethel team finally got a little something going on offense, they still could not slow the potent attack of the UW-River Falls team as they would be up 34-16 with 1:20 left and by the halftime break, the UW-River Falls team had a seemingly insurmountable 37-18 advantage.  The UW-River Falls team would be up 39-18 early on in the third period and with 3:00 left, they would hold a 45-26 lead.  The Bethel team got a lift on a "3" by senior-to-be Anna Garfield late in the third period but they were still on the wrong end of a 47-33 score once the fourth period began.  The UW-River Falls team would be holding on to this same lead by the 7:20 mark of the fourth period as they rolled to a big win.

This coming night is the final night of the regular season and I'll have to miss this week as I'm on vacation enjoying myself 😁.  However, I'll be back as playoff action will commence the following Tuesday (7-25) with Championship night on Wednesday (7-26).  

Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League Results For Wednesday 6-28-23

 Another good round of games that I got to cover this last Wednesday night at the Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League:

6:15 P.M. Games

Northwestern - 52

St. Scholastica - 48

Wash-Ups - 49

Bethel - 45

GAC Gold - 59

St. Kate's - 36

7:15 P.M. Games

Guards Of The Galaxy - 66

Luther - 49

CSB - 49

UW-River Falls - 46

Retired Athletes - 58

Gotcha Hats - 56

So, on Court 1 in the 6:15 P.M. slot, an interesting battle of sorts between the St. Scholastica team and the Northwestern team was ensuing.  The Northwestern team would take an early 5-2 lead by the 8:35 mark of the opening period and they would maintain that three-point edge at 8-5 near the midway point of the first period.  The St. Scholastica team, however, was not going anywhere and they managed to get this game tied at 14 a piece coming down the stretch of the first period although the Northwestern team would take a 16-14 advantage thanks to a tough jumper right before the buzzer to end the first period.  The Northwestern team shrugged off its lackluster start in this game and quickly got some space built up once the second period got underway; getting a 19-14 advantage early on and then building up a double-digit safety net at 28-16 near the midway point of the second period.  But just when things started looking relatively safe for the Northwestern team, a gamey St. Scholastica team went right back to work and unleashed a 10-2 run down the stretch and by the halftime break, the St. Scholastica team was right back in the thick of things again down just 30-26.  The Northwestern team found things a bit more ominous for them when their lead was cut to 36-34 by the 6:35 mark of the third period but they were able to get some more breathing room with 2:20 left in the third period up 40-34 but a pesky St. Scholastica team refused to take "no" for an answer.  A three-point bomb had this game tied at 40 late in the third period and by the end of the third period, the St. Scholastica team had poked its nose out in front by a 43-42 count.  Alarmed, the Northwestern team grabbed the lead right back on a 4-0 burst at 46-43 early on in the fourth period and even though the St. Scholastica team kept things tight; trailing just 49-48 by the midway point of the fourth period, they could never get the lead back.  The Northwestern team would hold a 52-48 lead with 1:20 left in regulation and would take a hard-earned "W".........Another really good one was going on next door over on Court 2 between the Wash-Ups team and the Bethel team.  This one would be deadlocked at two a piece early on in the contest but the Bethel team would forge ahead; grabbing a 7-4 advantage near the midway point of the first period and the Bethel team would still have the upper hand in this one with a 10-8 advantage with 3:00 left and would be up 16-13 by the end of the first period.  A 6-0 spurt by the Bethel team to start the second period had them in very good shape up 22-13 early on but the experienced Wash-Ups team wasn't going to be held down forever as they would unleash an 8-0 run of their own to cut the gap to a scant point at 22-21 with 3:55 left in the second period and the Wash-Ups team would take a 23-22 lead a short time later and by the halftime break, the Wash-Ups team would hold a 25-22 advantage.  The Wash-Ups team would build a bit more breathing space with a 29-24 advantage by the midway point of the third period but a stubborn Bethel team was not going anywhere anytime soon and by the end of the third period, the Wash-Ups team's lead was cut to 34-32.  The Wash-Ups team would still continue to hold a somewhat tenuous advantage; up 38-35 by the 7:20 mark of the fourth period and 40-37 by the midway point of the third period but with 2:25 left, the Bethel team got this game tied up at 43 and the Wash-Ups team faced their first true test.  But they would rise to the occasion when it counted with some clutch play and scores to take a 47-43 lead with 1:30 left and hold on for a tough victory.........No such drama over on Court 3 meanwhile as two MIAC rivals were going at it with the St. Kate's team taking on the GAC Gold team.  This game probably should have been called "The Riley Queensland Show" as the senior-to-be out of Grand Meadow was simply lighting it up on this night for the GAC Gold team.  Her first trey came at the 6:50 mark of the opening period that gave the GAC Gold team a 6-2 advantage and it would only grow from there as they would stretch the lead to 11-2 with 3:25 left in the first period and they would hold on to that nine-point lead up 13-4 by the end of the first period.  The GAC Gold team - and Queensland - would keep pouring it on as she unleashed another three-point dagger that had the GAC Gold team up 21-4 midway through the second period before the St. Kate's team could finally turn around its thus far dormant offense and get the deficit trimmed to ten at 27-17 by the halftime break.  But there would be no stopping the GAC Gold team - or Queensland for that matter on this night as she would bury another "3" that had the GAC Gold team up 37-25 by the midway point of the third period and by the end of the third period, the GAC Gold team was cruising up 44-27.  The GAC Gold team would have a twenty-point cushion up 51-31 by the midway point of the fourth period as they cruised to an easy victory.  

Perhaps the most underrated team in this Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League has been the Guards Of The Galaxy team and they were in action on Court 1 in the 7:15 P.M. slot taking on the Luther team.  This game would be tied at 4-all early on but the Guards Of The Galaxy would take an 8-4 lead by the midway point of the first period and that lead would get stretched to 14-8 with 1:30 left in this opening period.  To their credit, the Luther team would go on a 4-0 spurt to cut the deficit to two by the end of the first period at 14-12 and they would continue to hang touch once the second period got going and by the midway point of the second period, the Luther team had this game deadlocked at 18.  This game would still be tied at 21 a piece with 1:20 left in the second period before the Guards Of The Galaxy team got a bit of breathing space up 24-21 by the halftime break.  The Guards Of The Galaxy team finally started taking control of things with a 30-23 lead early on in the third period and by the midway point of the third period, they had established a double-digit advantage up 36-25 and they would maintain this cushion with a 46-36 lead by the end of the third period.  The Guards Of The Galaxy team would continue to control this game once the fourth period got underway and with 2:30 left, they would hold a 57-45 advantage.  Marisa Gustafson (GAC '21) would knock down a pair of insurance free throws with 1:45 left as the Guards Of The Galaxy team would book another win on their resume........One of the more anticipated games on this night was the one taking place over on Court 2 between the CSB team and the UW-River Falls team; a MIAC/WIAC clash of sorts between what seemed to be two evenly-matched squads.  This contest would be tied at four a piece at the 7:50 mark of the opening period but the CSB team would grab the upper hand soon thereafter and hold a 9-4 advantage with 2:50 left in the first period and would enjoy a 13-6 lead by the end of the first period.  Things were still looking very good for the CSB team with an 18-10 lead midway through the second period but then the UW-River Falls team unleashed an 11-0 tear that suddenly had them out in front by a 21-18 count with 2:00 left and they would still hold the lead by the halftime break up 22-20.  The UW-River Falls team would enjoy a 25-20 lead by the 6:50 mark of the third period but just when it seemed like they had things going their way, the CSB team came right back as they would have the deficit cut to just two at 25-23 midway through the third period and they would retake the lead at 26-25 with 2:30 left and by the end of the third period, they would hold a 32-27 advantage.  Things would remain unchanged by the 7:05 mark of the fourth period the UW-River Falls team was far from finished.  They would get the deficit cut to one at 40-39 with 3:20 left in regulation and with 1:40 left, they would get this game tied again at 42 a piece.  The CSB team would be up 46-44 with 1:15 left and they would be clinging to a 47-46 lead with :27 left.  The CSB team would get a pair of free throws to go down with :06 left and the UW-River Falls team had one last chance to try and force overtime but the desperation heave-ho three-point attempt missed its mark as the CSB team hung on for a fun and thrilling win........Another great game took place over on Court 3 between the Retired Athletes team and the Gotcha Hats team.  This one certainly appeared to be dominated by the Retired Athletes team early on as they bolted out to an 8-0 lead and led 13-4 with 2:20 left in the 1st period.  A three-point bomb by Danielle Schaub (Sioux Falls '22) stretched that lead to 16-4 a short time later and by the end of the first period, the Retired Athletes team enjoyed an 18-7 advantage.  The Gotcha Hats team finally got things going in the second period as they unleashed a 7-0 burst that had the deficit trimmed to 18-14 by the 6:25 mark of the second period but the Retired Athletes team didn't panic and they went on another run that got their lead back up to double-digits again up 28-16 with 3:10 left and by the halftime break, the Retired Athletes team seemed to have things fully in control with a cozy 34-20 advantage.  And there were certainly no signs of danger yet as the Retired Athletes team held a 36-22 lead at the 7:45 mark of the third period and led 44-28 with 3:20 left in the third period and by the end of the third period, things seemed like a done deal with the Retired Athletes up 48-33.  Things were still looking very good for the Retired Athletes team as they held a 54-41 lead midway through the fourth period but whether it was fatigue or a suddenly hot Gotcha Hats team, the tables started turning in this contest down the stretch as the Gotcha Hats team went on a tear coming down the stretch that saw the Retired Athletes team's lead shaved to six at 58-52 with 1:00 left and with :13 left, the Gotcha Hats team climbed back to within a single possession after a three-point bomb down just 58-56.  A foiled possession by the Retired Athletes team gave the Gotcha Hats team one last chance with with just a couple of ticks in regulation left, they got an open look from behind the arc but the shot attempt rattled off the rim as the Retired Athletes team heaved a collective sigh of relief with a slim victory.

So things take a break this next week with the Fourth Of July holiday but things will get going again on Wednesday July 12 so hope to see you all down there!