It was slow-going on this snowy Saturday over to Robertson Center on the campus of Bethel University but I gave myself plenty of time and got over there without any incident to get ready for this huge late regular season clash between visiting #8 GAC and host #25 Bethel. The Royals, if you remember, pulled off the huge upset against the Gusties down in St. Peter three weekends ago with a 72-58 victory and had been riding the tidal wave of a 10-game winning streak that started right after the first of the year. GAC meanwhile recovered nicely from that mid-January setback and reeled off five straight wins coming into this contest today where the winner of this one would presumably have the inside track to the number-one seed in the upcoming MIAC Playoffs later this month.
If you recall, Bethel got off to a great start against the Gusties last month down in St. Peter; bolting out to an early 12-2 lead that really set the tone for that particular game. This time around, GAC came out swinging from the opening tip as they started taking command early. Willowy fifth-year senior guard Emma (not evil) Kniefel would slither in for a lay-up to start things off at the 9:10 mark of the opening period and a 1-2-2 zone defense that Gustie Head Coach Laurie Kelly was employing had Bethel frustrated early on and allowed GAC to build on its lead. Fellow fifth-year senior guard Syd Hauger knocked down a jumper from the left corner just inside the arc at the 8:19 mark and two free throws by Kniefel after she was fouled in a transition opportunity at the 7:48 mark expanded the Gustie advantage to 6-0. A bit later at the 6:10 mark, Kniefel would strike again with a three-point bomb from the left top area that had GAC up 9-0 and Royals Head Coach Jon Herbrechtsmeyer; alarmed at how his squad had yet to draw blood, decided to take a match to a timeout in hopes of finding some quick fixes. This initial stoppage in play seemed to at first have the desired effect as Bethel was able to crawl back to within a single possession. Sophomore reserve guard Macey Littlefield would knock down a short jumper from the right side at the 5:55 mark that finally got the Royals on the board and fellow sophomore reserve forward Emily Erickson got one free throw to go down after getting fouled at the 5:25 mark that trimmed the deficit to six at 9-3. Then another fifth-year senior - guard Anna Garfield - buried a "3" from the top of the key with 4:18 left that pulled Bethel back to a single possession down 9-6 and seemed to have the home crowd much more at ease after the exceptionally rocky start. Much to their disdain, the Gusties would close out this first period the way they started it - this time with a 7-0 run. Reserve senior forward Rachel Kawiecki muscled into the paint for a score with 4:02 left and one free throw by slender sophomore reserve guard Kendyl Queensland with 3:31 left after she was fouled upped the GAC lead to 12-6. Kawiecki would drop a pair of charity stripe shots after getting fouled with 2:48 to make it a 14-6 game that also had the Gusties in the bonus at this point as well. Taking advantage of all this was freshman reserve guard Anna Goodman as the youngster also got a pair of freebies to go down after getting fouled that now gave GAC a ten-point cushion at 16-6 with :54.5 left. Perhaps the only real fly in the ointment for Laurie Kelly and her staff was that Kawiecki would have to take a seat with :36.9 left in this first period after she picked up her second foul of the contest.
The Gusties would assume their largest lead yet at 18-6 when senior forward Morgan Kelly connected on a lay-up at the 9:18 mark of the second period before Bethel was finally able to break out of its offensive doldrums. Fifth-year senior forward Lydia Hay would make a hard drive for a finish at the 8:16 mark and Garfield would bang home her second trey of the day - this one from the right corner - at the 7:32 mark that had the deficit down to seven at 18-11 and a lay-up by junior point guard Colette Duininck at the 6:22 mark kept the Royals in that seven-point range down 20-13 but getting closer than that proved to be a tough proposition for the home team as GAC stepped on the gas pedal again. Fifth-year senior forward Izzy (Izzy Izzy, you're making me dizzy) Quick would make a hard drive for a finish at the 5:40 mark and a jumper along the right baseline off of an inbounds pass by Goodman with 4:59 left restored the Gusties' double-digit cushion at 24-13. With 4:25 left, Hauger would make a daring drive into the lane and get a pretty, one-handed finish that maintained this eleven-point advantage at 26-15 before the Royals could make another try. Lanky senior combo guard/forward Elly Schmitz finally got untracked as she drained a "3" from the left top area with 3:46 left that got Bethel back in single-digit range again down 26-18 and another three-point bomb - this one by Littlefield from the left top area - with 3:18 left seemed to have Bethel right back in the thick of things down by just six at 27-21. But here again, the Gusties answered this latest challenge with a 7-0 run. Morgan Kelly would connect on a lay-up with 3:04 left and then Kniefel would unleash a heart-breaking "3" from the right top area with 2:05 left that re-established the double-digit advantage at 32-21. Two free throws by Hauger after she was fouled in a transition opportunity with 1:26 left gave GAC a somewhat cozy 34-21 lead. The Royals' Erickson was able to take some of the fat off of the deficit with a short, turnaround jumper with :59 left but that didn't last long as GAC's Hauger would maneuver into the paint for a tough score with :21 left as the Gusties took a 36-23 lead - and a ton of momentum as well - into the locker room at the half.
Things appeared even more dire for Bethel once the third period got underway as the Gusties went on another scoring spree. Senior point guard Kylie Baranick would bury a "3" from the right corner at the 9:23 mark and a score in the paint by Morgan Kelly at the 8:28 mark had GAC up 41-26. The Royals would try and counter on a short jumper in the paint by Garfield at the 8:14 mark but the Gusties would come up with some more answers. Morgan Kelly would get a three-point play the old-fashioned way as she would make a hard drive for a finish at the 7:44 mark that also drew a foul and the former St. Peter standout would get the "and one" to go down as well. Then Kawiecki would make one of her patented scores in the paint a bit later at the 7:08 mark that gave the Gusties a 46-28 lead and Bethel's Herbrechtsmeyer called for a halt to the action in order to patch up this suddenly-leaking boat. But the Royals would have to endure more leakage as GAC continued with this onslaught. Hauger would connect on a lay-up in transition at the 6:31 mark and one free throw by Quick after she was fouled at the 5:59 mark and another by Kniefel after she was fouled in transition opportunity at the 5:29 mark had the Gusties up solidly by a 50-28 count. Finally, Bethel was able to start cutting into this deficit after they had seemingly gone into hibernation from an offensive standpoint. Schmitz would drain a pretty three-point bomb from the right wing area at the 5:08 mark and one free throw by Garfield after she was fouled with 4:44 left had the deficit slimmed down to eighteen at 50-32. Then Schmitz would strike immediately afterward with a steal in the backcourt and would get one free throw to go down after being fouled with 4:39 left and two more free throws by Littlefield after she was fouled with 4:11 left had the deficit down to seventeen at 52-35. The Royals were able to at least slow the Gustie drive as Herbrechtsmeyer was employing a 2-3 matchup zone defense in hopes of clogging up the middle. But even that didn't stop GAC's Baranick as she would bang home a "3" from the top of the key with 3:48 left that restored the Gusties' twenty-point cushion at 55-35. Still, Bethel was able to make further inroads down the stretch of this third period. Slender junior reserve forward Alli Born slithered into the paint for a score with 3:27 left and Garfield would drill a three-point bomb from the right wing area with 1:41 left that had the deficit down to seventeen again at 57-40. Erickson would knock down a pair of charity stripe shots after getting fouled with 1:05 left and with :34 left, Schmitz would drain a "3" from the left corner that cut the deficit down to fourteen at 59-45 and at least provided a ray of hope for the home crowd.
GAC would again try and set the tone once the fourth period got underway as Kniefel would knock down a short jumper from the right elbow area at the 8:58 mark for a 61-48 Gustie lead but Bethel was unwilling to break out the white flag just yet. Schmitz would get into the paint for a score that also drew a foul and her ensuing "and one" had the deficit down to thirteen at 61-48. Complicating things for the Gusties was that Quick would pick up her fourth foul of the afternoon at the 7:40 mark and GAC Head Coach Laurie Kelly was not in the mood to take any chances and quickly yanked the former Champlin Park standout back to the bench. Meanwhile the Royals were continuing to whittle away at this deficit. Junior combo guard/forward Rosalie Penke would get a pair of free throws to go down after getting fouled at the 6:35 mark and when Garfield banged home a "3" from the right wing area at the 5:43 mark that cut the deficit down to a tantalizing ten points at 63-53, the home crowd inside Butler Center was roaring with approval and momentum seemed to be on Bethel's side at this point with a ton of time left and presumably a window of opportunity as well. But this experienced Gustie team whose mettle has been tested more than once never panicked one bit. Instead they calmly responded as Morgan Kelly would connect on a tough jumper along the left baseline area with 4:45 left and a lay-up in transition by Kniefel with 4:17 left grew the safety net back to fourteen at 67-53. Still, GAC's Laurie Kelly was unwilling to take any chances; particularly after the Royals' Schmitz got a pair of free throws to go down with 3:59 left that reduced the Gusties lead to 67-55 and she called a timeout to set up strategy for the home stretch. Bethel would again get the deficit down to ten at 67-57 with 3:05 left after Garfield cashed in at the charity stripe on a pair of free throws after getting fouled but GAC would quickly answer that as Kniefel connected on a lay-up with 2:46 left to make it 69-57. The Royals' Herbrechtsmeyer would call a timeout of his own shortly thereafter in hopes of finding some late magic and although Schmitz would get the deficit down to ten again at 69-59 on a drive along the right baseline and finish with 1:41 left, Bethel could never get closer than that as the Gusties were now in position to close this one out once and for all. Kawiecki would connect on a lay-up with 1:15 left and Baranick would cash in on a pair of free throws after getting fouled with :37.7 left for insurance as GAC avenged its only loss thus far with a 73-61 victory.
The importance of this win for the Gusties is that this now creates a tie at the top spot in the MIAC standings and with basically two weeks to go before the MIAC Playoffs, there's still some uncertainty obviously now as to whom gets to hold that coveted number-one seed (and I'm going to have to find out more information on this which I hope to share soon) although my gut tells me that GAC has the inside track on this; particularly when I look at the remaining regular season schedule for both teams as the Royals still have to make the dreaded trip up to Moorhead to face Concordia this coming Wednesday night and then finish up at home with Hamline, at St. Scholastica and then the regular season finale with CSB at home - and that's not going to be easy. Compare that with GAC's remaining slate of games - at St. Olaf, home vs CSB, at Carleton and then finishing up at home against St. Kate's. But for GAC's Laurie Kelly whom I was able to catch up with afterward, the most important thing to her right now is enjoying these last four regular season games with her three seniors and three fifth-year seniors and this group has been nothing short of spectacular in what they've done for this program and, assuming they win the MIAC Championship Game with just one loss on their resume, there's simply no way that they can be denied of hosting a 1st/2nd round NCAA Tournament pod at home in Lund Arena which would obviously give them the best chance of getting out of there and giving them an opportunity to roll the dice and see how far they can get. This group still harbors the bitter disappointment of last year's first round NCAA Tournament game loss to Trine and they want to make up for that in the worst way possible and who can blame them?
But, for the near term and specifically this game, I was simply blown away when I looked at the box score for this game. How many times - especially in a reasonably close game - do you see FIVE players in double figures scoring-wise? My guess is not very often but it happened today. One could say that "Well, you know, the Gusties sure know how to share the wealth!" But it's more than this. I think what you're seeing is that ALL of the key members of this team are stepping up and delivering when it counts. I mean, here's what we had on this day: Kniefel leading the way with 21 points, Kawiecki being her always-solid self with 14 points, Morgan Kelly pouring in 12 points in a variety of ways, and both Hauger and Baranick tallying ten points a piece. When I saw that, I was just like, "Holy (expletive deleted)!" Then you look at Quick who finished with "only" seven points but she was so disruptive on defense and grabbed a team-high of seven rebounds and keep in mind, she came back into the game after being saddled with four fouls. Guess what? You'll tend to win a helluva lot of ballgames doing (expletive deleted) like this. That's championship-level stuff. It just is. And if GAC can keep this level of play going, they'll be able to more than make up for last year's first round disappointment.
To me, when you not only dive deeper into the box score but you also go back and consider how GAC set the tone early in this contest, it seemed like this was clearly a case of the Gusties giving Bethel a dose of their own medicine. The Royals never looked comfortable out there on this day and they missed out on several transition lay-ups when someone like Kniefel or Quick was guarding them as it forced them to over-adjust on what otherwise would have been a routine lay-up attempt. And Bethel coughed up the rock 17 times on this day which is a lot for a Herbrechtsmeyer-coached team. GAC shot exceptionally-well from FG range on this day - going 26-48 for 54.2% which may go a long way in explaining as to why the Gusties had such a huge advantage in points in the paint - by a whopping 36-16 edge against a Bethel team that's got a lot of length. And for a team like Bethel that lives off of its defensive prowess for easy cash-in opportunities on the other end - especially in transition opportunities afterward - they only collected two points in transition opportunities.
Despite the shortcomings on this day, the Royals did have three players finish in double figures scoring-wise on this day. Schmitz' 22 points led all scorers on this day and Garfield was productive as always with her 16 points. Littlefield was a pleasant surprise for Bethel on an otherwise disappointing day as she finished with 12 points.
No comments:
Post a Comment