Magical Run For GAC Ends In The Elite 8

 Had to let my emotions calm down before I decided to finally post something regarding the magic carpet ride that GAC had in the NCAA Tournament - a magical run that came to an end tonight in the Elite 8 out at Bowdoin in Brunswick, ME as the Gusties fell 61-50 to Smith out of the NEWMAC as the Pioneers replicated last year's feat of winning an Elite 8 game at this very same venue.  

I have to admit that tonight's game was an incredibly frustrating one to watch from a GAC standpoint.  When the Gusties grabbed a 22-13 lead at the 8:22 mark of the second period, you couldn't help but think that maybe this was where they were going to pull away and take control of this one for good.  In fact, GAC was still in very good shape with a 25-17 lead near the midway point of the second period.  Curiously, the Gusties seemed to go into a funk on the offensive end as Smith kept picking away and eventually the Pioneers would own a 30-29 lead by the halftime break.  GAC would get the lead back early on in the third period but the Gusties were unable to hold onto that lead as Smith seemed to get in a groove offensively.  Still, GAC was down only one possession at 47-44 at the end of the third period and I still held out hope that the Gusties would finally break out of their offensive doldrums and take over the game.  Alas, that didn't happen on this night as Smith gradually increased its lead as the fourth period progressed.  When you look at the final box score on this one, you'll see that both teams were pretty comparable in shooting from FG range (GAC 22-51 for 43.1% and Smith 22-52 for 42.3%) and the Gusties actually had a slight edge in rebounds at 33-31.  But the two things that killed GAC tonight was (1) shooting from downtown where the Gusties were an ice-cold 1-9 for 11.1%.  Smith wasn't all that great either (5-13 for 38.5%) but they didn't have to be as GAC simply could not knock 'em down when it counted.  The other thing (2) that proved to be a killer for the Gusties was that they gave up 11 second-chance points to the Pioneers and, yeah, that was a killer.  Throw in the fact that GAC was guilty of 16 turnovers on this night as well and you can easily see that this simply wasn't the Gusties night.  It was definitely a bitter pill to swallow.

More importantly though, my heart aches for the six seniors on this team that have given so much for not only this GAC program but for MIAC Women's Basketball in general.  Emma Kniefel, Syd Hauger, Izzy Quick, Kylie Baranick, Rachel Kawiecki and Morgan Kelly - thank you for the memories.

I'll have more to say on this season in the not too distant future.....