The right to advance on to the Sweet 16 was on the line on this Saturday night at Lund Arena as Wartburg; regular season and playoff champs of the ARC took on GAC; the regular season and playoff champs of the MIAC. So fitting in so many ways, I suppose, that these two would hook up in the NCAA Tournament. The Knights had survived a grueling first round game by one point in getting past UW-Stevens Point on Friday night while the Gusties survived a big-time scare and had to go to an extra session to fend off a gamey Wisconsin Lutheran team. I got settled into the press area about an hour before tip-off and had plenty of time to watch and study both teams prior to game time and you could just feel the tension in the air for this titanic matchup.
That this was going to be a tight and hard-fought affair was evident early on. Wartburg started this game out in a 2-3 matchup zone defense that initially held the Gusties at bay as the Knights took an early 4-0 lead. Fifth-year senior guard Sara Faber would start things off by slashing into the paint and getting a pretty floater to go down at the 8:05 mark of the opening period and a score in the paint by another fifth-year senior - forward Lauren Woeste at the 7:21 had Wartburg in a good spot before GAC finally overcame its slow start. Fifth-year senior guard Syd Hauger would knock down a jumper from the right wing area at the 7:01 mark and two free throws by yet another fifth-year senior - willowy guard Emma (not evil) Kniefel after she was fouled in a transition opportunity at the 5:58 mark, got this game leveled at four a piece. But the Gusties were hardly satisfied with just getting the game tied as they were able to build on this. Hauger would knock down a jumper from the top of the key at the 5:25 mark and a short jumper from the right side by Kniefel with 4:40 left capped this early run and had GAC up 8-4. Undeterred, the Knights quickly regained the lead. Another one of Wartburg's fifth-year seniors, guard Britney Young, would soon bury a three-point bomb from the left wing area with 4:22 left and a short time later Faber would rely on her craftiness to snare a steal and race the other way for a lay-up with 4:02 left that pushed the Knights ahead 9-8. The Gusties would take the lead back again as senior reserve forward Morgan Kelly connected on a jumper from the right wing area with 3:25 left and then still another fifth-year senior made her presence felt as forward Izzy (Izzy Izzy, you're making me dizzy) Quick made a hard drive for a finish that also drew a foul in the process and the ensuing "and one" by the former Champlin Park standout had GAC up 13-9. Wartburg would close the gap to one thanks to a three-point bomb by sophomore reserve guard Grace Hennessy from the left wing area with 2:22 left and although the Gusties would take a 15-12 lead on a jumper from the right wing area by senior forward Rachel Kaweicki with 2:07 left but the Knights would close the gap to one at 15-14 once again as yet another fifth-year senior; forward Jaedon Murphy, would knock down a pair of free throws after getting fouled with 1:01 left. Needless to say, experience was playing a big role in this tight affair thus far.
Wartburg would replicate what it did in the opening period - building a lead - once the second period got underway. Woeste was able to snare a steal and she was off to the races for an easy lay-up at the 9:46 mark to put the Knights back up 16-15 and another one of the Knights fifth-year senior army; reserve forward Natalie Bearbower, would drain a "3" from the top of the key as the shot clock was expiring at the 8:54 mark that gave Wartburg a 19-15 lead. But no panic was in evidence on the Gustie side as they bounced right back. Senior point guard Kylie Baranick would calmly bury a three-point bomb from the left wing area at the 8:07 mark and two free throws by Kawiecki after she was fouled at the 5:23 mark put GAC back out in front 20-19. The Knights would regain the upper hand as Faber would bury a "3" of her own from the left top area with 4:14 left that had them up 22-20 and a score in the paint by Woeste with 3:12 left maintained the two-point advantage at 24-22. But it was here where the Gusties were able to end this second period on a 9-2 run. Back-to-back lay-ups - one by Kniefel with 2:24 left and another one by Baranick with 1:58 left - had GAC back out in front 26-24 and one more lay-up by Kniefel with :44.3 left maintained the two-point lead at 28-26. Then, with just :03.6 left, Quick would come through again as she knocked down a jumper along the left baseline that drew a foul in the process and her obligatory freebie gave the Gusties a five-point cushion as both teams headed to their locker rooms. A quick check of the halftime box score showed that Wartburg had a slight edge on the boards at 14-12 along with an edge in points in the paint at 12-8. However, Knights Head Coach Bob Amsberry had to be irked that his squad had been guilty of 14 turnovers thus far along with the fact that the Gusties feasted on those turnovers by getting 15 points out of them.
GAC would assume its largest lead yet when Baranick knocked down a jumper from the free throw line area at the 9:06 mark of the third period before the Knights could get things going again on their end with a 9-2 push. Junior guard Lauren Donlea would unleash a three-point bomb from the right wing area at the 8:44 mark and Young would follow suit with a three-point bomb of her own from the right corner at the 7:20 mark that had the deficit down to three at 35-32. Wartburg would then unleash more terror from behind the arc as Faber would bang home a "3" from the right top area at the 6:44 mark that leveled this game at 35 and Gusties Head Coach Laurie Kelly; not at all like how this third period was going for her team, called for a thirty-second timeout. That short stoppage in play initially seemed to have a positive effect for GAC as they were able to forge a small lead. Quick would make a hard drive for a finish at the 5:14 mark that put the Gusties back out in front at 37-35 and one free throw by Baranick after she was fouled with 4:38 left upped that lead to 38-35. But Wartburg would get the job done at the charity stripe down the stretch of this third period while GAC would come up empty. Hennesy would get a pair of free throws to go down after getting fouled with 1:39 left as would Faber after she was fouled with :07.6 left as the Knights carried a 39-38 advantage into the fourth period.
The tension inside Lund Arena became more noticeable once the fourth period got underway as Wartburg was able to grow its lead to 41-38 on two free throws by Faber after she was fouled at the 9:46 mark and the Knights would maintain this three-point edge on a tough, one-handed shot off the glass by Murphy at the 8:47 mark that made it 43-40. With the Gusties still struggling to find solid footing on the offensive end, Wartburg upped its lead to four at 45-41 when Murphy connected on a lay-up and there was just this sensation that it was probably going to be now or never for the Gusties if they were going to make a stand. And GAC did exactly that as on their ensuing possession, Baranick buried a cold-hearted "3" from the right top area at the 6:20 mark that cut the deficit down to one at 45-44 and after a foiled Knights possession, Kniefel would knock down a jumper from near the free throw line area at the 5:41 mark that pushed the Gusties back out in front 46-45 and one free throw by Hauger after she was fouled in a transition opportunity with 4:58 left upped the lead to two at 47-45 but GAC certainly wasn't out of the woods yet by any stretch. After Wartburg closed the gap to one again on one free throw by Faber after she was fouled with 3:38 left, the Gusties were able to establish a bit more breathing room as Morgan Kelly knocked down a jumper from the right elbow area with 3:24 left and a drive and pretty lay-up by Kniefel with 2:40 left gave GAC a five-point cushion at 51-46 but the Knights were in no mood to let their host off the hook that easily. After Wartburg's Amsberry called a subsequent timeout, the Knights were able to make things perilous for the home crowd again. Faber would connect on a lay-up with 1:16 left that pulled Wartburg back to within a single possession and then the Knights were able to force a turnover with :50 left and quickly set up shop on the offensive end. With :31. 6 left, Murphy would get fouled and she would get both free throw attempts to go down that cut the deficit to a scant point at 51-50 and once again, things were hanging in the balance. GAC's Laurie Kelly would call a thirty-second timeout to set up strategy on their ensuing possession. With :28.7 left, Baranick would get fouled and even though she couldn't get the front end to cooperate, the back-end attempt was true that not only had the Gusties up 52-50 but now GAC was in the bonus as well. A short time later with :23.4 left, GAC's Kawiecki maybe made the defensive play of the night when she forced a jump ball and with the possession arrow in favor of the Gusties, there was finally light at the end of the tunnel. Kniefel would be fouled almost immediately thereafter with :22.6 left and the former Medford standout got both free throws to go down that made it 54-50. Wartburg's Amsberry would call for a thirty-second timeout in hopes of finding some quick magic but by this point, he was probably forced to roll the dice a bit more than he would have normally liked. With :10.8 left, the Knights were trying to inbound the ball on a long pass but Woeste's pass was too high for Murphy to snare and that effectively choked off the last ray of hope Wartburg had in this game. The Gusties Laurie Kelly would use her last thirty-second timeout to ensure everyone knew what they had to do and with :07.8 left, GAC's Kniefel would get fouled and once again, Kniefel came through from the charity stripe with two insurance free throws and the Knights last lifeline was gone as the Gusties advanced to the Sweet 16 with a thrilling 56-50 victory.
To say that GAC's Laurie Kelly was thrilled, relieved, happy or just plain excited for her team to be making this program's second foray into the Sweet 16 would probably be a massive understatement but she had every right to be feeling all these emotions when she, Kniefel, Baranick and daughter Morgan Kelly got into the postgame press conference. "I've felt this feeling only one other time for this team to have this opportunity" she opened up with on her overall thoughts for this game. "The other time was on the road so to be able to do this on Gus Young Court in Lund Center with that many Gusties yelling and cheering for you.....There are very few Division III athletes that get to play in moments or games like that and to be able to do it on your own home court - it's surreal. It's priceless and I think my heart is completely full with gratitude and there's so much pride for these young women for what they were able to do in representing this team tonight." I first asked Laurie Kelly about how every possession on each side seemed to be a battle within itself and with this contest as tight as it was for so long and how her squad was able to maintain its composure and never once wavered. "When you come to play "off" time like this, every possession really matters! You play like each one could be your last.......My hat goes off to Wartburg; what a tremendous basketball program and great team. We knew it'd be a battle from the tip.....They have a lot of size and fifth-year seniors and veteran players so you knew that this would be a tough game for somebody today......I knew we could walk off the floor whether we won or lost and I knew we left everything on the floor and both teams did that.....Very different story from where we were yesterday where we just didn't get into the 'groove' of Gustavus basketball but today it was who we were and just like that five minute overtime (from last night) I just knew that's where we were gonna be today and I absolutely felt that for all four quarters and this is why you do it....I hear things all the time like the harder it is, the better it is and I've said that a lot in a lot of tough games.....To be really great, you've got to be a team that's going to go to battle each night for each other and you've gotta have each other's back. And that is definitely us and that is who they are and when push came to shove, we stepped up and made big plays and these young women have the key to the success of our program.....I haven't felt this good after a win in a really long time." I also asked Laurie Kelly about what transpired when Wartburg got a lead on them in the fourth period and how they were able to fend off such a tough situation in a critical moment of the game and how they prepared for all of Wartburg's offensive weapons. "We were poised......We didn't play our best basketball by any means....If you look at the numbers, we weren't that great behind the three-point line, we missed some free throws that we hadn't missed from the night before and we had some people that struggled to finish around the rim. But we 'gritted" it out; just a lot of grit and energy and effort and it's defensively where we were able to get it done and it's what we've hung our hat on all year long.....In the end, 50 points against a team that averages a lot more than that. We shut down some of their big scorers and we got some of them in foul trouble early so I think the gameplan of how we thought we could take this game was done really really well. But rebounding was something that we felt was going to be pretty even that could be a difference-maker as well as the turnovers. The thing about Wartburg is that this team has turned the ball over a little more than they have in the past and I thought we were able to take advantage defensively by forcing some turnovers which gave us some things in transition." Kniefel was asked about what was going through her head coming down in the home stretch when she had to either hit a tough shot or sink critical free throws. "I've done so many things in that gym; there really wasn't much going through my head." Because Kniefel as well as Hauger and Quick have been in these big moments before, they know how to handle these situations so well and they were all exceptionally solid on both ends of the floor when they had to be on this night.
Wartburg's Amsberry was a bit more solemn in his team's postgame presser but was able to hold his disappointment over his team's loss in check. "Yeah, it just wasn't our night......I thought we defended extremely well against a really good team.....I think most nights when we hold a team to 56, we win....We couldn't get enough shots to go down...We turned it over too much....Thought we made some really good adjustments coming out of the half.....It just wasn't our night.....Honestly, I've moved on from this....I have ten seniors in that locker room and it was really hard to decide who to bring (Murphy and senior reserve guard Faith Trelka were there with him). I think these two represent us in different ways but you're going to get the same thing and it's about us loving each other and trusting each other and the journey......This game doesn't spoil any of that.....I'm at peace with where we are today because they do it the right way. We've got a lot of great kids. We gave it everything we have......Every day we have hard conversations; just about loving each other and doing this journey together." I asked Amsberry about how this particular game seemed to have an aura of either an Elite 8 game or even a Final Four game as opposed to being a second-round game given the records of each team and the high hopes that both teams had coming into this NCAA Tournament. "Yeah.....I mean, we've been there and it did have that 'feel'. We're in a great region. I think we're in the best region in the country and we're gonna have matches like this....It's just part of the deal and I think other teams in other regions have different challenges and we're okay with that.....We're not Whitman and we can't host because we're too far from people but we're in a region where you're going to have a matchup like this in the second round and you embrace it and we think if we matched up with 'em again, we can beat them. We've never shied away from any of that. I've never not liked our draw and I don't know if it's nine or ten years in a row but we've had to play some of the best and I've never not liked our draw. We go in with the challenge in front of you and we prepare and we do what we can do. Some things in life you can't control.....We're never going to make excuses......Our loss tonight was us. There's some things we could've done way better. I could have made some better calls.....But I'm in a really good place right now and I feel good about who we are." I also asked him about some of the specific adjustments his team made coming out of the halftime break. "We wanted to get some different 'touches' on the offensive end and we slowed down a little bit and were a little more deliberate in specific 'touches'......I thought it allowed us to slow the game down; to see the game happen.....We were in a zone offense......And it allowed us to get some great looks." Both Murphy and Young talked about the amazing bond that this team has had over the last few years but the actual winning was just a small part of it. Both felt grateful to be a part of this program and the lasting friendships that they'll both have for life. I've always had a ton of respect for this Wartburg program and being around them - if only for a relatively short period of time - only underscores what a quality group of people this program has.
It's funny when you look at the final box score of this one because one could easily come away with the feeling that maybe the Knights could have and perhaps should have prevailed in this one had a few things gone differently. To be sure, rebounding was practically dead-even so that category I think you could toss out the window. You look closer and you'll see that the Knights shot slightly better from FG range going 16-39 for a straight 41% while GAC was 20-50 for a straight 40%. Wartburg was 7-16 from downtown for 43.8% while the Gusties were an icy 2-11 for 18.2%. And Wartburg was better at the charity stripe on this night going 11-14 for 78.6% while the Gusties were 14-20 for a straight 70%. The Knights had a slight advantage in points in the paint at 18-16 and had a decided edge in those all-important second-chance points at 6-2. No, what did in Wartburg on this night were those 24 turnovers they were guilty of and the fact that GAC was able to cash in at the bank getting 26 points off of those turnovers. It just shows you how effective GAC's defensive schemes are and how much havoc they can wreak with their defense alone and that will win you games as it did on this night.
What a way for Kniefel to finish out her career at Lund Arena as her 20 points not only paced the Gusties in this win but led all scorers as well. Baranick was her usual steady, reliable self as she finished with 12 points. Kawiecki meanwhile had "only" five points but she grabbed eight rebounds on this night; six of them on the defensive end which were huge. Faber closed out her great Wartburg career as she paced the Knights attack with her 17 points.
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