Concordia vs Macalester 1-21-26

Concordia's size and depth helped them prevail on the road against a gamey Macalester team.

 Ran over to the St Paul side of town on this late Wednesday afternoon to Leonard Center on the campus of Macalester College to take in an important contest between visiting Concordia and host Macalester.  After getting tripped up by SMU a week and a half ago down in Winona, the Cobbers recovered nicely with a thrilling victory at home against GAC last Wednesday night and a romp over Augsburg three days later.  That, coupled with other games in the MIAC over the last week propelled Concordia into sole possession of first place in the MIAC.  It's been a much different story for the Scots meanwhile as they were coming into this contest in the throes of a nine-game losing streak and no conference victories but that certainly doesn't take away from the fact that this Macalester team always plays hard and has the ability to create some unique match-up problems with opponents and that was on full display on this night.  

The Cobbers would race out to a 7-2 advantage in the first minutes of the opening period as they were hoping to get some quick separation.  Senior point guard Taylor Safranski would start things off by burying a "3" from the left top area at the 9:42 mark and a score in the paint a bit later by strong sophomore forward Maya Metcalf at the 8:56 mark had Concordia up 5-0.  At the 7:56 mark, senior guard Taya Jeffrey would connect on a short jumper from the left side to bookmark this early push by the Cobbers.  Macalester, however, would crawl back to within a single possession when sophomore combo guard Cady Davis connected on a lay-up at the 6:57 mark but then the Scots found themselves in an even bigger hole as back-to-back three-point bombs by Concordia widened the gap even more.  Jeffrey would bury a bomb from the right corner at the 6:21 mark and a short time later, senior guard Molly Musland would bang home a trey from the left corner at the 5:49 mark to push the Cobber lead to 13-4 and Macalester first-year Head Coach AD Donovan felt compelled to take a match to a thirty-second timeout in order to make some quick adjustments.  To their credit, the Scots were able to narrow the gap a bit as one free throw by speedy junior guard Sydnee Smith after she was fouled with 3:29 left and a pretty one-handed floater in the lane by freshman reserve guard Faith Accardo with 2:49 left got the deficit down to six at 13-7.  With 2:15 left, sophomore reserve combo guard/forward Samantha Smith would connect on a lay-up that kept Macalester in that six-point range down 15-9.  With 1:14 left, Accardo would strike again by connecting on a short jumper in the lane that had the deficit down to four at 15-11.  Concordia would widen its gap again when Jeffrey connected on a jumper from the left top area with :52 left and it looked as if that six-point margin would hold after Macalester junior point guard Mary Daley was unable to get a pair of free throw attempts to cooperate after she was fouled with just :06.7 left but the Scots got a got a big break when Davis alertly snared the offensive rebound on the back-end miss and got a putback out of it with just :03.9 left that got the Scots back to within striking distance again by just four at 17-13 and was indicative of some of the frustrations that Concordia would have to endure on this night.  

Macalester would, in fact, draw to within a single possession when Sydnee Smith got one free throw to go down at the 9:21 mark of the second period before the Cobbers finally found their groove again and went on a 14-0 tear.  Metcalf would get this big run going with back-to-back three-point bombs from the right wing - one at the 8:58 mark and the other at the 8:08 mark - that restored the earlier nine-point advantage at 23-14 but Concordia was far from finished.  Safranski would snare an offensive rebound for a putback at the 7:16 mark and then slender junior guard Genevieve Gruba got into the act as she would get one free throw to go down after getting fouled at the 6:50 mark and would follow that up a bit later with a lay-up at the 6:11 mark that now had the Cobbers doubling-up its opponent by a 28-14 score and the Scots Donovan wasted little time in calling another thirty-second timeout in hopes of stopping the massive bleeding.  Still, Concordia was able to bookend this latest run when sophomore reserve guard Tatum Findley buried a "3" from the top of the key at the 5:20 mark to make it 31-14 before the Scots could start making dents in this cushion.  Daley would use a burst of speed to connect on a lay-up at the 5:06 mark and then Sydnee Smith would connect on a lay-up with 4:34 left that also drew a foul and her ensuing "and one" got the deficit down to twelve at 31-19.  A short time later, Sydnee Smith would strike again by connecting on a tough lay-up with 4:12 left that got the deficit down to ten at 31-21 and when junior guard Megan Matthews made a hard drive for a finish with 3:18 left that capped this unexpected 9-0 run by Macalester, the Cobbers saw a one-time seventeen point lead cut to just eight points in a short two-minute timespan.  Concordia would pad its cushion back to ten at 33-23 when lanky sophomore reserve forward Kaia Gack knocked down a short jumper off the glass with 3:03 left but then the Scots behind Daley's heroics made further inroads.  Daley; the Cumberland Rhode Island native, would use her quickness and speed to connect on back-to-back lay-ups - one with 2:07 left and again with 1:41 left - that suddenly had the deficit down to just six at 33-27 and Concordia Head Coach Kim Wagers; not liking at all at what was transpiring, called for a halt to the action to get her troops reorganized.  The Cobbers were initially able to right the ship somewhat as the steady and cool Jeffrey knocked down a jumper from the free throw line area with 1:10 left but Macalester was quick to answer as Sydnee Smith used her speed and quickness for a hard drive and finish with :42.1 left that got the deficit back down to six again at 35-29.  Concordia would try again as Metcalf connected on one of her trademark tough scores in the paint with :31.2 left but the Scots would get one more boost before this wild and weird first half was over as diminutive junior reserve guard Kendall Bernbaum drained a "3" from the left top area with just :03.2 left that not only cut the deficit down to five at 37-32 but gave Macalester a ton of hope that just maybe they could pull off one of the biggest upsets in the MIAC Women's Basketball season as well.  

The Cobbers went to work right away once the third period got underway to re-establish the safety net they enjoyed earlier although it wouldn't necessarily go smooth for them initially.  Metcalf would connect on a short turnaround jumper off the glass at the 9:29 mark but Macalester would come right back and get the deficit cut to five again as Matthews would connect on a lay-up a short time later at the 9:11 mark.  Concordia's Safranski would strike again from behind the arc as she drained a bomb from the right wing area at the 8:56 mark to make it a 42-34 ballgame but the Scots would get things tightened up again a short time later at the 8:28 mark when do-it-all Sydnee Smith used a burst of speed to connect on a lay-up that got the deficit down to six at 42-36.  Finally the Cobbers were able to launch a 7-0 push that gave them some long-awaited breathing room.  Metcalf would muscle into the paint for a score at the 8:17 mark and a bit later at the 7:27 mark, Jeffrey would bang home her second trey of this contest with a bomb from the left top area to make it a 47-36 game.  After a foiled Scot possession, Metcalf would get into the paint for another score at the 6:52 mark that now had Concordia up 49-36 and Macalester's Donovan had no choice but to take a thirty-second timeout to assess the damage done.  The Scots were able to recover somewhat as sophomore guard Emma Karlin would connect on a lay-up at the 6:25 mark and a bit later at the 5:12 mark, Karlin would unleash a three-point bomb from the right wing area that got the deficit cut to ten at 51-41.  The Cobbers would get their lead back to thirteen at 54-41 when junior reserve guard Alexa Snesrud connected on a lay-up with 4:48 left that also drew a foul that allowed the former Cloquet standout to cash in on the obligatory "and one".  With 2:35 left, Snesrud would strike again on a hard drive and finish that maintained the thirteen-point lead at 56-43 and a short time after that, freshman reserve guard Kaitlyn Rohloff would bury a "3" from the left top area with 2:05 left that increased Concordia's lead to fourteen at 59-45.  Macalester was able to get this deficit cut down a bit when Davis knocked down a short jumper in the lane with 1:38 left but down 59-47, the Scots were going to have to reach deep to get this one close again.

Concordia certainly seemed to be back on track once the fourth period got underway as they were able to slowly increase the lead in the early minutes.  Gruba would knock down a pair of free throws after getting fouled at the 9:41 mark to make it 61-47 and a short turnaround jumper by Metcalf at the 9:05 mark maintained the fourteen point edge at 63-49.  Jeffrey would soon thereafter connect on a lay-up at the 8:24 mark and two free throws by Metcalf after she was fouled at the 7:28 mark not only completed an 8-2 push by the Cobbers but also seemingly had them in great position to finally put a daisy on this game as well.  But this gamey, never-say-die Macalester team kept frustrating its opponent by making inroads on this deficit and never letting them feel completely "safe" either.  Daley would connect on a lay-up at the 6:40 mark and a "3" by Sydnee Smith from the right corner at the 6:14 mark got the deficit down to thirteen at 67-54.  At the 5:11 mark, Sydnee Smith was able to maneuver into the paint off of an inbounds pass for a score that closed the gap further at 67-56 and now Concordia was walking a bit of a tightrope here trying to preserve a double-digit lead and trying to maintain some aggressiveness on the offensive end as well with a ton of time left.  Metcalf was able to knock down a pair of free throws after getting fouled with 4:45 left that made it a 69-56 ballgame but the Scots would soon throw another scare into their opponent as Sydnee Smith buried a "3" from the right wing area with 3:23 left that had the deficit down to ten at 69-59 and had the home crowd inside Leonard Center going wild.  Concordia then had to dig in and attempt to restore order as Gack would slither into the paint for one score with 2:56 left and two free throws by Jeffrey after she was fouled with 2:26 left not only got the lead back to fourteen at 73-59 but now the Cobbers were in the bonus as well which would all but ensure triumph.  Sophomore reserve guard Peyton Briedenbach would pad the Concordia cushion even more after she got one free throw to go down after getting fouled with 1:59 left to make it 74-59.  Still, Macalester would attempt to throw one last scare into its opponent as Karlin would connect on a lay-up with 1:33 left and with 1:05 left, Accardo would drain a "3" from the right corner area that cut the deficit to twelve at 76-64.  Finally, the Cobbers were able to shut the door for good as pairs of free throws by reserve sophomore guard Brooklyn Christianson after she was fouled with :47.8 and with :35 left sealed the deal as Concordia got out of Dodge with a somewhat scary 80-64 victory.

I was able to meet up with both Concordia Assistant Coach Terry Porter and Wagers afterward.  I asked Porter about some of the unique match-up problems that Macalester can bring to the table.  "We had watched them and we knew that's what they were going to try and do" Porter said.  Porter also added that "It doesn't matter who you're playing in the MIAC.  You've got to be ready every night."  Wagers admitted afterward that despite winning by double digits, there were some frustrating moments on this night - undoubtedly when Macalester erased a double-digit lead in the second period.  And with a big game coming up at Bethel on Saturday, the Cobbers could ill-afford to look past this game either.  Regarding the upcoming game at Bethel on Saturday, Wagers admitted that they've got to do some things better.  "They turned us over a lot" she said referring to the 23 turnovers the Cobbers suffered in that game with Bethel in Moorhead back on November 25th. 

When you look at the box score of this game, you'll indeed see that there's some red flags for Concordia in this particular contest on this night.  While rebounds were relatively even, you'll see that Macalester had a whopping 46-34 advantage in points in the paint.  Why you ask?  Well, because Macalester did a good job in getting favorable one-on-one situations with their guards that allowed them to penetrate and finish in the paint and the Cobbers struggled with this all night long.  Considering the fact that SMU followed much of this same strategy back on Saturday 1-10 down in Winona and enjoyed a sizable 40-28 edge in points in the paint, this is a worrisome trend for the Cobbers who simply have to shore things up on the defensive end.  Another surprise was that both the Scots and the Cobbers had 13 "second chance" points and when you have a decided size advantage that Concordia has, this could be another cause for concern.  One more item that caught my eye on the box score is that the Cobbers shot only 15-22 from the charity stripe for 68.2% and for a team like Concordia that has free throw shooting as one of its hallmark strengths, that's another sore spot.  Inevitably, the Cobbers size and depth helped save the day as Concordia had a sizable 24-10 edge in bench points plus the fact that the Scots shot only 5-21 from downtown for 23.8% which simply wasn't going to be enough.   

What can you say about Concordia's Metcalf who is simply unstoppable at times on the offensive end and her two three-point bombs on this night shows she can score from anywhere on the floor and it's no surprise that her 22 points on this night not only paced the Cobbers but led all scorers as well and she just missed out on a "double-double" with her nine rebounds.  But I don't think enough gets said about the Cobbers' Jeffrey who has finally had an opportunity to blossom in the Cobber backcourt.  To me, she's the calming influence on this team and has the ability to come up with a clutch play or score when her team needs it and it's not surprising that she had a career-high of 16 points on this night.  And it was also a great night for Macalester's Sydnee Smith who just missed out on a "double-double" herself with 19 points and nine rebounds while both Daley and Davis finished with 10 points a piece.