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| Concordia's Maya Metcalf was simply dominant at times on this night as her 32 points helped the Cobbers pocket an important road win at St. Kate's that not only helps them keep a firm grip on first place in the MIAC but also helps solidify their high NPI ranking as well. |
Thankfully, rush hour traffic on this Wednesday evening wasn't nearly as bad as I had anticipated as I was able to make a reasonably swift trip over to the St Paul side of town to Butler Center on the campus of St. Catherine University for this important late-regular season contest between visiting Concordia and host St. Kate's. The Cobbers were coming into this game not only with a #22 national ranking but also with a solid hold on first place in the MIAC and a four-game win streak to boot. The Wildcats meanwhile have been enduring a roller coaster of a season with their share of injuries and the like although they were coming into this game having won four out of their last five games so they did have some momentum. I got settled into Butler Center in plenty of time that gave me an opportunity to watch both teams warm up and talk to some parents on both sides.
Both teams would manage to get on the board in the first minute of the opening period. Concordia would strike right off of the opening tip as strong sophomore forward Maya Metcalf would connect on a lay-up at the 9:51 mark but the 'Cats would come right back on their subsequent possession as junior forward Lily Peper knocked down a short jumper in the lane at the 9:31 mark to level this contest. But the Cobbers would get their lead to three when Metcalf drilled a "3" from the right wing area at the 7:31 mark and a score in the paint by junior forward Genevieve Gruba at the 6:46 mark maintained the three-point advantage at 7-4. St. Kate's then showed it plans to hang around as junior guard Hattie Fox would use a burst of speed to connect on a lay-up at the 6:22 mark that cut the deficit down to one at 7-6 and less than a minute later, sophomore guard Jordyn Peed would bury a "3" at the 5:38 mark that pushed the Wildcats out in front 9-7. That wouldn't last long, however, as Concordia would answer on a three-point bomb by junior reserve guard Alexa Snesrud from the top of the key with 4:54 left to make it a 10-9 game. Then the 'Cats would take the lead back when Peed made a hard drive into the lane for a finish with 2:51 left that had St. Kate's back up at 11-10. It was here though where the Cobbers were able to make their first mini-push of this contest. Lanky sophomore reserve forward Kaia Gack got one free throw to go down after getting fouled with 2:32 left and after a Wildcat turnover, Concordia's Snesrud would unleash her second trey of this game with a bomb from the right wing area with 2:20 left that had the Cobbers up 14-11. St. Kate's Head Coach Don Mulhern; immediately sensing danger, took a match to a thirty-second timeout but Concordia would push its lead to five at 16-11 with 1:30 left when Metcalf connected on a short jumper from the right side. The Wildcats would again close to within a single possession when freshman reserve post Beatrice Clayton muscled into the lane and got a short jumper off the glass to go down with 1:08 left that also drew a foul and her ensuing "and one" cut the deficit down to two at 16-14. Worse yet for the Cobbers is that senior point guard Taylor Safranski had to retreat to the pine with two fouls. But just a short time later, Concordia was enjoying a five-point edge again when freshman reserve point guard Kaitlyn Rohloff banged home a "3" from the left wing area with :46.2 left that made it 19-14. St. Kate's would again show its resilience as Fox would connect on a short shot off the glass with just :00.6 left that had the Wildcats back to within a single possession again down 19-16. So while Concordia thus far seemed to have the upper hand, St. Kate's was absorbing the blows without any serious after-effects so far.
When the Wildcats' Fox struck again at the 8:58 mark of the second period on a lay-up, St. Kate's definitely appeared to have something going again. But the Cobbers would quickly go back to work in hopes of restoring some separation. Junior reserve guard Olivia Hanson would bury a "3" from the right corner area at the 8:34 mark and then a routine score in the paint by Metcalf a short time later at the 8:01 mark gave Concordia its largest lead yet at 24-18. Again, a resilient Wildcats team responded. Sophomore guard Kate Flicek would get a pair of free throws to go down after getting fouled at the 7:30 mark and a short time later at the 6:51 mark, Peed would unleash a three-point bomb from the left wing area that had the deficit down to one at 24-23. Less than a minute later, Peed would cap this unexpected 7-0 push with a lay-up in transition after a steal that had St. Kate's back in front 25-24. But there was no panic from the Cobbers - only a swift response as Safranski; riding those two fouls, would drain a cold-blooded "3" from the right top area at the 6:00 mark to put Concordia back out in front at 27-25 and after a bit of a dry spell by both sides, the Cobbers got their lead to four at 29-25 when junior reserve post Maci Wheeldon snared an offensive rebound for a putback with 3:53 left. A jumper from the free throw line area by Safranski with 3:14 left maintained the four-point edge at 31-27 as would two free throws by Metcalf after she was fouled with 2:31 left that had Concordia up 33-29. But the 'Cats would soon counter as Peper would bang home a "3" from the left corner area with 2:10 left that shrunk the deficit to one at 33-32. Likewise, the Cobbers would come right back as Metcalf; enroute to a sensational outing on this night, buried a "3" from the left top area with 1:59 left that restored the earlier four-point edge at 36-32. But Concordia would again see this lead shrink as the Wildcats went on a late offensive. Slender sophomore forward Elle Covey would maneuver into the paint for a score with 1:35 left that pulled St. Kate's back to within a single possession down 36-34 and a short time later, Flicek would connect on a lay-up with :59.6 left that also drew a foul and her ensuing "and one" pushed the 'Cats ahead at 37-36. Concordia was able to get a bit of a reprieve when Gruba got one free throw to go down after getting fouled with :41.9 left that leveled the game at 37 but it was a mixed bag for the Cobbers so far as even though they held the upper hand for most of the contest, they didn't have much to show for it and their opponent had arguably dictated the tempo of the game with their up-tempo. And for St. Kate's, even though they had found themselves facing a deficit for most of the first half, they were showing their resiliency thus far and they had to feel good about being on even terms on the scoreboard at the halftime break.
Undoubtedly, after the way things went for Concordia in the first half, Head Coach Kim Wagers and her staff likely felt that the Cobbers had to make a statement once the third period got underway and that's exactly what they did as they unleashed an 8-2 push out of the gates. Senior sharp-shooting guard Molly Musland started this run off by burying a "3" from the left top area at the 8:59 mark and less than a minute later, fellow senior guard Taya Jeffrey; who had suffered a minor ankle injury in the first half, followed suit with a three-point bomb of her own from the right wing area at the 8:19 mark that had the Cobbers up by four at 43-39. Then Metcalf would strike at the 7:35 mark on a lay-up that got the lead to six at at 45-39 and St. Kate's Mulhern; not at all liking at what was transpiring, took a match to a timeout to get his squad calmed down. To their credit, the Wildcats were able to get the deficit trimmed down to four as a short jumper from the right side by Peper at the 7:15 mark kept St. Kate's within striking distance down 45-41 and a jumper from the left elbow area by Covey at the 6:44 mark kept the 'Cats in that four-point range down 47-43. But back-to-back scores by Concordia gave them their largest lead yet. Musland would use a burst of speed to connect on a lay-up at the 5:57 mark and a short time later, Metcalf would knock down a pair of free throws after getting fouled at the 5:38 mark that upped the Cobber lead to eight at 51-43. But St. Kate's would again refuse to cave as Peper; the former Roseville standout, came up big for her team with back-to-back three-point bombs - one from the top of the key at the 5:20 mark and the other from the right wing area with 4:54 left - that suddenly had the Wildcats back to within a single possession down 51-49. Concordia would again turn to Metcalf for relief and she would be quick to respond as she would bury yet another cold-blooded three-point bomb - this one from the left wing area with 4:34 left - that gave the Cobbers a bit more breathing room with a 54-49 advantage. But Concordia was still finding it difficult to shake its opponent as St. Kate's again battled back. Flicek would slither into the paint for one score with 4:14 left and one free throw by Fox after she was fouled with 3:29 left cut the Cobber lead to just two at 54-52 and Concordia's Wagers felt compelled to call a thirty-second timeout to make some quick adjustments. That short stoppage in play proved to be just what the Cobbers needed as they closed out this third period on an 8-3 push. Hanson would get fouled with 2:37 left just as the shot clock was expiring and her two free throws upped Concordia's lead to four at 56-52 and then Metcalf would unleash more terror behind the arc with a bomb from the left top area that now had the Cobbers up by seven at 59-52. One free throw by Gruba after she was fouled with :48.1 left got the lead to eight at 60-52. The Wildcats' Fox would counter with a three-point bomb from the left top area with :13.2 left but with just :00.2 left, Concordia's Gruba would get sent to the charity stripe again and she would knock down both free throw attempts as the Cobbers now had some breathing room to work with and consolidate as well with a 62-55 advantage.
But Concordia also knew full and well that they were not out of the woods yet with a seven-point lead - particularly the way this game had been going and they went to work to get more separation once the fourth period got underway. Metcalf, who was already enjoying a fantastic outing, helped the Cobbers establish their first double-digit lead of this contest as she would first snare an offensive rebound for a putback at the 9:43 mark and then follow that up with a pair of free throws after getting fouled at the 9:12 mark to give Concordia a 66-55 advantage. St. Kate's would get back into single-digit range when Fox used a burst of speed to connect on a lay-up at the 8:14 mark but then the Cobbers would respond with back-to-back scores again. Jeffrey would use her deft touch to connect on a tough jumper from the free throw line area at the 7:49 mark and two more freebies by Metcalf after she was fouled a short time later at the 7:19 mark now had Concordia up 70-57. The Cobbers would then not only push their lead to 71-57 when Gruba got one free throw to go down after getting fouled at the 6:12 mark but now Concordia was in the bonus the rest of the way as well which arguably helped pave the way to ultimate victory for them on this night. The Cobbers would maintain this fourteen-point edge when Gack connected on a jumper along the left baseline off of an inbounds pass with 3:46 left to make it a 73-59 game before the 'Cats could make one last foray back into this game. Fox would connect on a lay-up with 3:27 left and then Peed would get a three-point play the old-fashioned way as she would connect on a short jumper in the lane that also drew a foul and her ensuing "and one" had St. Kate's back in single-digit range down 73-64. Concordia's Wagers would take a thirty-second timeout at this point to set up late-game strategy to protect this lead and although the Wildcats' Fox would get her team closer when she knocked down a pair of free throws after getting fouled with 2:03 left, the Cobbers were quick to rebuild the double-digit cushion as Jeffrey would uncork a three-point bomb from the right corner area with 1:45 left to make it 76-66. Not content with going quietly into the night, St. Kate's would try again as Peper unleashed a three-point bomb of her own from the right corner area with 1:10 left that had the deficit cut down to seven at 76-69 and the Wildcats' Mulhern would take a timeout in hopes of dialing up a miracle. But this time Concordia would rebuff any last-gasp attempt by its opponent as it sealed the deal on two late scores - one on a three-point bomb by Musland from the left top area with :44.8 left and the other on a lay-up by Gruba with :07.8 left. St. Kate's did add to its total as Fox would knock down a pair of free throws after getting fouled with :01.1 left but it wouldn't be nearly enough as the Cobbers pocketed an important 81-71 road dub.
In looking back on this one, the two things that stood out to me were (1) how the Cobbers started the third period with a statement push and (2) how their depth eventually wore down St. Kate's; particularly in the fourth period when Concordia was finally able to establish a double-digit advantage. The Cobbers' Wagers and her two assistants - Kenyon Wingenbach and Terry Porter - agreed with me on those views. That and plus the fact that Concordia's Metcalf was simply unstoppable on this night at times. She's just one of those rare types of players who have that takeover ability in a game and its clear that she possesses that trait. I think it goes without saying that this is going to be huge for the Cobbers as they inch toward the MIAC Playoffs and an almost certain appearance in the Big Dance as well. When I got to speak with St. Kate's Mulhern afterward, he was quick to agree with my assessments as well although he again lamented the fact that he has had to operate this season without a true point guard running the show and obviously that'll be one of his big priorities in the offseason recruiting trail. "We've kind of had to do it by committee this season" he added. But give this Wildcat team credit - they've made the best of a not-so-great situation and they have had some success this season. Because of their playing style and the way they come at you with their up-tempo game, they can pose unique matchup problems for opponents and given how St. Kate's has been a royal pain in the side for Concordia over the last few seasons - particularly at Butler Center - you can bet that the Cobbers' Wagers and her staff were not taking any chances this time around.
It's kind of weird when you look at the final box score on this one because the Wildcats did indeed do some things reasonably well on this night. You would have thought going in that Concordia would have enjoyed a significant advantage on the boards but that wasn't the case on this night as the rebounding department was pretty even. Now, Concordia had only eight turnovers on this night which is pretty good but the Wildcats made the most of it by getting 13 points off of Cobber boo-boos. The real shocker to me comes when you see that St. Kate's had a decided edge in points in the paint at 36-22 which I would never have expected. And you certainly can't fault the Wildcats free throw shooting on this night where they went 10-11 for 90.9% which is pretty damn good, IMHO. But inevitably where you see things falling apart for St. Kate's was the Concordia enjoyed an 18-12 edge in those all-important "second chance" points and they had a whopping 19-7 advantage in bench points (the depth factor). Plus you'll see how the Wildcats shooting fell off considerably in the fourth period (5-14 from FG range for 35.71% and 1-4 from downtown for 25%). The only fly in the ointment I see from the Cobbers on this night was the free throw shooting which in my view is becoming more and more of an issue. They finished going 16-22 from the charity stripe for 72.7% which isn't terrible but again, with a team that has always had free throw shooting as one of its hallmark strengths, this is something that is becoming more and more of a concern.
In getting back to Concordia's Metcalf, my goodness, she just did it all on this night as her 32 points easily led all scorers and she just missed out on a "double double" with nine rebounds. And it wasn't like Metcalf didn't get any help on this night - she did (Gruba with nine points and both Jeffrey and Musland with eight a piece) but this performance tonight easily demonstrates how dominant she can be at times. The impressive thing about St. Kate's on this night is that everyone stepped up this night in a big way simply because they had to. Fox's 18 points led the way for the Wildcats and Peper wasn't far behind with her 16 points. Peed was solid again with her 15 points and Flicek had a good outing as well as she finished with 11 points.
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