St. Olaf vs Bethel 1-8-22

 Made the short run over to Arden Hills on this overcast but considerably much nicer early January Saturday afternoon to get into Robertson Center on the campus of Bethel University as host Bethel was getting set to take on visiting St. Olaf.  After a rocky start with so many different players out with a variety of ailments, the Royals struggled mightily from the start.  In December, however, Bethel finally started getting things turned around and was coming into this game with four straight victories under their belt.  Meanwhile, the Oles have been in a tailspin as of late as they've been riding a four-game losing streak coming into this contest on this day and, to make matters worse, St. Olaf would be without their leading scorer today in junior forward Rachel Kelly who did not make the trip up to the Twin Cities for this game.  

Somewhat predictably, Bethel would quickly gain the upper hand once this contest got underway; building a 7-2 lead early on in the opening period.  Freshman forward Hayden Glander would start things off with an offensive rebound and putback at the 9:16 mark and a crafty steal by fifth-year senior forward Makenna Pearson of an Ole inbounds pass and subsequent lay-up at the 8:34 mark followed by sophomore guard Anna Garfield's lay-up at the 8:03 mark that drew a foul that resulted in the obligatory "and one" had the Royals looking good.  Surprisingly, however, St. Olaf would come right back and take a one-point lead on two three-point bombs - one by senior guard K'Lynn Lewis from the right wing area at the 7:43 mark and another one by freshman guard Sarah Tangen at the 7:01 mark from the same right wing area - pushed the Oles out in front 8-7.  That was probably the lone bright moment in an otherwise dreadful day for St. Olaf as the Royals quickly answered with a 14-0 run to put them back out in front for good.  Freshman guard and former Becker standout Courtney Nuest would start this run with her offensive rebound and putback at the 6:46 mark and a Pearson lay-up in transition at the 6:17 mark had Bethel up 11-8.  A bit later, Pearson would strike again at the 5:55 mark with a lay-up that drew a foul and the former Blaine standout's "and one" made it 14-8.  Garfield would connect with a short shot off the glass at the 5:14 mark and when freshman reserve guard Kendal Cox connected with a lay-up with 4:51 left to make it 18-8, St. Olaf Head Coach Kelly Mahlum had seen enough to know that a full timeout was warranted in hopes of finding some solution to the Bethel defense that was causing so many problems for her squad.  Still, the Royals would finish up this first major run as junior reserve forward Emma Schultz would knock down one freebie after getting fouled with 4:12 left and Pearson would connect with a lay-up off of an inbounds pass with 2:52 left to make it 21-8 before the Oles finally found some semblance of offense.  Tangen would connect with a lay-up with 2:21 left and Lewis would make a hard drive for a pretty finish with 1:56 left but Bethel would land two more blows before this first period went into the books.  Glander would bang home a "3" from the left top area with :43.6 left and with just :00.3 left, Pearson would get sent to the charity stripe after she was fouled behind the arc and knocked down all three free throws as Bethel carried a 29-12 lead going into the second period.

A quick 7-0 spurt by the Royals widened this gap even more once the second period got underway.  Glander would score in the paint at the 9:15 mark and Pearson would uncork a "3" from the top of the key at the 8:45 mark to make it 34-12.  Less than a minute later, Pearson would strike again; knocking down a short jumper from the right side in transition to make it 36-12 and once again St. Olaf's Mahlum had to take a match to a timeout to try and slow down this Bethel onslaught.  To their credit, the Oles were able to respond as Lewis made a nifty drive for a finish off the glass at the 7:51 mark and junior reserve forward Sarah Howdeshell snared an offensive rebound for a putback at the 6:36 mark.  Lewis would connect with a short jumper in the lane at the 5:08 mark and would also snare an offensive rebound for a putback with 4:31 left.  Freshman forward Sophia Kormann would add a pair of free throws after getting fouled with 3:00 left as well but the trouble was, they just weren't getting enough of these opportunities that might've reasonably closed the gap some.  And Bethel's defense had a lot to do with that and they showed no signs of slowing up either.  Holding a 42-22 lead, the Royals went back to work as Nuest would connect with a short, one-handed shot in the lane with 2:48 left and one free throw by Garfield with 2:27 left pushed the lead to 45-22.  Just before the halftime break, Nuest would strike twice - first, snaring a steal and dashing the other way for a lay-up with 1:04 left and also getting a score in the paint with :24 left as Bethel took a sizable 49-23 lead into the locker room at intermission.  A quick glance of the first half box score tells you pretty much everything you need to know on the how/what/why of this game up to this point.  The Oles committed 15 turnovers to the Royals six and Bethel had 13 steals to just two for St. Olaf.  Going 9-28 from FG range as St. Olaf did in the first half along with just 3-9 from the charity stripe didn't help their cause either.  Compare that with Bethel's 18-39 from FG range for 46.2% and and 11-13 from the free throw stripe for 84.6%.  

And in case anyone thought that the Royals didn't mean business in this one, that notion was quickly put to rest once the third period got going as Bethel launched a 12-2 run.  Nuest would start it off with a lay-up in transition at the 9:26 mark and the former Becker standout would add another lay-up at the 9:05 mark to make it a thirty-point cushion at 53-23.  Glander would get a score in the paint at the 8:27 mark and then Pearson would heat up from behind the arc - dropping one three-point bomb from the right corner at the 7:32 mark and banging home another "3" from the right top area at the 7:04 mark - that would up the Royals lead to 61-25.  The answers from St. Olaf were coming too few and far between although Lewis; enroute to a solid afternoon on this day, would connect with a lay-up at the 6:43 mark as would Howdeshell at the 5:16 mark.  But already down 65-29, the Oles were going to need a lot more than that and it just wasn't happening on this day.  Bethel's Cox would knock down a short jumper with 4:55 left and a Nuest "3" from the right wing area with 4:28 left made it 70-29 and a Nuest lay-up in transition with 2:57 left pushed the lead to 72-29.  Junior reserve forward Emma Schultz would get a score in the paint with 2:11 left as would Glander with 1:42 left to make it 76-33.  Freshman reserve guard/forward Lauren Johnson would be fouled with 1:14 left and would get the first free throw attempt to cooperate but the back-end attempt missed its mark.  No big deal for the Royals as Glander would be there for the offensive rebound and putback to push the lead to 79-33.  Fifth year senior guard Bella Williams would connect with a lay-up in transition with :46 left and Garfield's lay-up with just :10 left gave Bethel an insurmountable fifty-point cushion up 83-33 going into the fourth period.

The Royals showed no signs of letting their collective foot off the gas pedal anytime soon once the fourth period got under way going on an 8-2 push.  Glander would get a score in the paint off of an inbounds pass with 9:33 left and Pearson would snare an offensive rebound of her own miss for a putback at the 9:00 mark to make it 87-33.  Nuest would add a lay-up in transition at the 7:50 mark as would Glander at the 7:16 mark to make it 91-35 before St. Olaf's Lewis would drain a "3" at the 6:31 mark to make a dent in this already mountain of a deficit.  Lewis would uncork another "3" from the left wing area at the 5:32 mark and Tangen's drive and finish with 4:57 left helped make a few more dents but nothing was stopping this Bethel Royal steamroller on this day as they put the finishing touches on this one down the stretch.  Cox would make a pretty drive and finish with 4:34 left and two free throws by junior reserve guard Lindsey Tschetter with 3:37 left along with a Tschetter jumper from the left wing area with 2:57 left got the Royals to the century mark with a 100-43 lead.  Freshman reserve forward Jenny Wibholm got into the paint for a score with 1:12 left and although St. Olaf's Tangen would get the last points on this afternoon with her jumper from the right wing area with :11.7 left, Bethel would get the blowout victory by a final count of 102-47.  

I was able to catch up with Bethel Head Coach Jon Herbrechtsmeyer afterward and although this game was more or less a forgone conclusion, I asked him about what getting this victory today meant for this team going forward.  He was very pleased with his team's defensive effort on this day and added "We finally look like we're playing Bethel basketball."  He added that they've been able to get things turned around with the consistency on defense and getting some of their injured players - notably Garfield - back but he has had some of his younger players step up for him as well (personally, I think Nuest has made huge strides as a freshman and adjusting to a new system - not an easy thing for a first-year player to do) and he really likes how Cox is coming along as well.  "She's a very crafty left-handed player and she's going to be a very good defender as well" added Herbrechtsmeyer.  To be sure, Bethel is still without junior guard Kat Brown-Erdal and freshman guard Autumn Earney and although Herbrechtsmeyer wouldn't delve into specifics, getting them back - whenever that is - will be huge.  Although only sporting a 6-5 overall record right now and 5-3 in the MIAC, it's becoming clearer and clearer that the Royals will undoubtedly be a factor in the conference race if they can keep performing at a high level as they did today.  Balance would be the key word when you look at the final box score on this one for Bethel.  Pearson's 25 points led all scorers on this day and Glander wasn't behind with her 21 points.  Nuest tallied 19 points and Garfield finished with 12 points.  Despite the lopsided loss, St. Olaf's Lewis had a solid day with her 19 points and Tangen finished with 11 points.  Undoubtedly, St. Olaf's Mahlum might need a couple of Tylenol PMs on this Saturday night as her squad was guilty of 30 turnovers on this afternoon which led to 34 points for Bethel.  The Royals also enjoyed a whopping 66-24 advantage in points in the paint and although the rebounding margin wasn't that big of a factor on this day with Bethel holding a 35-28 advantage, the Royals did enjoy a 33-4 edge in fast break points.       

Sioux Falls vs Concordia St Paul 12-18-21

 Made my way over to the St Paul side of town on this cold December Saturday night to Gangelhoff Center on the campus of Concordia St Paul University to take in a crucial mid-season clash between visiting Sioux Falls and host Concordia St Paul in my first DII coverage of this 2021-22 season.  Both teams were coming off emotionally tough games from the night before that saw the Golden Bears record a tough home win against Southwest Minnesota St while the Cougars saw a late rally fall short in a tough loss at Minnesota St down in Mankato.  Both teams were coming in with very solid records and both were still in the thick of things in the NSIC South Division so it would be interesting to see how both teams would recover from an emotionally draining contest the night before and get focused for the task ahead.  

Things would be tight early on in this contest and although the Cougars would draw first blood on a lay-up off of an inbounds pass at the 9:54 mark of the first period, Concordia St Paul would soon have things knotted up at two when slender junior point guard and former Park Center standout Meghan DuBois connected with a lay-up in transition at the 9:07 mark.  The Golden Bears would forge ahead when freshman forward Lindsey Becher got into the paint for a score off of an inbounds pass at the 8:20 mark but right back came Sioux Falls as freshman guard Megan Fannin connected with a lay-up at the 8:05 mark.  Concordia St Paul's Becher would again slither into the paint for another score at the 7:48 mark to make it a 6-4 ballgame but right back came the Cougars as junior guard Dallie Hoskinson snared an offensive rebound for a putback at the 7:31 mark.  The Golden Bears did get some more breathing room thanks to DuBois as she would make a hard drive for a pretty finish at the 6:20 mark and then craftily snare a steal and dash the other way for a lay-up at the 5:26 mark that had Concordia St Paul up 10-6.  Right back came the gang from Sioux Falls, however, as junior reserve forward Kiara James connected with a short, turnaround jumper at the 5:06 mark to close the gap to two points and with 3:24 left, Fannin would bang home a "3" from the right wing area to push the Cougars back out in front 11-10.  Sioux Falls would increase that lead to 12-10 when freshman guard Brecli Honner got one free throw attempt to go down after she was fouled with 2:45 left.  The Golden Bears would soon get things knotted again as sophomore guard Jadyn Hanson knocked down a short, turnaround jumper with 2:25 left and although Sioux Falls' Fannin would push her squad ahead one more time with 2:03 left on her jumper from the right wing area, Concordia St Paul would get this thing leveled at 14 a piece when Hanson connected with a lay-up in transition with :57 left so off we went to the second period with seemingly neither side willing to give an inch. 

While it seemed like this would be a relatively even contest considering how the first period went, things would slowly start going south for the Cougars once the second period got underway as Concordia St Paul made its first significant push.  Junior forward Sydney (I can't say her last name) Zgutowicz started this Golden Bear assault when she drained a "3" from the top of the key at the 9:46 mark and although Sioux Falls would answer this particular call with a three-point bomb from freshman reserve guard Madison Wuebben from the right wing area at the 9:20 mark, Concordia St Paul had more tricks in their pocket.  DuBois would go coast-to-coast for a lay-up that drew a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" pushed the Golden Bears ahead at 20-17 at the 8:17 mark.  Junior reserve guard Sydney Schultz would connect with a lay-up in transition at the 6:43 mark that would grow the lead to 22-17 and Cougars Head Coach Travis Traphagen; perhaps sensing the first sign of danger, called a timeout to get his troops reset.  That stoppage in play initially seemed to pay dividends as Sioux Falls' Honner would connect with a short, turnaround jumper in the lane at the 6:03 mark to get the Cougars back to within a single possession down 22-19.  It was here, however, that Concordia St Paul embarked on a key 10-0 run that changed the course of this game for good.  Zgutowicz would uncork another three-point bomb from the top of the key at the 5:39 mark and one Becher freebie after she was fouled with 4:54 left made it a 26-19 game.  Then DuBois would unleash more terror from three-point land with her bomb from the right top area with 3:43 left that gave the Golden Bears a ten-point cushion at 29-19.  One free throw by freshman reserve forward and former Becker standout Megan Gamble after she was fouled with 3:12 left and two more by Zgutowicz with 2:35 left made it 32-19 before Sioux Falls finally broke its dry spell on an offensive rebound and putback by freshman reserve guard Sydney White with 2:21 left.  Still, the damage had been done and given how the Cougars had missed a fair share of easy lay-ups and "bunnies" during this critical stretch, it seemed unlikely by this point that they'd be able to make up for that.  The Golden Bears would only add more problems down the stretch as Zgutowicz made a hard drive for a finish with 1:52 left and two free throws by Hanson after she was fouled with :21.1 left allowed Concordia St Paul to take a sizable 36-22 lead into the locker room at the half.  Just to give you an idea of how badly the the Cougars faltered in the second period alone, they shot 3-17 from FG range for 17.65% and were only 1-5 from downtown for 20% and you don't have to be a coach to know that that won't get the job done. 

Sioux Falls did draw first blood early on in the third period as senior forward Krystal Carlson connected with a lay-up at the 9:48 mark but then the Golden Bears applied more pain with a 10-2 run.  Senior guard Riley Wheatcraft would drain a "3" from the left wing area at the 8:45 mark to make it 39-24 and then Becher would connect with a lay-up off of an inbounds pass and would also draw a foul in the process and her obligatory free throw push the lead to 42-24.  Two more free throws by Zgutowicz at the 7:38 mark got the lead to twenty at 44-24 and a Becher lay-up at the 5:59 mark maintained the twenty-point cushion to cap this latest run and make it a 46-26 ballgame.  Perhaps the only disconcerting moment for Concordia St Paul up to this point would come with 3:43 left when Wheatcraft took an inadvertent elbow to the face and had to come out of the game.  Zgutowicz would promptly drop two free throws in her place and then Zgutowicz would bang home another trey - this one coming from the right wing area with 3:32 left to make it 51-27.  The Cougars Wuebben would finally offer some relief for her team with her own "3" from the right wing area with 3:05 left but two free throws by Golden Bear DuBois with 2:58 left had Concordia St Paul up 53-30.  It was here that Sioux Falls finally found a spark of sorts and it was led by none other than reserve graduate senior guard and former Golden Bear and Park Center standout Danielle Schaub who transferred to Sioux Falls this last summer.  She would first get one free throw to go down after getting fouled with 1:54 left and two more by James with 1:29 left had the deficit back down to twenty at 53-33.  Then with just :58.9 left, Schaub would race from coast-to-coast for a lay-up and a lay-up in transition by freshman guard Olivia Gamoke with :24.6 left suddenly had the deficit down to sixteen at 53-37 and offered a ray of hope for the Sioux Falls contingent.  

But any hopes that the Cougars and their faithful fans had died quickly once the 4th period got underway as Concordia St Paul wasted little time by launching a 9-1 run that put this one out of reach for good.  Schultz would start this run by knocking down a pair of freebies after getting fouled at the 9:33 mark and Hanson would follow that up with a pretty drive and finish off of an inbounds pass at the 8:50 mark to make it 57-30.  Then DuBois would unleash a dagger "3" from the right wing area at the 7:40 mark.  Two more Hanson charity stripe shots at the 7:01 mark completed this run that made it 62-38 and from that point it was pretty much academic.  Still, Sioux Falls' Schaub would fight valiantly until the end in this one as she basically put the Cougar team under her wing.  She would first connect with a lay-up at the 6:44 mark and a short turnaround jumper by James at the 6:04 mark had the deficit down to twenty-one at 63-42.  At the 5:24 mark, Schaub would get fouled in a transition opportunity and both free throw attempts were true.  With 4:37 left, Schaub would rely on her three-point prowess to nail a bomb from the left wing area that had the deficit down to sixteen at 63-47.  Unfortunately for the Cougars, Schaub's heroics would not be enough on this night as Concordia St Paul would apply the finishing touches on this game.  Becher would get one free throw to go down after getting fouled with 4:12 left and redshirt freshman reserve guard Alyssa Daugherty would drain a "3" from the right wing area with 3:52 left that got the Golden Bears safety net back up to twenty at 67-47.  Wheatcraft, seemingly recovered from any ill effects she may have felt from that inadvertent elbow back in the third period, made a pretty drive and finish as the shot clock expired with 2:22 left and Gamble would apply the coup de grace in this one with her offensive rebound and putback with :55.3 seconds left as Concordia St Paul recorded a 71-51 victory to head into the Christmas break on a high note.

When I finally got to glance at the final box score on this game, it was really puzzling because I normally look for things such as rebound totals, turnovers, "second-chance" points, points in the paint and that kind of stuff.  But you look at this one and none of these items hold any water with how this one turned out at all.  Consider:  Sioux Falls outrebounded Concordia St Paul by a 37-35 count.  And the Golden Bears had a slim advantage in points in the paint by a 28-26 count.  And the Cougars had a 10-7 advantage in "second-chance" points.  Even more striking to me was that Sioux Falls had a 30-10 advantage in bench points (thanks in large part to Schaub's heroics which I'll speak more of in just a bit.  I think, inevitably anyway, you have to look at points off turnovers where the Golden Bears had an 11-6 advantage but, just as important, you also have to compare the actual shooting numbers as well.  Here, we saw Sioux Falls finish by going 18-58 from FG range for 31% and only 4-15 from downtown for 26.7%.  That isn't even close enough to getting it done - especially on the road.  Free throw shooting could have been better for Sioux Falls as well (not that it would have made a difference in this one but still.....) going 11-16 for 68.8%.  Concordia St Paul was 22-49 for 44.9% and 7-14 from three-point land for a straight 50%.  Free throw shooting was solid - 20-24 for 83.3%.  You can win games shooting from the charity stripe like that.  

And it was a very balanced attack for Concordia St Paul on this night with both DuBois and Zgutowicz tallying 17 points to lead all scorers while Hanson and Becher both finished with 11 points.  You put that kind of balanced attack with the numbers above and that's a recipe for winning basketball.  Meanwhile, Schaub's 10 points on this night led the way for Sioux Falls with Fannin's seven points being the only one to come close to her.  I just want to say something about Danielle Schaub as this Saturday night contest might very well be the last time I ever get to cover her in action.  I've watched this young woman grow up from a young bench player at Park Center behind older sisters Nicole and Hannah but she never had to worry about playing in their shadows.  She was able to carve her own niche at Park Center and who can ever forget that Saturday night at the Barn in the Class AAA State Championship Game in 2014 when her, DuBois and Ann Simonet (of UM-Duluth) had to rescue the Pirates from what appeared to be almost certain defeat into an unforgettable overtime victory over Marshall.  That's still the best damn game I've EVER seen and it's difficult to imagine something topping that.  She's worked awfully hard at her game and she may not be the biggest player out there but her heart is unmatched.  She had a solid career at Concordia St Paul as well and was able to find greener pastures out at Sioux Falls and she's making the most of this season while she can.  I'm incredibly lucky to be able to call her a friend and what she was able to do on this night for her Cougars team; even when the game was pretty much already decided, shows what a fierce competitor she really is no matter what the situation and if Traphagen and his staff haven't figured this out already, they bloody well better pretty damn soon.  

GAC vs St. Kate's 12-11-21

 Winter Storm Atticus had dropped 5-6" of new snow in my neck of the woods on Friday afternoon/evening but by daylight, the roads were fine and I made my way over to the St Paul side of town and Butler Center on the campus of St. Catherine's University University for this important early-season match-up between host St. Kate's and visiting GAC.  The Wildcats had won three of their last four games; including a 71-55 home win against Carleton on Wednesday night.  The Gusties meanwhile were coming into this contest with a so-so 5-2 record; and, more importantly, on the heels of a loss at Augsburg on Wednesday night where they got off to a horrible start that found them down 23-8 at the half.  Obviously, GAC could ill-afford another slow start in this contest like they had a few nights ago over at Si Melby Hall if they wanted to get their ship sailing straight again.  

Both teams would trade lay-ups in the early going of this opening period.  Slender sophomore guard Emma Kniefel slithered through traffic for one for the Gusties at the 9:12 mark and senior forward Sam Orth would do likewise for the 'Cats at the 8:56 mark.  Former Maple Grove standout and freshman point guard Kylie Baranick would then strike from downtown from the left wing area at the 8:37 mark for GAC to put the Black & Gold up 5-2 but right back came St. Kate's junior forward Bree Glynn connected with a jumper along the right baseline at the 8:14 mark that slimmed the deficit down to one at 5-4.  Two lay-ups by Glynn; the former Totino-Grace standout - one at the 7:09 mark and another at the 6:06 mark - had this contest knotted at eight a piece but then the Gusties were finally able to open a little breathing space as freshman reserve forward/post Morgan Kelly would connect with a lay-up in transition at the 5:24 mark and then junior guard Anna Sanders would drain a "3" from the right wing area with 3:55 left that now had GAC up 13-8 and Wildcat's Head Coach Don Mulhern opted to take a thirty-second timeout to try and make some quick adjustments.  St. Kate's would seem to have some new life when sophomore reserve guard Karis Zezza banged home a "3" from the right wing area with 3:33 left but that was quickly answered by the Gusties when Sanders again found her touch from downtown - this time from the left corner with 3:14 left to make it 16-11.  Still, the 'Cats would get back to within a single possession again when senior post Katie Benjamin got into the paint for one score with 2:36 left but the Gusties would widen the lead once more with a jumper from the free throw line by strong senior forward Grace Benz with 1:42 left along with one charity stripe shot by freshman forward Rachel Kawiecki with 1:17 left.  Both teams would miss out on opportunities in the final minute so off we went to the second period with GAC holding a rather uncertain 19-13 advantage.  

The Gusties grabbed their largest lead of the day thus far early on in the second period when Morgan Kelly connected with a short, turnaround jumper along the left baseline at the 9:45 mark to make it a 21-13 game.  Two free throws by Benz at the 7:46 mark after she was fouled and an offensive rebound and putback by Kawiecki at the 5:58 mark maintained that eight-point edge at 25-17.  At the 5:02 mark, things really seemed to be going GAC's way when sophomore reserve guard Syd Hauger uncorked a three-point bomb from the right wing area to give the Gusties a ten-point lead at 27-17.  GAC would continue controlling the tempo and with 3:30 left, Kniefel, with the incredibly quick first step that she has, made a hard drive for a lay-up to maintain the ten-point edge at 29-19 and although the Wildcats would get a reprieve when freshman reserve forward Greta Schimnowksi drained a "3" from the right corner with 2:47 left, GAC's Baranick would continue her heroics with another three-point bomb from the right corner that put the Gusties back up by ten again at 32-22.  But never count St. Kate's out when they're down and Mulhern's squad showed again how dangerous they can be as they unleashed a 7-0 run to end this second period.  Freshman reserve forward Sydney Elliot would drill a "3" from the left corner with 1:48 left and then senior guard Brooke Torvik would connect with a lay-up with :42 left that had the deficit down to five at 32-27.  The Gusties had a chance to widen their lead with :31.4 left when Hauger was fouled but the Springfield native was unable to get either free throw attempt to go down.  That effectively opened the door for the 'Cats and with just :02 left, Torvik would strike again on a lay-up off of an inbounds pass that now had St. Kate's going into the locker room back to within a single possession down just 32-29 and feeling much better about themselves than they had just a few minutes before.   

GAC Head Coach Laurie Kelly decided to switch things up a bit on the defensive end coming out of the halftime break by having the Gusties employ a 1-2-2 zone defense which, in theory anyway, would take away what the Wildcats like to do best - the dribble and drive.  But that strategy backfired as St. Kate's came out with renewed energy and focus and went right to work.  Orth would first muscle into the paint for one score at the 9:27 mark that cut the deficit down to one point and then Torvik; the graduate senior who played her high school ball at Sauk Rapids-Rice, casually drained a three-point bomb from the top of the key at the 9:02 that suddenly propelled the Wildcats out in front by a 34-32 count and GAC's Laurie Kelly, not taking any chances of another Augsburg-like letdown, quickly called a timeout to get her troops reorganized.  Still, the 'Cats would be able to stretch the lead to four thanks to Benjamin; the former Walker-Hackensack standout as she would first connect with a lay-up at the 8:30 mark to make it 36-32 and then get a score in the paint as well at the 7:10 mark to make it 38-34 and at this juncture, things were suddenly looking very bright for St. Kate's.  But on this particular day, the Gusties would not falter or panic as they instead hunkered down and embarked on a game-changing 16-0 run that changed the complexion of this game for good.  Kniefel would start this rampage as she would skillfully slither into traffic and get a finish off the glass at the 6:47 mark and then junior reserve guard Maddy Rice would unleash a three-point bomb from the left wing area at the 6:03 mark that propelled the Gusties back into the lead for good at 39-38.  With 4:16 left, Hauger would take her cue and bang home a "3" from the left top area and a bit later, sophomore reserve forward and former Champlin Park standout Izzy Quick would get a score in the paint off of an inbounds pass with 3:39 left that put GAC up 44-38 and the Wildcats' Mulhern had seen enough to know that things were getting away from his team and forced him to take a match to a timeout.  But even this stoppage in play did not deter the Gustie Express.  Senior reserve guard Rachel Skyberg would knock down a jumper from near the free throw line with 3:06 left and then Hauger would unleash more three-point terror with a bomb from the top of the key with 2:34 left.  One free throw by Rice with 2:09 left after she was fouled capped this run to make it 50-38 and although St. Kate's would finally break its drought when Benjamin grabbed an offensive rebound for a putback that drew a foul along with the obligatory "and one", two more free throws by the Gusties' Hauger with :28.4 left in the third period had GAC carrying a 52-41 advantage going into the fourth period.  

The Wildcats would try and rekindle the magic they had found early on in the third period as a 4-0 burst had them back into single-digit range again.  Glynn would connect with a lay-up at the 9:01 mark and then Benjamin would connect with a short shot off the window at the 8:06 mark that had St. Kate's potentially knocking on the door again down 52-45.  The Gusties' Laurie Kelly; again not taking any chances, called a timeout and got her squad calmed down and the ship sailing straight again.  Kawiecki would drop a pair of free throws after getting fouled at the 6:53 mark and then Sanders would connect with a jumper in the lane with 4:52 left that got the lead back up to nine at 56-47.  A bit later with 4:36 left, Skyberg would connect with a lay-up in transition that got the lead back into double-digit range again for GAC at 58-47.  The 'Cats would make one more attempt to get the deficit slimmed down as freshman reserve guard Kylie Wood would sneak into the paint for one score with 4:14 left and an offensive rebound and lay-up by Glynn with 3:01 left had the deficit back down to seven again at 58-51 and still left a ray of hope for the Wildcat faithful.  But the 'Cats could not get any closer down the stretch as the Gusties went to work to put the finishing touches on this contest.  With 2:38 left, Kniefel; in arguably one of her best moves of the day, got her trademark first step burst and got into the hole for a finish to make it 60-51 and Hauger would add one freebie after getting fouled with 2:11 left to make it a ten-point game at 61-51.  Baranick would add two free throws of her own after getting fouled with 1:52 left and Kniefel would put the daisy on this one with another drive and lay-up with :25.7 left as the Gusties got back on the winning track with a 65-55 victory.  

I was able to speak with GAC Assistant Coach Dan Wolfe both before and after the game and one of the things that he pointed out was that it's really been a grind - certainly academically anyway - for the team as of late and that aspect kind of spilled over on their trip to the Cities on Wednesday this last week when the Gusties dug themselves into a canyon against Augsburg and although they made a remarkable effort to get themselves back into it and get the deficit down to two points early in the fourth period, the effort inevitably ran out of gas.  "It's not always about who you play but when you play them" he said, referring to the Augsburg game.  Still, Wolfe pointed out that the Gusties came out flat at the beginning of the third period and that's something that they've got to guard against.  But I think that the Gusties were much better prepared for this contest on this day and came into this game with a much better mindset than they did on Wednesday night.  But it's been something of an uphill battle for this team and coaching staff as I think they're still coming to grips with the fact that there's no Caitlin Rorman or Paige Richert to lean on.  Plus the fact that arguably their best guard, sophomore Riley Queensland, is out for the season with that ACL injury she suffered shortly after practice began in October (Queensland told me before the game when I got to speak with her that she's likely looking at a 9-10 month recovery period).  All this has effectively forced Head Coach Laurie Kelly to get her younger players into action quickly and it's arguably been a learning process at times but I think we're slowly seeing players such as Baranick, Hauger and Kawiecki earning their "wings"; a baptism by fire so to speak.....I was able to speak with Kniefel briefly afterward and congratulated her on a very well played game.  Laurie Kelly hinted that Kniefel is still in the process of trying to do more as she's such an unselfish player and, if that's indeed the case, look out MIAC!  Meanwhile on the St. Kate's side, Mulhern was left to ponder what might've been had they been able to maintain that lead they had gained early on in the third period when the Wildcats seemingly had the energy.  Mulhern was in agreement with my assertion that, in a close game, it's usually the little things that come back to haunt you - a missed lay-up here, a missed easy bunny there, a silly turnover or two.  I think that was definitely the case for St. Kate's today and although GAC had a distinct advantage in being able to insert 4-5 fresh players when needed, you still have to find ways to overcome these things to win these close games against a quality opponent.  

Oddly enough, the final box score shows that the Wildcats actually shot "better" than what GAC did as St. Kate's went 23-47 for 48.9% from FG range compared to GAC's 23-49 for 46.9%.  The Wildcats shot "better" from behind the arc too going 4 of 8 for an even 50% while the Gusties 7-16 for 43.8% from downtown.  St. Kate's didn't get to the charity stripe very often in this game but when they did, they were perfect from there going 5 for 5 for 100% compared to GAC's 12-18 for 66.7%; a figure that GAC's Laurie Kelly will tell you that needs to get better.  But that's about where any "advantages" for St. Kate's ended as the Gusties held a whopping 34-15 edge on the boards along with a 15-3 advantage in those all-important "second chance" points; a figure that St. Kate's Mulhern could only shake his head in utter disdain.  GAC also had a sizable advantage in bench points at 27-19 as well. 

Carleton vs Augsburg 12-4-21

 After catching some of the morning action of Girls HS basketball at the Breakdown Tip-Off, I made the late morning run over to Si Melby Hall on the campus of Augsburg University to take in the 1:00 P.M. game between visiting Carleton and host Augsburg.  The Knights were coming off the throngs of a 76-50 loss at Gustavus on Wednesday night while the host Auggies had strung together a nice little three-game win streak; the latest being a resounding 82-55 up on the shores of Gitche Gumee in Duluth against newest MIAC member St. Scholastica.  Now in the comfy confines on Si Melby Hall, the Auggies were looking to extend that win streak and stay in the heat of the upper echelon of the MIAC standings as well.  

The Auggies would certainly get the start they wanted - bolting out to a 5-0 lead thanks to two of their seniors:  5'11" post Jen Masello's score in the paint at the 9:11 mark and point guard Selena Lor's three-point bomb from the right top area at the 8:36 mark.  Carleton got on the board at the 7:46 mark when senior guard Jill Yanai snared an offensive rebound and got a short jumper from the right side to go down but two more scores in the paint by Augsburg's Masello - one at the 6:45 mark and another at the 6:01 mark - gave the home team a bit more breathing room up 9-4.  The Knights would crawl back to within a single possession when sophomore forward Jasmine Choi knocked down a jumper from the right wing area at the 5:42 mark but then Auggie fans would start getting a glimpse of fun things to come in this contest.  Sophomore guard Kalena Myers drained a "3" from the top of the key at the 5:22 mark and sophomore reserve guard Katie Manecke would follow suit with her own three-point bomb from the right corner with 2:19 left that grew Augsburg's lead to 15-6.  Before things could get out of hand, Carleton would manage to trim the deficit down just a bit as junior guard Aina Whitfield connected with a jumper from the top of the key, just inside the arc with 1:39 left and a Choi lay-up in transition with :41 left had the Knights down by seven at 17-10 going into the second period.  But it was become clear that Carleton would really have to make a concerted effort to shut off the many offensive weapons that the Auggies possessed if they wanted to stay reasonably close.  

Augsburg gained their first double-digit advantage early on in the second period on two quick scores within the first minute.  Masello; whose game has grown tremendously over her career with the Auggies, snared a steal and raced the other way for an easy lay-up at the 9:48 mark and then Myers; the deceptively quick guard out of Apple Valley, made a crafty move along the left baseline for a finish at the 9:04 mark that had Augsburg up 21-10.  The Knights managed to get back into single-digit range when willowy sophomore guard Isabelle Henry snagged a steal and whizzed downcourt the other way for a lay-up that also drew a foul and her obligatory "and one" had the deficit cut down to eight at 21-13 and gave a ray of hope for the Carleton faithful.  But that ray of hope quickly faded into the gloomy early winter air outside as the Auggies unleashed a 14-0 blitz that changed the complexion of this contest for good.  Masello started this push with a score in the paint at the 8:09 mark and then two scores by Myers - a short jumper along the left baseline at the 7:41 mark and a three-point bomb from the top of the key at the 7:03 mark - suddenly had the lead up to fifteen at 28-13.  Then slender sophomore reserve forward Anja Smith got involved in a big way for Augsburg as she would connect with a lay-up in transition to make it 30-13 and Knights Head Coach Tammy Metcalf-Filzen had seen enough to know that a thirty-second timeout was warranted.  Still, Myers would cap this big run with a steal and lay-up the other way at the 6:26 mark and a "3" from the left wing area at the 6:05 mark to make it 35-13 before Carleton could finally stop the bleeding on Yanai's jumper from the left wing area with 4:40 left.  But the Auggies' Smith was just getting warmed up as she would get four scores in a row to widen the gap even more.  The Kewaskum, WI native got one score in the paint with 4:11 left and then would nail a cold-blooded "3" from the right corner with 3:41 left to make it 40-18.  With 3:14 left, Smith would strike again with a forceful drive along the right baseline for a finish and with 2:18 left, Smith would drain another "3" - this one from the right with area that ballooned Augsburg's lead to 45-18.  Although the Knights would record the last bucket of this second period on Choi's short jumper in the lane with :32 left, Carleton had to feel a bit KO'd going into the locker room at the half down 45-20 and a check of the first half box score would certainly underscore that notion.  Thanks to the heroics from the triumvirate of Masello/Myers/Smith, Augsburg shot 19-30 from FG range for 63.3% and the Auggies were also 7-13 from downtown for a 53.8% clip.  Carleton meanwhile went 9-28 from FG range for 32.1% and was an icy 1-12 from behind the arc for 8.3%.  That pretty told the story right there.  Twelve first half turnovers by the Knights did not help their cause either. 

The Auggies showed no sign of letting their foot off the gas pedal anytime soon once the third period got underway either with a 9-4 burst to start things off.  A Masello lay-up at the 9:51 mark and another "3" by Myers at the 9:13 mark had Augsburg up by thirty at 50-20.  Another Masello lay-up at the 7:26 mark maintained the thirty-point lead at 52-22 and an offensive rebound and putback by junior forward Jaley Coplin at the 5:32 mark did likewise for a 54-24 Auggie advantage.  Carleton finally started finding some semblance of offensive efficiency as freshman reserve forward Aurora Davis would connect with a jumper from the left top area just inside the arc at the 5:17 mark and a pretty drive and finish by Yanai with 4:03 left trimmed the deficit down to twenty-six at 54-28 and a short jumper by freshman reserve post Bella Thomas with 2:39 left did the same with the Knights down 56-30.  But the offensive firepower of this Augsburg team would simply be too much to overcome on this afternoon as the Auggies started heating up again.  Junior guard Grace Eastman would make a hard drive for a finish that also drew a foul and her ensuing "and one" got the Auggie lead to 59-30 with 2:15 left.  Smith would make a drive along the left baseline for a finish with 1:30 left and Smith would cap this third period with a lay-up with :55 left as Augsburg took a commanding 63-31 lead into the fourth period.  

Perhaps the only down note for the Auggies on this day came early on in the fourth period at the 8:39 mark when Masello collected her fourth foul of the afternoon and had to go to the pine but with such a sizable lead at their disposal, it had no effect on the outcome of the contest for Augsburg.  The Knights meanwhile certainly weren't giving up by any means as Thomas would connect with a lay-up in transition at the 7:13 mark and Henry would drop two free throws after getting fouled at the 6:49 mark.  Yanai would also connect with a lay-up at the 6:24 mark but these scores were merely dents in an already sizable deficit.  This also gave Augsburg Head Coach Ted Riverso an opportunity to start inserting some of his reserve players to get them some valuable minutes on the floor.  Senior reserve forward Kevin Boysen knocked down one free throw after getting fouled at the 5:44 mark and after a Smith score in the paint at the 5:06 mark and one Smith free throw with 4:28 left that made it 67-37, junior reserve guard Chloe Kintop banged home a "3" from the left wing area with 2:15 left.  Freshman reserve guard Mercedes Romo would also knock down a jumper from the left top area just inside the arc with 1:21 left as the Auggies rolled to an easy 72-45 victory.  

While happy with the big win afterward, the Auggies' Riverso was cautious not to get too high or too excited about the outcome.  I did pose the question to Riverso if, given this performance today, if his squad could be considered a dark horse title contender.  Riverso more or less downplayed the idea stating that there's likely a lot of dark horse candidates given the current wide-open nature of the MIAC at the moment.  Still, you have to think that, given this performance today, the Auggies may easily be a lot better than a lot of people initially thought - including your's truly.  Riverso did say that they do need to work on the consistency aspect of things which is obviously important but there's still a lot of potential with this squad if this team can stay healthy.  And a big game looms for them on Wednesday (12-8) when they travel down US Highway 169 and the Mankato Sub portion of Union Pacific's "Omaha Route" mainline down to St. Peter to take on GAC which will obviously be another test for this team.  For Carleton meanwhile, it's obviously back to the drawing board as the Knights' Metcalf-Filzen could only say "We gotta get better; we'll be better."  What can you say about Augsburg's Smith on this day as she had something of a coming-out party; leading all scorers with 23 points.  Myers was not far behind with her 18 points and Masello just missed out on a "double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds.  Carleton's Henry was the only player in double figures scoring-wise with her 13 points.  The box score was one-sided in Augsburg's favor as well as the Auggies were 30-51 from FG range for 58.8% and 9-19 from three-point land for 47.4% companred to Carleton's 19-55 from FG range for 34.5% and 1-16 from behind the arc for 6.3%.  Ouch, indeed.  Augsburg held a sizable advantage in points in the paint by a 38-24 margin and a 13-6 advantage in second-chance points.  Throw in a 37-25 rebounding advantage plus the fact that Augsburg controlled the tempo for most of the game gives you an idea of how this game really went.       

Augsburg vs Bethel 11-23-21

 Made the short run over to Robertson Center on the campus of Bethel University on this pleasant November night on Thanksgiving week to take in this early MIAC regular season clash between visiting Augsburg and host Bethel.  The Auggies had notched their first victory of the season last Saturday when they nipped Hamline 64-62 over at venerable Hutton Arena.  The Royals meanwhile were coming into this contest on the heels of a three-game losing streak which is almost unheard of these days but Bethel has been handicapped as late due to injuries to two key players - junior guard Kat Brown-Erdal and sophomore guard Anna Garfield.  So maybe it wasn't dire straits time for Bethel just yet but the Royals certainly wanted to right the ship on this night with an important home game.

Things would be tight in the opening minutes of this contest as you would have expected them to be.  After Royals senior forward Megan Boegel got this game knotted at four with her score in the paint at the 8:16 mark of the first period, Augsburg attempted its first push.  Senior forward Jen Masello would first knock down one free throw at the 6:58 mark and then Masello; the Darien, IL native, showed how much her game has progressed with her steal and lay-up the other way at the 6:46 mark to make it a 7-4 game.  Bethel would managed to get the game tied on a lay-up by freshman reserve forward Lydia Hagstrom at the 6:00 mark and one freebie by junior forward Emma Schultz at the 5:29 mark but the Auggies would soon step on the gas pedal again.  Masello; enroute to a fabulous first period, snared an offensive rebound and putback of her own miss at the 5:00 mark and then sneaky sophomore guard Kalena Myers; who has deceptive speed, snared a steal and raced the other way for a lay-up with 4:39 mark that had Augsburg up 11-7.  Masello would add a lay-up with 2:13 left to maintain the four-point edge at 13-9 and the Auggies would extend that lead to 15-9 when senior point guard Selena Lor came down in a transition opportunity and got a short, pull-up jumper to go down with 1:54 left.  A bit later, Lor would strike again with a pretty drive and finish with 1:25 left to make it 17-9 and although the Royals would get a bit of a reprieve junior forward Emma Schultz drained a "3" from the right wing area with 1:09 left, Augsburg's Masello would cap this great first period for her with her lay-up with 1:02 left as the Auggies carried a 19-12 advantage going into the second period.

Augsburg's Masello would give her team a nine-point advantage at 21-12 early on in the second period with her lay-up at the 9:47 mark but Royals Head Coach Jon Herbrechtsmeyer would make some defensive adjustments during the break after the first period to make sure Masello wouldn't have carte blanche down low like she enjoyed early on.  This adjustment, coupled with a resurgent offensive effort by Bethel which arguably struggled during the first period, allowed the Royals to get right back into this game.  Freshman guard and former Becker standout Courtney Nuest would get this push going with her jumper from the left corner area; just inside the three-point line at the 9:35 mark and fifth-year senior forward Makenna Pearson connected with a lay-up off of an inbounds pass at the 9:07 mark that trimmed the deficit down to five points at 21-16.  Boegel's lay-up at the 8:09 mark and Schultz' score in the paint at the 7:25 mark had the deficit cut down to a scant point at 21-20 and that caught the attention of Augsburg Head Coach Ted Riverso who called a timeout to get his squad settled down a bit.  Still, Bethel's Pearson would cap this 10-0 run with her lay-up in transition at the 7:03 mark to put the Royals out in front 22-21 before the Auggies finally caught their collective breaths and got back on track on the offensive end.  Sophomore reserve guard Katie Manecke made a hard drive for a finish at the 5:52 mark to put Augsburg back out in front and a lay-up by Myers with 2:39 left would make it 25-22.  Masello would add a lay-up of her own with 1:56 left and then Lor; the former Winona standout, got two big scores down the stretch - a "3" from the right corner with 1:17 left and a jumper from the left top area with :01 left - to complete this 11-2 run as the Auggies took a 32-24 lead into the locker room at the half.  A glance of the first half box score shows what a first half Augsburg's Masello had with her 15 points despite the adjustments that Bethel tried to make after the first period.  And although the Auggies could certainly have done better from the charity stripe (going 1-4 for 25%), they did shoot 15-29 from FG range for a solid 51.7% compared to Bethel's 11-34 for 32.4%.

Augsburg got its first double-digit lead of the evening when Myers made a hard drive and got a finish off the glass at the 9:50 mark of the third period to make it a 34-24 ballgame but the Royals craftily worked themselves back into this ballgame.  Two quick lay-ups in transition by Nuest - one at the 9:10 mark and again at the 8:56 mark - had Bethel back in striking distance down 34-28 and an offensive rebound and putback by freshman reserve guard Autumn Earney at the 5:27 mark drew them closer down four at 34-30.  Pearson would connect with a jumper from the right elbow area with 4:48 left to keep the Royals in that four-point range down 36-32 and an Earney jumper from near the free throw line with 4:34 left not only had Bethel back to within a single possession down 36-34 but also had the Auggies' Riverso clamoring for a thirty-second timeout to quickly discuss things with his squad.  Still, the Royals would manage to get this one tied at 36-all with 4:04 left when Hagstrom slithered her slender frame into the paint for a score and when Earney buried a "3" from the right corner with 3:26 left, things looked a lot brighter for Bethel than they did at the beginning of this third period with a 39-36 lead.  But this 15-2 run for the Royals did not faze the Auggies at all as they regrouped and went on an 8-1 push.  Back-to-back three-point bombs - one by Manecke from the right corner with 2:56 left and another one by Lor from the left wing area with 2:07 left - pushed Augsburg back into the lead at 42-39.  Junior forward Jaley Coplin would also knock down two free throws after getting fouled with 1:10 left to make a 44-40 game to cap this push.  And although the Royals would tighten things up on two scores in the final minute - a jumper from the right elbow by freshman reserve forward Hayden Glander with :47 left and a pretty drive and finish by Nuest with just :00.1 left - to be down only 46-44, the fact that Bethel was unable to consolidate once it grabbed the lead had to be a bit disconcerting for Herbrechtsmeyer and his staff. 

The Royals still appeared to be in position to possibly grab control of things when Glander unleashed a "3" from the right wing area at the 8:26 mark that had the home team down by only one at 48-47 but it was here that Augsburg went back to work on the offensive end; churning out a 7-0 spurt that gave them some more breathing room.  Lor would first uncork a "3" from the right corner at the 8:02 mark and would follow that up a bit later with a short, turnaround jumper to give the Auggies a 53-47 lead.  Then Myers would connect on a lay-up in transition at the 7:18 mark that extended the lead to eight at 55-47 and Bethel's Herbrechtsmeyer was compelled to call a timeout to stop the bleeding shortly thereafter.  Whatever was said in that huddle during the timeout was unknown but it sure got the attention of the Royals' Hagstrom as she would personally help lead her team right back into the thick of things.  The former Zimmerman standout would first connect with a lay-up at the 6:55 mark and follow that up a bit later with a short jumper in the lane at the 6:23 mark.  At the 5:47 mark, Hagstrom would knock down a jumper from the right elbow area that had Bethel back to within a single possession down 55-53.  But the Royals would get turned back in the crucial moments as Augsburg took control of things down the home stretch.  Coplin; the former Shakopee standout, would get two back-to-back scores for the Auggies - a lay-up in transition with 3:47 left and a "3" from the left wing area with 2:39 left to make it a two-possession game at 62-57 and although Bethel's Hagstrom would try and work her magic again after a subsequent timeout with her lay-up with :47 left to close within a single-possession down 62-59, Augsburg's Lor would knock down two crucial free throws after getting fouled with :25.4 left and Masello would add one more with :13.8 left after a foiled Royals possession to make it 65-59.  Bethel's Glander would get an offensive rebound for a putback with :01.2 left but it wouldn't be enough as the Auggies got out of Robertson Center with a 65-61 victory.  

Despite the latest setback, Bethel's Herbrechtsmeyer wasn't in the "down" mood that maybe I had thought he might be in.  He was quick to point out the injuries that I alluded to early on in this post to both Brown-Erdal and Garfield but did express optimism that both would (hopefully) be back by this next Wednesday (12-1) when the Royals travel down Snelling Avenue to face Hamline.  The Royals certainly did a better job at containing Augsburg's Masello in the second half and you're still seeing that aggressive, tenacious defense that can allow them to feast on turnovers.  But it's arguably been a struggle on the offensive end thus far for Bethel and sporting a 1-4 record at Thanksgiving time was not what I or certainly they thought would be happening when this season got underway.  They've got to find some solutions/fixes to the current problems they have on the offensive end and I think they've got to find them quickly before things start spiraling out of control.  Still, Herbrechtsmeyer maintains that "We'll be alright" and he knows what his squad is capable of.  Certainly getting both Brown-Erdal and Garfield back will be a big boost for them.  Meanwhile on the Augsburg side, I don't think you necessarily have to view this win as a glass half-full proposition.  After dropping their first three games; including a tough one to Chicago in the Windy City, the Auggies certainly have to feel better about themselves than they might have after the first week or so of play.  You have to understand that this simply is not the "Fab 5" team of a couple two or three years ago.  You don't have the same kind of talent that that team had.  But I also think Riverso knows that his current squad has to carve its own identity and I think that they're slowly in the process of doing just that.  Lor has grown into a leader on this squad as has Masello and you've got some very good complimentary pieces on this team like Myers, Coplin and junior guard Grace Eastman among others.  We'll just have to see how far this process can take them.  I mentioned to Riverso afterward that, given Bethel's recent struggles and the uncertainties with GAC and all of their injuries, the conference is perhaps even more wide open than what I may have even thought.  He seemed to be in agreement with that and added that he felt that they really could have won the game at Chicago.  So it may very well be a matter of just trying to get better and perhaps just as important, finding some consistency along the way as well.

It was indeed a solid outing for Augsburg's Lor as she led all scorers with her 21 points and although Bethel clamped down on Masello after that first half and her 15 first half points, she still finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds for a "double-double".  Myers again may be the "X" factor on this team and her 14 points were critical for the Auggies.  Hagstrom was the savior for Bethel this night with her 14 points and 14 rebounds for a "double-double and don't be surprised if you see more outings like this for her.  To me, what's surprising is that the Royals had a decided advantage on the boards on this night by a 40-29 count but they weren't able to translate that advantage into more points.  Bethel also had a 12-7 advantage in those all-important "second chance" points as well.  At the same time, Bethel was also guilty of 22 turnovers on this night; something you rarely see from Herbrechtsmeyer-coached squad.  Finally, Bethel finished this contest going 28-73 for 38.4% from FG range compared to Augsburg's 27-60 for 45%.      

St. Kate's vs Northwestern 11-17-21

 Finally, for the first time since March of 2020 I got to cover a game in person and I can't even begin to tell you how good this felt.  On this Wednesday night of Beat SC Week I traveled over to Roseville and Ericksen Center on the campus of the University of Northwestern for this early season MIAC - UMAC clash as the host Eagles prepared to take on St. Kate's.  I got there in plenty of time to get myself settled in to enjoy an impromptu supper of McDonald's (I don't do that very often) washed down with God's Nectar (aka Pepsi) and watch both teams warmed up.  I knew coming in that this Northwestern team had a lot of potential but it also has a lot of new, young faces.  Ditto for the Wildcats as I knew Head Coach Don Mulhern would get many of his underclassmen some valuable playing minutes. 

After senior forward Megan Roberts got her Eagles team on the board first at the 9:16 mark of the opening period after she got fouled behind the arc and got two of three free throw attempts to go down, St. Kate's was able to get the contest knotted at two a piece on a tough lay-up by grad senior Brooke Torvik at the 8:54 mark.  It was at this point, however, where things quickly went south for the Wildcats as this stunningly deep and explosive Northwestern team unleashed a game-changing 16-0 run.  Two scores in the paint by senior post Hailey Paup - one at the 8:17 mark and another at the 7:15 mark on back-door plays - got the Eagles a 6-2 advantage and then Roberts would uncork a three-point bomb from the right wing area at the 6:37 mark to push the lead to 9-2.  Fellow senior guard Allison Eide would connect with a lay-up at the 6:18 mark to stretch the lead to 11-2 and the 'Cats Mulhern; not at all liking what was unfolding before his eyes, called a timeout to get his troops reassembled.  But this stoppage in play didn't have the desired effect of cooling down this Northwestern one bit.  Eagles Head Coach Aaron Kahl inserted willowy freshman reserve guard Lexi Hagen and she made the most of the early opportunity.  The former Jordan standout would first make a hard drive to the rim for a finish off the glass at the 5:35 mark and a little more than a minute later with 4:31 left, Hagen would knock down a short jumper in the lane to make it 15-2.  With 2:41 left, St. Kate's made the mistake of leaving Hagen all alone in the left corner and she would make the Wildcats pay as she unleashed a killer "3" that now made it 18-2 and now St. Kate's Mulhern had no choice but to take a match to another timeout as he had to find some answers for his team - quickly.  Wildcat junior reserve forward Sarah Lavell finally broke the drought for her team when she snared an offensive rebound for a putback with 2:26 left but Northwestern was far from finished with their offensive onslaught.  Eide would drain back-to-back three-point bombs - one from the left wing area with 1:54 left and then again from the left top area with 1:22 left to make it 24-4.  St. Kate's finally had a couple of answers in the waning moments of this first period thanks to freshman reserve forward Sydney Elliott as she would uncork back-to-back three-point bombs of her own - one from the right top area with 1:01 left and another one with :27 left from the left wing area - that reduced the deficit down to fourteen at 24-10 by the time the first period buzzer sounded.  Still, Northwestern seemingly had all the answers thus far and the Wildcats had a lot of work in front of them.  

And the Eagles certainly showed no signs of slowing down anytime soon either.  Freshman guard Taylor Schuck would start things out in the second period by burying a "3" from the left corner at the 9:40 mark and another Paup score in the paint on another pretty back-door play at the 7:37 mark boosted Northwestern's lead to 29-10.  The 'Cats would try and make up some lost ground as one free throw by freshman reserve post Nicole Dalman at the 7:20 mark and a lay-up in transition by junior forward Bree Glynn at the 7:05 mark along with a three-point bomb by freshman reserve forward Greta Schimnowski at the 6:05 mark had the deficit reduced to sixteen at 32-16 but cutting into the deficit even further was proving to be a bridge too far - at least at this juncture anyway.  The Eagles would get another boost on yet another "3" by Hagen - this one from the right wing area with 4:14 left along with a score in the paint by reserve grad senior Ashlyn Jones with 2:17 left that made it 37-18.  The exclamation point by Northwestern came with just :41 left in the second period when freshman reserve forward Jasmine Sondrol made a hard drive along the left baseline and got a pretty one-handed finish off the glass to make it 39-19.  Glynn would get one more score for the Wildcats with just one tick left before the halftime break with her lay-up but Mulhern and his St. Kate's team were still staring at an eighteen point deficit going into the locker room at the intermission.  

The big question going into the third period then would be how would St. Kate's respond after getting bruised, bullied, outhustled and outscored in that first half.  It didn't take long to see that whatever Mulhern said in that locker room during the halftime break definitely had the desired effect.  After the Eagles pushed their lead to twenty at 41-21 on a routine score in the paint by Paup at the 9:42 mark, the 'Cats showed a renewed energy, fight and desire and unleashed a surprise 10-0 run to crawl right back into the thick of things.  Senior forward Sam Orth started things out with an offensive rebound and putback at the 9:22 mark and fellow senior post Katie Benjamin knocked down a short jumper from the right side at the 8:55 mark to get the deficit down to sixteen at 41-25.  Orth would then knock down a pair of free throws after getting fouled at the 7:54 mark and then freshman reserve guard Marissa Fronk would snare an offensive rebound for a putback at the 7:12 mark that now had the deficit down to twelve at 41-29 and Northwestern's Kahl; a bit apprehensive at this point, called a timeout as the full- and half-court pressure that the Wildcats were using was having a detrimental effect on his team.  Still, St. Kate's prospects looked much brighter when Schimnowski snared an offensive rebound for a putback at the 5:49 mark that now had the deficit down to ten at 41-31.  That got the attention of the Eagles and they went right back to work to try and establish some more breathing room.  Paup would get into the paint for one score at the 5:37 mark and senior point guard Kelsea Lund would bang home a "3" from the left top area at the 5:19 mark to make it a 46-31 ballgame but the Wildcats still had another push in them.  Sophomore reserve guard Karis Zezza muscled into the paint for a score with 4:14 left and then Schimnowski would strike from behind the arc at the right top area that again had St. Kate's in that ten-point range down 46-36 with a ton of time left.  But the energy expended making this series of runs finally took its toll on the 'Cats as Northwestern would again start pulling away - this time for good.  Lund would uncork a trey from the right wing area with 3:00 left and also drop two freebies after getting fouled with 2:31 left to get the lead back to fifteen at 51-36.  Hagen would knock down a short jumper from the left side off of an inbounds pass with 1:42 left and then Jones would get a three-point play the old fashioned way with a lay-up that drew a foul along with the obligatory free throw that now had the Eagles in a much better position up 56-39 going into the fourth period. 

Paup's two free throws after the Cedar Falls, IA native got fouled at the 9:01 mark of the fourth period got the lead to ninetten at 58-39 and the dwindling fortunes of St. Kate's in this contest were probably best exemplified at the 8:35 mark when senior guard Mackenzie Kurczek had her Zion Williamson moment as her shoe inexplicably broke on her and she had to come out of the game.  Roberts two free throws at the 7:15 mark pushed the Eagles lead to 60-39 and this gave Northwestern's Kahl a chance to insert some of his younger players so they could get some valuable minutes.  Freshman reserve guard Rylie Hirschey certainly didn't disappoint as she drained a cold-blooded "3" from the left wing area with 4:42 left.  The Wildcats certainly weren't throwing in the towel as one score in the paint by Benjamin with 2:52 left and an offensive rebound and putback by Orth with 2:16 left and an Orth drive and finish with 1:43 left kept things respectable.  Orth would also connect with a short jumper in the lane with 1:07 left but Northwestern's Hirschey would steal the spotlight in the waning moments.  The former Pine River Backus standout would connect with a lay-up with :52.9 left and would also drain her second trey of the evening from the left top area with :16.8 left as the Eagles claimed a convincing 70-53 victory.  

St. Kate's Mulhern could only lament afterward at some of the miscues his team committed early on in the contest that really opened the door for Northwestern to grab a sizable lead early on.  His team deserves a lot of credit for staging a strong comeback in that third period when twice they got the lead reduced to ten points and if they could have found a way to whittle it down further into single digits, it may have been a completely different ballgame.  But the thing that really stood out to me on this night was this Northwestern team and how deep they are.  To be sure, the Eagles suffered a blow early on this season when senior guard Brooklyn DeKam went down with an ACL injury that takes her out of action for this season.  But the encouraging thing to me is that Kahl has so many others that he can rely on whether it's his starting chain-gang or reserves coming off the bench.  Roberts and Paup are a formidable 1-2 punch down low and having Jones and Sondrol come off the bench are huge assets.  Hagen certainly had her moments coming off the bench on this night and Kahl admitted that he had to get Hirschey some playing time this night after she scored 25 points in a recent JV game.  In his 12th season at the helm of the Northwestern program, Kahl has never had this kind of depth before and he admitted as much to me when I prodded him on the subject.  It's easy to see that Northwestern can definitely be a factor in the UMAC title chase.  Both Paup and Hagen led the way for the Eagles on this night with their 12 points and Roberts wasn't far behind with her 10 points.  Orth meanwhile was the only Wildcat in double figures scoring-wise with her 11 points.  A closer look at the box score will show that St. Kate's definitely had the advantage on the boards at 36-26 which seems kind of odd at first glance.  True, they did turn the ball over 24 times in this game but Northwestern had 21 turnovers so those two stats kind of cancel each other out.  Even more striking is that St. Kate's held a 22-9 advantage in those all-important "second chance" points.  To me, the difference was that St. Kate's shot an icy 22-56 from FG range for 39.3% and an equally frigid 4-14 from behind the arc.  Mulhern will be the first to tell you that that won't get the job done.  If there was one red flag on the Northwestern side, I'd say that would come from the charity stripe where they were only 9-18 on this night for for a straight 50%.  They got away with that on this night but there'll be other games where that could come back to bite them.     

MIAC Predictions For The 2021-22 Season

 My apologies for not getting this in sooner.  First, I didn't get to get to more practices the way I would have liked to - first and foremost because of lingering concerns with COVID-19 even though I am fully vaccinated.  Second, just a lot going on my end right now with work as there's several nights where I'm staying an hour or more later than I normally would just to keep my head above water with my workload.  Throw in the pending merger between my employer, Canadian Pacific, with the Kansas City Southern along with the ever-shifting fortunes of my Los Angeles Rams and UCLA Bruins so now I've got to find a way to juggle the MIAC Women's Hoops scene with it all (along with all the D2 and Girl's HS stuff that I like as well).  Somehow, I'll find a way - I think.  Nevertheless, I wanted to break out my crystal ball and peer into the upcoming season and unveil my predictions for the 2021-22 season.

First, I want to just say how incredibly thankful I am that we're still slated to have a full and "normal" season.  I just hope it stays that way.

Without further adieu, here we go:

Title Contenders

1.  Bethel

2.  Concordia

I wasn't prepared to go this particular route a mere month ago but given some of the misfortunes of a certain program down in St. Peter, I think this is the only logical way to go now.  Bethel features a very talented and a very experienced roster that still very likely remembers too well that 1st round NCAA Tournament loss in 2020 to Bethany Lutheran.  Fifth-year seniors Makenna Pearson and Bella Williams are back and ready to wreak havoc on the defensive end bolstering this squad is senior Megan Boegel and willowy junior Kat Brown-Erdal.  There's also a lot of good, young talent as well on this roster; particularly freshman Courtney Nuest out of Becker who will almost certainly be a standout player down the road......  The other team that I wasn't quite prepared to move into this spot is Concordia and although I realize that they're probably a longshot in the title race, I think you still at least have to involve them in the discussion.  We saw this squad take some big steps last year in a truncated season that was highlighted by a home win over Bethel.  The Cobbers will be led by seniors Autumn Thompson, Vanessa Kedl, Mary Sem and junior Emily Beseman.  Despite the fact that they dropped their opener to UM-Morris a week ago, I can kind of forgive that and I think you should too.  This Cobber team is probably one of the best teams you've never heard about and it's really not their fault that they haven't yet been able to get themselves the recognition they deserve.  This is a team you'll want to keep your eye on.  I guarantee it.  

Solid Playoff Contenders

  

3.  GAC

4.  CSB

After watching them this last summer at the Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League, I just thought to myself at the time that there's simply no one who could touch GAC in the upcoming season.  But some very unfunny things happened to the Gusties once the season approached:  (1) Both Paige Richert and Caitlin Rohrman opted out of playing this season for different reasons and (2) sophomore guard Riley Queensland; who figured to be a prominent scorer for the Gusties this season, tore her ACL on the third day of practice.  Throw in a concussion and a few other bumps and bruises on the rest of the team and it's easy to see why the high hopes coming into this season just aren't as high anymore.  Fortunately, the Gusties aren't completely depleted of talent.  Junior sharpshooter Maddy Rice and fellow junior Anna Sanders will be a 1-2 punch that GAC will have to rely on heavily this time around.  It looks as if freshman Morgan Kelly will likely fall into the forward/post spot down low although, presumably anyway, 6'5" junior Betsy Schoenrock is healthy now and ready to provide some quality minutes down low as well.  Given GAC's inability to once, just once, win an outright MIAC title over the last 20 years or so makes you wonder sometime if this program is cursed although I'm not aware that anyone has tried to bring a billy goat into Lund Arena yet.  Certainly I haven't anyway....  Meanwhile, up in St. Joe, all one has to do is look at the roster and you'll probably come away with the notion that youth must be served.  The CSB roster is peppered with freshmen and sophomores, a few juniors and only two seniors - Kate Seyer and Madison Doran.  So there's just a lot of unknown dynamics here with this team but I still think they'll have enough to be in the mix safely enough to snare a playoff spot.  

Fighting For The Last Two Playoff Spots

5.  St. Kate's

6.  Hamline

7.  Carleton

8.  SMU

In theory, this could very well be the year that the Wildcats finally separate themselves from the rest of the pack and perhaps upend CSB in snaring that fourth playoff spot - and a home playoff game that would go with that.  However, if history is any guide, I think you probably have to be a bit more conservative in your views on St. Kate's as teams in recent years have been beset with injuries and other maladies that have kept this squad from reaching its full potential.  However, if the practice I was able to attend is any indicator and, just as important, IF they can stay healthy, this team certainly has a shot of surprising a lot of opponents.  The good news is that seniors Katie Benjamin and Sam Orth are healthy and presumably (and hopefully) will stay that way.  Ditto for fellow senior Mackenzie Kurczek who is a solid leader and contributor.  And I have to give props to 5th year senior and grad student Brooke Torvik for being a great leader and contributor on this team as well.  I've always thought it was important for St. Kate's to develop its young talent to augment the starting chain gang and one person who stood out this last weekend in their two games in Chicago where the 'Cats came away with a split was freshman Kiley Wood out of Carey, ID.  If Head Coach Don Mulhern can get similar performances out of her and others, St. Kate's is going to be a very tricky match-up for a lot of teams.....  Just up the road on Snelling Avenue is Hamline and this is a team that has a lot of similarities with St. Kate's:  A handful of good senior leaders and contributors; namely Gabby Robinson, Sophie Findell, Sarah Loken, Paige Condie and Lindsey Bernardy.  Just as important, junior Chan'el Anderson-Manning is back on the roster after taking a year off last year to dabble as a student-coach.  This is a team that certainly knows how to get up and down the floor and when they're clicking, they can be awfully tough to beat.  The big question when it comes to the Pipers is can they find some consistency that may elevate them to a new level?  That's always been their downfall when it matters so we'll see if they can take another step forward this time around.....  Two other teams could very well find themselves in the fight to grab one of those last two playoff spots.  Down in Northfield, I think Carleton has to be one of them.  Head Coach Tammy Metcalf-Filzen has a lot of young talent assembled - emphasis on the "young".  It's difficult for me to form an opinion on them too much simply because, other than the Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League, I really haven't seen any members of this team play and I don't think you should infer too much from what took place this last summer.  Still, if there's one coach who knows how to put her chess pieces in the right place at the right time, it's Metcalf-Filzen so this squad will definitely be worth keeping an eye on.....  Down in Winona, it's much the same story as Head Coach David Foley has a smattering of newcomers on his squad.  But he does have two reliable seniors on his squad who can score in Brooklyn Paulson and Jada Biermeier.  

The Not-Quite-Ready For Primetime Teams

9.  Augsburg

10.  Macalester

11.  St. Olaf

12.  St. Scholastica 

It's admittedly hard to have Augsburg down so far in my rankings; particularly when you consider how tantalizingly close they were to winning two MIAC titles and the "Fab 5" that took this program to new heights just a few short years ago.  But, as we all know, players come and graduate and now a new cast is trying to make a name for itself.  While senior Selena Lor is a solid backcourt player and leader for this team, the real scoring threat - as the final box score from their opening game earlier this week would seem to indicate - is junior Jaley Coplin.  Sophomore Kalena Myers should also figure heavily on the scoring front.  And Head Coach Ted Riverso will rely heavily on the skills of senior Jen Masello down low.  I just don't know how consistent this team can be over the stretch of the regular season and defense has always been the achilles for the Auggies.....  Still another very young team resides on Snelling Avenue just south of I-94 - Macalester.  Five freshmen and five sophomores are featured on this roster so Head Coach Katie Kollar has a lot of work in front of her in developing that young talent so they can make contributions right away.  Two players on this Macalester team to keep your eye on - senior Celine Sabbagh and junior Solana Cushing.  I was particularly impressed with Cushing's shot-making ability during the Midtown YWCA Women's College Summer League......One of the bigger mysteries of the MIAC might be on the west side of Northfield as St. Olaf does have a handful of experienced veterans back for this season - notably in seniors K'Lynn Lewis and Camryn Scott along with juniors Rachel Kelly, Cassie Fix, and Sarah Howdeshell.  But this program has been looking up for quite some time now and it may be asking a lot for this squad to take a significant step forward.  But again, we'll see......The new kid on the block in the MIAC is located clear up by Gitche Gumee; otherwise known as that ice water mansion of Lake Superior in Duluth.  It likely will be a season of figuring out things in the MIAC for the Saints and new Head Coach Jason Schmitz.  St. Scholastica will likely rely heavily on senior forward Emma Schmidt for scoring and rebounding.  

So there you have it.  How accurate this all is remains to be seen.  Feel free to fire away with thoughts and hope to catch you at games this winter.