WBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[LA RAMS]

Wish I could make it down to St. Peter for the CSB - GAC clash this afternoon.  Let's hope that the officiating isn't as horrible as it sounds like it was on Wednesday night during the Bethel game.  Must have been an absolute travesty.  Fortunately, GAC did find a way to win, though.

The Knights, on the other hand, weren't as fortunate the other night vs. the red-clad Blazers.  From not having been there I can only speculate as to what went down but I can imagine that CSB somehow was able to take advantage of the inexperienced Knights backcourt, much as the Gusties did a week ago.  I still think Carleton is a solid enough playoff team but it may be the first year since 2000 that the Knights fail to make the MIAC Championship game.

The MIAC playoff picture is becoming more and more clear although the 6th spot appears to be a battle between UST, Hamline, and possibly the Christians.  UST certainly has the size and speed to be one of the top teams in the conference but predicting how they'll do on any given game day is a lot like playing Russian roulette.  I'd like Hamline's chances better if they had a healthy Rochelle Sather back in the line-up but that ankle she did not too long ago looks terrible and she could be out awhile. 

[LA RAMS]

Thanks alot, Wonka. SMU may be down this year, but give Stimmel a few years and I think he can build the program back up. Don't forget, only two years ago, GAC got beat by SMU in the playoffs. They'll be back...
[/quote]

SS51 - Fear not.  That dubious distinction belongs to Augsburg - at least this year anyway.

[Ghost of MIAC Past]

For the record Wonka, you need to check your facts.  Thielke is not ineligible, and will be back in uniform by the end of January.

[gacbacker]

Yeah I've heard both the ineligible rumor and that she was out of the country on a mission trip for the month of January.

[Collegeville Magic]

First half was much easier to stomach for Gustie fans.  27-17 GAC.  CSB matches their season average (per game) for turnovers with 13, and the GAC guards are playing tough D.

[Collegeville Magic]

CSB brings it back to a 4-point game with 3 minutes left, after facing a 21 point deficit halfway through the second...

[Collegeville Magic]

Monahan and Vadnais both hit the 20 point mark, and it's over.  66-58.

CSB reverted to some old habits of past teams in the cavern known as Gus Young, and misfired consistently from the outside for the first 30 minutes of the game.  If the Blazers had held on to the ball in the first half, the end result may have been very different.

CSB and GAC tied for the conference lead with two losses each, and the race is on!  This fan is glad that GAC still goes to St. Kate's, hosts Concordia, and finishes the season at Carleton.

CSB's toughest 3 contests left are all at home: Bethel, St. Kate's, and St. Thomas.

[gacbacker]

Great win for the Gusties, as Collegeville Magic pointed out, Vadnais and Monahan really earned their stripes today. After the furious rally cut the 21 point lead to 4, Vadnais calmly nailed a three pointer out of the timeout that was the back breaker for the Blazers.

I thought the Blazers really missed Kempe today, with the three's not falling for the first 33 minutes, they had nobody to penetrate the lane to free up some easy looks for Boone or Tauer.

The Blazers are still in pretty good shape though to get the number one seed. I think they can win out and finish with 2 losses. The Gusties, who have now won 8 straight, would have to win 7 more, for a 15 game win streak to remain in that first place tie...tough to do in this conference.

Gusties need to enjoy the win, but make sure there is no let down on Wednesday against a pesky St. Kate's team.

[cobbernation]

Nice win this afternoon for the Cobber girls.  St. Kates is very balanced offensively.  Some interesting stats were ST. K's had 21 TO/21 Assists while the cobbers had 14 assists/14 steals.

The cobbers finished with 14 TO's and St. K's had 6 steals.  Cobbers had an advantage on the boards as well.

Overall a good comeback win for Cobbs!

[Korn Lover]

GAC- I wish CSB could shoot tht poorly against the Cobbers, they shot lights out in both games. Thanks for making it interesting and congrats on the win.

Questions for my rules friends. When a shot clock sits at the top of tha backboard, ins't the entire top of the back board out of bounds? I seem to recall this. Help!

I had a chance to speak with a couple Royals folks at the Cobbers game there. He did say Theilke was on a mission trip.

[Willy Wonka]

EC - Apologies, sort of. For someone with all the answers and who is close, personal friends with all the coaches around the league, you sure make a nice habit of avoiding sharing any info until you can vaguely point out mistakes in your ever-so-kindly fashion. If I cared enough to check my Bethel facts, I'd have called Thielke's cousin - who I dominate annually in fantasy football - to get the goods. Thankfully, messages boards are a good place for unconfirmed rumors.

Anyway...thank God for the GAC women yesterday or I'd be crying about the SJU score...

I think it turned out well for both CSB and GAC. The Bennies built some momentum and confidence for the rest of the year - and for the next time they play GAC - with their finish while the Gusties were shown they must play to the buzzer, as a 20-point lead nearly went up in smoke in about 3 minutes.

Vadnais and Monahan were dominant yesterday, making a good case for co-MVP against the best in the MIAC. Vadnais got to the hoop when she wanted and stepped back to hit big 3s when she had to, as gacbacker pointed out. Monahan used and abused the Bennie posts all day.

CSB was absolutely awful until about the middle of the second half. I think they had something like 26 points through 30 minutes, as they were quite painful to watch offensively. Their getting hot coincided with GAC leaving a few girls open on the perimeter and they built confidence from there.

Was the injured Kempe or the slow-as-molasses Noreen the recipient of the preseason accolades on D3Hoops.com? I hadn't ever seen either play until yesterday, so I'm really hoping - for Pat's credibility - it was Kempe. Schmidt and McKenzie were impressive, though Mindy got packed hard late in the game on what appeared to be a pretty brutal call.

Also, what's it going to take for a MIAC team to get a vote for the Top 25? And when do the first region rankings come out?

[gacbacker]

Willy, sadly it was Noreen who was named pre-season all-american. It was a pick that I said was disgusting when it was announced. It appears to be a, "well we need a player from the MIAC, lets just take the best player from St. Ben's since they're usually pretty good" pick. I think its safe to say she won't be garnering any post-season awards with the exception of an all-conference honor.

I also agree that the Gusties should be included in the next top 25...at 16-2 they deserve it at this point.  As far as region rankings, two of the top teams in the West who are both ranked in the top 25 (Simpson and Puget Sound) both lost last week for their fourth loss. The Gusties could be #1 in the west.

[Da-dented1]

A lot of things to post up about: congrats to GAC, the Cobs, and the Kitties for the way they battled this last weekend against the Cobs.  I would still like to know who has the advantage - the MIAC with their 16 game schedule OR the WIAC with their 12 game schedule when it comes to post season play.

[Pat Coleman]

I'm not sure Gustavus had a win worth talking about before this weekend. Maybe Carleton. But now two maybe pretty good wins are worth one pretty good win?

Willy: Not every scouting report we get is good.

[LA RAMS]

Pat,

Not sure what win the Gusties have had this season so far that "wasn't worth talking about" but I've seen other teams like Scranton go down hard recently yet they've been able to retain their lofty ranking so why is it so hard for a top tier MIAC team - in this case GAC - to get a national ranking that they deservedly warrant?