WBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[LA RAMS]

A HUGE congrats to the Little Lefty getting POY honors.

Glad to hear the GAC squad managed to get out of Dodge early yesterday A.M.; I would have thought for sure they would have left like Wednesday afternoon or evening so they were cutting it close the way the weather was.  Did CSB get over to UW-Stout okay?  Of all the times we had to get hit it was now..........

Should be a good game tonight between the Gusties and George Fox.  It will be tough for GAC to steal this one on George Fox's home court but it's not out of the realm of possibility.  I just hope they can find a way to get it done.   

[Collegeville Magic]

CSB leads Wheaton 23-21 at the half.  The Blazers started out hot, getting out to a 14-4 lead early, before Wheaton countered with a run of their own.

More turnovers than usual for both teams in the first half, as the refs are calling a TON of travels.

Second half underway in a few minutes...

[Collegeville Magic]

We have overtime!  57-57

The MIAC isn't the only conference with iffy officiating.  CSB with a three point lead under a minute, Wheaton in the full-court press and trying to foul.  Wheaton guard pushes O'Neil in the back, and a traveling violation is called, the third questionable call to go against CSB in an 80-second span.

Wheaton then hits a 3 with 24 seconds left, missed shots for both teams, and the clock runs out.

[Collegeville Magic]

Double OT on the way, 67-67.  Buzzer beating 3-point heave from a back-up player who apparently said her prayers, and we have ANOTHER extra period in Menomenie...

[Collegeville Magic]

Heartbreaker in Wisconsin tonight, as Wheaton comes out on top, 79-75, in a game that was as close as a four-point win in double overtime would seem to be.

It's a shame one of the teams had to lose the game, and a bigger shame that so many strong teams were matched up in one corner of the bracket.  In this 4-team "section", there are 3 conference tournament/regular season champs.

I'm very proud of the Blazers for another typically gritty battle tonight.  Ellie Boone ended her career on a VERY high note with a career-high 31 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 steals.  O'Neil chipped in 19 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 steals.

Wheaton and (probably) Stout should have a barn-burner tomorrow, but Wheaton sure used a lot of gas squeeking past CSB.

Good luck Gusties, keep the MIAC alive!!!!!

[buf]

CM-

You must mean Simpson and Wheaton.

Simpson played a wonderful game and upset Stout on its home court, 91-86

[buf]

I know its late, but if anyone reads this very soon, you can catch the video feed on the Gustie game.  However, with less than 10min to go, GAC down 16pts.  Go to the Gustie homepage and click on "live broadcasts"

[buf]

Final

GF 61
GAC 47

GF pretty much in control the whole game

[buf]

Wheaton over St. Bens in 2-OT

Close game all the way.  CSB did a good job of getting the ball inside and finishing.  Boone was nearly unstoppable, using her size as an advantage.  On the other hand, Wheaton shot pretty decent from the outside and also scored on the inside.  CSB takes a 57-50 lead with less than 2min left, but Wheaton goes on a 7-0 run to take it to OT.  In the OT, Wheaton shoots a 3 and misses but the ball bounces right to another Wheaton player standing at the 3 pt line.  The CSB player guarding her falls down and she hits a 3 just as the buzzer sounds to send it to 2-OT.  Wheaton does a good job of hitting FTs down the stretch.

Good crowd from St. Ben's

[gacbacker]

Bummer night for the MIAC...who would have thunk that Ellie Boone would score 31 and the Blazers would lose?!?@#@!?@!! I saw in the box that Dalhed didn't even attempt a shot? Did she aggrevate an injury vs. GAC or in practice?

The Gusties never really had a shot tonight...they were thoroughly dominated in the first half...The Gusties went to a 1-3-1 for about three possessions and gave up nine points.

The Gusties would have matched up with Puget Sound better...but I'm not sure they would have beat them either.

On a good note, Vadnais tied the school record for 3 pointers made in a season with 62...ties her with Angie Peterson.

22-6 is a pretty good year....but here begins life without Monahan.

[LA RAMS]

Definitely a disappointing outing for the MIAC last night as both the Gusties and the Blazers go down.  At least CSB went down in 2 OT's.  Wish I could say the same for the Gusties who never really got anything going last night.  Just so disappointing how the MIAC seems like such a weak-a$$ conference on the national stage anymore.  Who would have thought that Simpson would beat UW-Stout in their own crib?  Luther easily took care of business at home.  Seems like the MIAC has been steadily going downhill ever since the Mullet left UST.

In the immortal words of "Hacksaw" Reynolds, I'm VERRRRY DISAPPOINTED. 

[swiss]

You Gustie fans can be proud of your team last night.  They played well, and with class, in spite of the outcome.  The Bruins came out as focused and intense as they have been all season with our captains (Taylor and Campbell) leading the way.  But Monahan and Vadnais were both impressive players and no one on your team needs to apologize for their performance.  I know it's disappointing but I hope the experience in Oregon is something your team can build on for next year.  Maybe we'll catch you again somewhere down the road.

[swiss]

If any Gustie or MIAC fans want to see some photos of last night's GFU v GAC game, you can go to:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/psyhub to see about 100 shots that are in my photo stream.  Click on the GFU v GAC set on the right side of the page.

Obviously, these photos are focused on Bruin players and fans but I included some Gustie players and coaches both directly and indirectly.  Feel free to make comments, mark favorites, or make prints (either on your own printer or at Target which is linked to Flickr).

[blazerball]

Congratulations to both GAC and CSB on fine seasons.  I wish they had been able to play a little longer!

I was at the CSB/Wheaton game last night and it was truly a heartbreaker.  I have complained about MIAC officiating in the past and it is awful...BUT...the WIAC officiating crew that worked the game last night called one of the worst games I have ever seen.  If that is the kind of officiating they get in the WIAC we are actually LUCKY with the officials we have in the MIAC.  It may sound like sour grapes but, unfortunately, the officials affected the outcome of the game.  Now, that being said and getting my venting out about the refereeing, CSB definitely made some mistakes at key moments when they could have put the game away.  It also did not help that at the end of the 1st OT CSB played great defense and a Wheaton player had to throw up an off-balance triple with 4 seconds left.  It missed badly - the ball bounced around and then bounced right out to a Wheaton player who picked it up and literally threw it from her hip with one second left and it went down at the buzzer...I knew we were in trouble headng into the 2nd OT. 

Kudos to Ellie Boone who dominated Jill Trenz.  Trenz may be an all-american candidate but the BEST player on the floor last night was Ellie Boone.  I had a feeling Wheaton would get drilled tonight by Simpson because they had one player go 49 minutes and another 47 minutes last night...they were not overly deep so I knew they would suffer tonight and they did...

Well, now it is on to the hot stove league as we see where some of the high school talent ends up.  I am looking forward to adding some nice talent in Blazer red next season to go with a good core of returners...   

[Willy Wonka]

Rough trip for the Gusties. A few parents with plane tix had to be left behind due to the weather and then the hotel doublebooked a few parents' rooms...which led to some interesting fireworks at 2am arrivals.

The late start time - roughly 8 p.m. PST, which translates to 10 p.m. "our" time - certainly seems to have played a prominent role in the loss. Monahan had 11 of the team's 19 points at half, as the team struggled mightily with just about every facet of the game. GAC outplayed them for the final 15 minutes, but pride was really all that was at stake by that point. I think they cut it to 8 or 10 with possession, but then they ran out of gas.

A team that normally shoots 32% from deep and has their second and third leading scorers - both posts - shoot a combined 5-17 usually doesn't win a game. However, when you make 3s on something like five straight possessions in the first half, it was more than enough to cover it.

Plus, Monahan got blocked twice early in the second and then wasn't as aggressive. GAC doesn't have enough scoring threats for that to happen.

While it didn't play a major role, the reffing was a little shaky out west as well. The first game - Puget Sound/McMurry - was extremely physical and the stripes let a lot go. That wasn't the case in the second game as GAC was whistled for 21 fouls to 13 for GFU, which led to a 27-10 disparity at the line. Despite these stats - and a 22-point lead early in the second - a group of about 6 GFU parents were up yelling at the refs every 30 seconds or so. Had they been calling the game, there would have been roughly 12 intentional fouls called on GAC. They clearly knew what they were talking about...

The girls said afterwards that GFU was the best team they played this season, but the surge in the second half makes me wonder if things wouldn't be different if they played again. Or else maybe GAC and St. Ben's should just aim for an 18-6 record next year so the NCAA lets us stay home and play with our own bad refs.