WBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[nkwest]

I'm interested in seeing UST play on Saturday. Katch put up 16-6-6-4-2 again Wednesday (on nights when Vadnais and Hageman were both well below their lofty standards), but I've heard good things about Embree. Both were extremely tough last time against GAC, as Katch went for 15-15-4 and Embree posted 13-8.

It's a huge game for playoff implications, too. A Gustie loss has them staring at a playoff road game, where a win puts them in contention to receive a first-round bye.

UST's guard situation may be the biggest factor heading into Saturday's match up against Gustavus.  Backup PG Becky Theisen came out of the locker room after halftime on Wednesday wearing a boot and in visible pain.  Starting PG Sheena Porter-Wrzos went down hard in the second half and came up limping, but managed to play through it and finish the monster game she started.  Kristen Kieta picked up Theisen's minutes and looked a little lost out there, so depth there could be an issue.  Chelsea Wirtz played a lot of PG minutes her first year, but is much better at the 2 spot, and shooting guard Anna Swanson was in street clothes on Wednesday suffering from an ailment of some sort leaving UST thin at that position as well.

[gacbacker]

GB - Is Vadnais nursing an injury? She's 8-29 in her last 2, posted no floor game stats (19-0-1-0-0) against SMU and is playing significantly fewer minutes than normal over that stretch (28 and 30 when she was averaging almost 35 prior). What's the scoop?

Nothing she hasn't dealt with the past two years. Her typical bumps and bruises that she incurs during the course of the season.

The two games prior to the past two, I think the Gusties had 3 and 4 players in double figures. The past two, when Vadnais has struggled, she hasn't gotten much help. If I was an opposing team, I wouldn't think twice about playing the "stop Vadnais, make the rest of the team beat us" defense. I can't remember who St. Thomas put on Vadnais in the game in St. Peter, but it will be interesting to see how it plays out on Saturday.

[gacbacker]

Article about the Blazers' Danielle Frank on MinnPost today...

http://www.minnpost.com/stories/2008/02/08/819/nine_days_after_her_perplexing_heart_problem_is_solved_shes_the_basketball_player_of_the_week

[buf]

GAC over St. Thomas

[LA RAMS]

Yeah I know......and unfortunately I didn't get to go to this one.  Must have been a great one to watch to say the least.  WW/GAC Backer, either one of you there today?

Doesn't get any easier for GAC either as they have to travel to M-head on Wednesday night to take on the Corn.

[gacbacker]

Actually L.A. the game is in St. Peter on Monday which makes a huge difference since the Gusties haven't won up in Moorhead for a long time.

The Gusties really grinded out a victory yesterday at St. Thomas. It wasn't pretty, but they will take the W anyway they can. Vadnais was held in check by Katch so Nelson and Layman really had to step up and that was good to see.

Gusties still have a realistic shot to finish anywhere from second to fifth depending on what happens in the next two weeks. Should be interesting.

Key Remaining Games
Feb. 11: Concordia @ Gustavus
Feb. 20: St. Thomas @ Concordia
Feb. 23: Carleton @ Gustavus
Feb. 23: St. Ben's @ St. Thomas

[LA RAMS]

Yeah, I got enlightened about that yesterday A.M.  about the game being in St. Peter tonight (God I hate those ridiculous 5:45 starts).  In any event, the Gusties simply have to bring their "A" game tonight and be fired up.  No excuses.  This stretch run is a huge opportunity for GAC to possibly get a 1st round bye or at least secure a 1st round home game when the MIAC playoffs begin.

[Nites]

Very impressive outing for the Gusties winning on the road against a first place team when your two leading scorers combine for only 8 points.

[buf]

GAC over Concordia this evening.  Pretty close game all the way, but Gusties make a small run towards the end of the game.

[buf]

West Region
1. Simpson 15-1 19-2 .544 .538
2. George Fox 12-1 19-2 .558 .537
3. Puget Sound 13-1 18-3 .507 .544
4. Chapman 13-3 20-3 .556 .490
5. St. Benedict 16-4 17-4 .496 .514
6. St. Thomas 15-6 15-6 .536 .512

[LA RAMS]

Geez, what's happened to everybody on this board lately?  I've never seen this thing so quiet during the season.

Was able to catch CSB's hard-earned victory over Mac last night.  Guess Mac started fast before CSB got things going their way.  Mindy Schmidt and Mackenzie O'Neill were spectacular from the perimeter when they had to be and Frank had a chunk of blocked shots to her credit.  Still, I had to be impressed with how Mac hung tough, even w/o Danielle Johnson who did her ACL last Saturday against St. Olaf.

Elsewhere, I see that the Tommies cruised over Augsburg as expected and that Carleton had to hang on to knock off Hamline.

Also, was able to catch a good portion of the St. Olaf - Bethel clash over in Arden Hills.  While the Oles are basically playing out the stretch, Bethel still has fast-fading playoff hopes.  What an utter disaster of a season for the Royals.  Seemingly in control of that 6th playoff spot a mere month ago, Bethel has gone into a tailspin in more ways than one.  First, they lose Wolters who fled the frigid weather for Guatemala, then Laugen comes down with mono.  Now, the latest hit:  Gabriela Gustafson, the premier perimeter sharpshooter for the Royals, has apparently been dismissed from the team.  One can only speculate on what went down here but I have to suspect that the somewhat strict nature of the Bethel atmosphere somehow played a role in all this.  Guess Bethel wasn't such a great choice after all was it GG?     

[gacbacker]

L.A. - Not surprised at all by the Gustafson dismissal. I watched her play in high school many times and lets just say she had some attitude issues and just about the worst body language I've seen from a high school player. I would guess her dismissal had less to do with the "strict nature of the Bethel atmosphere" and more to do with her disrespecting one of her coaches or teammates.

Bethel still has a decent shot at the playoffs though due to their easy schedule (St. Mary's, Macalester, Augsburg) and Hamline's much tougher schedule (St. Ben's, Gustavus, Macalester)

Bethel needs to go 3-0 and have Hamline go 0-3...because Hamline would win a tie-breaker based on their win over Carleton earlier in the season. Bethel went a dismal 0-10 against the top 5 teams in the conference.

Not a real intriguing schedule for Saturday, but next Wednesday will be interesting with two games pitting playoff teams against one another. St. Thomas at Concordia and Gustavus at Hamline.

[Ghost of MIAC Past]

Just wanted to say congrats to Jess Weisbrod for scoring her 1000th point.  It's a major accomplishment considering she's played for three coaches in four years.

[LA RAMS]

Gacbacker,
Yeah, unfortunately I can vouch for the attitude thing in GG's case as well from watching her play when she was with MCTC.  I just had this feeling that this was a bad, bad fit from the get-go.  Being that she does have one more year of eligibility left I wonder if she'll be able to catch on somewhere else?

[PRF2007]

Looking forward to a tough game for St. Bens today.  St. Ben's has been great at home this year, but this definitely has the making of a trap game.  Hamline can sew up a spot in the playoffs with a win today and St. Ben's has been making a habit of starting slow.  Hamline's freshman post plays with a lot of confidence and was definitely not afraid to go right at the St. Ben's posts who had a very tough time defending her in their first meeting.  Combine this with some hot shooting and St. Ben's could find themselves in a struggle today. 

That said, I think St. Ben's should pull this one out winning by ten.  It will be a close game with St. Ben's pulling away late.  This team is starting to finally develop some confidence with a very young team and they have just been too tough at home.