WBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Pat Coleman]

Pat, thanks for posting, I assume you will be posting all CSB games from here on.

You know what happens when you assume.

[blazerguy]

St. Thomas news release from today:
http://www.tommiesports.com/wbb/news/blazers213.html

Laura Canton scored 12 of her 15 points in the second half and the visiting Blazers had only 10 turnovers and outscored the Tommies 21-9 at the foul line in Saturday's 60-51 MIAC women's basketball victory in St. Paul. 

Amy Stifter added 15 points, eight rebounds, four steals and three assists for the Blazers, who have won eight of their last nine games. Heather Giillund was slowed by foul trouble but finished with 11 points, six rebounds and four blocks. 

St. Ben's remains in second place, one game behind Gustavus.  The Toms fell into a fourth-place tie with Macalester.

The Blazers, who ended UST's seven-game win streak, survived 29% shooting and helped limit UST to 30% shooting. CSB used a 15-2 run to end the first half with a 27-21 lead, and UST never led in the second half. 

The Toms pulled within 44-43 on Rachel Booth's 3-point basket with 6:00 left, but the Blazers used an 11-0 run over the next 5:20 to take control. 

Booth picked up two quick fouls and played just three minutes of the first half with no points. She finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds. 

UST plays Wednesday at Gustavus and closes the regular seaosn next Saturday at Hamline. 

Click here for box score: http://www.tommiesports.com/wbb/stats/2-13-wbb.htm   

Pat, thanks for posting, I assume you will be posting all CSB games from here on.

Why would you assume that?

It wouldn't surprise me if Pat posted this blurb because it shows how a real SID writes a game story — more Bennies were actually mentioned than Tommies. Oddly enough, the box score was also provided 

Really....

[LA RAMS]

All right; been putting this off long enough.  Time to come out with the weekly MIAC Power Poll.  Would have been out with this sooner but have been busy enjoying my 3-day weekend (I need more of em').

1.  GAC
2.  CSB
3.  (tie) Concordia, UST, & Macalester
4.  (tie) Hamline & St. Kate's
5.  Bethel
6.  Carleton
7.  (tie) Augsburg, St. Olaf, & SMU

Despite the slow start on Saturday vs. Bethel, Gusties keep their poise and eventually run the Royals out of playoff contention - and keep their grip on sole possession of first place.  Guess it would be the understatement of the year to say this week is HUGE for GAC.  They cannot afford to look past UST on Wednesday night to the long-awaited showdown this coming Saturday vs. CSB.  It's as simple as that for GAC.

CSB keeps its slim hopes for a shared MIAC title alive with Saturday's big road win at Ganglehoff Center vs. UST.  But they, too, have to come into their game at Hamline on Wednesday night completely focused and ready to go if they want Saturday's regular season home finale vs. GAC to mean what they want it to mean.

Despite Concordia's one-game lead over both UST and Macalester I think all three of the teams are close enough to clump 'em together.  Both Concordia and Mac have relatively easy stretches this week:  The Corn have both St. Kate's and St. Olaf at home while Mac goes to Carleton and finishes up with St. Kate's.  The Tommies, meanwhile, will have to do it the hard way going down to St. Peter on Wednesday night to take on the league-leading Gusties and then finish up the regular season tour on Saturday over at Hamline.  As strong as UST was coming down the stretch before CSB snapped the winning streak on Saturday, it's not inconceivable to see the Tommies falling all the way from the 3rd spot down to the 5th spot. 

Another interesting battle is shaping up - that for the coveted 6th spot in the MIAC playoffs between St. Kate's and Hamline.  St. Kate's could have easily wrapped up this spot some time ago - if it had taken care of business on the road vs. Augsburg and St. Olaf.  Despite Hamline's loss at St. Kate's on Saturday that pulled the 'Cats into a tie with the Pipers going into the last week of the regular season, you have to give a slight edge to Hamline here as they have both of the last two regular season games at home and it's certainly possible they could win one - or both of them if they play up to their potential.  St. Kate's will have to move heaven and earth to beat both Concordia and Maclester on the road.

So, it's come down to this.  GAC, fighting to hold on to it's dream of winning an outright MIAC regular season title.  CSB clinging to its hope of sharing the crown with GAC.  Concordia, UST, and Mac all jostling for playoff positioning and that hope of hosting an opening-round playoff game.  And Hamline and St. Kate's scratching and clawing for that 6th spot.  Make no mistake about it:  No one - and I mean NO ONE - can afford any slip-ups this week if they want to make their dreams come true. 

[gacbacker]

The game against St. Thomas is a huge one on Wednesday for the Gusties. With a win, I think they can go up to St. Joseph with no pressure. Sure the No. 1 seed and home court advantage will be on the line still, but they will have a share of the conference title in their pockets and the pride of knowing they will be able to erect a banner at Gus Young Court.

A loss against the Tommies and suddenly they will be in danger of slipping to the No. 3 seed and will likely be forced to go up to Moorhead, which as we know, is pretty much an automatic loss for the Gusties as history will show.

[Willy Wonka]

The game against St. Thomas is a huge one on Wednesday for the Gusties. With a win, I think they can go up to St. Joseph with no pressure. Sure the No. 1 seed and home court advantage will be on the line still, but they will have a share of the conference title in their pockets and the pride of knowing they will be able to erect a banner at Gus Young Court.

A loss against the Tommies and suddenly they will be in danger of slipping to the No. 3 seed and will likely be forced to go up to Moorhead, which as we know, is pretty much an automatic loss for the Gusties as history will show.

You certainly COULD erect a banner...but I'd probably just hang one 

[gacbacker]

New regional rankings are out and not much love for the MIAC:

West Region Record Overall Record
1. George Fox 15-1 21-2
2. Puget Sound 15-2 20-3
3. Occidental 18-3 19-4
4. Gustavus Adolphus 19-3 19-4
5. Cal Lutheran 18-4 18-5
6. Coe 15-7 16-7

Occidental goes from not in the rankings at all to No. 3 ahead of the Gusties. On top of that, Coe gets in at No. 6 with seven losses in region and overall instead of the Blazers who have only five losses. Hmmmmm....I'm sure Blazerguy will have something to say about it.

[Bird Dog]

Four of Coes Losses have been to teams that at the time of play have been rated in one or more of the top 25 polls.  U of Chicago by 7 @ Chicago, Whitewater  by 6 @ Coe in overtime, Carthage by 7 @ Carthage (one pt. ball game with one minute to go),  Simpson by 7 @ Simpson.  

Coe has beaten Simpson by seven on its home floor.  

Coe starts three juniors and two sophomores.  Still a young team with a young coach.  That may explain the earlier losses.  

Who have the Blazers played?

[gacbacker]

Huge night for the Gusties tonight as they turn away St. Thomas by 10 without the services of Molly Mathiowetz who was out with an illness.

St. Thomas cut a 13 point lead down to 5 with just over 5 minutes to play, but then Radtke scored five straight points and Geske added a three point play and the game was never in doubt after that.

Gusties get no help from Hamline though, so its up to St. Joseph to battle it out for the No. 1 seed.

[Willy Wonka]

I'm bored and just doing some digging right now...but is the "stolen" player that got blazerguy so fired up really Maggie Bryant? The sophomore who didn't even get in tonight and is averaging just 8.1 minutes a game?

It's clearly not a perfect fit, but this seems like a good time to paraphrase an all-timer from ultimate bad boy Gary Barnett ...

"It's obvious Maggie is not very good. She is awful. Maggie is not only a girl, she is terrible, OK? There's no other way to say it."

[LA RAMS]

Was at the CSB - Hamline game last night.  Heather Gillund had a monster game last night for the Blazers (25 pts. IIRC) and the Pipers simply had no answer for her down low.  Canton was also huge for CSB as well last night. 

To say I'm a little disappointed with the Regional rankings would be something of an understatement.  I don't have a problem with a Coe getting in there (how COULD I have a problem with a Cedar Rapids team getting in there?  ) but putting Occidental ahead of GAC is just plain ludicrous (and I HATE having to knock down a team from the Motherland).  I just don't understand this one. 

BTW, congrats to GAC and Mickey Haller which clinched at least a share of the regular season title with the win last night.  Heard that Molly Mathiowetz was taken to the hospital yesterday with an undisclosed illness.  Hope she'll be okay soon.

Willy - I think you're being a little harsh on Maggie Bryant, aren't you?  She's a very good player with a bright future ahead of her at UST. 

[Willy Wonka]

Willy - I think you're being a little harsh on Maggie Bryant, aren't you?  She's a very good player with a bright future ahead of her at UST. 

Absolutely, it's over-the-top harsh and apologies to Bryant...though still not quit as bad as a coach telling the media one of his players is a terrible kicker after she got sexually assaulted. Still a little unsure how Barnett kept his job after that one...

For what it's worth, a little birdie told me that Durbin was able to pull off a "trade" for Bryant at the last minute by snagging FY Kirstee Rotty from the Tommies.

If that's true, I'm stunned that blazerguy didn't bring that fact to the table during his earlier tirade 

[blazerguy]

I'm bored and just doing some digging right now...but is the "stolen" player that got blazerguy so fired up really Maggie Bryant? The sophomore who didn't even get in tonight and is averaging just 8.1 minutes a game?

It's clearly not a perfect fit, but this seems like a good time to paraphrase an all-timer from ultimate bad boy Gary Barnett ...

"It's obvious Maggie is not very good. She is awful. Maggie is not only a girl, she is terrible, OK? There's no other way to say it."

Maggie has alot of talent and should develope into a nice player for UST. However had she played for the Blazers, Durbin would have turned her into a starter or first off the bench this year. Coaching is so important especially at the D3 level. Here's hoping for a Blazer win on Saturday , a first place tie with another quality team, and a COY for Durbin.
Thanks Pat for the update from the Tommy loss. I expect that the rest of the year. Don't you expect it on Saturday unless you want to do the extra click!! Maybe Sinnn is finally feeling guilty.

[blazerguy]

Willy - I think you're being a little harsh on Maggie Bryant, aren't you?  She's a very good player with a bright future ahead of her at UST. 

Absolutely, it's over-the-top harsh and apologies to Bryant...though still not quit as bad as a coach telling the media one of his players is a terrible kicker after she got sexually assaulted. Still a little unsure how Barnett kept his job after that one...

For what it's worth, a little birdie told me that Durbin was able to pull off a "trade" for Bryant at the last minute by snagging FY Kirstee Rotty from the Tommies.

If that's true, I'm stunned that blazerguy didn't bring that fact to the table during his earlier tirade 

I didn't know trades were legal in college, I will start working on some for next year.

[Willy Wonka]

I'm bored and just doing some digging right now...but is the "stolen" player that got blazerguy so fired up really Maggie Bryant? The sophomore who didn't even get in tonight and is averaging just 8.1 minutes a game?

It's clearly not a perfect fit, but this seems like a good time to paraphrase an all-timer from ultimate bad boy Gary Barnett ...

"It's obvious Maggie is not very good. She is awful. Maggie is not only a girl, she is terrible, OK? There's no other way to say it."

Maggie has alot of talent and should develope into a nice player for UST. However had she played for the Blazers, Durbin would have turned her into a starter or first off the bench this year. Coaching is so important especially at the D3 level. Here's hoping for a Blazer win on Saturday , a first place tie with another quality team, and a COY for Durbin.
Thanks Pat for the update from the Tommy loss. I expect that the rest of the year. Don't you expect it on Saturday unless you want to do the extra click!! Maybe Sinnn is finally feeling guilty.

Another interesting, totally unbiased claim 

Unless you're now claiming Durbin is the second coming of Mr. Miagi, that's doubtful. Bryant was hurt for the first month(s?) of the season and would have had trouble adjusting/fitting in at just about any college program she transferred to.

As an aside, you do realize her family recently moved from Sartell to Edina and her brother was a hockey stud for the Tommies who graduated in 2009, right? Call me crazy, but those things may have played a role when she was choosing a D3 school to attend.

There doesn't have to be a big conspiracy here. Ask a few questions outside of your CSB circle and you might get some surprisingly relevant answers.

[blazerguy]

I'm bored and just doing some digging right now...but is the "stolen" player that got blazerguy so fired up really Maggie Bryant? The sophomore who didn't even get in tonight and is averaging just 8.1 minutes a game?

It's clearly not a perfect fit, but this seems like a good time to paraphrase an all-timer from ultimate bad boy Gary Barnett ...

"It's obvious Maggie is not very good. She is awful. Maggie is not only a girl, she is terrible, OK? There's no other way to say it."

Maggie has alot of talent and should develope into a nice player for UST. However had she played for the Blazers, Durbin would have turned her into a starter or first off the bench this year. Coaching is so important especially at the D3 level. Here's hoping for a Blazer win on Saturday , a first place tie with another quality team, and a COY for Durbin.
Thanks Pat for the update from the Tommy loss. I expect that the rest of the year. Don't you expect it on Saturday unless you want to do the extra click!! Maybe Sinnn is finally feeling guilty.

Another interesting, totally unbiased claim 

Unless you're now claiming Durbin is the second coming of Mr. Miagi, that's doubtful. Bryant was hurt for the first month(s?) of the season and would have had trouble adjusting/fitting in at just about any college program she transferred to.

As an aside, you do realize her family recently moved from Sartell to Edina and her brother was a hockey stud for the Tommies who graduated in 2009, right? Call me crazy, but those things may have played a role when she was choosing a D3 school to attend.

There doesn't have to be a big conspiracy here. Ask a few questions outside of your CSB circle and you might get some surprisingly relevant answers.

I am very aware of everything you said. As I have stated, I have no problem with the player. Just Sinner. Also thanks for admitting I am totally unbiased.