WBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Collegeville Magic]

Y-K is expecting?  I thought it was better for pregnant women to avoid stress, not cause it...  There's no way her blood pressure stays at normal levels during the course of a game. 

hoop202- if you think the refs were biased toward CSB, and that gives you a reason to be happier about your team losing convincingly, then be my guest. 

Tonight's games... any predictions?

Carleton @ Saint Mary's--Carls by 2, just a hunch
St. Thomas @ Concordia--Tommies by 1, my weird pick for the night
Hamline @ Bethel--Royales with Cheese by 9
Saint Benedict @ Augsburg--Blazers by 23
St. Catherine @ St. Olaf--Wildcats by 14

[peachbasket]

Cobbers take it to the Tommies!  A 6 point game at half turned into what looks to be a serious 25-point beating!  A true team effort, help from all!
WAY TO GO!! A HUGE win for the Cobbers! Now, I cheer on the Gusties this Wednesday...
1/18/2006 (Wednesday)
Concordia @ Hamline - scary game, but if we continue to play team ball, a win for the Cobbers by 7.
Saint Mary's @ St. Olaf - can the oles really be as bad as their record? I'll pick them by 9 in an ugly one!
Bethel @ Carleton - very weird outcomes from both of these squads!  Tammy's crew might be getting it, and if they are, they will cause havoc the second round, carls by 5.
Gustavus @ Saint Benedict - oh, how I wish!!! If the bennies continue to have former players officiating their games, (and/or Marty,) the rest of the league is in big trouble!! I want the gusties by 4, but I think the bennies have the 13 pt edge at home.
St. Thomas @ St. Catherine - the tommies have struggled at home, and the katies will press the young backcourt. CSC by 11.

[Collegeville Magic]

Wednesday night will be a big game for my Blazers.  I think the battle is won tomorrow based on rebounding and distribution of scoring.  If the Blazers limit second chances by cleaning the defensive boards, and control the ball on the perimeter, then it's CSB by 15.  If the Gusties get rebounds and narrow the well-spread Blazer scoring attack, then it's CSB by 6.  Either way, I think CSB's depth will pull through in a competitive game.

It was nice to see the Blazer starters get their due rest last night.  It's good to see no CSB player in the top 10 in minutes per game played.  With JV players seeing action in the first half last night and two regulars resting for the evening, CSB went into half time up 57-26.  The 29-point victory over Augsburg wasn't as close as the score would indicate. 

Interesting to see Hamline top Bethel and the Oles nip St. Kate's last night.  The middle of the conference is one of the most competitive groups I've seen in the MIAC in a while.  The down side of the unpredictable nature of the league is that it'll be tough to get two NCAA bids out of the conference.   

Wednesday's games:
Concordia @ Hamline-- Hamline's dangerous, I say Pipers upset Cobs by 3
Saint Mary's @ St. Olaf--rollercoaster Oles by 6
Bethel @ Carleton--Bethel by 5, the team of anti-streaks rises up on the road
Gustavus @ Saint Benedict--Blazers by 15, home court and students finally back at school mean good energy for a rivalry game
St. Thomas @ St. Catherine--Who knows?  I say CSC by 2

[gacbacker]

C-Magic: No Jen Dalhed yesterday in Minneapolis...just a nagging injury that needed rest against a bad team or something that's going to keep her out against the Gusties?

Not that it really matters...Mackenzie O'Neal and Falvey appear quite capable of picking up the slack.

One thing I will give the Blazers is that they always have plently of good shooters and they all seem to shoot the ball the same...much more than I can say for my Gusties...

I'm going to predict one of those low-scoring ugly games like the Blazers and Gusties were having a few years ago...not quite 43-42 when Kim Johnson choked on two free throws with no time remaining...but somewhere in the low 50's. 

Gusties win 55-52.

[Willy Wonka]

Johnson pulled a Darius Washington? That must have been her freshman year in '95, cause I don't remember hearing about that...

The Gusties are looking for a "Room at the Top" but the Bennies aren't about to "Breakdown." GAC is clearly "Running down a Dream" but they still "(You) Don't know how it feels". Yet. Don't expect them to "(I won't) Back down." CSB is expecting to put the smack down and say "Don't come around here no more" but once the Gusties "Learn(ing) to fly" they could be making the trek up north come late Feb to make sure CSB's reign "Won't last long."

Hey, "Even the losers" get lucky sometimes, right?

(Jeez, I have too much time on my hands...)

[blazerguy]

  Just got the news that Marty, Robin and assistant coach Denny johnson will the the referee's tomorrow night. 

[gacbacker]

Willy, the Johnson choke episode happened during your time in 2002-2003, you probably don't remember because you were busy helping the Gusties to the final four.   

[LA RAMS]

I'll try my hand again at tonight's slate of games:

Concordia @ Hamline - By no means a shoo-in game for the Cobs; I think they find a way in the end to pull it out by 3 or 4 but it's a tough one.

SMU @ St. Olaf - I say Cards by 5 but who knows?

Bethel @ Carleton - I wasn't that impressed with the Royals when I saw them in action the other night.  I'm not sure if the Knights have "found" themselves yet but my gut feeling says my Knights by 8 at home.

UST @ St. Kate's - A suddenly slumping Tommie team minus Gotchnik taking on those always tricky 'Kitties.  Was somewhat surprised with them dropping one to St. Olaf the other night but I think they get the job done at home.  Kate's by 5.

GAC @ CSB - The marquee matchup of the night.  My heart says the Gusties pull off a huge upset but my logical mind seems to somehow tell me differently.  What worries me is that CSB might have their way down low pounding on Monahan as much as possible.  Still, if the Gusties can find a way to create enough turnovers with their trapping defense and take the CSB guards out of their rythym they've certainly got a shot.  Hope they can do it.  CSB by 10 in a game much closer than the score would indicate.

Just after we lose a great one in Jack Snow I find out that my L.A. Rams have lost another one in Ron Jessie.  R.I.P. No. 81. 

[Collegeville Magic]

gacbacker- Jen Dalhed and Jamie Goehner were both resting some bumps and bruises they got on Saturday against the not-so-subtle Pipers.  I would think that they'll be ready for tonight, but I'm certainly not anywhere close to that decision.  The lucky thing for us Blazer fans is that our team depth can make up for injuries more easily than most squads.

If tonight's game is in the low 50's, I would consider that a low scoring, ugly game.  I'm thinking high 60's or low 70's for CSB, and about 10-15 less for GAC, depending on how many extra free calls the Blazers get from the obviously biased, cheating, blind, and home-town refs.

Good luck to all, let the best team win, and nobody else blow out any knees this year!!!

Go Blazers!

[Maroon&Gold]

A sort of Cobber reunion tonight at Hamline. 

I am sure it will be wierd for the Cobbs to see Mandy Pearson on the opposing bench. Also I would think they know that saturday presents a big game vs the Blazers. However I am confident that Coach Rahman wil have the ladies focused to go and get a road win tonight.

The Cobbers are really starting to play an exciting brand of team basketball.  It makes it fun for the fans to watch, as they do not know who to expect the next big play from.  Not to look ahead but I have a good feeling about the Blazer game saturday.  Go Cobbs!!!!

[hoop202]

 Usually calls go both ways but that was not the case in that game. In any game, my motto is- the outcome of a game should be decided by the players, not a poor ref.

Stress... Some people think coaching is rewarding... I did. And take it from a parent ..... raising a child is a whole allot more stressful than a little ball game.....   

[miacwatchmen]

Big game tonight in St. Joseph. Blazers vs. the GAC ladies. I got the Blazers by at least 20. The GAC ladies just dont have what it takes to stay with the Blazers tonight.

[miacwatchmen]

I stand corrected GAC 31-29 at the half over the Blazers......

[miacwatchmen]

71-70 GAC on the last shot of the game. I know absolutely nothing about this sport any more I quit posting here!!

[peachbasket]

Okay, a special thanks to the gusties!! Now it's on us, after a big win at Hamline, I hope the youngsters are up to the test!

1/21/2006 (Saturday)
Saint Benedict @ Concordia - this will be tough, but I think Concordia might have the best coach in the league, and the best "team", although the gusties are knocking on that "team" door!!  The Cobbers take this one by 4.
Macalester @ Bethel - the "Christians" put the fear of God in the lack-luster macluster!  Bethel by a whole lot!!
St. Thomas @ Carleton - the knights get back at the tommies, they can't figure out Carleton's D, the Knight's win by 12.
Gustavus @ Hamline - the gusties try not to have a let down after a huge win, and the pipers make it tough, and the gusties squeak it out, by 6.
Augsburg @ St. Olaf, 1:00pm
Saint Mary's @ St. Catherine, 1:00pm