WBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[blazerguy]

I don't know if anybody else has had this experience when playing St. Kate's this year, but please tell me how the female version of Gilbert Gottfried ended up giving birth to a Wildcat player.  It sounded like the AFLAC duck got stuck on repeat behind their bench, spewing the following phrases nonstop:

A. (St. Kate's has the ball) "Get it inside, get it inside!!!"
B.  (a shot is taken by either team) "Rebound, rebound, rebound!!!"
C.  (St. Ben's has the ball) "Block it, block a shot, block a shot!!!"

In any case, the Blazers did what they should have done to CSC.  Heikenen had 18 points in 19 minutes, and everybody else chipped in nicely.  The story of the year on the CSB squad has been the emergence of Jaime Goehner.  After missing her first year with a knee injury, and then stuck on the bench last year behind Kim Johnson, Tara Schloe, and Ellie Boone, she has come into her own, and it couldn't happen to a nicer kid!

From a Blazer fan's perspective, it was an added bonus to see the other results pop up last night.  Ugsberg's first win over UST in 41 tries, dating back to 85 or so?  Bethel choking at home against the Cards?  Oles over Pipers?  Weird night.  I'm just glad CSB avoided the upset bug last night.

Anybody who thinks that the conference race (for any one of the top 6 spots) is over isn't paying attention.

Go Blazers!!!!!

CM, fortunately I sat on the other side and wasn't able to hear the chatter behind the bench. I thought the St. Kates coach did enough complaining to get a T but it didn't happen. I did think the three officials last night were the best I have seen this year, in control and called it the same on both ends. Anna of course got hacked underneath as usual but even she got a few calls! My favorite player Jamie is really coming into her own isn't she!! I think one of the unsung hero's this year is Nikki Carter. Solid at point guard with the ball control, never gets caught picking up the dribble and rarely has a turnover. I also predict Ariel will be an all American before her career is over, what an athelete! Coach Durbin has again done a great job putting together a top team and at the same time building a great squad for the future! 8)

[LA RAMS]

Willy,

Thought I'd try giving you a belated response to your question from the other day.  Was going to do it during the day Friday but never got a chance.  I was in the unusual position of having to be something of a neutral observer as I happen to like both squads; an odd arrangement perhaps but nevertheless I was able to keep my objectivity about the thing.  First, while the officiating wasn't anything to write home about it wasn't the pits of the earth.  I've seen worse.  Yes, even I would agree that TM-F does get carried away with her theatrics from time to time although I would hesitate at the suggestion that she's actually able to influence officials to have calls go her way at the drop of a hat.  The bottom line here is that it was FT shooting, or rather a lack of, which cost the Gusties in this game.  Presumably (hopefully), they'll learn from this one and maybe use it as a motivational tool for the home stretch.

ECMF - Sorry if I came across tooting my horn a bit loudly the other day.  Actually, I have seen Bethel be at their best when they annihilated St. Kate's a little more than a week ago.   They can be quite good at times.  They took CSB to the limit on Monday night but then turned around and lost to a youthful SMU team on their home floor no less.  I would have to guess here that even you have to be somewhat perplexed by it all.

Here's my picks for tomorrow........

Hamline @ Macalester - Too bad this game won't count as a conference victory for the Pipers but they'll still win by 20+

Augsburg @ St. Kate's - Kitties better than you think; should get this one by 10.

Bethel @ St. Olaf - Christians reeling after consecutive home losses but get back on track; Royals by 8

CSB @ UST - Still a classic rivalry but the Bennies will pound a team about ready to go on life support; CSB by 18

SMU @ GAC - Gusties still smarting from Wednesday night get things rolling again; GAC by 20

Carleton @ Concordia - Would love for the Knights to find a way to steal this one, too, but its one LONG trek up U.S. Highway 10 to Moorhead; Corn by 17     

[Willy Wonka]

Looks like some interesting results today, beginning up north. The Carls will be a VERY dangerous team come playoff time. After beating the Cobbs on the road, they've now beaten all of the teams above them and the young lineup seems to be coming along nicely after a rough start. It'd be nice to see the home and home in the MIAC playoffs and Carleton is one of the few schools that could still pull it off.

Gusties romp by 35, including leading 44-13 at the break. Hopefully Monahan's 18 and 5 in 17 minutes and Vadnais' 18/3/6 in 22 don't hurt their MVP chances 

What happened in the Bennie game? UST looked absolutely awful when I watched them Monday and they lost to AUGSBURG Wednesday. Now you're trying to tell me they had a chance to win in the closing minutes at St Bens? Wow.

[gacbacker]

Very interesting results today...Carleton appears to be playing the best ball right now and they are still in 4th place. If Carleton ends up in 4th place, that 1 vs. 4 matchup in the semifinals is going to be brutal.

The Blazers barely hang on to beat a St. Thomas team that couldn't hit double figures in the first half against the Gusties.

The Gusties simply take apart St. Mary's who were coming off an upset over Bethel. The Gustie defense has been almost perfect in the first half of games recently. Unfortunately their post defense broke down in both the Concordia and Carleton losses in the second half.

The Gusties appear to be getting Bethel at the right time...Ahlberg should be back in the line-up Monday, but I heard Annagret Nautsch could be out for the rest of the season.

I think what will really be interesting here in the next couple of weeks is to see how the standings shake out. I think one thing is for certain and that is that Carleton is either going to finish #3 or #4...after that it is really up in the air.

St. Ben's, Concordia and Gustavus could all still finish 1-3 and the Gusties could drop to #4.  Hamline, St. Kate's, St. Thomas and Bethel will be fighting for those #5 and #6 spots with some big head to head matchups upcoming.

[Collegeville Magic]

Nothing like a good old fashioned brawl for conference standings!  The CSB-UST game Saturday was a good test for the Blazers.  When the Tommies hit their 3's, which they did at key spots in this game, they can hang with anybody.

Tonight's lineup:
St. Catherine @ Concordia -- Cobs rebound from upset and beat the 'cats by 15
Augsburg @ Hamline -- Ugs put up a fight, but Pipers win by 8
Gustavus @ Bethel -- dangerous game for GAC, but Bethel's injuries mean Gusties by 5
St. Olaf @ St. Thomas -- Tommies fall prey to another upset, Oles by 2
Saint Mary's @ Saint Benedict -- Blazers at home against quiet Cards O, CSB by 19

Go Blazers!!!!!

[Willy Wonka]

Well, a win's a win I suppose. I was busy working, but the box score shows BU missed a 3 to win it with 2 seconds left. Instead, GAC slides by with a 73-71 victory. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good I guess...

gacbacker, were you there? What was going on? Boese, Nelson and Consoer combined to shoot 4-22. Yuck.

[James T. Kirk]

I beamed down to Bethel to watch the big game this evening.  This is the second time I have seen them play; the other game was against St. Ben's.  I can't believe that Bethel is losing some of their games lately, they have a pretty good team.  Maybe they play to their competition.  The game was fairly close the whole way with Bri and Jess leading the way for the Gusties.  Bri must have been a guard at some point with the quick first step that she has to the basket.  I don't know of many posts that can keep up with her.  You could tell the Jen A. was ill because she had little pop to her shots.  Overall a hard fought contest with decent refs to boot.

One very classless thing that I saw occurred after the game, when some of the Gustie parents started yelling at a Bethel player in the hall.    This player handled herself well with these parents, but how low they stooped.  The best part of the scene were the Gustie girls going after their parents because of their behavior.

[gacbacker]

First to address James T. Kirk's comments...I agree that the parents were out of line talking to the Bethel player. At the same time here's a fair warning to post players in the MIAC: Heather Davis isn't afraid to swing her elbows. Apparently she nailed Heikenen last week and now Monahan will be getting stitches above her eye.

In another classless act tonight...one official midway through the game came over to the Gustie bench during an intense moment and said "Whoa, quite the battle between the Christians and the Lutherans tonight." Now forget the fact that Lutherans actually are Chrsitians, but what a stupid thing to say.

As far as the game goes, Monahan always dominates the Bethel posts, they are too slow for her and Monahan just has great hands. Vadnais was great as well, but the unsung heros tonight were Michelle Linbo and Vicky Peterson. Linbo really played hard, got some key offensive boards and created several turnovers. Peterson came off the bench for 10 points and rebounded very well as usual.

The three at the end never had a chance really. The Royals inbounded with 2.2 seconds left and had 60 feet to go. Ahlberg ended up with a shot about 3 feet outside the arch and Vadnais partially blocked it.

Gusties should continue to be on cruise control on Wednesday as they go to Olaf.

[Willy Wonka]

Ha! I heard about the stitches but not about the altercation in the hallway. I laughed and made fun of Monahan.

I hope this Davis girl brings out the broken-nose mask and high socks to complete her Bill Laimbeer-persona! Maybe JoLynn can take a few pointers from her GAC cousin and go Isiah Thomas on her in practice too

I love drama.

[James T. Kirk]

The two Bethel games that I have watched are the two that you refer to Gac.  To be fair to Heather, neither of the incidents involved her elbows; she was pivoting away from a second player and both Anna and Bri being aggressive, took the ball (hands) in the face.  And in fact, the penalty in last night's game was against Bri.  Granted Heather pivots hard, but if you stayed to watch the guys games, they rebound and pivot the same way; but the other guys know to stay out of the way.  Other posts in the MIAC bring the ball down only to have it slapped away; get use to it because this is the direction women's D-3 ball will go.

[Maroon&Gold]

Any early thoughts on all-conference and MVP picks as of yet??

[blazerball]

Actually, I was at the CSB-Bethel game and had a perfect view of the play with Heikenen.  Heikenen got a wicked elbow to the jaw.  It was very clear at the game and, from what I hear, very clear on tape.  She did not get hit with the ball - it was an elbow.

Anyway, it should be an interesting stretch run.  The top four all have strengths and weaknesses so we will see what happens.  I think the X factor will be injuries.  The Blazers are banged up right now but I'm confident they will battle through and I'm sure other teams have their bumps and bruises...

As for MVP --- I think it is a three person race between Heikenen, Monahan, and Hageman.  I think Vadnais and Vig can also be mentioned but the first three have been the best in the conference so far this season.

[Collegeville Magic]

I'd expect a Star Fleet Captain to not defend thuggery...

The Davis elbow to Anna's jaw was clearly that.  The game tape shows her turn to look, put out her elbows, and swing one of them squarely into the side of Anna's head.  There's nothing wrong with clearing a little space (below shoulder level) if there are hands and arms reaching for the ball, but I doubt that either the shot to Heikenen or Monahan was purely accidental.  Now that Davis has knocked out one MVP candidate and caused stitches in another, I would hope the inner Christian in her would see that God doesn't like cheap shots.

The CSB-SMU game was a rough one to watch last night.  With SMU's slow-down game plan on both ends, the final score was a whopping 54-44.  Of course, the teams combined to shoot about 30 percent.

I'm sure the game tomorrow against Macalester will be much prettier... or maybe not.

[Willy Wonka]

CM - Oh, Durbin allows admin people to sit in on film sessions now, huh? Or did a player tell you that? Isn't that...what's the word I'm looking for here...hearsay?

Kirk - Monahan was called for a foul. However, the elbow was thrown after the whistle was blown.

Basketballs don't cause 5 stitches. Elbows do.

[Maroon&Gold]

You guys couldn't be suggesting that Bethel players would behave in a way that would be somewhat un-Christian like now would you