WBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[LA RAMS]

Didn't get to see it but what a bad loss for Carleton on Saturday.  Just when you thought the freshmen were starting to "get it" and the Knights were on a nice little roll they go and lay an egg on their home floor no less to crosstown St. Olaf.  Hopefully, they can right the ship this week with SMU at home on Wednesday and up at Bethel on Saturday.  Darn those tricky Oles anyway.  They are a tough team to figure out.  Meanwhile,  I did get to catch CSB's close win over Hamline on Saturday.  I was very impressed with both Ariel Tauer and Jenna Tody as both came up big in the second half when the Blazers were in some trouble.  For whatever reason, Hamline just cannot seem to get over the hump in terms of beating the top teams.

On a happier note, I was glad to see GAC handily dispose of Augsburg on Saturday.  Willy, considering the close calls the Gusties have had recently and the fact that Augsburg dumped Concordia last week you never know.  Anyway, GAC covered the spread with room to spare and now can focus on what looms ahead..........

For sure a VERY interesting week coming up.  Can both Bethel and Hamline hold on to the 5 and 6 spots respectively or will the Kitties manage to sneak in there?  Can my Knights avoid a late season free-fall (they'd better)?  All of course leading up to the showdown in St. Peter this Saturday.            

[scorekeeper]

I did some quick homework on the Kitty Kats of CSC and I discovered that they swept Hamline, but lost twice to Bethel.  Therefore, St. Kate's will make the playoffs if they go 2-0 and Hamline goes 1-1 this week, or if St. Kate's goes 1-1 and Hamline goes 0-2.  St. Kate's is home to Olaf and at UST.  Hamline is home to Bethel and at Concordia.  You gotta love the chances for those upstart Wildcats. 

We are all eager to find out what happens on Wednesday at St. Ben's as it is senior night (or as we like to say, "Heikenen Night.")  I hope Anna is able to suit up and play at least a few minutes against the Auggies. 

What a game at Hamline.  That was a thriller, and I give the Blazers credit for being able to mount a comeback when the Pipers had 7 different players hit 3 pointers in the first half alone.  Even though Heikenen is the lone senior this year, CSB had 5 juniors on the court together Saturday with Kempe, Dalhed, Noreen, Goehner and Boone.  That gives St. Ben's a lot of experience coming down the home stretch.  I hope it is enough.  Even with an expanded field, I am afraid the NCAA will only take two of the three deserving teams from the MIAC this year.  And if Carleton pulls out the upset in the tourney, there will be two very good teams sitting at home this year from our conference.  That's why I think the game at Gustavus this Saturday is so huge.  Blazers, don't you look past Wednesday though...remember what happened to Concordia. 

[Willy Wonka]

"Kelby Krabbenhoft, who is heading an effort to bring the Vikings'
training camp to Sioux Falls, S.D., reiterated Monday that his group
will not participate in a bidding war with Duluth or Fargo, N.D.
Business leaders in both cities also have expressed interest.
Krabbenhoft's committee is scheduled to meet Friday. "

Is that any relation to the Cobbs player? Tell her to tell her dad the Vikes are just fine in Mankato!

[Maroon&Gold]

"Kelby Krabbenhoft, who is heading an effort to bring the Vikings'
training camp to Sioux Falls, S.D., reiterated Monday that his group
will not participate in a bidding war with Duluth or Fargo, N.D.
Business leaders in both cities also have expressed interest.
Krabbenhoft's committee is scheduled to meet Friday. "

Is that any relation to the Cobbs player? Tell her to tell her dad the Vikes are just fine in Mankato!

I believe that that is Sarah's father.  Incidently, her brother Joe is a freshmen with the U of Wisconsin, and is getting quite a few minutes for the Badgers...I bet he could have helped out the Cobber men this year 

[Willy Wonka]

M&G - Rumor has it Poppa Krabbenhoft was a benchwarmer back when Poppa Wonka was a Cobber on the 70s. Sarah's mom must have a sweet athletic background 

Mr. Jessica Walden will be making the trek up to Grand Forks with me March 10-13 for the regional. Should I invite the Cobbers too, who are sure to be done by then?

[holbi1]

It has been awhile since I have seen CSB play but I did catch the CSB-UST
contest down at St. Paul a couple of weeks ago. Great to see CSB win against the hated Tommies.

I was very impressed with the athleticism and quickness of this CSB team.
However, I did see some chinks in their defense, especially footwork and screening out opponents on shots. Some of this will come with experience
but I worry how much this will affect post season play.

Just my impression....what do you all think?

[Willy Wonka]

Terrible news for the Gusties. According to the Gustie radio announcer, Michelle Linbo likely tore her ACL in the first half. Though she wasn't starting, she played the most of any GAC PG and was clearly their best player at that spot.

Given Sviggum's unwillingness to shoot and Raymo's lack of height, I could see Vadnais taking over the bulk of the ball handling duties in crunch time with freshman Emily Nelson sliding into her wing slot.

That's a tough blow though, for Linbo personally as a senior and GAC as a team, especially against a worthless opponent like Mac. 

[gacbacker]

Wonka is unfortunately and very sadly correct.    An uncoordinated, unathletic and untalented Macalester team comes to St. Peter and the Gusties lose a senior point guard. The Scots looked like a bunch of 6th graders out there causing awkward collisions all over the place. 7 points in the first half for the Scots...if this is the type of team they are going to field, my vote would be for them to not play the other teams in the conference at all. Pagel was the only player on the team who looked like she belonged playing college basketball...I reckon I could take a group of girls off an intramural team at most other MIAC schools and beat Macalester...what a waste.

[gacbacker]

The playoffs are now set as St. Kate's blows their chance with a loss to Olaf tonight...Bethel backs into the #6 spot with the loss at Hamline. Bethel and Kate's could end in a tie, but Bethel holds the tie breaker with 2 head to head wins. So Carleton vs. Hamline in the in the first round and then Bethel at one of the top three.

[LA RAMS]

An exciting game over at Hutton Arena last night as Hamline clinched a first-ever playoff berth (and now the 5th spot) in the program's history with a 61-60 victory over Bethel.  Bethel had a last-gasp chance with 2.7 seconds left but the inbounds pass play to Heather Davis went askew thus securing the win for the Pipers.  Speaking of Ms. Davis, she was at it AGAIN last night; this time in the form of all but tackling a Hamline player on a fast-break layup (Kelly Lines).  Lines was uninjured in the mishap but was clearly agitated.  Look, even I'm hard-pressed to believe that Davis is mean-spirited and is/was looking to intentionally hurt someone.  On the other hand, it just looks bad and there clearly is a pattern here.  In any event, Bethel uses the back-door route into the MIAC post-season with St. Kate's losing to arguably the hottest team in the MIAC right now in St. Olaf.

Glad to see Carleton cruise last night.  I think they needed a lopsided win just to get their swagger back after last Saturday's improbable home loss.  Hopefully, TM-F will rest Vig and perhaps Oken-Berg for Saturday's meaningless game up at Bethel.  I would do it simply because I would want to have Vig completely rested and healthy for Monday night's 1st round playoff game.

Very sad indeed that Linbo got hurt last night  .  I would like to think that either Nelson, Raymo, or Sviggum can step right in and get the job done.  Nonetheless, an ill-timed, costly injury.  I would be hesitant in blaming strictly Mac and/or a certain player(s).  Whether we like it or not, these things unfortunately happen, often at the worst possible times.  For whatever reason, women seem to be especially susceptible to this type of injury.  She's not the first one to go down with this type of an injury and likely won't be the last .   

[Maroon&Gold]

Well the Cobbers survive a subpar first half performance to get the 70-55 win over the Tommies last night.  Frosh Jenna Freudenberg (sp?) leads the Cobbs with 18 and Keeley kicks in with 14.

Regular season wraps up saturday in Moorhead vs the playoff bound Pipers. There is still hope for a conference championship if the Cobbs win and GAC takes down the evil empire that is CSB...so it looks like I am cheering for the Cobbers and the Gusties this weekend.

[Korn Lover]

LA;

New poster, long time reader.

Now that you've brought it up again, I had a ringside seat at the Royal/Cobber game last weekend. I got to see Ms. Davis in action. I noted that on post entry passes, if she can, Ms. Davis throws her elbows back into her defender to create space. Cleary an offensive foul. In addition, twice during the game she threw her shoulder into a cobber defender trying to follow her player through the lane. I'm not referring to the kind of "Bump" we all come to expect if one enters the lane in the MIAC, I'm talking about a deliberate forward shoulder thrust. In both cases, the Cobber player was sent to the floor, no call by a referee.

[Naf layor]

Korn, or should I say Mr. White.  I knew you were a reader of this stupid site when I heard you through the whole game yelling "watch her elbows" or "thats a foul".  Let the refs call the game and keep your stupid comments attacking a young women to your self.  I don't hear Heather whinning about having a tooth knocked out, getting a concussion, or getting two black eyes while playing in MIAC games.  Grow up!

[Korn Lover]

Ooh, touched a nerve here! 

Color's yellow and who attacked a young girl? Thought I commentd upon play. That's not an attack, it's an observation and that's what these sites are for.
If the site is so stupid, why are you here?

Heather? 

Make sure you have your facts right before throwing names around. Might be embarassing...

[gacbacker]

So what's everybody's prediction for Saturday's games. I'm guessing the Cobbers will have an easy time with Hamline because the Pipers have nothing to play for, while the cobbers have a conference title to play for.

Concordia 73 Hamline 60

As for the Gustavus/St. Ben's game, I really don't know how this one is going to turn out. Will the Gusties play with emotion after Linbo's injury or will they look sluggish on offense? I also can't decide who I would rather play in the semifinals...if GAC loses to St. Ben's they would have to beat Bethel and then go to Concordia. If GAC beats St. Ben's they would play the winner of the St. Ben's/Bethel game (likely St. Ben's for a second time in 5 days). Personally I would rather play Bethel and then go to Concordia rather than having to beat St. Ben's twice in 5 days.

Gustavus 65 St. Ben's 64