WBB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Willy Wonka]

GAC down 59-47 with 53:36 to play.

Whatever adjustments Durbin made at the break are completely befuddling the Gusties on defense. Sounds like the Bennies are shooting a layup contest.

[Willy Wonka]

It's over except for the crying for the Gusties, down 62-50 with about a minute left. CSB solidly takes the pole position for the MIAC title. The only positive in this situation is that CSB simply held serve against the big boys and has to play them all on the road the second time though (Yes, I'm reaching).

Does anyone who was there have some insight for me? What were the Bennies doing that GAC had no hope of stopping in the second half?

[WLCALUM83]

Final just in:  Carleton 69, Bethel 68.

[blazerguy]

It's over except for the crying for the Gusties, down 62-50 with about a minute left. CSB solidly takes the pole position for the MIAC title. The only positive in this situation is that CSB simply held serve against the big boys and has to play them all on the road the second time though (Yes, I'm reaching).

Does anyone who was there have some insight for me? What were the Bennies doing that GAC had no hope of stopping in the second half?

Willy, just got back from the game. I was very impressed by GAC in the first half and was very concerned if the Blazers could come back from being down by I think 8 points. The second half saw the Blazers really step up the defense, especially down low on Bri and the freshman whose name I can't remember. They would drop off and help every time the ball went low and it seemed like GAC couldn't get it back out for good shots. CSB also drove to the basket much better the second half and got alot of points from whoever was playing the post. Goehner finished with 10, Tauer with about 10, and Boone must have had 8 or 9. I also think the Blazers speed with Mindy Schmitt, Mackenzie, Dalhed, and Falvey will be very difficult for any team this year. Fun game to watch tonight, especially if you are a CSB fan!!

[scorekeeper]

What a great victory for the Blazers tonight!  I was very concerned about a lack of identity coming back from Boston, but now it is official, the Blazers are a defensive force.  Now that they have their offense going they will be very tough to deal with all season.  Of course, CSB has not been tested with tough road games, but by winning the early home games they are going to put the pressure on the other contenders in the second half of the season. 

I think the key tonight in the second half was speed and patience.  CSB wore the Gusties down with the lightning quick guard play and patiently worked the ball on the offensive end, cutting down on the silly turnovers from the first half.  Boone and Goehner were solid defending Monohan in the post and came through with big baskets as well (Goehner had 8 of her 10 in the second half). 

Darby has not gotten into a groove yet, but she hit a couple of big three pointers that really helped solidify the victory.  Also, a great game by Katie Kempe.  She showed great senior leadership keeping the ball alive with the dribble and directing the offense.  I'm very sad that I won't see this Blazer team again until January 3rd.  They are playing so well and are so fun to watch that I wish they kept playing every other day.  Of course, I'm sure they can use the rest and here's to CSB coming out strong in 2007. 

[gacbacker]

Disappointing night for the Gusties...I really thought they had the Blazers at halftime. I think I'm especially disappointed because I still think this is one of the weaker Blazer teams I have seen in the past five years...now maybe my eyes think that because this Blazer team is more defensive than offensive...or maybe its because they don't have an 18 point per game player like a Heikenen???

I was disappointed with how the Gusties handled the loss as well...that's all I will say about that right now...

The Gusties HAVE to know that teams, especially the good ones, are going to try to take away Vadnais and Monahan and make other people beat them...there has to be some strategy thought out as to how to combat that and tonight there didn't appear to be any.

Great game for Layman...and things might have been different if Schultz wouldn't have caught an elbow in the first minute of the game and if the Gusties had the services of Emily Nelson who is still recovering from knee surgery.

Still a good start for Gustavus at 6-1...and a great rebound by the Blazers after losing their first two to beat their three biggest rivals in the conference before x-mas.

[she_scores51]

It's going to be a VERY LONG season for my Cardinals after a 40 point loss to Hamline. Ouch! 

I hope they can come up with a few surprises along the way and manage more than just a couple of conference wins. They'll need to find some sort of offensive groove though, and it appears that that might be tough.

[LA RAMS]

I was up at Claire Lynch last night and things looked pretty good for the Gusties - at least in the 1st half anyway.  Give credit to Durbin for making whatever necessary adjustments he needed to make for  the 2nd half.  The thing that bothered me was  how the Bennies were able to attack right down the middle which often resulted in easy lay-ups.  Also, Jess had very few opportunites or looks for 3's which, had she been able to knock some down, might have loosened up things down low for Monahan, Layman, and Wonka's sister.  All in all, a disappointing finish........

Meanwhile, what happened up in Arden Hills?  Luckily, the Knights escaped with a 69-68 W over Bethel.  Anybody over there to witness it?

CSB's in control of things for now, but there's still a lot of basketball left to play.  What comes around goes around.   

[blazerguy]

Does anyone who was there have some insight for me? What were the Bennies doing that GAC had no hope of stopping in the second half?

Oh yea, one other thing, We have Durbin as our coach!!

[gacbacker]

Yeah Durbin, the one who should have been T'd up last night when he threw that little hissey fit when Goehner was correctly whistled for a travel.

You Blazer fans complain about Tammy's antics, but your guy is a close second in that department.

[Collegeville Magic]

From what I heard on the computer radio out here in Philly (video feed dropped out during halftime), the Blazers' D is going to be the biggest weapon in the conference this year.

Mackenzie "all steals, all day" O'Neill with 8 picks, and solid all-around scoring too.  Fun, fun, fun, for this Blazer fan.

LA- I thought you were pro-Carleton and neutral in other regards... Apparently not, as the anti-CSB bias is starting to show.  Do uou think that maybe limiting Vadnais's 3-point looks might have been part of a game plan, so that the posts wouldn't get extra space?  Nah, that must just have been a coincidence.

Saturday and Monday look important for both the Cobbers and the Knights.  Anybody see the 1-point game against Bethel?  The mercurial Christians are always tough to figure out.  How about the UST 7 point victory over Mac?  How on earth was it that close?

[blazerguy]

You Blazer fans complain about Tammy's antics, but your guy is a close second in that department.

I'm gonna have to talk to Mike about that, we hate to be second in anything!

[renaisscoach]

Don't worry, BG, he isn't !!

Gonna finally see my Knights tomorrow--mehopes. My bride and I are up outa the sticks with the grandkiddies. I'm sure Tammy will remain a distant 2nd in the aforementioned category..........

RC

[Willy Wonka]

How about the UST 7 point victory over Mac?  How on earth was it that close?

Tough to say, but I'll hazard a guess. The UST coach told her/his (?) players to throw it at the hoop instead of throwing it out of bounds. The turnovers went from 20+ a night to 11 and the FG percentage went from 40+% a night to around 30%.

Haven't seen the Scots play, but I've heard they play a strange brand of basketball. Anything you'd expect a "normal" player to do, they do the opposite. At least two MIAC teams have found them difficult to play against. The defense must be alright, or else teams just expect to show up and get the win.

[cobbernation]

Big win tonight for the cobbers over St. Kates.  87-80.  The cobbers were led by Hageman with 23, Krabbenhoft 18, Keeley 18, Heinz 12, and Ashley King with 11.

It's nice to see that Krabbenhoft is back into the starting lineup.  She started off the season coming off the bench to get about 20 min./game.  She played 31 today.

Good win COBBERS!!!