St. Mary's (MN) 99, NCC 81
Game Summary
In a game where they never trailed, the St. Mary's Cardinals (6-1) scored on their first possession and never looked back. North Central (6-4) kept it within single digits for a good chunk of the half and even pulled within three at 24-21 with 6:53 left in the frame. Then St. Mary's went on a tear, scoring 12 unanswered in less than two and a half minutes. North Central rallied and made it a 49-38 game at halftime. North Central couldn't really close the gap unfortunately, as St. Mary's pulled away slowly but surely, leading by as many as 23 points. North Central pulled to within 13 a couple times but could get no closer in the final minutes.
In a game where they never trailed, the St. Mary's Cardinals (6-1) scored on their first possession and never looked back. North Central (6-4) kept it within single digits for a good chunk of the half and even pulled within three at 24-21 with 6:53 left in the frame. Then St. Mary's went on a tear, scoring 12 unanswered in less than two and a half minutes. North Central rallied and made it a 49-38 game at halftime. North Central couldn't really close the gap unfortunately, as St. Mary's pulled away slowly but surely, leading by as many as 23 points. North Central pulled to within 13 a couple times but could get no closer in the final minutes.
Key Stats
- NCC: 36 turnovers. Offensively... it was a nightmarish day for this Cardinal team. I don't know if they were tired or weren't entirely ready for the game, but they struggled. They telegraphed a lot of passes and were a little careless with the ball yesterday. Not one of their best performances this season. 20 of those turnovers came in the first half, so they did improve a bit as the game went on.
- Shelby Auseth (SMU): 12-18 FG (2-3 3PT), 2-3 FT; 28 pts, 7 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 2 blk. She killed in basically all facets of the game yesterday. St. Mary's was efficient from deep, and Auseth was a part of it. She also had some good looks at layups throughout the game. She took advantage of North Central's system and had herself an excellent game.
- Uzuri Williams (NCC): 6-10 FG, 1-2 FT; 13 pts, 5 reb (2 ofr), 2 stl, 1 blk. I think this was a breakout game for the junior transfer. She showed some decent moves down in the post, rebounded relatively well, and a few times in the game showed great hands on defense. I felt like she had more than the two steals. She could be a valuable piece moving into conference play next weekend.
North Central System Watch
- NCC 3PT: 8-31 (25.8%). I think this number might have looked uglier than it actually was. A few threes in the first half were pretty bad shots in that they were contested or really, really long. The Cardinals seemed short on a lot of their looks, even the open ones. It just wasn't their day. If they hit even a couple more of those (or move in a tad closer), this becomes more of a ballgame and we don't see the point disparity we did late. Such is the system: you live by the three, you die by the three.
- SMU Turnovers: 28. Not a bad total, though obviously it's bad when you turn it over more than that. North Central forced them into a few mistakes, but also notched 17 steals as a team. Bobbi Johns was her usual self, leading the team with 4 takeaways. Maryssa Cladis and Uzuri Williams each had 2 to help out.
Final Thoughts
Any post-Christmas hangovers should be gone now, I'd hope. A few players looked to be out of breath as the game went on. I noticed Larynn Shumaker breathing pretty hard coming out of the game at one point (though despite the fatigue, she had an okay game with 14 points on 6-14 shooting). Ultimately though, one of the worst offensive showings of the young season doomed this team. Side note: you know it's sad when you shoot 40% as a team and score 81 points, yet call it "one of the worst". I trust this team though. St. Mary's is no slouch and they played well yesterday. North Central gets a day to reflect and move on before non conference rival Aurora University visits Gregory Arena. They've had some struggles this year, so I'm looking forward to my Cardinals unleashing the press on them.
Any post-Christmas hangovers should be gone now, I'd hope. A few players looked to be out of breath as the game went on. I noticed Larynn Shumaker breathing pretty hard coming out of the game at one point (though despite the fatigue, she had an okay game with 14 points on 6-14 shooting). Ultimately though, one of the worst offensive showings of the young season doomed this team. Side note: you know it's sad when you shoot 40% as a team and score 81 points, yet call it "one of the worst". I trust this team though. St. Mary's is no slouch and they played well yesterday. North Central gets a day to reflect and move on before non conference rival Aurora University visits Gregory Arena. They've had some struggles this year, so I'm looking forward to my Cardinals unleashing the press on them.
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