Game Notes: Maryville College @ North Central College (11/21/15)

Final Score
Maryville 87, NCC 85

Game Summary
The Scots (3-0) jumped out to an early lead a la the Cardinals (1-2) last night, and pressed to an early 13-6 advantage. The Cardinals worked their way back, keeping it around a one or two possession game for most of the first half, but the Scots started to get some shots offensively and took a 45-35 halftime lead into the locker room. North Central started to hit threes in the third quarter to counteract Maryville free throws to narrow the gap to two after three quarters, then took the lead early in the fourth. They led by as many as seven until the shots stopped falling and Maryville took the lead back. The Cardinals had a chance with half a second left following a turnover, but Jamie Cuny missed a shot as time expired and the Scots escaped with the title.

Key Stats

• Mindy Brackins (MVILLE): 11-18 FG (6-10 3PT), 2-4 FT; 30 pts, 4 reb (3 off), 2 ast. Brackins hit all of Maryville's threes in the game, and was a key part of their comeback to win the game. An outstanding tournament for her.
• Maryville: Outrebounded NCC 70-39. This was an underrated part of the game. Maryville got 25 offensive rebounds including a couple at the start of each half to set the tone. This hurt in the long run.
• Paula Zerante (NCC): 3-5 FG (1-2 3PT), 7-8 FT; 14 pts, 7 reb (2 off), 7 ast, 4 stl. Paula has really stepped up the last few games and was all over the place today at both ends of the floor.

North Central System Watch

• Maryville Turnovers: 31. Another high number, with a ton of errant passes. The Cardinals did draw one ten second call in the first half, which would have been a turnover on a steal if they didn't call it, but it was the right call. They also drew a five second call on an inbound. The Cardinals had 14 steals, led by Zerante's four, while Anita Sterlinng added three.
• NCC 3PT: 16-51 (31.4%). Two games in a row the Cardinals have shot very well from deep. They caught fire in the third and early fourth quarter before cooling off again.
• NCC Charges Drawn: 0. Anita didn't get the call on one down low but did get called for a pair of charges. One looked pretty close to the same play she got called for a block on. Alas.

Tip Off Tournament Watch
Bethel 91, Principia 49
The Panthers struggled to shoot, managing just a 33 percent clip against a tough Bethel defense while the Royals shot 50 percent to dominate their second game. Molly O'Toole had 16 points and seven rebounds to pace the Royals, while Hannah Johnson emerged with 14 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks. Rachel Perea had 15 points for the Panthers.

All-Tournament Team
Kara Johnson, Principia
Molly O'Toole, Bethel
Mackenzie Puckett, Maryville
Paula Zerante, NCC
Anita Sterling, NCC

Tournament MVP
Mindy Brackins, Maryville

Final Thoughts
My initial thought: this was embarrassing for a home game. The fan support wasn't great, the band was a no-show, and Maryville traveled incredibly well to the tournament this weekend, which I have to give them a ton of credit for.

It was a funky end to a great game, as we had a shot clock controversy that was handled correctly at the table but needed like five minutes worth of discussion to figure out. I'm still not sure what happened. Very weird sequence. May be worth a full blog post later; we'll see.

I'm honestly not shocked the Cardinals are off to a 1-2 start, given their schedule. They played very well tonight, but just couldn't close it out. They hit the road for a couple weeks before coming back on December 8th.