Free throws push Saint Mary’s past MLC
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NEW ULM -- The free-throw line spelled trouble for the Martin Luther College women's basketball team in nonconference action with Saint Mary's University of Minnesota on Monday night.
The Knights (1-4) made just 5 of 13 shots at the foul line while Saint Mary's (1-1) hit 28 of 35 at the line on the way to an 80-74 win at MLC.
The Knights were slow to get to their matchups in the first half of Monday's game, and the Cardinals took advantage with 15 first-half free throws for a 45-37 lead at halftime. The Cardinals ended up hitting 27 of their first 29 free throws.
"Moving our feet on defense and letting them get to the rim definitely was a struggle for us tonight," MLC head coach Dan Gawrisch said. "We need to stay low, stay fundamentally solid and keep them off the free-throw line. … We did get to the free-throw line here and there, but we didn't shoot well from there. We didn't shoot well from the 3-point line (5 of 31), we didn't shoot well from the free-throw line, and they did and then we kept putting them there, so that was kind of the story of the game."
After a first-quarter bucket by Anna Treder had the Knights up 6-4, the Cardinals quickly retook the lead on a fast-break 3 from Jada Biermeier, who ended up leading the Cardinals with 19 points. The Cardinals gradually built their lead and finished the first quarter with a 3 by Ashley Streveler, who ended with 18 points, for a 27-19 lead after one quarter.
Another 3 by Streveler less than two minutes into the second quarter gave the Cardinals their largest lead of the half, 35-23. The Knights cut the deficit to 35-30 after a 7-0 run, however, getting a 3 from Kortney Behnke, a bucket inside from Emily Rothfuss and a layup from Behnke during the run.
Saint Mary's increased its lead to 10 again after that and led 45-37 at halftime.
Buckets from Erika Gosch and Emma Nelson had the Knights down 45-41 a minute into the third quarter before the Cardinals quickly grew their lead to 10 again, 51-41, after back-to-back 3s from Streveler.
A pair of free throws by Streveler gave the Cardinals their largest lead of the night, 61-48, with 3:25 left in the third quarter before the Knights pushed the pace and got multiple fast-break buckets to cut the deficit to 61-56. The Cardinals led 64-56 after three quarters.
MLC trailed by 6 with less than a minute to play after a 4-point play by Jordyn Heckendorf, but the Cardinals traded a free throw with the Knights after that to hold on for the win.
Heckendorf led the Knights with 19 points, five rebounds and four assists, while Nelson had 16 points and nine rebounds. Gosch added 8 points and three steals for the Knights, while Treder led on the glass with 11 rebounds.
Despite the struggles at the charity stripe, Gawrisch was proud of how his team continued to battle.
"I think it's the character of this team," he said. "They're not going to quit, they're going to play with a lot of heart, and they're going to give their best effort for one another day in and day out. When we could keep the clock moving, we could get stops and we could get the ball to the rim ourselves. But unfortunately it just felt like every other time down the court, if that, there was a whistle to stop the clock. It was just hard for them to get into a rhythm, but again their character I think really showed in that they're not going to quit and they're going to keep coming after their opponent."
It's still early in the season for MLC, and with some crossover athletes on the team, Gawrisch hopes to see his players pick things up more in the next couple of games before conference play begins.
The Knights travel to take on Hamline University on Wednesday night before hosting Buena Vista at 5 p.m. on Saturday.