We spent the afternoon cheering on the Minnesota women's basketball team in their quest to defeat South Dakota University and advance to the third round of the WNIT tournament. The team started strong and even built up a thirteen point lead in the first quarter, but when SDU switched from a zone to man-to-man it slowed them down.
Not long after, South Dakota began overloading the Minnesota zone defense and hitting all sorts of three pointers from the weak side. It was a nail-biter; only two points separated the teams at the half and it as tied in the first minute of the third quarter. After that, though, Minnesota let it slip away, down by 16 at the worst but never closer than five.
It was an amazing high-scoring game, 89-101, and we left the Barn disappointed but still thrilled to see so much exciting offense from the women on both teams. In the end, I realized that by mascot alone, the conclusion wasn't that surprising:
Doesn't the coyote (pronounced ki-ote, of course) usually get the best of the gopher (no matter how golden)?
Not long after, South Dakota began overloading the Minnesota zone defense and hitting all sorts of three pointers from the weak side. It was a nail-biter; only two points separated the teams at the half and it as tied in the first minute of the third quarter. After that, though, Minnesota let it slip away, down by 16 at the worst but never closer than five.
It was an amazing high-scoring game, 89-101, and we left the Barn disappointed but still thrilled to see so much exciting offense from the women on both teams. In the end, I realized that by mascot alone, the conclusion wasn't that surprising:
Doesn't the coyote (pronounced ki-ote, of course) usually get the best of the gopher (no matter how golden)?
While I don't follow women's basketball- I do agree with your theory on mascots!
ReplyDeleteThose games get your heart pumping as well as if you had run a few miles. Sorry the conclusion wasn't what you hoped for, but it sounds like you got a good workout.
ReplyDeleteI loved the last line!
ReplyDeleteWe spent our day watching basketball; and our high school team took home the state title! What a day!
I don't follow basketball either, but I love your story and the fact you were able to find some bright spots despite the fact that your team lost. Maybe next year.
ReplyDeleteOuch - that last line! Made us feel like we were there.
ReplyDelete