Blazers play in balanced playoff field

This time around, the MIAC women's basketball tournament likely really is winner-take-all.

Because of the records of the teams, and because of the limited number of at-large bids available to the 50-team NCAA Division III tournament field (seven), only the team that earns the MIAC's automatic bid is likely to advance.

That bid goes to this week's conference tournament winner, which starts tonight when No. 6 seed St. Thomas (9-11 MIAC, 11-13 overall) plays at No. 3 St. Benedict (16-4, 19-4) and No. 5 Gustavus (12-8, 14-9) plays at No. 4 St. Mary's (13-7, 17-7).

The lowest seed left plays at No. 1 seed Carleton (18-2, 18-5) in the semifinals Wednesday. The highest seed left plays at No. 2 Concordia (17-3, 19-4). The championship is scheduled for 3 p.m. Saturday on the high seed's home court.

"Concordia is playing as hot as anyone right now," Gustavus coach Mickey Haller said. "St. Benedict is playing pretty well, too. Carleton is a great team, but they've had injuries. It's hard to pick a favorite. The field is pretty wide open."

Haller is refering to Carleton junior guard Kari Christianson, who was hurt Feb. 2 against Gustavus. She was averaging 10.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game off the bench.

The Knights have struggled at times without her, falling 65-52 Feb. 5 to Concordia and 62-60 Feb. 12 to St. Olaf. But Carleton won its last two games, including a 79-63 victory Saturday over Bethel.

"Kari was a fabulous player and she was a big part of our team," said Knights junior forward Megan Vig, who led the MIAC in scoring during the regular season with at 17.5 ppg. "It's been a big bummer not having her around. But we don't, and we've had to learn to play without her. I think our team has overcome that adversity pretty well to hold onto the No. 1 seed going into the playoffs."

Concordia enters the tournament having won 15 games in a row. The Cobbers are led by senior guard Mandy Pearson, last season's MIAC MVP and the 2001 Times All-Area player of the year from Eden Valley-Watkins.

Pearson, who averages 17 points and 4.1 rebounds per game, led the MIAC with 167 assists and finished second in steals with 68.

"We've been on a lucky roll lately, but I think that anyone can win this tournament," Pearson said. "It's going to be whatever team comes the most ready and plays the hardest.

"All the teams in the top six are very good. Carleton and St. Benedict are both very good teams with different strengths. St. Benedict is very strong inside. Carleton is just a great team overall. They work so well together. There aren't going to be any easy games."

While the Knights and Cobbers have first-round byes, St. Benedict has to play tonight. Blazers junior post Anna Heikenen, ranked third in the MIAC in scoring at 17.1 ppg, said that's not so bad.

St. Benedict entered last season's tournament as the top seed, but fell to fourth-seeded Concordia 73-70 in a semifinal matchup at Claire Lynch Hall. Pearson scored 29 points and pulled down seven rebounds.

"I don't want the bye," said Heikenen, whose team beat Gustavus 70-61 Saturday. "I think sometimes you can practice too much and not come out as sharp when you have to play Wednesday. We're used to playing on Monday nights, and we're going to have to be at the top of our game. I think that will be a good thing for us."

The Blazers defeated the Tommies in both meetings this season, winning 73-61 Jan. 5 in St. Paul and 82-64 Feb. 5 in St. Joseph.

St. Benedict got big games both times from sophomore guard Darby Noreen, who had 10 points in the first meeting and 24 in the second. Heikenen finished with 18 and 17 points, respectively.

"Our defense has been the most consistent part of our play this season," Heikenen said. "We have to play great defense. If we do that, and our shots aren't falling right away, we can hold ourselves in the game until they start to."

St. Thomas is led by junior post Erica Opdahl, who averages 14.5 ppg. She scored 25 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in the first game against the Blazers and scored 19 points in the second. St. Benedict did an effective job rotating players in the post to contain her.

"In a lot of our big wins this season, we've had equal scoring from our guards and our posts," said Opdahl, whose team has dropped seven games in a row to the Blazers. "We have to do that for sure (tonight). We need to be playing well on the perimeter, so that if they do double-down inside, we can kick the ball back out and score some points."

In the other first-round game, Gustavus plays at St. Mary's. The Cardinals beat the Gusties 60-53 in the first meeting this season and 61-55 in the second.

"I'm pretty sure nobody is going to get into the NCAA tournament except for the team that wins this week," Vig said. "Everybody wants it. It's what we're all striving for. The team that wants it the most will be the team that ends up winning."