Classic tournaments

The fast-paced, shoot-from-anywhere offense of Bethel College took its toll on Midland Lutheran’s women in the second part of each half Saturday during the final game of the Godfather’s Classic.

Bethel College outscored Midland by 16 points in the final 10 minutes of the opening half and 12 points in the closing 10 minutes to post an 81-58 win at the Event Center.

“There were spurts where we battled against a good team,” said Warrior coach Joanne Bracker.

Take the opening six minutes.

Midland (1-1) pounded the ball inside to 5-foot-11 sophomore center Kelli Hermsmeyer and she made her first four shots as the Lady Warriors took a 13-10 lead. The Pilots from Mishawaka, Ind., who were ranked No. 8 in the preseason, then scored the next 18 points to build a double-digit lead it only lost briefly in the second half.

Bethel (1-1) attempted 14 3-point shots in the first 10 minutes alone and finished with 37 long-range shots. Last year, the Pilots attempted more than 800 shots from 3-point range during a 23-9 season that ended with a second-round loss in the national tournament to eventual champion Morningside.

Junior guards Mandy Yoder and Heather Seyfred each made four treys Saturday, and freshman forward Kristen Hicks added three, as they led Bethel with 19, 14 and 18 points, respectively. Courtney Oleson added 10 points for the Pilots, who made 12 3-point baskets.

“They’ve got the shooters to do that,” Bracker said. “It’s almost like everybody has the green light anytime, anywhere.”

The Bethel lead grew to 43-25 at intermission as the final 11 minutes of the half featured 10 Midland turnovers and 3-for-14 shooting by the Lady Warriors.

“The first 10 minutes we were very controlled, very poised,” Bracker said. “Then they started switching up their defenses a little bit.”

The Lady Warriors didn’t turn the ball over that much against Bethel’s full-court pressure, but they took quicker shots than they did early in the game. They sometimes didn’t get into their half-court set until the shot clock was down to 15 seconds.

“I think that threw us off a little bit,” said Midland senior Kerry Butzke, who had seven points and a team-high seven assists while playing 39 minutes. “Any offense gets a little mixed up with that. I think we got better the second half with that.”

Midland made four of its first five shots after halftime to twice trim the deficit to 13 points. Bethel regained a 56-39 advantage before the Lady Warriors scored eight straight points. Junior Morgan Smeal converted an offensive rebound into a basket and drilled a 3-pointer on back-to-back possessions.

Hermsmeyer made a free throw and Butzke made a driving layup to pull Midland within 56-47 with 9:48 to play. The Pilots responded with a 22-3 run during the next six minutes to put the game away. Four straight 3-pointers pushed the margin back up to 78-50.

“It’s stressful; you have to keep fighting,” Butzke said. “We came back, and they hit a couple 3s, then we’d come back and they’d hit a couple 3s.

“A big key in that was communication. A lot of times they had bigger girls setting double screens. If you’re one second late on that team, they’ll hit a 3.”

Megan Torkelson joined Hermsmeyer in double figures with 12 points and the 5-4 junior had four assists. Hermsmeyer added a team-high 11 rebounds to her 17 points, but Bethel owned a 52-36 advantage on the glass behind 12 boards from Georgia Boisse and 10 from Hicks.

Bracker and Butzke identified depth as an area in which the Lady Warriors need to develop as the season progresses. At least three Midland players missed the opening weekend games.

“It’s great because you have such a good idea in terms of what your needs are,” Bracker said. “Each one has to accept a role.”

Bethel College (1-1) 43 38 - 81

Midland Lutheran (1-1) 25 33 - 58

Bethel College - Heather Seyfred 4-13 2-2 1 14, Mandy Yoder 7-13 1-2 1 19, Jordan Robbins 3-8 0-0 2 7, Courtney Oleson 5-7 0-0 1 10, Kristen Hicks 7-11 2-4 4 18, Kylee Ehrsam 1-2 0-0 1 2, Chrissy Hooks 1-4 0-0 1 3, Alyssa Toupin 0-2 3-4 4 3, Carlie Dunbar 0-1 0-0 0 0, Georgia Boisse 2-6 0-1 4 4, Sarah Clark 0-0 1-2 0 1, Allie Espe 0-0 0-0 0 0, Jen Violi 0-0 0-0 0 0. Totals 30-67 9-15 19 81.

Midland - Megan Torkelson 3-8 4-4 0 12, Kelli Hermsmeyer 7-13 3-6 3 17, Kerry Butzke 3-14 0-0 2 7, Traci Flanagan 3-9 0-1 0 7, Carly Horky 0-1 0-0 4 0, Kristen Cameron 0-1 0-0 1 0, Sharlay Butler 0-2 4-6 1 4, Danielle Stephan 3-9 0-0 1 6, Olivia Klein 0-1 0-0 0 0, Morgan Smeal 2-8 0-0 1 5. Totals 21-66 11-17 13 58.

3-point goals - B 12 (Seyfred 4, Yoder 4, Robbins 1, Hicks 2, Hooks 1), M 5 (Torkelson 2, Butzke 1, Flanagan 1, Smeal 1). Turnovers - B 20, M 17. Rebounds - B 52 (Boisse 12), M 36 (Hermsmeyer 11). Assists - B 20 (Yoder 9), M 14 (Butzke 7).