Was over at Augsburg's Si Melby Hall for this Wednesday evening clash between the host Auggies and the visiting Gusties from Gustavus. The Gusties were coming off the big win on the road at Carleton while Augsburg was still licking its wounds from the tough loss over at Bethel from Monday night.
It was the home team that got off to a good start in this one. Senior guard Lexi Thompson started things off with two charity stripe shots after getting fouled at the 19:05 mark. Baskets by senior Nikki Borkhuis at the 16:04 mark and sophomore reserve Kendra Ware helped push the Auggie lead to 9-2 but, in the process, junior standout Brittany Zins picked up two quick fouls that forced her to the pine by the 14:44 mark. Still, junior reserve sharp-shooter Katie Ahlstrom nailed a "3" from the top at the 11:23 mark for a 12-4 Auggie lead.
The Gusties finally picked up the tempo at the 11:02 mark when sophomore reserve PG Shelly Blashko connected from behind the arc. Ever-improving junior Kelsey Florian scored at the 10:22 mark and then sophomore Eli Benz muscled her way inside to score at the 9:39 mark to cut Augsburg's lead to 14-11 and another Benz score at the 7:36 mark cut the deficit to a scant one point. Gustavus took its first lead of the game at the 6:36 mark when Florian hit two freebies but junior forward/post Brittany Dyshaw put the Auggies right back on top with 5:52 left with her rebound and putback. But the Gusties would counter and take the lead for good when Florian scored inside with 2:02 left and upped their advantage when junior reserve post Amanda Iverson scored inside with a pretty move that allowed Gustavus to take a slim 26-23 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
Things would again stay close for the early part of the second half. Baskets by Dyshaw and Zins sandwiched a Benz score inside and then senior Ava Perry connected with a "3" from the left wing at the 17:28 mark for a 31-27 Gustie lead. Another "3" from senior PG Colleen Ruane from the left corner put the Gusties up 34-30 at the 15:56 mark but freshman Abbey Luger connected with a "3" of her own from the left wing that brought the Auggies back to within two.
The turning point of the game for the Gusties may have come around the 14:57 mark when Zins picked up foul #3 and, although she scored a bit later that again brought the Auggies to within two, the Gusties slowly began to take control. Sophomore reserve guard Julia Dysthie connected with a short jumper at the 13:50 mark and then connected with a huge "3" at the 12:32 mark that pushed the Gustie lead to 42-36. Another pretty move and finish off the glass by Iverson at the 10:24 mark gave the Gusties a 46-38 advantage.
Somewhat ironically, this is where both teams went in a perimeter scoring drought worse than the 1930's Dust Bowl that, in the end, hurt the Auggies much more than it hurt Gustavus. The Auggies had several chances to cut the lead and simply couldn't convert. Junior post Abby Rothenbuehler's two free throws at the 5:06 mark did push the Gustie lead to 49-40 and then Benz did the same with 3:40 left that gave Gustavus a ten-point cushion at 51-41. Ware valianty tried to bring Augsburg back with two big jumpers at the 3:13 mark and again with just 1:11 left but the Gusties had the advantage they needed. A late "3" by Zins wouldn't make much of a dent as the Gusties scratched and clawed their way to an ugly (but important) 58-48 win.
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