After leaving Macalester's Leonard Center I grabbed some chow from McDonald's along with a stop at Holiday for a large serving of God's nectar (Pepsi, of course), I hurried back over to the MPLS side of town and over to Si Melby Hall to catch what I could of the Bethel - Augsburg game. This, of course, was huge for both teams with playoff positioning (or survival) on the line. I got settled in at the 4:40 mark of the first half with Bethel up 19-15. It didn't take the Auggies long to grab the advantage and they grabbed a 21-19 lead when reserve senior guard Kandice Bostick got to the charity stripe to convert. But the Royals were resilient enough coming down the stretch of the first half as senior standout Taylor Sheley kissed home a jumper off the glass knotting things up at 21 and sophomore reserve guard Micaella Petrich did likewise with 1:43 left that tied things up at 23-all. Then, freshman reserve guard Leslie Handzus put down two freebies from the charity stripe with 1:16 left and that allowed Bethel to take a slim 25-23 advantage going into the locker room at the half.
Augsburg responded in the opening minutes of the second half with a strong push fueled by junior forward Brittany Zins (like, you were expecting someone else???) doing her work along the baseline and on the perimeter. Two free throws by senior Nikki Borkhuis got the Auggies to a 33-27 advantage by the 15:31 mark. The Auggies would be able to maintain a four - to - six point cushion until just beyond the halfway mark of the second half. Handzus connected with a "3" at the 8:33 mark and then junior Alicia Montbriand banged home a "3" from the right wing with 8:10 left that would be the beginning of a hot streak for her. More importantly, it cut the Auggie lead to 40-39 with a ton of time remaining. Willowy Auggie junior Brittany Dyshaw briefly halted the Royal surge with her steal and lay-up the other way but Montbriand was not to be denied. She scored and was fouled in the process at the 7:02 mark and the obligatory free throw tied the issue at 42-all. Then Montbriand struck again from behind the arc at the 6:42 mark from the left wing this time for a 45-42 Bethel lead. Auggie sophomore Kendra Ware then showed off her shooting prowess from behind the arc at the 6:20 mark that tied things up at 45-all.
What likely saved Augsburg on this night was the work of Brittany Zins inside in the clutch. And also a key "3" by sometimes-erratic southpaw freshman Abbey Luger; whose bomb from the right top at the 4:57 mark put Augsburg back into the lead at the 4:57 mark. Zins got to the charity stripe again at the 4:27 mark and connected both times for a 50-49 Auggie lead but right back came Bethel and their blonde-haired bomber Montbriand whose "3" from the left wing at the 2:43 mark gave the Royals their last lead at 52-50 and you can bet that the home team (and fans) were sweating profusely. But Augsburg is a much better team this year thanks to first-year Head Coach Bill McKee and their wily, strong junior Zins plus the experienced senior PG Serenae Levine. Zins again worked along the baseline (her specialty) and scored inside at the 2:20 mark that tied things up again at 52-all. A smart and patient Auggie team handled the ball masterfully that allowed both Zins and Levine to get to the charity stripe within the final minute. The nail in the coffin for the Royals was a mishandling of the ball on an alternate jump ball possession with just :11.4 ticks left on the clock trailing only 54-52. They had no choice but to foul and that put Zins on the line where she canned one with 10.6 left and a 55-52 lead that still gave the Royals one last chance. But Augsburg never let the Royals get a clean look for Sheley who was the primary choice for Bethel Head Coach Jon Herbrectsmeyer. Even more odd was that Montbriand was out there and she SHOULD have been the one they were trying to get open. All Sheley could do as the buzzer was about to go off was to heave a desperation shot that was partially blocked and the Auggies got a HUGE home win to keep their playoff hopes alive.
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