Was over at Augsburg's Si Melby Hall for this Monday evening non-conference clash between Northwestern out of the UMAC and host Augsburg. I got myself settled in right before the tip-off as the Augsburg site had listed a 7:30 P.M. starting time but they were obviously off by a half hour.
The Auggies, with several new faces on the roster, got off to a good start in this one. Junior Anne Skriba, who transferred to Augsburg from Concordia St. Paul drew first blood when she scored inside at the 19:03 mark and another score at the 18:38 mark pushed that lead to 4-0 before Northwestern junior forward/post Jessica Fife got the Eagles on the board with her jumper from the left baseline area a bit later. Stll, the Auggies were able to increase their advantage to as much as 11-3 by the 15:01 mark when lanky Auggie junior Jill Tichy connected with a jumper.
Gradually, the Eagles would chip into that Auggie lead. Sophomore guard Chanel Madson scored on a jumper at the 14:42 mark and then both Fife and Madson would add points from the charity stripe that cut the Auggie lead down to a much more manageable 12-9. The Eagles would tie things up at 14-all when freshman reserve forward Kim Campell connected with a "3" along the right baseline at the 11:05 mark and then Northwestern took a 16-14 lead when freshman forward Courtney Cunard made a nice drive and finish at the 10:15 mark. But just when the Auggies appeared vulnerable they bounced right back. Tichy connected with a "3" from the right wing that helped Augsburg reclaim the lead at 17-16 and then Tichy was able to manuever inside to score with 6:43 left for a 19-16 Auggie lead. Then it was sophomore Abbey Luger's turn to steal the spotlight as she snared a steal and went the other way for a lay-up with 6:10 left and then made a strong drive along the left baseline and finished and got fouled in the process. That, along with the obligatory freebie got the Auggies back up to a 24-16 lead and they controlled the tempo throughout the rest of the first half to hold a 33-27 lead at the halftime break.
Just as they did against Macalester a week ago, Northwestern got off to a quick start as the second half got underway. Junior forward Hannah Holm calmly sank two freebies at the 19:50 mark after being fouled and then Fife connected with a jumper at the 19:25 mark. Holm then swished home a "3" at the 18:53 mark and suddenly the Eagles were within one at 35-34. Junior sharpshooting guard Mollie Sir, who is dangerous behind the arc, tied the issue at 39-all when she banged home one of her patented three-point bombs at the 17:09 mark. Alas, that would be as close as Northwestern would get to sniffing victory as the Auggies once again responded. Senior forward Brittany Zins, doing her dirty work down low (as usual) made two freebies at the 15:57 mark and then was able to score inside at the 15:22 mark. Then it was the southpaw Luger who connected from behind the arc at the 13:39 mark that helped fuel a 12-2 Auggie run over nearly an 8-minute span that was the difference-maker. The Eagles would threaten and get to within four thanks to 3's from Cunard and Madson but Skriba connected with her own "3" from the left wing with 5:02 left and another jumper at the 4:00 mark for a 62-52 mark seemed to seal Northwestern's fate on this night as the Eagles would not get closer than ten the rest of the way. Augsburg came out on top this night by a final tally of 70-56 and as Northwestern Head Coach Aaron Kahl told me afterward turnovers played a key role in the Eagles demise in this contest and that's something they've got to address as the prepare for UMAC play.
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