The first stop on this Saturday afternoon was over at Augsburg's Si Melby Hall to take in the 1:00 P.M. clash between host Augsburg and visiting UST; ranked #6 in the nation. It wouldn't take long to understand why the Tommies enjoy that lofty national ranking either.
It was simply all UST from the outset as the Tommies used a quick 9-0 burst to set the tone. Senior forward Anna Smith drove along the right baseline and got a finish at the 19:42 mark and junior guard Katie Stone drained a "3" from the left corner at the 19:05 mark. Free throws by senior point guard Jen Dockter at the 17:13 mark and a lay-up by Weiers at the 15:46 mark completed the burst. Augsburg senior point guard Abbey Luger was able to get her team on the board at the 14:21 mark with a pretty one-handed shot in the lane but a score in the paint by Weiers at the 14:10 mark made it an 11-2 game and Auggie Head Coach Bill McKee knew he had a big problem on his hand and called a timeout to talk things over with his squad. But not even that stoppage in play could halt the Tommie Express. A score in the paint by senior reserve forward Alyssa (nothing vanilla) Favilla at the !3:27 mark plus lay-ups in transition by both senior reserve forward Elaine Warner and Weiers made it a 17-2 ballgame and Augsburg's McKee called a thirty-second timeout in an effort to halt the UST onslaught. Bad enough that the Auggies were suffering from a horrible shooting slump as they not only could not buy a basket but they were also presenting UST with several gift-wrapped opportunities; just in time for the holidays, with several turnovers as well.
To their credit, the Auggies were able to get an 8-0 burst of their own going midway through the first half as Luger snared a steal and dashed the other way for a lay-up at the 10:53 mark and then knocked down a jumper from the left corner at the 10:17 mark. Junior forward Jessica Lillquist also got consecutive scores down low at both the 9:44 and 9:15 marks that cut the UST lead down to 19-10 but any hopes of a comeback in this one were quickly dashed. First, Smith showed her versatility as drilled a "3" from the right wing area with 8:52 left that put the Tommie lead back into double digits for good at 22-10. Then senior guard Laura Margarit maneuvered into the paint for a score with 7:46 left for a fourteen-point 24-10 UST lead. Smith would connect with a short jumper with 6:17 left and then Stone unleashed a three-point bomb from the top of the key that increased the lead to 29-13. Augsburg's Luger still had a few tricks left up her sleeve though as she snared a steal and streaked the other way for an easy lay-up with 3:11 left but it would not be nearly enough to offset the Tommie onslaught. With 1:57 left, Warner uncorked a "3" from the right wing as the shot clock was winding down to make it a 32-17 ballgame and freshman reserve guard Maddie Wolkow dropped a "3" of her own with 1:10 left. Favilla added another score in the paint with :37 left and UST had themselves a comfortable 37-16 halftime lead.
A Luger lay-up in transition at the 19:39 mark of the second half was a hopeful note for Augsburg but the Tommies were in no mood for an Auggie comeback. A score in the paint by Smith at the 19:15 mark along with a "3" from Stone from the right top area at the 16:52 mark gave UST a twenty-five point lead at 43-18. Smith continued on with her tear on this day as she connected with a lay-up and was fouled in the process and the obligatory freebie upped the lead to 46-18. Warner, however, put the early exclamation point on this Tommie victory when she first scored in the paint at the 14:30 mark and then blocked a three-point attempt by Augsburg junior guard Ashley Anfinson and snared the loose ball and raced the other way for an easy lay-up for a 50-18 lead which, for all intents and purposes, was the ballgame. McKee called a timeout to try and delay the inevitable but this one was over.
Still, the Auggies were not ready to lay down and simply concede defeat. Anfinson made up for the earlier blocked shot as she nailed a "3" from the left wing area at the 13:36 mark. The play of freshman reserve guard Bridget Bednar in the second half was one of the few bright spots on this otherwise gloomy afternoon for Augsburg. She was able to connect with a short jumper from the right side at the 11:46 mark and then connected with another short jumper off the glass at the 11:13 mark. At the 10:44 mark Bednar made good on a lay-up attempt and a score in the paint by Lillquist with 9:17 left made the score a bit more respectable as it cut the UST lead to 55-30. Another Lillquist score in the paint with 7:15 left and two Bednar freebies with 4:45 left had Augsburg in the bonus at least but by this time Tommie Head Coach Ruth Sinn had been pulling her normal rotation and started inserting her bench. Lanky freshman reserve guard Lauren Fischer knocked down a "3" from the right top area with 4:00 left and junior reserve forward Mykenzie Spaulding was able to get one charity stripe shot to go down with 2:48 left. Augsburg got three late scores - a "3" from junior reserve guard Destiny Scott from the right top area and a "3" from sophomore reserve guard Laykn Bauer from the left wing area - plus a Bednar lay-up with just :00.4 left but UST had the easy win on this day by a 69-45 count.
A disappointed but upbeat Augsburg Assistant Coach Josh Hersch tried to focus on the positives afterward. He pointed out that while disappointing, this game is certainly not the end of the world for this team or this season. Stressing comparitives, he pointed out what UST did to both GAC and CSB within the last week and a half and also said that "our goal is to get progressively better as a team and to make the playoffs." And those are definitely realistic goals for this Augsburg program which has been tantalizingly close the last few years but has been unable to get over the hump. On the UST ledger, I know it's only December but you have to like what you're seeing from this Tommie squad. Even more amazing is that I don't think that this team has even peaked yet. As UST Head Coach Ruth Sinn pointed out after the win over UW-Stevens Point back in late November it's going to be critical to keep the important cogs of this team healthy (read Smith, Weiers and Dockter). But as long as this team is at full strength, look out. They are going to be coming and they are going to be coming hard. They are playing with such a purpose and you can bet that loss to UW-Whitewater in the second round of the NCAA Tournament still leaves a sour taste in their mouths. I suspect they're going to avenge that loss and then some.
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