Made my way over to venerable Hutton Arena again on this Wednesday night to take in this important mid-season clash between visiting Augsburg and host Hamline. The Auggies; fresh off their upset win over Concordia this last weekend were looking to keep the positive vibe going and not only improve on their 3-5 conference record but, more importantly, were also looking to keep their flickering playoff hopes alive. The Pipers were coming off the thumping they received at the hands of UST last Saturday and looking for a turnaround of events on their home floor. With the logjam of teams in the middle of the pack in the MIAC, this game was crucial for both sides because every "W" keeps your playoff hopes alive while every "L" sends you further into the abyss.
The Piper's sophomore guard Chloe Graves and Augsburg senior point guard Abbey Luger traded three-point bombs to start things off and, with the score tied at 5-all by the 18:09 mark, Luger was able to snare a steal and dash the other way for a lay-up that gave the Auggies a 7-5 advantage at the 17:57 mark. Graves, however, would strike again at the 17:45 mark with another trey from the right wing for an 8-7 Hamline lead and it appeared then that the Pipers might be in store for a hot night of shooting. But it was here that Augsburg was able to start controlling the tempo of the game with their slower, half-court offensive sets that allows them to get the ball into their "bigs" while at the same time, taking away the transition opportunities that Hamline thrives on. Beginning with freshman Bridget Bednar's score in the paint at the 17:19 mark, the Auggies embarked on a 16-6 run over the next nine minutes that changed the course of the first half. A score in the paint by junior forward Jessica Lillquist and two scores by senior point guard Abbey Luger at the 15:26 and 14:36 mark had Hamline up 15-10. Piper senior guard Jordan "Flash" Sammons tried to halt the run with her drive and floater off the glass at the 14:13 mark but a Luger jumper from the left elbow at the 13:49 mark and two free throws by junior guard Jenna Orth at the 11:22 mark re-established the five-point edge at 19-14. Lillquist finished off the run with a short shot off the glass at the 10:45 mark and got another score in the paint with 8:49 left to make it a 23-14 lead and Hamline Head Coach Kerri Stockwell; not liking the developments of this one at all, called a timeout to try and find a healing.
The Pipers came out of the timeout and started applying more defensive pressure near mid-court in the hopes of creating turnovers that would lead to easy points in transition. Sammons scored on a drive and finish with 7:56 left but the Pipers were having a tough time in half-court offensive sets and were not only struggling with their shooting but they seemingly had no answers to stopping either Bednar or Lillquist down in the paint which also opened up other scoring opportunities for Augsburg as well as the Auggies did a good job in controlling the tempo. Junior reserve guard Marie Fitzgerald drained a "3" from the top of the key with 5:50 left for a 26-17 Auggie lead and scores by both Bednar and Lillquist helped maintain that 7-9 point cushion. Augsburg was in the bonus with 1:39 left and two Bednar freebies made it a 32-23 ballgame although Hamline sophomore guard Chelsey Bonsante was able to connect with a jumper from the free throw line with 1:21 left to cut the Auggie lead down to 32-25. Luger was able to add one more point to the Augsburg first half total with a free throw with :04.4 left for a 33-25 game at the halftime break. A glance at the first half box revealed some not so good numbers for the Pipers: 10-30 from FG range for a cold 33.3% and an even icier 2-10 for 20% from three-point land. The rebounding was actually close in the first half although from watching the first half it didn't seem like it.
The Auggies appeared to be off and running again at the beginning of the second half when Bednar was able to score in the paint off of an inbounds pass that gave Augsburg its biggest lead of the evening at 35-25 but Hamline was able to find new resolve and was able to finally get their vaunted up-tempo game going. Junior guard Emily Behrman uncorked a "3" from the left corner at the 18:37 mark to start a 13-0 Piper run. Sammons finally found the range from behind the arc with her "3" from the left top area at the 17:18 mark that brought Hamline back to within four trailing 35-31. Despite the fact that freshman forward Alex Peterson got nabbed with her fourth foul at the 16:58 mark and had to sit, the Piper fun bunch kept right on running. Graves juked her Auggie opponent and then made a hard drive on the left baseline for a finish at the 16:17 mark and then Behrman was able to connect with a short jumper off the glass at the 15:32 mark that tied the score at 35-all. Two free throws by Graves and one by Sammons completed the thirteen-point odyssey to give Hamline a 38-35 lead by the 13:57 mark and it looked as if Hamline had usurped control of this one. But Augsburg avoided the urge to panic and slowly but surely righted the ship. A jumper from the top of the key just inside the arc by freshman forward Hannah Steinhaus cut the Piper lead down to 38-37 at the 12:23 mark and a free throw from Fitzgerald at the 11:49 mark tied the issue at 38 a piece. Orth was able to snare an offensive rebound for a putback at the 11:27 mark to put the Auggies back out in front 40-38 and although Hamline's Bonsante gave her team the lead back at 41-40 with her "3" from the left wing area with 9:24 left, Augsburg had to feel considerably better after withstanding that 13-0 Piper run early on in the second half.
The Auggies were able to forge a three-point 44-41 advantage with 8:12 left on scores from both Lillquist and Bednar but pairs of charity stripe shots by both Sammons and senior reserve guard Makenzie Lee gave the Pipers the lead back at 45-44 and despite the fact that Augsburg got into the bonus with 5:35 left, it looked as if Hamline might be able to find a way to grab victory from the jaws of defeat. Peterson, back on the floor with those four fouls, knocked down two freebies after getting fouled with 4:43 left to give the Pipers a 47-45 lead and a pretty floater in the lane by Sammons with 2:49 left had Hamline up again 49-47. But, unlike last year's game at Hutton Arena between these two teams where the Auggies faltered late, Augsburg found new determination - and a way to get it into their bigs to help close the deal. A score in the paint by Lillquist with 2:22 left tied the score at 49-all and two free throws by Bednar put the Auggies back out in front for good at 51-49 with 1:37 left. Augsburg got one stop on the Pipers when Luger stole the ball from Sammons' grasp with 1:24 left but the Auggies promptly turned the ball right back over to Hamline. Sammons was unable to connect on a jumper with :48 left and Lillquist was able to snare the rebound. Luger was fouled with :38 left but was only able to get the back end freebie to go down so the Pipers still had life trailing 52-49. On Hamline's ensuing possession, Graves got a look behind the arc with :23 left but her shot was short and Lillquist was there to grab the rebound and got the ball to Fitzgerald who was immediately fouled. Fitzgerald could have iced the game right then and there for Augsburg but she missed both of her free throw attempts and, once again, the Pipers had life. Hamline worked the ball carefully around the perimeter looking for someone - anyone - who might be able to get an open look. Finally, with just over a second left, Bonsante got the ball and the look she wanted behind the arc and fired away. Although her shot was off the mark, the Auggies committed a cardinal sin as Bednar caught Bonsante on the arm when she shot and the foul was called. So now; with :01 left, here was the sophomore; Bonsante, with a chance to tie it up and force overtime from the charity stripe. After a timeout, Bonsante got her first crack. No good. Still, not the end of the world and Stockwell called another timeout to adjust her team's strategy. Bonsante's second attempt - no good. Now the Pipers were seemingly out of all options save for a deliberate miss and a sliver of a hope to get an offensive rebound and putback and get fouled in the process - all within the time frame of one solitary second. After another timeout to try and prevent the inevitable, Bonsante put up a deliberate errant shot but the effort was doomed when the Pipers committed a lane violation. Augsburg was able to run the last second off the clock and snuck out of Hutton Arena with a cherished 52-49 road win.
A relieved but happy Augsburg Assistant Coach Josh Hersch didn't gloat; giving the impression that this is just a way of surviving in one of the toughest conferences in the nation in DIII. Still, the victory has to be a shot of confidence in the arm for the Auggies; winners of two straight as they set their sights on Concordia on Saturday up in Moorhead. Meanwhile, a case of the worst of scenarios for Hamline which really could have used a win on this night after coming off the loss to UST last weekend. Stockwell struggled to find words to express the disappointment of coming up just short on this night and, when I asked her how this team rebounds from this bitter pill to swallow, Assistant Coach Naomi Stohlmann said "Rebound - literally!!" as the Pipers were outrebounded on this night 42-33. And, at the same time, you couldn't help but feel badly for Bonsante who was in tears when this one ended. She had a chance to tie the game up from the free throw line and wasn't able to deliver. And hey, I've always said that if you choke, you choke and you move on. Hell, I can't count the number of times when I've dumped an easy volley into the net in late in the third set or got tight and conservative and lost a match that I should have won. It happens. She's not the first person to have that happen to her and she won't be the last one either. More importantly for Hamline, how do they recover and move forward? The road ahead is brutal with a roadie at Concordia on Saturday and a trip down the River to Winona next week Wednesday to play SMU before hosting GAC the following Saturday.
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