After leaving Hutton Arena, I hustled down Snelling and Fairview Avenues and over to St. Kate's for their 3:00 P.M. game with visiting Augsburg. I got settled in at Butler Center at the 16:05 mark of the first half with the score tied at 7-all.
The Auggies momentarily grabbed the upper hand as a lay-up by freshman forward Bridget Bednar at the 15:41 mark and two free throws by junior forward Jessica Lillquist gave Augsburg an 11-7 lead by the 15:09 mark. St. Kate's sophomore phenom guard LaShay Holt's "3" from the right top area drew the 'Cats to within one at the 14:50 mark but Auggie senior point guard Abbey Luger's lay-up in transition at the 14:08 mark gave Augsburg a 13-10 lead. The Wildcats scratched and clawed right back and went on an 8-0 spurt. A Holt drive and finish at the 13:50 mark along with two three-point bombs by senior reserve forward Mary Neumann - one from the left top area at the 13:15 mark and another one from the right top area at the 12:23 mark - gave St. Kate's an 18-13 lead and had Auggie Head Coach Bill McKee calling a timeout to discuss things with his squad.
Whatever was said in that Augsburg huddle during the timeout seemed to have the desired effect as the Auggies quickly righted the ship and erased that five-point deficit. A score in the paint by Bednar at the 11:50 mark and a jumper along the right baseline by Luger at the 10:50 mark brought Augsburg back to within one trailing 18-17. A score in the paint by Bednar at the 10:18 mark gave the Auggies the lead again at 19-18 before a "3" from junior guard Shauna Horsch from the left wing right at the 10:00 mark gave the lead back to the Wildcats at 21-19. Augsburg would get the lead back again on a "3" from junior guard Destiny Scott from the top of the key with 9:44 left gave it right back to the Auggies. Now it was St. Kate's turn to re-take the lead as freshman guard Audra Clark nailed a "3" from the right top area with 8:48 left and then added two charity stripe shots for a 26-22 Wildcat lead with 7:43 left. Augsburg refused to panic, however, and two scores by Lillquist - one in the paint with 7:13 left and a lay-up after a steal with 6:38 left - tied things up at 26 a piece. St. Kate's would take one more single digit lead but then the Auggies re-claimed the lead - this time for good - on a Luger lay-up that got her fouled and allowed her to sink the obligatory freebie with 5:39 left for a 29-27 Augsburg advantage. This was the start of a crucial 10-0 run for the Auggies that seemed to suck a lot of the energy that the 'Cats had and suddenly had Augsburg up 36-27. Holt tried to revive the suddenly moribund St. Kate's offense with her lay-up in transition but Augsburg was able to maintain the ten-point cushion down the stretch thanks to free throws by freshman reserve guard Cassidy Sarazine, Bednar, and junior guard Jenna Orth for a 42-32 halftime lead.
St. Kate's tried to make inroads on the Augsburg advantage in the early going of the second half but could only seem to tread water at best. An Orth lay-up at the 19:45 mark and a score in the paint by Luger at the 17:01 offset two Wildcat scores by sophomore forward Mari Lee. Orth was able to maneuver into the paint for a score at the 16:13 mark and then sophomore reserve guard Laykn Bauer drained a "3" from the right wing at the 15:53 mark for a 51-38 Auggie advantage. St. Kate's frustration was growing by this point as they suddenly could not seem to take the lid off the basket to get any points to whittle away at the deficit. Things seemed to reach a boiling point when Wildcat Head Coach Sean Pinkerton; who had long since shed the sport coat in this contest, drew a technical foul for being a bit too vociferous with his arguments on the officiating. Unfortunately for St. Kate's, things seemed to only get worse from there. After Bauer got one of the obligatory freebies to go down, Lillquist was able to add to the lead with her score in the paint at the 14:33 mark and a Luger three-point bomb from the left corner at the 11:41 mark stretched the lead to twenty at 58-38.
The Wildcats continued to struggle with their shooting woes until senior reserve forward Sarah Manning's drive into the lane and finish off the glass with 9:14 left. To make matters even worse, Audra Clark went down hard on the floor on a drive into the lane at the 6:15 mark and suffered a bruised shoulder. Still, St. Kate's was able to dig down deep and make a bit of a run. Freshman guard Meg Clark connected with a lay-up with 6:02 left and free throws by both Horsch and Lee trimmed the Augsburg lead down to fourteen at 60-46 and an offensive rebound and putback of her own missed lay-up in transition by Manning had the 'Cats back to within twelve with 4:35 left and Augsburg's McKee wasted no time in calling a halt to the action. The Auggies were able to collect themselves during the timeout and finished off their host. An offensive rebound and putback by Lillquist with 3:33 left and a lay-up in transition by Bednar with 3:12 left rebuilt the lead back to sixteen at 64-48 and Bednar repeated the feat shortly thereafter on another errant St. Kate's possession with 2:55 left for 66-48 lead. Two more free throws by Orth with 2:35 left and another Bednar lay-up with 2:12 left made it a 70-48 game and late scores by both Lillquist and Luger sealed the deal for a 74-54 victory.
Always-congenial Augsburg assistant coach Josh Hersch offered some interesting insight afterward. He stressed that the team's goal right now is to simply improve and get better with each game. Despite the lopsided home loss back in December to powerhouse UST, the Auggies appear to be doing just that. They are definitely ahead of where they were a year ago and their 7-4 (2-2 MIAC) record reflects that. Can they stay healthy? Can they be somewhat consistent? Those are challenges that Hersch is quick to acknowledge. They have a huge contest at home this coming Wednesday night against GAC and that will be an opportunity for the Auggies to make a statement - and improve on their record as well.
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