Made my way over to Augsburg's Si Melby Hall on this frigid Wednesday evening to take in the contest between visiting Gustavus Adolphus and host Augsburg. The Auggies opened up 2015 on a positive note; thumping St. Kate's last Saturday at Butler Center while the Gusties were coming in on a five-game winning streak and were looking to keep that streak going as they had escaped a tricky St. Olaf team down in Northfield last Saturday in overtime.
With the score tied at 4-all at the 18:39 mark, the Gusties made their first big move of the night as freshman point guard Mikayla Miller connected on a lay-up at the 18:27 mark and freshman forward Miranda Rice maneuvered into the paint for a score at the 17:52 mark for an 8-4 GAC lead. The Auggies were able to cut the deficit to 8-6 at the 17:24 mark on a score in the paint by junior forward Jessica Lillquist but a short jumper off an inbounds pass by Miller at the 16:30 mark and a an offensive rebound and putback by sophomore guard/forward Hannah Howard of a missed Rice lay-up in transition made it a 12-6 game by the 16:11 mark and Augsburg Head Coach Bill McKee; not liking how things were developing, called a timeout to try and make adjustments. But the Gusties were just getting started and embarked on a 9-0 push over the next four minutes that had Augsburg behind the 8-ball much quicker than anyone in Si Melby Hall had anticipated. A "3" from lanky 6'0" junior forward Lindsay Johnson from the top of the key at the 15:29 mark and two scores in the paint by the young phenom Miller helped propel GAC to a 21-6 lead by the 12:07 mark. A score in the paint by Howard at the 10:19 mark and a jumper by Johnson from the right wing area with 9:37 left made it 25-8 and the Gustie Express was rolling.
Augsburg tried to make inroads on the deficit as freshman Bridget Bednar connected with a lay-up with 9:14 left and junior reserve guard Destiny Scott was able to knock down a jumper from the right elbow with 8:08 left but the Auggies could never seem to get a sustained threat going on this night. Up 26-12, GAC went on an 8-2 run highlighted by another Johnson jumper - this one from the left wing area with 7:48 left and a jumper along the left baseline by senior guard Maddie Ehrich with 6:37 left that had the Gusties up by twenty at 34-14. Auggie senior point guard Abbey Luger tried to counter with a "3" from the left wing area with 4:25 left and Bednar was able to add a score in the paint with 3:46 left but a 6-0 push by the Gusties gave them an even bigger cushion. Rice scored in the paint with 3:29 left and Ehrich connected with a running jumper from the left baseline with 2:21 left. One free throw by freshman guard Siri Sviggum with 2:01 left and a lay-up by sophomore reserve guard Kelsey Carpenter with :57.6 left completed this first half explosion by GAC as they took a commanding 43-20 lead into the locker room at the half.
Augsburg needed something - anything - to get a spark for some positive vibe and maybe grab some momentum once the second half got underway and a "3" from the left top area by Luger at the 19:43 mark and a lay-up in transition by the former North St. Paul standout at the 18:59 mark did give the home crowd some reason for optimism as the Gustie lead was trimmed to 43-25. Junior guard Jenna Orth made good on a lay-up in transition at the 16:32 mark and then Luger uncorked another three-point bomb from the left wing area at the 15:59 mark that had GAC's lead down to 49-30 and Gustie Head Coach Laurie Kelly; not at all pleased with her team's defensive effort early on in this second half, called a quick timeout to discuss things with her squad. Whatever her message was during that session resonated with the Gusties as they got quickly got their act together and once again assumed control of the game - this time for good. Free throws by Howard sandwiched a jumper from the right elbow area by Johnson that gave GAC a 53-30 advantage by the 14:07 mark. Ehrich knocked down a jumper along the left baseline at the 12:36 mark and then the wily freshman Miller snared an offensive rebound of her own miss at the 12:01 mark that upped the Gustie lead to 57-32. Reserve sophomore post Emmaline Crawford got into the paint for a score at the 11:10 mark and one freebie by Howard at the 10:47 mark made it a 60-34 game and the rout was officially on.
For the first time in Kelly's tenure in St. Peter, the Gusties were looking like an offensive powerhouse that also has the ability to play some defense as well and they put the clamps on Augsburg the rest of the way. Johnson connected with a jumper along the left baseline with 9:25 left to make it a 62-36 game and some of the frustrations that the Auggies had spilled over when Howard was sent to the line with 8:28 left on a flagrant foul where she knocked down both shots. The lead expanded to thirty at 68-38 with 8:02 left when Rice connected with a jumper from the right elbow. Kelly was able to gradually get her bench players into action with the cushion now in place and they were able to get their names into the book with scores as well. Sviggum knocked down two charity stripe shots with 4:50 left and freshman reserve post Stephanie Klockmann snared an offensive rebound for a putback with 3:50 left to make it 75-44. Junior reserve forward Julie Sohre knocked down a jumper from the left elbow with 3:15 left and sophomore reserve guard Anne Odegard scored on a jumper from the same area with 2:33 left. Junior reserve forward Kelle Nett dropped two shots from the charity stripe with 1:25 left and an Odegard lay-up with :21 left put the finishing touches on a resounding 83-49 Gustie triumph.
I couldn't resist asking GAC Assistant Coach Dan Wolfe afterward if he felt that this squad had finally "arrived". He responded with a resounding "No!" He spoke of the team's youth and the improvements that still need to be made and his number one hope was to ensure "that we're good enough to be a playoff team." I think the Gusties are well on their way to that goal but I can also understand a coach's desire to just see continual improvement and to never be satisfied. Kelly, too, was reluctant to feel too good about things. She stressed that there's still a lot of things that her squad needs to work on defensively wrt switching and helping out (hence, that early timeout in the second half). She talked about the game at home with Hamline back in December where they had a sizable lead at the half only to have to hold on for dear life in the second half to get the win. She wanted to see a better defensive effort in the second half with this game tonight and, for the most part, she got it. From the second time watching this team so far this season, I really like what I see and this team is much, much better than the first two teams Kelly fielded and, in her third year at the helm, she now has the players that fit into her system and this young core of players she has now has to make you think that the future is indeed very bright for GAC.
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