Made my way over to Augsburg's Si Melby Hall on this early Saturday afternoon to take in the 1:00 P.M. contest between visiting SMU which had made its way up U.S. Highway 61 and the Canadian Pacific Railway's River Sub mainline to the Twin Cities to take on host Augsburg. This would be my first look at the Cardinals this season and I was particularly interested in how they would look without their junior starting point guard Bridget Pethke; relegated to an unofficial player/coach role after suffering an ACL injury against GAC earlier in the month. The Auggies, meanwhile, were coming off two straight wins; most recently against Hamline this last Wednesday night and were looking to keep the positive vibe - and their playoff hopes as well - going.
Augsburg freshman Bridget Bednar's offensive rebound for a putback gave the home team a 2-0 advantage at the 19:11 mark but that lead was short-lived as the red-clad Cardinals embarked on a 9-0 run over the next six minutes. Strong senior guard Sara Schoenthaler banged home a "3" from the right top area at the 18:19 mark and freshman sensation forward/post Molly O'Toole connected with a jumper along the right baseline at the 17:51 mark for a 5-2 SMU lead. Despite the fact that both teams were plagued by turnovers in the early stages of this ballgame, the Cardinals were finding ways to get something out of a not so good situation. Another jumper along the right baseline by O'Toole at the 14:51 mark and a score in the paint by junior forward Shelby Auseth completed the run and Auggie Head Coach Bill McKee; seeing a situation where he was going to have to play catch-up again, called a thirty-second timeout to discuss things with his squad. Augsburg would slowly cut into the SMU cushion as they made a concerted effort to get the ball inside to their "bigs" as they had on Wednesday night against Hamline. Freshman forward Hannah Steinhaus was able to get a turnaround jumper to go in at the 11:15 mark that got the Auggies to within four trailing 9-5 but the missed opportunities that Augsburg let slip through their fingers early on in this contest could have easily tied the score or had them ahead at this point.
SMU was able to momentarily take advantage of those missed opportunities that the Auggies had and they built their lead back up to eight. Sophomore point guard Emma Schaefer; starting in place of the injured Pethke, connected on a lay-up with 9:22 left and O'Toole was able to get another short jumper from the right side to go down with 7:57 left that gave the Cardinals a 13-5 advantage. But here the Auggies were able to finally get something going offensively as they went on a 6-0 run that tightened things up. Junior forward Jessica Lillquist knocked down two freebies after getting fouled with 7:39 left and then Bednar got into the lane and put up a pretty hook shot that went down with 6:56 left. Junior reserve guard Marie Fitzgerald connected with a jumper from the right elbow area with 6:18 left that sliced SMU's lead down to 13-11 and Cardinal Head Coach Mandy Pearson; not liking the recent developments, called a thirty-second timeout of her own to get her forces reorganized. SMU looked like they might be primed to open up some distance again after that short stoppage in play as Schoenthaler; the former White Bear Lake standout, drained her second trey of the game; this one from the right corner with 4:52 left that gave the Cardinals at 16-11 lead. But Augsburg seemed determined to stay right in the thick of things and they were able to stay close down the stretch. Senior point guard Abbey Luger, who had struggled with her shooting touch for a good portion of the first half, finally shook off the cobwebs and knocked down a jumper from the left wing with 4:27 left that brought the Auggies to within three trailing 16-13. With the Cardinals holding a 17-14 advantage with under a minute left, Schaefer drilled a three-point bomb from the left wing with :48 left but Augsburg junior guard Jenna Orth got her squad more points with :26 left on a lay-up that made it a 20-16 game once the buzzer sounded ending the first half. Both sides; considering the turnovers that were committed in the first half (ten for SMU alone) and the frigid shooting for Augsburg (6-27 for 22.2%) could make the case for a glass half-full proposition.
Things would continue to stay close once the second half got underway and, for Augsburg anyway, Luger's play was a primary reason. A drive into the lane for a finish at the 18:33 mark and a lay-up at the 17:38 mark kept the Auggies right within that 2-4 point range. Steinhaus got a lay-up in transition after a Luger steal at the 17:12 mark and then Luger was able to connect with a jumper from the left elbow at the 16:01 mark that had Augsburg trailing by two at 26-24. At the 13:20 mark, junior reserve post Bridget Kopp; who had been relegated to wearing civies on the sideline because of concussion issues and who had been finally given clearance to play, got into the paint for a score that kept the Auggies within two trailing 28-26. SMU's Pearson; probably frustrated by this point that her team had been unable to shake Augsburg by this time, called a timeout to talk about things with her squad. That little talk seemed to spur the Cardinals as Auseth got into the paint for a score at the 13:09 mark to make it a 30-26 game and then junior reserve guard Micaela Meredith uncorcked a "3" from the right corner that gave SMU a seven-point 33-26 advantage at the 12:28 mark. The Auggies would once again battle back and then get to within a single possession when Orth connected from three-point land at the top of the key with 8:43 left that cut the Cardinal lead down to 37-35 but then Auseth drained a "3" from the top of the key with 8:25 left and then it was Schaefer doing her thing from three-point land from the left wing with 7:48 left that gave SMU a 43-35 lead and Augsburg's McKee knew a timeout was needed by this point.
The Auggies could have folded the tent and gone home by this point but, once again, they showed resolve and got themselves right back into the thick of things. Luger scored on a sweet give-and-go play with 6:52 left and then Bednar knocked down two shots from the charity stripe after getting fouled with 5:53 left and was also able to get a score in the paint with 5:01 left that once again brought Augsburg back to within a single possession trailing 43-41. But, just like a bad dream where you seemingly can't run no matter how hard you try, the Auggie effort finally hit a wall and an experienced SMU squad was quick to take advantage of the situation; much to the delight of former Cardinal Darcey Rice who was sitting in the stands cheering on her old teammates. Meredith connected on a drive and finish with 4:37 left and lanky sophomore reserve forward Sam Jones got into the paint for a score with 3:13 left for a 49-41 SMU lead. The Auggies tried to find one last flicker of hope when Luger connected with a lay-up with 2:48 left but O'Toole was able to apply the finishing touches for the Cardinals on a score in the paint off of an inbounds pass with :52 left that gave SMU a 51-45 victory.
After watching this game today and the ebb and flow that went with it, I couldn't help but come away with the feeling that, if there was ever a set-up where the Auggies were going to steal one from one of the upper-echelon teams, this one was laid out there for them to do just that yet they failed to take advantage of the opportunities when they arose. Augsburg Assistant Coach Josh Hersch was in full agreement with that assessment when I spoke with him afterward. While this was a game that they didn't necessarily need to have, this would have been a huge win had they been able to steal it. He spoke of some of the finer details of the game that his squad needs to work on; boxing out, sealing better, making better decisions with the ball. He emphasized that this is a program that still has a goal of trying to get better with each passing day and making the playoffs as well. But their margin for error is small and the Auggies absolutely have to make the most out of a relatively favorable schedule save for world-beater UST. Meanwhile, SMU is certainly a solid playoff team; no question about it. They've been able to make the best out of a bad situation with the loss of Pethke and they're winning the games that they're supposed to win thus far although you can bet that Pearson would love to have that roadie at St. Olaf back again. Are they capable of more? Possibly, but this team seems to lack the explosiveness and pizzazz they had a year ago when they won the regular season title and hosted the MIAC Championship Game and to the Big Dance as well. Still, they've been able to handle the cards that they've been dealt and are keeping themselves right in the thick of things.
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