After the CSB - Bethel game, I made the trek over to Augsburg's Si Melby Hall for the 3:00 P.M. tilt between visiting St. Kate's and host Augsburg. Much to my dismay, I found the main entrance doors locked to the building and had to enter via a side door and a very hospitable maintenance person let me into the building. I got seated and settled in with 4:15 left in the first with St. Kate's holding a surprising 35-25 lead.
Shocked to be down by ten in the latter stages of the first half, the Auggies tried to make inroads on the deficit. Junior forward Jessica Lillquist got into the paint for a score with 3:54 left and a "3" from the right wing by junior guard Jenna Orth with 3:18 left cut the St. Kate's lead down to 35-30 but Augsburg could not get any closer before the halftime buzzer sounded. Two free throws by Wildcat junior guard/forward Shauna Horsch with 2:54 left and a drive and finish by freshman guard Audra Clark with 1:27 left gave St. Kate's a seven-point advantage at 39-32. Freshman forward Bridget Bednar snared an offensive rebound for a putback with 1:05 left that got the Auggies back within five trailing 39-34 and Augsburg squandered two late opportunities to get closer before the halftime buzzer sounded. Still, Auggie Head Coach Bill McKee had to feel somewhat fortunate to be that close as the Wildcats shot a blazing 15-21 for 71.4% from the floor and weren't too bad from three-point land either; going 4-7 for 57.1%.
Despite the lopsided loss at home to Concordia on Wednesday night, a determined St. Kate's squad came out with a ton of heart and fight once the second half got underway and embarked on an 11-2 run in the opening three minutes. Horsch set the cotton on fire with her "3" from the left top area at the 19:39 mark and an Audra Clark jumper in the lane at the 18:58 mark gave the 'Cats a 44-36 advantage. Sophomore forward Mari Lee got an inbounds pass in the paint and scored at the 18:34 mark and fellow sophomore sensation guard/forward LaShay Holt snared a steal and whizzed the other way for a lay-up at the 17:43 mark. Audra Clark's lay-up in transition at the 17:13 mark capped this burst for a 50-36 St. Kate's lead and Augsburg's McKee called a full timeout to stop the bleeding. After the stoppage in play, the Auggies made an effort to get Lillquist involved more offensively and Augsburg slowly whacked away at the deficit. Two free throws by the Sebeka native at the 16:35 mark and one more at the 16:09 mark trimmed the Wildcat lead down to 52-39 and an offensive rebound and putback by Orth at the 15:45 mark got the Auggies closer trailing 52-41. Lillquist connected with a lay-up at the 14:33 mark and then snared an offensive rebound for a putback at the 13:04 mark that got Augsburg back to within single digits trailing 54-45. Lillquist repeated that feat at the 10:59 mark to keep the deficit in the single-digit range trailing 56-47 so there was still plenty of time left for the Auggies to make that comeback.
A Bednar lay-up at the 10:04 mark and an Orth "3" from the right top area with 8:41 left brought Augsburg even closer trailing 56-52 so there was certainly every reason for hope at this point from an Auggie standpoint but it was here that Augsburg began to inexplicably squander opportunity after opportunity to draw even closer that almost certainly had to make anyone wearing the maroon and grey search for a Zantac in their pocket or purse. And St. Kate's likely made that need all the more acute as one trey by senior reserve forward Mary Neumann from the top of the key with 8:26 left and another by Horsch from the left top area with 6:41 left helped increase the 'Cat lead to eight at 62-54 and a steal and lay-up the other way by Holt with 4:14 left maintained the eight-point advantage at 64-56. By this point, things looked dire for the Auggies in this contest as did their flickering playoff hopes as well. But senior guard Abbey Luger; playing in her last home game at Si Melby Hall, was not going to let her team go down without swinging. She uncorked a "3" from the left wing with 4:04 left that cut the deficit to five at 64-59 and a Lillquist lay-up kept the Auggies within striking distance trailing 66-61 with 3:28 left. Still, it looked like St. Kate's would somehow find a way to seal the deal even when Augsburg got into the bonus with 2:52 left and Holt got tagged with her fourth foul given the wasted opportunities that the Auggies let slip away. A two-handed Holt shot from the free throw line with 1:57 left gave the Wildcats a six-point lead at 69-63 but it was here that things started spiraling out of control for St. Kate's. Lillquist was able to score in the paint with 1:44 left and then Holt committed an untimely turnover less than ten seconds later that gave the ball back to Augsburg. Junior guard Marie Fitzgerald was fouled with 1:32 left and she sank the obligatory free throws that made it a single-possession game again trailing 69-67. On the ensuing St. Kate's possession, Audra Clark lost the ball out of bounds with the shot clock winding down. Augsburg could have tied it right there but a feisty Wildcat defense forced Bednar to lose the ball out of bounds with :29.4 left. St. Kate's again had a chance to close things out but the Auggies now turned up the heat on defense in the backcourt and got Audra Clark caught between a rock and a hard place. Fitzgerald was able to snare the steal and get a lay-up with :21 left that had the home crowd on its feet and also knotted the score at 69. After a timeout, the Wildcats had one chance left to win it in regulation. Working the ball carefully in the front court, they desperately sought to get someone open on the perimeter. With time winding down, Horsch got a slight opening from mid-range but her shot was blocked with :02 left by Orth so off we went to overtime tied at 69 a piece.
Physcially and mentally drained in a desperate attempt to cling to a dwindling lead, St. Kate's was flat coming out of the break and Augsburg quickly assumed control in the five-minute overtime period. Lillquist scored in the paint with 4:28 left to give the Auggies their first lead since the 10:04 mark of the first half. Orth followed that up with a short one-handed shot with 3:51 left to make it a 73-69 game and when Holt fouled out with 3:39 left the bottom seemed to fall out for the Wildcats. Two free throws by Lillquist with 2:48 left increased the Augsburg lead to 75-69 and the Auggies were now also in the double-bonus as well. A score in the paint by Fitzgerald with 2:03 left increased Augsburg's lead to 77-69 and a frustrated St. Kate's Head Coach Sean Pinkerton called a timeout to try and avert another disaster. To their credit, the Wildcats didn't quit and they tried to make one last comeback. Horsch was fouled with 1:43 left and she got two charity stripe shots to fall. With 1:02 left, the Auggies made a ghastly mistake and fouled Audra Clark behind the arc and she dropped all three ensuing freebies that cut the Augsburg lead down to 79-74. Orth increased the Auggie lead to seven at 81-74 with :57.9 left but St. Kate's wasn't finished just yet. Audra Clark was fouled with :27.6 left and got one free throw to go down and then Lee was able to connect with a lay-up with :16 left after she snared a steal that got the 'Cats even closer trailing 81-77. But they also needed to foul as well to keep their slim hopes alive. Fitzgerald was sent to the line with :10 left and she calmly knocked down both free throw attempts to make it an 83-77 game. Audra Clark launched one last desperate three-point shot attempt in the last second that went awry and Augsburg escaped a close call and, more importantly, kept their hopes alive for snaring that sixth playoff spot.
An immensely relieved and exhilarated Augsburg Assistant Coach Josh Hersch was very proud of his squad afterward and was also quick to praise the efforts of a gutty Wildcat team that made life miserable for the Auggies at times on this day. He admitted that things could have been a lot worse for his squad at the half; down by only five with St. Kate's shooting a red-hot 71.4 percent from the floor. But now comes the REALLY tough part for Augsburg: Four roadies to close out the regular season including a huge game in Northfield next Wednesday night against a St. Olaf team that is also in the running for that fourth spot; a game that the Auggies almost have to have considering that the three remaining road games are at Bethel, CSB, and Concordia. No question about it. The Auggies will simply have to leave it all on the floor in the coming two weeks if they are to get that sixth spot. On the flip side, another incredibly disappointing outcome for a St. Kate's team that knows how to get close but just can't seem to have things go their way when they need it to. Pinkerton was simply at a loss for words after this one and the frustration and disappointment were clearly written on his face. It's arguably tough when you can see the end of the road approaching with no opportunities beyond that for the rest of the season yet the heart and fight they displayed today shows that they will not lay down for anybody and their remaining opponents had bloody well better bring their "A" game if they want to escape with a "W".
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