Los Angeles Rams

Los Angeles Rams

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Bethany Lutheran vs Augsburg Scrimmage 11-4-15

Made the trek over to Augsburg's Si Melby Hall on this Wednesday night to get another look at the Auggies after last week's scrimmage with Anoka-Ramsey.  On this night Augsburg would be taking on another relatively unfamiliar opponent - Bethany Lutheran out of the UMAC.  The Vikings are coming into this season with a lot to prove given the fact that they have been picked to finish sixth in their conference in the preseason coaches poll.  Unfortunately on this night, the Bethany Lutheran team was not wearing any numerals on their practice jerseys so despite having a 2015-16 roster I was left kind of helpless not knowing the team very well.

In the first ten-minute scrimmage, both teams opened up in man-to-man defense but it would be Augsburg who would make the necessary adjustments to get off to a great start.  Senior guard Ashley Anfinson's "3" from the right corner with 8:59 left and a jumper by senior guard Maria Loughlin had the Auggies up 5-0 with 7:50 left.  Bethany Lutheran looked out of sorts early in this one as mistakes and turnovers helped fuel the Auggie fire.  Anfinson connected with another "3" from the right wing with 7:27 left and a lay-up in transition after a Viking turnover by freshman guard Alaina Quaranta made it a 10-0 game and Bethany Lutheran Head Coach Lyle Jones had seen enough to know that a timeout was warranted.  But Augsburg was able to push the lead to as much as 15-2 on a score in the paint by freshman forward Megan Quam with 4:36 left and a pretty jumper along the left baseline by Loughlin with 3:27 left before the Vikings finally got untracked.  A steal and lay-up in transition with 2:46 left and a "3" from the left top area with 1:27 left helped trim the Auggie lead down to 15-8.  Augsburg would get the lead to 17-8 on a lay-up in transition by junior guard Erin Bolden with 1:07 left before the Vikings got their last points of this first scrimmage with :18 left that left the finally tally at 17-10 Augsburg.

If the first scrimmage was bad for Bethany Lutheran, the second one was even worse.  An offensive rebound and putback by freshman forward/post Carlee Kobow with 9:08 left and a Loughlin "3" from the top of the key with 8:23 left gave the Auggies a quick 5-0 advantage and Jones; sensing doom for his squad again, called a quick timeout to try and halt the tide.  But the Auggies were far from finished with this onslaught.  Loughline made the cotton sing yet another pretty tune with her "3" from the right top area with 7:09 left and Anfinson connected with her third trey of the night - a bomb from the left wing area with 6:42 left for an 11-0 Augsburg lead.  Sophomore forward Hannah Steinhaus got a lay-up in transition with 5:07 left and still another Loughlin "3" - this one from the left top area with 4:27 left - made it a 16-0 game.  Senior post Bridget Kopp got into the act as well:  a one-handed shot off the glass with 3:35 left and a score in the paint with 2:11 left bloated the score to 20-0 before the Vikings finally found some signs of life late.  A short jumper with 1:50 left and an offensive rebound and putback made it 21-4 and a "3" from the left top area with :28.3 left left the final tally at Augsburg 21 Bethany Lutheran 7.

As much as the Auggies dominated the first two scrimmage sessions, the third scrimmage was a 180-degree turnaround as Bethany Lutheran was able to establish a 9-0 lead with 4:53 left thanks to a handful of errors and turnovers by Augsburg that led to at least four transition opportunities for the Vikings.  A Bolden "3" from the right top area with 4:39 left momentarily stopped the bleeding but the Auggies seemed strangely out of sorts and the errors and turnovers started piling up as the Vikings reeled off three straight easy lay-ups in transition that had to have Augsburg Head Coach Ted Riverso fuming.  Two late Bethany Lutheran freebies had me tallying the final count at 17-3 in favor of the Vikings.

In the fourth scrimmage, the Auggies were able to right the ship and do an encore of the first and second scrimmage session.  Two Quam free throws with 9:17 left along with two Bolden scores - a "3" from the right top area with 8:46 left and a short jumper from the left side had Augsburg up 7-0.  Kopp was able to knock down a jumper from the right elbow with 7:11 left and then Quam slithered inside for a score with 5:16 left for an 11-0 game.  Bethany Lutheran, as they had in the first two scrimmage sessions, was having numerous problems trying to work the ball inside which often led to costly turnovers.  One turnover forced by Quaranta led to an easy lay-up the other way by the Eau Claire, Wisconsin native with 5:02 left and with 4:15 left, Kobow used her long frame to get a score in the paint for a 15-0 Auggie advantage before Bethany Lutheran finally settled down.  A short jumper from the left wing area with 3:25 left along with a lay-up in transition made it 15-4 and a score in the paint with 2:08 left got the Vikings back to within single digits trailing 15-6.  But another Kobow score down low with 1:52 left along with another one by Quam with 1:18 left had Augsburg winning the nightcap by a count of 19-8.

For the most part, I thought the Auggies looked much sharper on offense than they did a week ago despite the fact that they still don't have everybody back yet.  Senior guard Jenna Orth is still in the process of recovering from concussion-like symptoms and senior guard Marie Fitzgerald will finally be returning after helping the Augsburg women's soccer team with a very successful season.  Senior forward/post Jessica Lillquist will certainly bolster the Auggie front court when she is back in action as well.  Riverso, not wanting to give away the candy store, grudgingly admitted that his team looked better although he himself knows there is still room for significant improvement.

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