Note: I apologize for being so late with this entry. The Thanksgiving Holiday and the fact that it was "Beat 'SC" week played a part in the delay. :)
Made my way over to Augsburg's Si Melby Hall on this Monday night to take in another WIAC-MIAC clash - this one featuring the same UW-Stout team that fell to GAC the previous Friday night going up against host Augsburg. The Auggies; fresh off a road win at UMAC opponent Northwestern from the previous week, were looking to build on their young season while the Blue Devils were hoping to find some consistency on offense.
UW-Stout, which struggled offensively against GAC found a bit of a groove in the early going; building a 6-0 lead by the 6:49 mark after junior forward Jenna Goldsmith connected with a short shot off the glass. Auggie senior guard Allison McKee got the home team on the board when she scored in the paint off of an inbounds pass a short time later at the 6:27 mark and a drive and finish by fellow senior point guard Maria Loughlin kept Augsburg within the three point range but the Blue Devils proceeded to go on an 8-0 spurt. Freshman reserve guard Shannan Watkins got into the paint for a score with 4:08 left and then fellow freshman reserve guard Bailey Diersen drove into the paint for a finish a short time later with 3:25 left. Junior guard Sarah Schoch connected on a lay-up in transition with 2:10 left and then fellow junior forward Danielle Adams got a lay-up with 1:24 left for a 15-4 UW-Stout lead and Auggie Head Coach Ted Riverso had seen enough to know a timeout was warranted. Reserve sophomore forward Bridget Bednar's jumper in the lane with :58 left temporarily halted the Blue Devil run but a score in the paint by Goldsmith with just :06 left in the first period had UW-Stout clearly in control at this point.
Things began to look even more dire for Augsburg once the second period got underway. Free throws by both Goldsmith and Watkins increased the lead to 20-6 by the 8:41 mark and then a Watkins jumper from the right elbow at the 8:34 mark upped the lead to 22-6. Loughlin tried to counter for the Auggies with her pretty scoop shot underneath the basket at the 8:10 mark but a "3" from the left top area by UW-Stout junior reserve guard Nicole Schaub made it 25-8. A steal and lay-up the other way by freshman reserve guard Kyncaide Diedrich at the 7:00 mark and a lay-up by freshman reserve guard Carolyn Feddema at the 6:32 mark had the Blue Devils cruising with a cozy 29-10 advantage. Slowly, however, Augsburg worked their way back into the contest. Senior reserve guard Marie Fitzgerald drove hard into the lane and finished at the 6:15 mark and was fouled in the process and her free throw shaved UW-Stout's lead down to 29-13. Bednar connected with a short shot off the glass with 4:57 left and sophomore forward Hannah Steinhaus used the glass as well on her turnaround jumper in the lane with 4:31 left. The Blue Devils were able to stretch the lead back to sixteen on a lay-up in transition by senior guard Kylie Hebert with 1:55 left but the Auggies had another push left in them before halftime. One freebie by senior reserve guard Jenna Orth with 1:35 left and two more by fellow senior guard Ashley Anfinson with 1:00 left cut UW-Stout's lead down to thirteen at 35-22. The biggest splash was saved for last as freshman reserve guard Alaina Quaranta stole the spotlight. The Eau Claire, Wisconsin native snared a steal and dashed the other way for a lay-up with :45 left that brought Augsburg closer trailing 35-24. Two Quaranta free throws with 14.4 left had the Auggies back to within single digits trailing 35-26 and one more Quaranta freebie with just :05 left made it a 35-27 ballgame going into the locker room at the half. Considering the deep hole they had been in just a short time ago, Augsburg had to be feeling a lot better about themselves during the break, especially when you consider that they shot an icy 28.6% from FG range.
To their credit, the Auggies were able to put all those bad first half memories to rest once the third period commenced. Consecutive scores by senior forward Jessica Lillquist; who was held scoreless in the first half and Steinhaus whittled UW-Stout's lead down to 35-31 by the 8:39 mark. That prompted the Blue Devils to step on the gas pedal a bit. A lay-up by Hebert at the 8:19 mark and a Goldsmith score in the paint at the 7:45 mark had UW-Stout back up by seven at 39-32 and then a Hebert lay-up after a steal at the 7:14 mark pushed the lead back up to nine at 41-32. Augsburg, however, found a second wind in this third period and slowly crept their way back. The crafty and experienced Loughlin first snared a steal and dashed the other way for a lay-up at the 6:35 mark and then at the 5:35 mark, the Rogers native struck again with one of her lefty rainbow-like treys that had the Auggies back in striking distance trailing 41-37. Lillquist got into the paint for another score with 4:54 left as did Bednar with 4:02 left that cut the Blue Devil lead down to 43-41. UW-Stout tried to counter as Schaub, the former Park Center standout, connected with a lay-up with 3:23 left to make it 45-42 but free throws - one by freshman reserve forward Carlee Kobow with 3:09 left and one by Quaranta with 3:01 left sliced the Blue Devil lead down to one at 45-44. Augsburg took their first lead of the game with 2:33 left when Lillquist once again muscled into the paint for a score and it seemed as if the Auggies were ready to take control right then and there. Strangely enough, Augsburg never could regain that edge and having the lead snared away from them seemed to wake up the visitors from the WIAC. Watkins snared an offensive rebound for a putback with 2:16 left that put the Blue Devils back up for good at 47-46 and then the willowy Schaub uncorked a "3" from the right corner with 1:48 left that increased the lead to 50-46. Augsburg was able to get the game back to within a single possession on scores by Bednar and senior reserve post Bridget Kopp and a short shot off of an inbounds pass by McKee with just :01 left in the period still had the Auggies right in the thick of things trailing by only two at 54-52.
A 9-0 UW-Stout run at the beginning of the fourth period changed turned the tables in this one for good. A pretty drive underneath and reverse lay-up by Diedrich with 9:41 left and two charity stripe shots by Schoch had the cushion back up to six at 58-52 by the 8:48 mark. A score in the paint off of an inbounds pass by Hebert at the 8:18 mark coupled with another Schoch free throw at the 8:00 mark made it 61-52 and Goldsmith completed the run with an offensive rebound for a putback at the 7:37 mark that now had the Blue Devils back up by double digits at 63-52. Defensive lapses hurt the Auggies during this key stretch obviously but you have to wonder as well if Augsburg simply had hit an empty tank of gas considering that they had used up so much energy during the latter stages of the second period and the third period as well when they were able to grab that tenuous one-point advantage. Two free throws by senior reserve guard Marie Fitzgerald and another by Steinhaus had the Auggies back to within single digits trailing 63-55 at the 6:05 mark but they never could find that one spark that might have propelled them on a game-changing run. The freshman; Watkins, came up with two huge shots that kept Augsburg at bay - one from the right wing at the 5:39 mark and a jumper from the top of the key just inside the arc with 4:19 left that helped restore the double-digit advantage at 69-57 and a Goldsmith score in the paint with 3:17 left increased the lead to 71-57 and Riverso had no choice but to burn a timeout as the Auggies were now in desperation mode. Augsburg would make jabs and stabs at the deficit but UW-Stout was in full control down the stretch. A running jumper off the glass by Schaub with 2:19 left along with two Hebert freebies with :57.1 left sealed the deal for the Blue Devils as they were able to take home a big road win back to Menominee by a score of 78-69.
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