Was back over at Augsburg's Si Melby Hall on this Wednesday night to take in the contest between visiting Hamline and host Augsburg. The Auggies were looking to get back on track after last Saturday's disappointing loss to Concordia while Hamline was simply looking for some kind of magic to break their eight-game skid and to get their first "W" of 2016. While this appeared to be an easy game on paper for Augsburg, you can never take Hamline for granted as their speed and athleticism along with their three-point shooting ability always makes them dangerous.
The Auggies jumped out to a 5-0 lead on scores by senior point guard Maria Loughlin and sophomore forward Hannah Steinhaus along with one free throw by senior forward/post Jessica Lillquist. But Hamline came right back and knotted the issue at 5 a piece by the 5:58 mark on a score in the paint by freshman forward Haley Greene and a "3" from the right wing by Chloe Graves. Augsburg would hold small leads over the next three minutes but with the score tied at 9-all with 2:32 left, the Auggies were able to build a bit of a cushion towards the end of the first period. One freebie by sophomore reserve forward Bridget Bednar and a lay-up by freshman reserve forward Megan Quam made it 12-9 and with just :05 left in the first period senior reserve guard Jenna Orth was able to snare a steal and dash the other way for a lay-up that gave Augsburg a 14-9 lead.
The Pipers were able to close the gap to one point early on in the second period on a jumper from the free throw line by sophomore reserve forward Ivannie Robertson and a short jumper by junior guard Chelsey Bonsante and things momentarily looked a bit dicey for the Auggies but the one player that Augsburg always seems to lean on when they need a jump start is Loughlin; the Rogers native and she came through with shining colors when it counted. One "3" from the left corner at the 7:21 mark and another from the left top area at the 5:50 mark had Augsburg back up by five at 20-15 and a lay-up with 4:35 left extended the lead to seven at 22-15. A jumper from the left elbow area by Graves allowed Hamline to cut the deficit down to five at 22-17 with 3:42 left but one score in the paint by senior guard Allison McKee with 3:18 left and another one by Lillquist got the lead back up to nine at 26-17. The Auggies were able to get the lead into double-digit range right before the end of the half. McKee made a drive across the lane and connected on a short jumper with 2:06 left and a short jumper off the glass by Loughlin allowed Augsburg to take a 30-20 lead into the locker room at the half. While the Pipers actually outrebounded the Auggies in the first half by a 23-19 count, Augsburg committed only one turnover in the first half while Hamline was guilty of six.
The Pipers needed to get some shots to go down in the second half that weren't going for them in the first half and treys by both Bonsante and senior guard Emily Behrman helped trim Augsburg's lead down to seven points at 33-26 by the 7:32 mark before the Auggies could re-establish their double-digit advantage. A score in the paint by Steinhaus at the 6:49 mark and a lay-up in transition by McKee at the 6:29 mark pushed the lead to eleven at 37-26 before Hamline recovered a bit. A 5-0 push; spurred by two Greene scores cut the Auggie lead down to six at 37-31 with 3:47 left but once again Augsburg was able to regain their double-digit cushion. McKee dropped a three-pointer from the left wing area with 3:22 left and one Quam charity stripe shot and a short jumper off the glass by Bednar now stretched the lead to twelve at 43-31 with 1:38 left. Hamline made a bit of an inroad on a "3" from the right wing area by junior reserve guard Tia Diggins with 1:12 left and one free throw by Greene slimmed down Augsburg's lead to 43-35 going into the fourth and final period.
Despite the fact that so many things have gone wrong at the worst possible time for the Pipers this season, that doesn't mean that they've quit or gone into any shell by a long stretch. This one was far from over by this point and Hamline made a gamey comeback attempt. A Behrman lay-up in transition at the 9:25 mark and another one by Graves at the 7:42 mark closed the gap to six points trailing 45-39 and a Graves "3" from the left wing area at the 6:53 mark drew the Pipers even closer trailing 47-42. Strangely enough, that's where the Hamline comeback effort died as they were shut out the rest of the way. When Augsburg needed another lift, Loughlin came to rescue again. A jumper along the right baseline at the 6:27 mark and two free throws at the 5:25 mark extended the lead to nine points at 51-42 and a score in the paint by Lillquist got the lead to eleven at 53-42 with 4:52 left. An offensive rebound and putback by Bednar with 3:23 left effectively shut the door on Hamline's hopes as the lead was extended to 55-42. Late scores - one in the paint by senior guard Marie Fitzgerald and a "3" from the left top area by freshman reserve guard Alaina Quaranta helped give Augsburg a 62-42 victory and keeps them in the mix for that sixth spot in the MIAC playoff race.
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