Augsburg vs St. Kate's 12-10-16

After leaving UST's Schoenecker Arena, I made the short hop on Cleveland and Randolph Avenues over to St. Kate's for the 3:00 P.M. game between visiting Augsburg and host St. Kate's.  I got settled in at Butler Center at the 4:10 mark of the first period with the Wildcats up 16-11.

Augsburg managed to close the five-point gap to just one point on two scores by junior reserve forward Bridget Bednar - two free throws with 3:09 left and a lay-up in transition with 2:48 left - that cut the Wildcat lead down to 16-15.  St. Kates would respond with a 6-0 push as senior reserve guard/forward LaShay Holt made a hard drive in traffic and finished with 2:33 left and followed that up with a jumper from the free throw line with 1:42 left.  Senior guard Alexis Garcia capped the run as she scored on a sleek give-and-go lay-up with 1:01 left that got the Wildcat lead back up to seven at 22-15.  The Auggies would close out the opening period with two scores to get back to within a single possession as a drive and finish by freshman sensation guard Aiza Wilson with :50 left and two free throws by fellow freshman guard K'Aezha Wubben with :34.3 left narrowed St. Kate's lead down to 22-19 going into the second period.

The 'Cats opened up the second period on a 7-2 run thanks to the efforts of Holt; the flashy former St. Paul Humboldt standout.  She connected on a lay-up at the 9:34 mark and drew a foul and sank the obligatory free throw for a 25-19 St. Kate's lead and followed that up with another lay-up at the 9:15 mark that pushed the lead to 27-19.  Then Holt made a drive into the lane for a finish at the 7:59 mark that had the 'Cats in a pretty good position for the moment up 29-21.  Augsburg, however, would respond effectively with an 8-0 push.  Wilson dropped a three-point bomb from the left wing area at the 7:30 mark and two free throws by junior forward Hannah Steinhaus at the 7:12 mark got the Auggies back to within a single possession trailing 29-26.  One freebie by freshman forward Camryn Speese at the 6:45 mark and a lay-up in transition by slender freshman reserve forward Abby Jordan suddenly tied the game at 29-all at the 6:22 mark and St. Kate's Head Coach called a timeout to get his squad regrouped.  The Wildcats responded to the challenge as junior guard Audra Clark drained a "3" from the right top area at the 5:57 mark and senior forward Mari Lee dropped a three-point bomb of her own from the top of the key that gave St. Kate's a bit more breathing room with a 35-31 lead with 4:38 left.  Then it was Garcia who first connected with a lay-up in transition that drew a foul and sent the former Hopkins product to the line for the ensuing freebie for a 38-31 advantage and then got into the paint for another score with 3:52 left for a 40-31 Wildcat lead and now it was Augsburg Head Coach Ted Riverso's turn to call a timeout to talk things over with his squad.  But St. Kate's would maintain the cushion down the stretch and build the lead to double-digits.  One free throw by junior guard Meg Clark with 3:01 left and another by Holt with 2:36 left had the 'Cats up 42-34 and then it was Garcia again doing more damage; this time with a "3" from the left wing area with 1:46 left for a 45-34 lead.  Holt would cap this late mini-push with two free throws with just :07.4 left before the half that allowed St. Kate's to take a 47-34 lead into the locker room at the half.  The Wildcats shot significantly better from FG range at a 46.2% clip compared to Augsburg's 33.3% The Auggies held a slight edge on the boards at 23-20 but also had more turnovers at 9-3 in this frenetically-paced ballgame.

St. Kate's got off to a decent enough start at the beginning of the third period as two lay-ups in transition by Lee - one at the 8:43 mark and another at the 7:19 mark - helped maintained the double-digit advantage at 51-39 and one free throw by the former Dawson-Boyd standout at the 6:26 mark still had the Wildcats with a nice little cushion at 52-42.  Just as problematic for Augsburg was that Speese was now saddled with four fouls but they would still find a way to slyly chip and pick away at the deficit.  Two Wubben free throws at the 6:14 mark and two more by Steinhaus at the 5:41 mark had the Auggies back within single-digit range trailing 54-46 and a Steinhaus lay-up with 4:40 left and one Bednar freebie with 4:08 left sliced some more fat off the 'Cat cushion at 56-49.  A Steinhaus score in the paint with 2:47 left and a drive and finish by another freshman sensation - guard Tamira McLemore with 1:58 left - kept the deficit at seven at 60-53.  Freshman reserve guard Ari Jones dropped a "3" from the right wing area with 1:33 left that cut St. Kate's lead down to six at 62-56. Holt would come to the 'Cats rescue in the final moments of the third period as she connected with a jumper from the charity stripe with 1:08 left and got a lay-up after an Augsburg turnover with just :00.6 left in the period that built the lead back up to double digits at 66-56 but the Auggies were not going anywhere anytime soon.

Perhaps the first ominous signs for St. Kate's came in the early moments of the fourth period when Steinhaus got into the paint for a score at the 9:51 mark that again brought the Auggies back to within single digits trailing 66-58.  But if that wasn't bad enough, successive fouls on Wildcat senior forward Kennedy Jennings - who was already riding three fouls - at the 8:35 and 8:19 marks sent the former Dallas Center-Grimes (IA) standout to the pine for the rest of the contest.  St. Kate's would desperately try to hold off the Auggie charge as a "3" from the top of the key by Garcia at the 7:45 mark and a score in the paint by Holt at the 7:19 mark had the Wildcats up 71-62.  Augsburg would counter as McLemore connected with a lay-up in transition at the 7:10 mark and Steinhaus would score in the paint at the 5:49 mark that sliced the Wildcat lead back down to six at 72-66.  St. Kate's would still manage to grab one last double-digit lead in an effort to try and salt this one away. Freshman reserve guard Danica Cambrice got into the paint for a score at the 5:34 mark and Garcia connected on a lay-up in transition with 3:48 left that gave the Wildcats a 76-66 advantage.  But that was more than enough time for Augsburg to mount a comeback.  McLemore would lead this stirring rally as she first connected with a lay-up in transition with 3:39 left and although Speese would foul out of the contest a bit later with 3:16 left, McLemore's score in the paint with 2:33 left had the Auggies back in single-digit range trailing 78-70.  Then the former Eagan standout swished a "3" from the left corner with 1:58 left and Wilson was able to connect with a jumper from the right elbow thirty seconds later that cut St. Kate's lead down to 80-75.  Riverso called a timeout to set up defensive strategy.  The Auggies were able to get a stop on the next St. Kate's possession and, with :48.4 left in regulation, Wubben was fouled and she calmly strode to the charity stripe and sank two freebies that now had Augsburg back to within a single possession trailing 80-77.  Cambrice was fouled on the ensuing Wildcat possession but she was only able to knock down the back end of the two free throws awarded and that left St. Kate's trying to desperately protect a four-point 81-77 lead. Wubben was able to snare an offensive rebound for a putback of her own miss with :35 left that made it an 81-79 game.  Cambrice was again fouled on the ensuing St. Kate's possession with :20.7 left and again, two free throws would have at least made it a two-possession game.  This time around, Cambrice sank the front-end but the back-end attempt was not true and Steinhaus was there for the Auggies to grab the rebound.  Trailing 82-79, Augsburg carefully worked the ball around the court as the seconds ticked away and with :07.8 left, McLemore got just enough of an opening coming off a screen from the right top area to launch a "3" that found nothing but cotton and, just like that, we were tied at 82-all.  With the crowd at Butler Center going bonkers, Pinkerton called a timeout to try and set up one last play to try to win it in regulation.  Naturally, Holt was the main focus and the primary target to try and win the game and on the ensuing possession, she juked and weaved in a desperate attempt to find a bit of a crack in the Auggie defense and, with two defenders on her, she launched a one-handed jumper just before the buzzer sounded that missed its mark so off to overtime we went tied at 82.

Augsburg seemed to have a carry-over effect from the frantic final minutes of regulation that saw them come back from the brink to tie the game as they scored the first four points in the extra five minute session. Two Steinhaus free throws with 4:43 left and then McLemore was able to pick Holt's pocket on the ensuing Wildcat possession and she dashed the other way for a lay-up with 4:32 left that suddenly had the Auggies up 86-82.  The 'Cats were arguably reeling at this point and could have capitulated right then and there.  But perhaps it was at this point that the experience and veteran leadership of this team kicked in and they collectively rose to the challenge and even the younger ones stepped up there game as well.  Cambrice sank two free throws after getting fouled with 4:13 left and St. Kate's was able to get stops on the next two Auggie possessions.  With 3:13 left, Audra Clark found herself open from the right corner and she drained the three-point attempt that now had the Wildcats back up 87-86.  Augsburg was unable to cash in on its next two possessions and Audra Clark was fouled with 2:07 left and was able to get one free throw to go down for an 88-86 lead.  She repeated the act with 1:43 left after another foiled Auggie possession but, again, it still left the door open for Augsburg trailing 89-86.  Even though Wubben was now gone with fouls, the Auggies still had a ton of fight left in them and they managed to throw one last scare into the home team. McLemore was able to connect with a short shot off the glass with 1:26 left that cut St. Kate's lead down to a scant point at 89-88 and after the Wildcats blew two easy lay-ups that could have ended things right then and there, the Auggies had more than enough time to wrest the advantage away. With :36 left, Steinhaus was able to muscle inside for a score that now gave Augsburg a one-point lead and, once again, the 'Cats were forced to claw their way back.

On its ensuing possession, St. Kate's was able to work the ball around and Lee was able to cash in on a lay-up attempt with :15 left that gave the lead back to the Wildcats at 91-90.  Still more than enough time for Augsburg to respond and McLemore; driving harder than a speeding Mack truck, got fouled with :09.1 left.  But McLemore was only able to get the back-end attempt to go down that forged a 91-all deadlock.  Now it was Holt carefully bringing the ball downcourt with the sands of time slowly ticking away.  I kept expecting Holt to make one of her all too famous jukes that would have left the ordinary defender with broken ankles and an opening for her to can the game winner.  Instead, with precious seconds ticking off, Audra Clark slithered through the back door into the paint and Holt spied her with a second left and drilled a pass to her through traffic.  Audra Clark calmly and cooly put up the shot off the glass with just :00.3 left that gave St. Kate's a thrilling 93-91 overtime victory and left the dazed Auggies slowly walking back to their bench wondering what could have been.

Pinkerton and his assistants Tim Kjar and Tim Peper were all heaving huge sighs of relief afterward as the Wildcats improved their record to 6-3 on the season and 2-2 in the MIAC.  I managed to catch up with Lee and Audra Clark later and both said the last play was purely impromptu and the former Kenyon-Wanamingo product just happened to be in the right place at the right time for the buzzer-beater.  Again, I think it just goes to show how this St. Kate's team with the experience and seasoned veteran leadership was able to come through in a dire situation.  The big question going forward is can they do this on the road and steal a few games that they're not supposed to win on paper?  It's how truly tough this conference really is and each victory is precious.  There is nothing that is going to be given you in this league.  Augsburg; which falls to 7-3 overall and 1-3 in the MIAC, now has to regroup and put this one behind them and prepare for a tough non-conference match-up with UW-River Falls this next Saturday.  Despite Meg Clark's last-second heroics that saved the day for St. Kate's, it was actually Garcia who led the way for the Wildcats on this day with her 21 points while Holt was right behind with her 20 points and 14 rebounds.  Audra Clark had 19 points (with the two most important points coming at the end) while both Lee and Cambrice had 13 points.  Not surprisingly, McLemore led the way for Augsburg with her 26 points to lead all scorers while Steinhaus added 22 points and Wubben had 12 points.  Rebounds were nearly even with Augsburg holding a 48-47 edge and turnovers were identical with each team committing 17.  The Wildcats shot a bit better from FG range at 44% compared to the Auggies 39.7% although the two teams were nearly identical from three-point land.  It's the kind of stats you would expect in a tantalizingly close game such as this.