Bethel vs Augsburg 2-11-17

Armed with a good Subway lunch and God's nectar (aka Pepsi), I made my way over to Si Melby Hall on the campus of Augsburg College on this unseasonably warm Saturday for a critical MIAC match-up between visiting Bethel and host Augsburg.  This was Senior Day at Augsburg and the Auggies lone senior; reserve guard Erin Bolden, was honored before the game.  But there were playoff implications on the line for Augsburg as they came into this contest winning five of their last seven games and were nipping on the heels of SMU for that coveted sixth playoff spot.  Bethel meanwhile is all but locked-in to the third spot in the MIAC playoffs but they've also got very real NCAA Tournament hopes going for them as well and keeping their win streak going is very important to their chances.

Augsburg would manage to build an early 5-2 advantage on the strength of a jumper from the left top area by freshman guard K'Aezha Wubben at the 9:28 mark and a "3" from the right top area by fellow senior guard Tamira McLemore at the 8:33 mark as the shot clock was expiring.  The Royals; more specifically sophomore post Hannah Johnson, would answer the call.  A lay-up by the Duluth native at the 8:06 mark and a short, one-handed jumper from the left side at the 7:19 mark pushed Bethel ahead at 6-5.  The Auggies reclaimed the lead on a lay-up by freshman forward Camryn Speese at the 7:01 mark but Bethel would take it right back thanks to junior spark plug guard Abby Miller.  The former Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted standout made a hard drive along the right baseline for a finish at the 5:57 mark and dropped one free throw at the 5:27 mark for a 9-7 Royal lead and a Johnson lay-up in transition with 4:35 left had Bethel out in front 11-7.  Now it was the Auggies turn to make a move and freshman reserve guard Aiza Wilson came to the forefront.  Two lay-ups by the former DeLaSalle standout - one with 3:44 left and the other with 2:28 left - knotted the contest at 11 a piece.  The Royals answered that with a 5-0 push.  Freshman forward Taite Anderson drilled a "3" from the right corner with 2:09 left and a steal and lay-up the other way by freshman reserve guard and former Maple Grove standout Haylee Barker with 1:53 left gave Bethel some breathing space with a 16-11 lead.  Speese would get the Auggies back to within a single possession as she dropped one free throw with 1:34 left and got another freebie to go down with :53.2 left that cut the deficit to three points at 16-13 but Bethel was able to push the lead back to five points on a short jumper in the lane off of an inbounds by junior guard Angie Kirchoff with :42 left that made it an 18-13 game.  The Auggies would close once again to a single possession just before the end of the first period on an offensive rebound and putback by Speese with just :06 left in the opening period that reduced the Augsburg deficit down to three points at 18-15 but so far the Royals had shown that they could handle the frenetic up-tempo pace that Augsburg likes to employ.

It took some time but Bethel finally was able to create a bit of a cushion as the second period progressed.  Kirchoff dropped her first three-point bomb of the afternoon - this one coming from the left corner at the 8:53 mark and a score in the paint by Johnson at the 6:53 mark gave the Royals a six-point advantage at 23-17.  Another score in the paint by Johnson with 4:20 left and a short, one-handed jumper in the lane by the former Duluth East standout with 3:51 left got the lead to eight at 27-19 and Auggie Head Coach Ted Riverso had his first worry moment of the day and called a thirty-second timeout to get his squad regrouped.  Augsburg got the deficit slimmed down to six points on a running jumper in the lane by freshman guard Ari Jones with 3:20 left but the Royals would soon get their lead to double-digits on a 5-0 push.  Two scores in the paint by Johnson - the first with 2:55 left and the other with 2:13 left - made it a 31-21 game and one free throw by sophomore reserve guard Hannah Simpson with 1:38 left gave Bethel a 32-21 lead.  The Auggies would cut the deficit back down to single digits on a drive into the lane and finish by Wubben with 1:11 left and two McLemore freebies with :36.1 left that at least had Augsburg back to a more manageable deficit trailing by seven at 32-25 but it was becoming clear that the Royals were pulling out all the stops defensively to make things miserable for Augsburg; especially in their half-court offense.  Although Bethel Head Coach Jon Herbretchtsmeyer had to wince at the rebounding totals for each team that saw the Auggies with a 25-23 edge, the Royals were shooting at a decent clip from FG range; going 14-32 for 43.8% and a 16-point first half performance by Johnson that saw her drop 16 points helped things in the big picture.

Though Bethel shot only 2-11 from behind the arc for a measly 18.2% in the first half, that number would improve in the second half as a "3" from the left top area at the 9:22 mark of the third period by Kirchoff and another "3" from the left wing area at the 8:35 mark by Abby Miller gave the Royals their largest lead of the afternoon so far at 38-25.  An alarmed Augsburg squad tried to recover as a Speese lay-up at the 8:15 mark and a drive and finish by Jones at the 7:38 mark had the Auggies back in single-digit range again trailing 38-29.  A Speese free throw at the 6:51 mark and a lay-up by junior forward Hannah Steinhaus at the 5:34 mark trimmed the deficit to seven points at 39-32.  But then it was the Royals' Abby Miller wreaking havoc from behind the arc again.  One three-point bomb from the right wing area in a transition opportunity at the 5:01 mark and an encore "3" from that same area with 2:41 left got the lead back up to thirteen points at 45-32 and an exasperated Riverso had to take a match to another timeout.  But Bethel's suddenly resurgent three-point show wasn't done quite yet as junior reserve three-point specialist Jasmin Bretoi buried one of her specialties from the right corner with 2:01 left for a 48-32 Royal lead.  Anderson dropped a free throw as well with 1:18 left that gave the Royals their largest lead of the day so far at 49-32 before Augsburg could finally find some late answers thanks to the former DeLaSalle standout Wilson.  She drained a "3" from the left top area with 1:05 left and also connected with a lay-up with :34 left but the Auggies were still staring at a fourteen-point 51-37 deficit going into the fourth and final period.

Augsburg started the fourth period on a 6-2 push; hoping to make some serious inroads on that double-digit deficit.  McLemore knocked down a jumper from the right elbow area at the 9:47 mark and two Steinhaus free throws at the 7:37 mark got the deficit down to twelve at 53-41.  Then it was the wily Wubben making a hard drive off of an inbounds pass and getting in down low for a finish at the 6:41 mark that cut the Royal lead down to ten points at 53-43 and suddenly there was some reason for hope on the Auggie side.  But those hopes seemed to vanish in thin air as Bethel's Bretoi dropped a cold-blooded "3" from the right wing area at the 6:01 mark and Kirchoff snared a steal and whizzed the other way for a lay-up at the 5:32 mark that got the lead back up to fifteen points at 58-43 and Augsburg's Riverso had to use another timeout in hopes of salvaging what little hope there was left.  But the Royals were just in the process of applying the thumbs to the windpipe treatment.  Anderson connected with a lay-up in transition with 4:53 left and ever-improving sophomore reserve guard Hannah Simpson got into the paint for a score with 4:18 left that now gave Bethel a 62-43 lead; their largest of the day.  Surprisingly, however, the Auggies would not give up the fight and proceeded to go on a 10-0 run down the stretch that at least made things interesting.  Willowy freshman reserve forward Abby Jordan connected with a lay-up with 4:04 left and another drive and finish by Wubben with 2:58 left trimmed the Royal lead down to 62-47.  Jordan connected with another lay-up with 2:19 left and one Wubben freebie with 2:00 left and a Jordan "3" from the left wing area with 1:15 left somehow got Augsburg back into single-digit range again trailing 62-53 but they could never really threaten the advantage that the Royals had.  At the urging of several in the Auggie student section, Riverso got his lone senior, Bolden, into the game and the student section cheered in delight.  Bethel closed out the contest on insurance free throws by Abby Miller, Bretoi, Moorse and Kirchoff in the final minute and claimed an important 68-59 victory.

I caught up with Royals Head Coach Jon Herbrechtsmeyer afterward and although he was in agreement with me about today's victory not being the so-called "perfect" win, it was a big one nonetheless.  "A lot of people underestimate how good this Augsburg team is" Herbrechtsmeyer noted.  "They present a lot of different challenges because of their athleticism and their style of play." Still, they managed to get the job done and more importantly, keep a firm grip on the third spot in the MIAC playoffs - and keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive as well.  Toward the latter aspect, Herbrechtsmeyer is well aware of the obstacles that may prevent his squad from making the field of 64; even in a best-case scenario.  The lack of wins against regionally-ranked opponents is a killer for any team that's in the same position as Bethel - even if you wind up with, say, 21 or 22 wins on the season.  It's happened to SMU twice (as recently as last season) just to name a MIAC team and the Royals not only have to take care of business on their own end but also have to hope and pray that things go according to plan in other conferences in the West Region; i.e., no upsets in conference playoffs that would mean an unexpected team making the field.  Still, Herbrechtsmeyer is proud of what his team has accomplished so far and if they take care of business by winning the rest of their regular season games and win their MIAC Playoff Quarterfinal game and say, lose a tough one in the MIAC semifinals, it will be an incredible travesty if they get left out of the field of 64 teams.  The Royals had a balanced scoring attack on this day and Johnson's 18 points and 14 rebounds for a "double double" was a fantastic outing.  Abby Miller added 14 points and Kirchoff chipped in with 12 points.  Augsburg had a balanced scoring attack as well although no single player was in double figures.  McLemore, Wubben, Speese and Wilson all scored nine points on this day.  The Royals didn't have the big edge on the boards as I expected that they would have by 46-41 count but they did have an edge in defensive rebounds by a 35-24 count.  And Bethel definitely did up their three-point shooting percentage in the second half by going 6-10 for 60% which made a difference.  One killer for Augsburg in this game that likely made Riverso and his staff wince a bit was the free throw shooting for the game - going 13-21 for 61.9%.  That's just leaving too many potential points on the table and that's one area that the Auggies must improve.  And that figure hurts even more when you consider that the Auggies had a 19-10 advantage in points off of turnovers and a 17-10 advantage in those critical "second-chance" points.