Augsburg vs Bethel 1-10-18

Made my way over to Robertson Center on the campus of Bethel University on this dreary Wednesday evening to take in the contest between visiting Augsburg and host Bethel.  This would be a critical game for both teams as the Auggies were coming into this contest on a four-game win streak with a 4-2 record in MIAC play while the Royals were coming in with a five-game win streak of their own and a 3-2 record in conference play.  Both teams were coming into this game missing a player from their starting line-up:  Sophomore guard Tamira McLemore of Augsburg who was on concussion protocol and sophomore point guard Haylee Barker of Bethel who came down with the flu bug so both head coaches - Ted Riverso of Augsburg and Jon Herbrechtsmeyer of Bethel - had to tweak their starting line-ups a bit for this game.

Sophomore guard Ari Jones of Augsburg would get the high-flying Auggies on the board first with her lay-up in transition at the 9:11 mark of the opening period but Bethel would go on a 5-0 push as one free throw by willowy junior post Hannah Johnson at the 8:53 mark and a lay-up by senior sparkplug guard Abby Miller had the Royals up 3-2.  That lead increased to 5-2 when Johnson got into the paint for a score at the 7:41 mark but Augsburg struck back when sophomore guard K'Aezha Wubben connected with a lay-up and drew a foul in the process and the ensuing "and one" by the former Hopkins product knotted the game at five a piece.  It was here where the host Royals started warming up from downtown that enabled them to go on a 13-2 run.  A Miller "3" from the left corner at the 7:08 mark got this venture going and although Augsburg would temporarily close the gap to one point a a short, running jumper by Jones at the 6:51 mark, Bethel was just getting started.  Miller unleashed her second trey of the night from the left wing area at the 6:11 mark for an 11-7 Royal lead and then a lay-up after a steal in the backcourt by senior guard Angie Kirchoff at the 5:59 mark now had Bethel's lead at six points at 13-7.  Then it was Kirchoff; the Barrington, Illinois native, draining a "3" from the left wing area at the 5:18 mark that made it a 16-7 game.  The Royals were turning up the heat on the defensive end as well and another backcourt steal allowed Kirchoff to connect with a lay-up at the 5:06 mark that made it 18-9 before Augsburg could stop some of the bleeding.  Two free throws by sophomore forward Camryn Speese with 4:57 left and a Jones lay-up with 4:27 left got the Auggies back into single-digit range again for the time being trailing 18-11 but Bethel would soon start out on another run.  Two free throws by junior reserve guard Maria Vavra with 4:10 left started an 11-4 Royal push that widened the gap.  Then it was Vavra striking from downtown with a trey from the right top area with 3:39 left that had Bethel with another double-digit lead at 23-11.  The Auggies tried to strike back as sophomore sharp-shooting guard Aiza Wilson uncorked one of her patented three-point bombs from the top of the key with 3:26 mark but Bethel's Miller answered that call with a three-point bomb of her own from the left wing area with 3:02 left and a "3" from the left corner by senior reserve guard Hannah Simpson with :48 left now had the Royals up by fourteen points at 29-15.  Augsburg tried to slim the deficit down again as Wubben made a hard drive into the lane for a finish with :29 left but another three-point bomb by the Royals' Simpson - this one coming from the left wing area with :07 left - gave Bethel a nice cushion up 27-15 going into the second period.

The Auggies right away wanted to cut into that deficit once the second period got underway as a "3" from the right top area by sophomore reserve guard Abby Jordan at the 9:46 mark and an offensive rebound and putback off the glass by senior forward Bridget Bednar at the 8:26 mark at least kept things in the twelve point range at 34-22 but a 6-0 Bethel push widened the gap even more.  Kirchoff connected with a short, turnaround jumper off the glass at the 7:30 mark and a drive and finish by the wily Miller increased the Royal lead to sixteen points at 38-22.  A Miller lay-up at the 6:37 mark capped this push for a 40-22 Bethel lead before the Auggies could attempt to make inroads again.  Wilson connected with a lay-up at the 6:23 mark and an offensive rebound and putback of her own miss in transition by Bednar at the 6:05 mark got the deficit down to fourteen points at 40-26.  A Jones lay-up at the 5:21 mark helped spark an 8-2 Augsburg run.  Two Bednar free throws with 4:48 left and a lay-up in transition by Speese with 4:22 left had the deficit down to twelve points again at 44-32 and a short lay-up by Speese with 3:17 left now had the deficit down to ten points at 44-34.  The Royals increased their lead back to thirteen points as one Simpson free throw with 3:00 left and a short shot off the glass by Johnson with 2:29 left had Bethel up 47-34 but the Auggies would make one last push before the halftime buzzer.  Freshman reserve forward Jazmyn Solseth made a drive along the left baseline for a finish with 1:29 left and a Wilson lay-up with :35 left had Augsburg in much better shape back in single-digit range again down 47-38 as both teams headed for the locker room for the halftime break.  A check of the first half box score gives you an idea of how hot Bethel was in this first half as the Royals shot 18-29 for 62.1% from FG range and a blazing 7-11 from downtown for 63.6%.  Adding to the frustrations for Riverso and his staff was that Augsburg was outrebounded by Bethel in the first half as well by a 17-12 count.

A short shot off the glass by Bednar at the 9:01 mark trimmed the Auggie deficit down to eight points at 48-40 but it was here that things started spiraling out of control for Augsburg.  In a short time span, the Auggies began collecting fouls like a carcass collects flies.  Bednar got tagged with her third foul at the 8:35 mark and Wubben collected her third and fourth fouls at the 8:25 and 8:17 marks, respectively, and by this time the only thing Augsburg was leading in was the foul count at 5-0.  This item did not sit well at all with the Auggies' Riverso who voiced his displeasure about the situation a bit too vociferously at the 7:51 mark and was promptly slapped with a technical foul.  Bethel's Kirchoff sank both obligatory free throws but Augsburg; perhaps fired up a bit by their coach's fiery display of temper, managed to cut the deficit down to six points as two free throws by Wilson who was fouled in a transition opportunity at the 7:33 mark and a Jones drive into the lane for a finish that drew a foul and resulted in an "and one" at the 7:19 mark now provided some hope for the Auggies down 51-45.  But Bethel dashed those hopes for good with a 13-2 run.  Miller unleashed a "3" from the left corner at the 7:05 mark and a jumper from the left wing by Kirchoff at the 6:26 mark quickly re-established the double-digit lead for the Royals at 56-45.  Johnson snared an offensive rebound for a putback in transition at the 6:07 mark and a "3" from the left top area by sophomore forward Taite Anderson at the 5:40 mark now had Bethel up 61-47.  Another Miller "3"; this one from the right wing area at the 5:13 mark, put an exclamation point on this latest Royal assault and Augsburg could never really recover.  Wilson did connect on a drive and finish with 4:47 left and a score in the paint off of an inbounds pass by junior reserve forward Carlee Kobow with 3:46 left cut the deficit a bit for the Auggies a bit a 66-51 but they were unable to string together a series of scores that could have brought them reasonably closer.  Plus the fact that both Kowbow and Solseth missed pairs of free throw attempts a bit later did not help Augsburg's cause either.  The Royals ended the third period on a 6-0 push as one Anderson free throw with 2:12 left and another one with 1:49 left upped Bethel's lead to 68-51 and a drive and finish by freshman reserve forward Lainie Cox with 1:09 left and a Johnson lay-up with :32.5 left had the Royals up comfortably at 72-51 as the game morphed into the fourth period.

Speese single-handedly tried to bring her Augsburg team closer with a lay-up at the 9:22 mark and a jumper in the lane at the 8:54 mark but the Auggies would endure even more frustration shortly thereafter.  After Bethel's Johnson connected with a pretty one-handed jumper in the lane at the 8:31 mark, Bednar collected her fourth foul of the evening at the 7:29 mark and then Speese herself was slapped with a technical foul at the 7:29 mark after apparently saying something that caught the officials collective ears.  The Royals' Kirchoff got one of the two obligatory free throws to go down and Bednar would foul out of the game at the 7:20 mark and things would unravel from there for Augsburg.  The Royals would slowly but surely increase their lead and put this one out of reach.  A score in the paint by senior guard Jasmin Bretoi at the 7:18 mark and another Anderson trey - this one from the top of the key at the 6:21 mark - now had Bethel up 82-57.  Bretoi would get fouled behind the arc with 4:14 left and the former Centennial standout knocked down all three charity stripe shots for an 85-59 Royal lead.  Two scores by Cox - a lay-up with 3:12 left and a short jumper off the glass after a steal in the backcourt with 2:54 left - now made it 89-59 and both Herbrechtsmeyer and Riverso both unloaded their benches.  Two free throws by junior reserve guard Maria Vavra with 2:27 left and a "3" from the left wing by sophomore reserve forward Brittany Reimer with 1:31 left had Bethel up 94-59 and junior reserve forward Rae Beaver would add two more free throws as the Royals romped to a 96-64 victory.

I couldn't help but ask Herbrechtsmeyer afterward about how well his squad shot on this night and he simply replied that "If you double-down on our post, we'll find a way to beat you."  Still in all, it was an important win for the Royals to not only keep their win streak going but get a burst of momentum going as well as mighty GAC comes into Robertson Center on Saturday.  Meanwhile, a setback for sure on the Augsburg front but even Riverso couldn't help but laugh a little when he noted that the technical he picked up early in the third period was only his fourth technical of his career.  But he did feel positive about McLemore being available for his team come Saturday and they'll definitely need her as league-leading CSB comes to Minneapolis on Saturday to take on the Auggies.  It was indeed a hot-shooting night for the Royals as they had four players in double-figures.  Miller led the way with her 21 points while Kirchoff had 16 points and Johnson had a "double-double" - 13 points and 16 rebounds - and Anderson recorded 13 points as well.  Augsburg had three players in double-figures as well.  Wilson had 13 points while Jones had 11 and Speese had 10 points.  Again, when you're shooting 33-52 for 63.5% from FG range and 12-18 from behind the arc for 66.7% as the Royals did on this night, you're going to be tough to beat.