St. Kate's vs Augsburg 2-14-18

Made the reasonably short drive over to Si Melby Hall on the campus of Augsburg College on this rather unseasonably warm Valentine's Day late afternoon for this late regular season huge matchup between visiting St. Kate's and host Augsburg.  The Wildcats were coming into this contest with a bit of momentum in the form of a two-game win streak and four out of their last five games.  The same could not be said for the Auggies as they've picked a bad time of the year to start slumping; losing four out of their last five games including an overtime thriller at UST a week ago when they were up by four points with eight seconds to go in regulation and managed to let it slip away.  Because of these circumstances, this game would pretty much decide the coveted sixth spot in the MIAC playoffs so it was time to lay it all on the line and roll the dice and hope for the best.

It would be Augsburg setting the tone for this contest in the early going as one score in the paint by sophomore guard K'Aezha Wubben at the 9:43 mark and another one by fellow sophomore forward Camryn Speese at the 8:11 mark had the Auggies up 4-2.  Wubben would connect with a lay-up as the shot clock was expiring at the 7:27 mark and a steal and lay-up the other way by sophomore guard Ari Jones at the 7:07 mark now had Augsburg up 8-2 and Wildcat Head Coach Don Mulhern; not liking at all how things were going in the opening moments of the first period, called a thirty-second timeout to try and make some quick adjustments.  St. Kate's sophomore sensation guard Danica Cambrice narrowed the gap with her drive into the lane for a finish off the glass at the 6:45 mark but Auggie sophomore guard Tamira McLemore drained a "3" from the top of the key a bit later at the 6:23 mark and Augsburg looked to be in very good shape up 11-4.  But anyone who thought that the 'Cats were simply going to roll over and not put up a fight on this night were sadly mistaken and a 10-2 run helped turn things around.  Freshman guard Ashley Fosness drained a "3" of her own from the right corner at the 5:59 mark to get the Wildcats back into four-point range down 11-7 and two free throws by sophomore guard Jackie Radford at the 5:18 mark kept things in that four-point range with St. Kate's down 13-9.  With 4:33 left, Cambrice was the recipient of a pretty pass from Radford and the former St. Croix Lutheran standout connected on a give-and-go lay-up to tighten things up to two points at 13-11.  The Wildcats then assumed their first lead of the evening on a three-point bomb by Radford from the left wing area before Augsburg snared it back on a "3" by sophomore reserve guard Aiza Wilson from the left wing area as well with 3:10 left.  The Wildcats would forge a tie at 16 a piece when freshman reserve guard Brooke Torvik connected with a lay-up with 3:00 left but the Auggies would regain the edge down the stretch of the opening period as two McLemore freebies with 1:46 left put Augsburg back out in front by an 18-16 count and two more by Wubben with :29.4 left maintained the two-point edge at 20-18.  Sophomore reserve forward Abby Jordan gave the Auggies a bit more breathing space with her steal and lay-up the other way with just :06 left to put Augsburg up 22-18 going into the second period.

The Auggies managed to put themselves in an even better position in the opening moments of the second period when Speese; using her quickness and athleticism, snared a steal of an inbounds pass and dashed the other way for a lay-up that stretched Augsburg's lead to six points at 24-18.  That either angered the Wildcats or lulled the Auggies into complacency as St. Kate's responded with a 12-2 run and Augsburg went into an extended drought from FG range and behind the arc.  Radford started things off with a hard drive into traffic for a finish that drew a foul and the ensuing "and one" got the 'Cats back to within a single possession down 24-21.  Then it was freshman reserve guard Bailee Sillman getting a steal in the backcourt for a lay-up at the 8:30 mark to cut the deficit down to one point.  Augsburg's McLemore got to the charity stripe to knock down two shots for a 26-23 Auggie lead but St. Kate's would continue with its push.  Cambrice made a drive for a finish at the 7:57 mark that also drew a foul and her obligatory free throw knotted the game at 26 a piece.  Less than thirty seconds later, Cambrice would strike again; knocking down a jumper from the right wing area at the 7:31 mark that pushed the Wildcats into the lead for the first time on this night.  Sillman's score in the paint at the 6:49 mark completed this run for a 30-26 St. Kate's lead before the Auggies finally got untracked.  McLemore connected with a lay-up in transition with 3:52 left as did Wilson with 3:35 left that tied the score at 30-all.  Jones would keep things tied up for Augsburg at 32 a piece with her lay-up with 1:22 left but the 'Cats managed to regain a bit of an edge in the waning moments before the halftime buzzer.  Cambrice connected with a lay-up with 1:08 left to put St. Kate's out in front 34-32 and one free throw by freshman forward Morgan Kurth with :23 left made it a 35-32 ballgame.  The Wildcats' hopes took a bit of a hite with just :05.8 when Augsburg's Jones was sent to the charity stripe where she cut the deficit down to one point with two freebies and St. Kate's freshman reserve guard got tagged with her third foul of the night.  But the 'Cats managed to right the ship just before the intermission buzzer when Cambrice connected with another lay-up to give St. Kate's a 37-34 advantage.  A check of the first half box score indicates that Augsburg Head Coach Ted Riverso and his staff had every reason to be concerned as it shows that the Auggies had a dreadful first half going 11-39 from FG range for 37.9% and an icy 2-14 from three-point land for 14.3%.  St. Kate's meanwhile shot decently for the first half as they were 15-26 from FG range for 57.7% and 2-6 from behind the arc for 33.3%.  The 'Cats had a decided edge on the boards by an 18-12 margin although they did suffer more turnovers at 13-7.  And Cambrice was shouldering the load for St. Kate's with an impressive 17 points already. 

Augsburg hoped to reverse its sagging fortunes in the early moments of the third period and a McLemore "3" from the top of the key at the 9:36 mark tied things up at 37.  Radford would put the Wildcats back out in front 40-37 with her three-point bomb from the top of the key at the 8:53 mark but it looked as if the Auggies had recaptured some of their early game magic as Speese connected with a short pull-up jumper at the 8:39 mark and a Wubben drive into the lane and finish after a backcourt steal at the 8:05 mark pushed Augsburg back out in front 41-40.  It was here, however, where things turned decidedly in St. Kate's favor as they managed to cut off drives into the lane and forced the Auggies into taking ill-advised three-point attempts while embarking on a 10-2 run of their own.  Back-to-back scores by Cambrice - a lay-up at the 7:05 mark and a lay-up in transition after a steal at the 6:11 mark - got the Wildcats back out in front by a 44-41 count.  Even worse for Augsburg was that Wilson was slapped with her fourth foul of the evening with 4:23 left; robbing the Auggies of perhaps their best three-point threat as Riverso had no choice but to send the former DeLaSalle star to the pine for a spell.  Then it was another back-to-back rampage by Cambrice as she knocked down a jumper from the free throw line with 4:09 left and connected with a lay-up with 3:26 left to stretch St. Kate's lead to seven at 48-41.  Senior guard Meg Clark capped this run with her drive into the lane and finish off the glass with 2:53 left to maintain the seven-point edge at 50-43 before the Auggies could finally lift the lid off of their basket.  Wilson, back in the game with those four fouls, made a drive into the lane for a finish off the glass with 2:28 left and then banged home a "3" from the right wing off of an inbounds pass with 2:00 left to help Augsburg tighten things up again down 50-48.  But the 'Cats did not falter when they could have crumbled under pressure in such an important game.  Fosness came up big in the waning moments of the third period as she was sent to the charity stripe with 1:20 left and the Britton, South Dakota native dropped two free throws to give St. Kate's more breathing room with a 52-48 advantage and one more Fosness freebie with 1:06 left had the 'Cats up 53-48 heading into the fourth period. 

The impressive thing about this St. Kate's team as of late is how Mulhern's younger players have been stepping to the forefront considering the injuries to both senior guard Audra Clark and fellow senior guard/forward Alexis Garcia that have kept them out of action.  After both squads went through a bit of a dry patch to start the fourth period, Kurth came up big for the Wildcats as one free throw after getting fouled in transition at the 7:06 mark and a lay-up off of an inbounds pass that drew a foul and resulted in an "and one" by the former Hutchinson standout now had St. Kate's up by nine at 57-48 and even for a team like the Auggies which can strike quickly, the immediate outlook was daunting at best.  Speese managed to narrow the gap a bit for Augsburg when she connected with a lay-up at the 5:34 mark and drew a foul in the process and her obligatory free throw cut the deficit down to six points at 57-51.  But getting back into that magical striking distance would prove to be a bridge too far for the Auggies on this night.  St. Kate's Sillman would be fouled with 4:41 left and her two free throws not only upped the Wildcat lead to eight at 59-51 but St. Kate's was now in the bonus the rest of the way.  The Auggies would make one last serious bid for a comeback as two free throws by Speese with 4:06 left and a Speese lay-up after a steal with 4:01 left cut the deficit down to four points at 59-55 but that's as close as Augsburg would get the rest of the way.  The Wildcat's Mulhern took a thirty-second timeout to set up strategy and with 3:36 left, Cambrice would get sent to the line where she dropped two free throws and, after a foiled Auggie possession, Cambrice would get sent to the line again with 2:49 left where she dropped one more for a 62-55 St. Kate's lead.  Radford would drop two more free throws with 1:36 left to make it a 64-55 ballgame and even worse for Augsburg is that Jones fouled out at this point as well.  The Auggies would try desperately to cut into the cushion as McLemore connected with a lay-up with 1:20 left and senior forward Bridget Bednar knocked down a jumper along the left baseline with :41 left but none of this was going to save Augsburg on this night.  The Wildcats iced the game for good with two more Cambrice free throws with :39.5 left and one more by Fosness with :23.6 left as St. Kate's wrapped up the sixth playoff spot with a 68-59 upset victory.

I managed to catch up with an ecstatic Mulhern afterward who still seemed amazed at what he had just witnessed.  I mentioned to him that I thought this may have been one of the smartest games that I've ever seen the Wildcats play - certainly under pressure anyway - and this was, without question, the best half-court defense I've ever seen them play.  "They didn't beat us off the dribble" Mulhern said.  "And they're phenomenal at that!" he added.  What this St. Kate's team has been able to accomplish down the stretch considering the injuries they've had this season has been nothing short of amazing and even more amazing is how this young group of players have stepped up and contributed with quality minutes on both ends of the floor.  And what can you say about Cambrice.  She has taken the reigns of the flashy playmaker from departed graduate LaShay Holt and done things in her own way.  Meanwhile for Augsburg, it's a frustrating way to have your playoff hopes evaporate and, considering how they had UST on the ropes a mere week ago before falling in overtime, it makes this loss an even more bitter pill to swallow.  For the Wildcats, they had only two players in double-figures scoring-wise on this night but considering that Cambrice was responsible for 30 of those total points that St. Kate's had on this night, they didn't need a lot of other players in double-figures.  Radford had 13 points in a solid effort as well.  Augsburg had a bit more balance scoring-wise as McLemore led the way with 18 points and Speese had 13 points while Wilson added 10 points.  Augsburg's undoing on this night was their shooting although a tough Wildcat defense had a lot to do with that.  The Auggies finished going 20-65 from FG range for 30.8% and 4-26 from behind the arc for 15.4% which simply isn't going to get the job done.  Throw in the fact that St. Kate's outrebounded Augsburg on this night by a 38-34 count and you've got a recipe for a bad outcome.  Turnovers were about even on this night at 14-13 with the 'Cats on the wrong end of that ledger but even the fact that Augsburg had a 21-12 edge on points off of turnovers did not save them on this night.