Augsburg vs Bethel 1-9-19

Made my way back over to Robertson Center on the campus of Bethel University on this cold January night to take in this huge MIAC women's matchup between visiting Augsburg and host Bethel.  Despite losing a non-conference game to Trinity at home just before Christmas break, the Auggies were arguably on a roll; undefeated in the conference at 6-0 and had already handed Bethel an earlier defeat in the friendly confines of Si Melby Hall back on November 28.  The Royals meanwhile were on something of a hot streak themselves as they were coming into this contest on a six-game win streak including a 65-64 win over ninth-ranked George Fox on the road so this team's confidence was sky high - and rightfully so - coming into this all-important MIAC clash to try and keep pace with UST.

Scoring would come at an absolute premium in the first six minutes of the opening period.  After Augsburg senior guard Camille McCoy connected with a jumper from the free throw line at the 9:41 mark and Bethel junior forward muscled into the paint for a score at the 9:18 mark for a 2-2 deadlock, defense then ruled the day as each side saw several opportunities gobbled up, swatted or stolen away and you could tell right away that the tone was being set for an incredibly physical game.  The Royals finally ended this impasse when Taite Anderson drained a "3" from the left corner with 4:05 left but that was met and matched by Augsburg junior reserve sharp-shooting guard Aiza Wilson when she delivered a bomb from the right wing area with 3:39 left to forge a 5-5 game.  The Auggies would reclaim the lead when fellow junior guard Kaezha Wubben connected with a lay-up with 3:15 left at 7-5 but Bethel would come right back to tie the game at 7-all when sophomore reserve forward Elizabeth Schwarz snared an offensive rebound for a putback with 2:52 left.  Augsburg would nudge their nose out in front again with Wubben was able to knock down one free throw after getting fouled in a transition opportunity with 2:19 left but the Royals would snatch it right back when sophomore reserve guard Michaela Craigan made a pretty drive along the left baseline and got a finish off the glass with 1:48 left to make it 9-8 Bethel and the back-and-forth ebb and flow so far along with the intense and physical play was a sign of the craziness to come in this one.

The Royals' immediate hopes seemed to take a hit at the 9:25 mark when Taite Anderson was whistled with her second foul of the evening and with the former White Bear Lake standout having to take a seat on the pine for the time being, Bethel could have stalled.  Instead, they hunkered down and went on a 6-0 push.  Two Schwarz freebies after she was fouled at the 9:04 mark and a lay-up by freshman reserve guard Tessah Anderson at the 8:24 mark had the Royals up 13-8.  That lead grew to 15-8 when willowy senior post Hannah Johnson connected with a lay-up at the 7:50 mark and Bethel appeared to be in firm control.  The Auggies, however, decided to crash this little pre-victory party with unabashed flair and aplomb.  Two Wubben free throws at the 7:34 mark reduced the deficit to five points and two more by speedy junior guard Ari Jones at the 7:13 mark not only cut the deficit down to a single possession at 15-12 but now Augsburg was in the bonus as well.  Then an unheralded Auggie stepped up to the spotlight - sophomore reserve guard Nicole Zielsdorf - and she calmly dropped two huge three-point bombs:  One from the left wing area at the 6:11 mark to tie the game at 15 and the other from the right wing area at the 5:15 mark that pushed Augsburg ahead 18-17.  Zielsdorf would also get sent to the charity stripe with 4:44 left where she was able to knock down two free throws as well to get the lead to 20-17 before the Royals could catch their collective breaths and sail the ship out of these rough waters.  Schwarz would maneuver into the paint for a score with 4:33 left that cut the deficit to one point and was also the start of a 9-0 Bethel push.  Junior guard Haylee Barker connected with a lay-up with 4:00 left to give the home team a 21-20 lead and some thirty seconds later with 3:31 left, sophomore guard Bella Williams connected with a lay-up as well and drew a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" pushed the lead to 24-20.  With 2:49 left, Schwarz would strike again on the offensive end with an offensive rebound for a putback to make it 26-20 and Auggie Head Coach Ted Riverso; fearing that perhaps some of the sail had gone out on his squad, call for a thirty-second timeout to try and reverse the trend.  That stoppage seemed to give Augsburg a bit of a lift as Zielsdorf struck again from three-point land - this time from the right wing area with 2:29 left to pull Augsburg back to within a single possession down 26-23 and a McCoy lay-up with 1:52 kept the Auggies in that three-point range down 28-25.  Bethel would seek to widen the gap again as Williams would connect with a lay-up with :59 left and two Johnson freebies with :20.9 left had the Royal lead at 32-25.  Augsburg's Wubben would trim the deficit down to five point with her lay-up with :11 left but Bethel certainly seemed to have the momentum and the answers as the teams headed to the locker room for the halftime break.  And a check of the first half box score certainly indicates that the Royals had every reason to feel good about themselves at the halftime break.  Despite going only 1-8 from downtown in the first half, they shot 13-27 from FG range for 48.1% and were 5-5 from the charity stripe.  Augsburg meanwhile struggled some shooting only 8-24 from FG range for 33.3% and were only marginally better from behind the arc going 4-9 for 44.4% and Zielsdorf arguably bailed the Auggies out of a potential hole in that second period.  Bethel also held a sizable edge on the boards at 18-12 and even though both teams suffered their share of turnovers thanks to some tough defense, it sure seemed as if Bethel had the upper hand at this point. 

In fact, Augsburg's hopes initially appeared to sink in the opening moments of the third period when McCoy made a drive into the lane at the 9:04 mark and, although she was able to get a finish out of it that cut the deficit down to three points at 32-29, the former Park Center standout was down on the floor and had to be helped off with an apparent ankle or knee injury.  That setback, however, didn't seem to bother the Auggies too much as they came out much more aggressive on both ends of the floor.  Junior forward Camryn Speese; held scoreless in the first half, got into the books for the first time on this night when she connected with a lay-up at the 8:19 mark and also drew a foul in the process and her obligatory free throw had this game tied up at 32-all.  Bethel's Tessah Anderson got her team back out in front when she uncorked a "3" from the right corner at the 8:11 mark but Augsburg was quick to reply as another Auggie held scoreless in the first half; junior guard Tamira McLemore, finally got untracked as she connected with a lay-up in transition at the 8:00 mark and Wubben followed that up with a drive along the right baseline and finish at the 7:17 mark that put the visitors up 36-35.  Now the Royals rose to this challenge as Taite Anderson got one free throw to go down after getting fouled at the 6:57 mark and a graceful short, one-handed jumper by Johnson at the 6:07 mark pushed Bethel back out in front 38-36.  The craziness continued as Augsburg's McLemore proceeded to bury a "3" from the right wing area at the 5:43 mark that gave the Auggies a 39-38 lead but the Royals would answer this when Tessah Anderson connected with a jumper in the lane at the 5:29 mark to give Bethel the lead back at 40-39.  But the big difference that finally gave Augsburg the upper hand that they had been seeking throughout the night came shortly thereafter thanks to both Wilson and Jones.  With 4:21 left, Wilson banged home a "3" from the top of the key to put the Auggies back out in front by a 42-40 count and after Bethel came up empty on their ensuing possession, Augsburg's Jones' made them pay dearly for that as she unleashed a three-point bomb of her own from the right top area with 3:57 left and Royals Head Coach Jon Herbrechtsmeyer; sensing a danger point, called a timeout to try and get his troops calmed down as they were now on the wrong end of a 45-40 ballgame.  Still, the Auggies got the lead stretched to seven points when McLemore was sent to the charity stripe after getting fouled with 3:04 left and her two free throws made it 47-40 before Bethel could cut into the deficit a bit on one free throw by Taite Anderson with 2:49 left and a Taite Anderson lay-up with 1:17 left that had the deficit down to four points at 47-43.  The Auggies' Wilson would manage to sink one free throw after getting fouled with :55.8 left in this bizarre third period and although the 48-43 score certainly wasn't insurmountable, the momentum pendulum had clearly swung in favor of Augsburg. 

Even though the Auggies stretched the lead to seven points again early on in the fourth period when Speese connected with a short jumper at the 9:39 mark at 50-43, Bethel by no means was out of this thing.  Taite Anderson would connect with a lay-up at the 9:24 mark and sophomore forward Makenna Pearson made a hard drive along the right baseline for a finish at the 8:50 mark that got the Royals back in business down a single possession at 50-47.  Although Pearson would foul out of the contest at the 8:13 mark, Bethel certainly was not giving up the fight.  Down 52-47, Schwarz would connect with a lay-up in transition at the 7:41 mark to pull the Royals back to within a single possession down 52-49.  Augsburg's McLemore would deliver another demoralizing blow when she buried a "3" from the right wing area at the 7:25 mark to make it 55-49 but again Bethel would attempt another comeback bid.  Taite Anderson would drop two free throws after getting fouled at the 7:03 mark and when Barker banged home a "3" from the left top area at the 6:32 mark, the Royals had now cut the deficit down to a single scant point at 55-54 with a mountain of time left and no one among the partisan Bethel contingent in Robertson Center doubted that the home team counted complete the comeback.  Strangely enough, this is where the Royals' comeback hopes started to crumble.  Augsburg's Jones' would get sent to the charity stripe twice where she would drop pairs of free throws - once at the 6:06 mark and again at the 5:27 mark - that got the lead back to five points at 59-54 but the biggest blow came courtesy of Wilson and after the Auggies forced a turnover, the former DeLaSalle standout got an open look from the left wing area behind the arc and she promptly unleashed a dagger "3" that expanded the Augsburg lead to eight points at 62-54 and you could almost feel the last air of hope go out of Robertson Center as the Auggie bench was now rightfully jubilant while a frantic Herbrechtsmeyer called timeout knowing his squad was now in dire straits.  But things would only worsen for the Royals down the stretch.  Augsburg's Jones would unleash another "3" - this one from the right wing area with 4:25 left - that now had the Auggies up double-digits at 65-55 and Speese would connect with a lay-up in transition with 3:09 left that also drew a foul and her ensuing "and one" got the lead to 68-56.  The Royals had one last wisp of hope as Johnson would get one free throw to go down with 2:53 left and Barker was able to slyly snare a steal and dash the other way for a lay-up with 2:30 left that had the deficit back in single-digit range at 68-59.  After forcing a stop on the other end, Bethel got another lift from Barker when she was able to sneak into the paint for a score with 1:42 left that had the deficit down to seven points at 68-61.  Herbrechtsmeyer would call a timeout to set up strategy and less than ten seconds later it appeared as another door might have opened for the Royals when Williams had apparently snared a steal on Augsburg's Jones.  The officials, however, determined that Williams had actually committed a foul instead; much to the chagrin of the Bethel contingent.  That effectively snuffed out the Royals' last hope and the Auggies set out to close this one out once and for all.  Jones would drop the two obligatory free throws with 1:35 left and Speese would get one to go down with :50.6 left to make it 71-63.  Bethel's Barker would connect with a lay-up with :42 left but now all the Royals could do was foul and Augsburg continued with their closeout.  McLemore would get one free throw to go down with :40.5 left as would Jones with :29.6 left.  McLemore would get one more insurance free throw with :06.5 left and the Auggies escaped Robertson Center with a huge 74-67 road win.

The first thing I said to Bethel's Herbrechtsmeyer afterward when I caught up with him was, "Herbie, you gave up too many '3's tonight" and he was in quick agreement.  Foul trouble and some other things had forced Herbrechtsmeyer and his staff to gamble a bit on defense at times as they tried some zone defense in some stretches but the Auggies obviously made them pay in spades for that.  Herbrechtsmeyer wouldn't elaborate on the health of his squad or certain players but did say that "We weren't 100% tonight."  Augsburg's Riverso had enough time to get calmed down after such a big win but it was hard for him to hide his smile on this night.  After congratulating him on the win, I asked him how big this win was going into the big tilt at home on Saturday against UST.  The overriding theme from Riverso was that these are unchartered waters for his players and he's not even sure how they'll respond come Saturday.  The thing I couldn't help but point out to him was that I was so impressed how his squad came out much more aggressive at the beginning of the third period and they took the battle to the Royals.  I think it's safe to say that UST will be favored against Augsburg on Saturday.  But I'll also say this:  If the Auggies can consistently play like they did tonight -  particularly like they did in the second half - they're going to be awfully tough for anyone to beat.  One thing that made it so tough for the Royals tonight is that they had to guard four different Augsburg players who wound up with double figures tonight.  Jones' 15 points led the way but McLemore was right behind with 14 points (and all of those 14 points came in the second half).  Zielsdorf surprised everyone finishing with 11 points tonight while Wilson had 10 points.  Another surprise came on the Bethel side as it was Schwarz leading all scorers with her 16 points while Taite Anderson was right behind with 15 points and Barker had 13 points.  Bethel did finish the night with a big advantage on the boards but that seemed to be negated by the fact that the Royals also committed 26 turnovers on this night.  Bethel also had a big advantage in points in the paint by a 46-22 count.  But again, the one big thing is that the Royals allowed Augsburg to shoot 6-8 from downtown for 75% in the second half alone and for a team that prides itself on its defense, this was a killer.  One other item stands out to me as well:  Bethel shot only 7-12 from the charity stripe in the second half for 58.33% and while that alone didn't necessarily cost them the game, it still left some crucial points on the table that could have, at the very least, changed the complexion of things.