Augsburg vs UST 2-9-19

Made the trip over to the St. Paul side of town and Schoenecker Arena on the campus of UST on this cold February Saturday to take in the highly-anticipated rematch between visiting Augsburg and host UST.  Since the home loss to UST nearly a month ago, the Auggies had ripped off seven straight wins and had recovered nicely from that disappointment.  The Tommies were still unbeaten in MIAC play and their only blemish on their stellar record was the loss at Wartburg just before the first of the year.  The one thing I was looking for in this game was the likely adjustments had Augsburg Head Coach Ted Riverso and his staff made coming into this game.  What would they do to give themselves more transition opportunities this time around as opposed to the last time?  Could they do anything differently on defense to slow down Tommie All-American senior post Hannah Spaulding?  Also, it was Senior and Parents Day at UST as the three Tommie seniors - Spaulding, Lucia Renikoff and Kaylie Brazil were honored before the game as were the parents of the other Tommie players as well.

Actually, it was behind the arc where UST did the damage early on in the opening period as Renikoff dropped one bomb from the right corner at the 9:52 mark and lefty sophomore guard Kelsie Cox dropped one of her own from the right wing area at the 8:29 mark to give the Tommies a 6-0 lead right out of the gate.  Augsburg would cut into this early cushion as junior guard K'aezha Wubben made a hard drive for a finish at the 7:31 mark and drew a foul in the process and the former Hopkins standout got the ensuing "and one" to go down to make it a 6-3 ballgame.  Renikoff would push UST's lead to 8-3 when she connected with a short jumper in the lane at the 6:54 mark but the Auggies would manage to tie the game as junior guard Tamira McLemore connected with a lay-up in transition with 4:47 left and also dropped a three-point bomb from the right wing area with 4:16 left that made it 8-all and a concerned Tommie Head Coach Ruth Sinn called for a thirty-second timeout in hopes of making some adjustments on defense.  That short stoppage in play not only allowed UST to catch its collective breaths but also saw Spaulding get involved from a scoring standpoint as she personally led a 6-0 Tommie charge.  The former Annandale standout first snared an offensive rebound for a putback with 3:43 left and got a score in the paint with 2:27 left to make it 12-8.  With 1:48 left, Spaulding would connect with a lay-up to push the lead to 14-8 before Augsburg's Wubben could finally halt this charge on one free throw with 1:25 left.  The Tommies would push the lead to seven points when Brazil connected with a lay-up with :23 left but the Auggies cut it down to five points when sophomore reserve forward Jazmyn Solseth knocked down a short jumper from the left side with just :05 left.  From an Augsburg standpoint, being down 16-11 on the road to the third-ranked team in the country after one period wasn't that bad of a proposition and they already showed that they could get their transition game going.

The Auggies in fact would stay close throughout most of the second period but the only problem was that they weren't able to make any real inroads to the five-point deficit they were facing.  After UST's Spaulding put her team up 18-11 with another routine offensive rebound and putback at the 9:23 mark, Augsburg freshman reserve guard Selena Lor came to the forefront for the Auggies.  She connected with a short jumper at the 9:03 mark and after the Tommies' Renikoff drilled a "3" from the left top area at the 8:09 mark, Lor would rescue Augsburg again with her own three-point bomb from the left wing area at the 7:48 mark that kept the Auggies in that five-point range down 21-16.  UST senior reserve guard Bobbi Brendefur would get two free throws to go down after getting fouled with 6:12 left but Augsburg would again get back in that five-point range as freshman reserve forward Jen Masello got into the paint for a score with 4:42 left as they Auggies were still close down 23-18.  The Tommies would respond as Brazil would connect with a lay-up with 2:27 left but then Augsburg junior guard Ari Jones would come to the rescue for her team with a lay-up of her own with 1:37 left that again had the Auggies within striking distance down only 25-20.  But one unmistakable characteristic about this UST team is that they always hit the gas pedal right before the halftime break and they did it again in this game as Renikoff would connect with a lay-up with :52 left and then Cox grabbed an offensive rebound and somehow got her putback attempt to go down with just one tick left on the clock that gave the Tommies a 29-20 lead going into the locker room at the half.  So while Augsburg was certainly right in the thick of things still, it had to also be somewhat of a sinking feeling knowing that they were close throughout most of this second period but yet had opportunities slip away from them that could have drastically changed things as well.  Neither side was necessarily shooting the lights out thus far as the Auggies were 8-23 from FG range for 34.8% and only 2-8 from behind the arc for 25%.  UST wasn't that much better as far as that goes as they were 12-27 for 44.4% and 3-10 from three-point land for 30%.  Both teams were nearly identical in turnovers as Augsburg had 10 and UST had 11 but the big difference thus far was likely the Tommies' Spaulding as she had a big hand in UST's 19-12 advantage on the boards.   

Augsburg's hopes of getting this one tight again took a hit in the opening moments of the third period as the Tommies' Renikoff buried a dagger "3" from the left top area at the 9:45 mark to get UST  a double-digit advantage at 32-20.  The Auggies were able to trim that lead down to ten points as senior guard Camille McCoy knocked down a jumper along the right baseline at the 9:23 mark and a drive and finish by Solseth at the 8:26 mark kept Augsburg in that ten-point range down 34-24.  Both teams would trade blows over the next two minutes.  Tommie sophomore guard/forward Kaia Porter banged home a "3" from the top of the key at the 8:12 mark and Augsburg would match that with a "3" from McLemore from that same top of the key area at the 7:58 mark that kept the Auggies in the ten-point range down 37-27.  UST's Spaulding would score in the paint at the 7:46 mark but then the Auggies' McLemore would come right back and drain yet another "3" - this one from the top of the key again at the 7:33 mark - that allowed Augsburg to climb back to within single digits down 39-30.  On the Tommies' ensuing possession, Spaulding would snare an offensive rebound for a putback at the 7:15 mark and draw a foul in the process and her obligatory free throw pushed UST back up to a double-digit lead again at 42-30.  It wasn't until the 6:27 mark that the Auggies could finally start seeing a bit of light at the end of the tunnel as they whittled away at this cushion to get back into single-digit range again.  McLemore was able to snare a steal and dash the other way for a lay-up to get the deficit down to ten points again at 42-32 and Wubben would follow that up with two free throws after she was fouled in a transition opportunity after a steal at the 5:47 mark.  Then McLemore would unleash yet another "3" - this one from the left wing area with 4:10 left - that had the deficit down to eight points at 45-37.  With 3:36 left, Solseth would make a hard drive along the left baseline for a finish that reduced the deficit down to seven points at 46-39 and two McLemore free throws with 2:48 left kept Augsburg in that seven-point range down 48-41.  Solseth would drop two free throws after getting fouled with 2:06 left to keep the Auggies in that seven-point range down 50-43.  UST would manage to push the lead back to double digits as Renikoff knocked down a short jumper in the lane with 1:50 left and Spaulding would get a routine score in the paint with 1:10 left to make it 54-43.  The Auggies would cut the deficit to eight points as junior reserve guard Aiza Wilson finally got untracked and dropped one of her trademark three-point bombs from the right wing area with :48 left but the Tommies got the safety net back up to ten points when Renikoff connected with a lay-up in transition with :39 left to make it 56-46 so Augsburg clearly had a lot of work ahead of them if they wanted to get back into striking distance again. 

The Auggie faithful in attendance on this day got their hopes up again in the early moments of the fourth period when Lor raced coast-to-coast for a lay-up and drew a foul in the process at the 8:40 mark and although she couldn't cash in on the obligatory free throw, junior forward Camryn Speese was there for the offensive rebound and she found Wubben out in three-point land at the right top area who casually drained a bomb that suddenly found Augsburg back in that magical five-point range again down 56-51 and with a ton of momentum seemingly on their side as well.  But those hopes were soon dashed for good as Spaulding came through for the Tommies like the All-American she is.  She first connected with a lay-up in transition at the 8:26 mark and two Spaulding free throws at the 7:47 mark not only pushed UST's lead up to nine points at 60-51, but now the Auggies' Speese had collected her fourth foul of the day as well and Riverso had no choice but to bench one of his most athletic players out there for a spell.  Augsburg would manage to make one more comeback bid despite all this as Solseth would connect with a lay-up at the 7:34 mark and then Wubben would connect with a lay-up in transition at the 7:03 mark and draw a foul in the process and her obligatory free throw had the Auggies down by only six at 62-56 with a ton of time left.  But UST would once again close the door on this latest Auggie comeback bid as Brazil connected with a short jumper from the right side at the 6:44 mark and drew a foul in the process and although she couldn't cash in on the ensuing "and one", Augsburg failed to box out the Tommies' Porter who snared the offensive rebound for a putback at the 6:42 mark to get the lead back up to ten points at 66-56.  That sequence of events effectively killed off any hopes the Auggies may have had about bringing this one back as they could never get closer than eight points the rest of the way.  Wubben would cash in on two free throw attempts at the 6:03 mark to get the deficit down to that eight-point range at 66-58 but UST would gradually start pulling away after that.  Spaulding would drop two free throws after getting fouled at the 5:48 mark and would snare an offensive rebound for a putback at the 5:07 mark to make it a 70-59 ballgame.  With 4:26 left, Spaulding would again maneuver into the paint for a score to push the lead to 72-59 and a drive and finish by lanky freshman reserve guard Mia Krogseng with 3:33 left made it 74-59.  The Auggies last ray of hope was extinguished ten seconds later when Speese fouled out and now it was just a matter of the Tommies putting on the final touches for this one.  Renikoff would drop two free throws with 2:43 left and with 1:17 left Krogseng would strike again as she snared an offensive rebound for a putback as the shot clock expired to make it 78-63.  Brazil would add two insurance free throws with 1:00 left and Spaulding would add one of her own with :44.9 left.  Brendefur would add two of her own with :23.3 left and UST bagged an 83-68 victory that not only improved their record to 22-1 overall but also clinched at least a share of the MIAC regular season title. 

I caught up with UST's Sinn afterward who was in good spirits with this win.  I mentioned to her that although I thought that Augsburg made some adjustments on this day that allowed them to get their transition game going a bit better than they did in the previous meeting, the Tommies still had answers for that when they did on the other end.  Sinn nodded in the affirmative when I asked her if - defensively anyway - the Tommies were close to being where they needed to be although she insisted that there's still work to be done in that area.  We all know how great Spaulding is and although she finished this day with 32 points and 23 rebounds for a "double-double", I also had to ask about Renikoff and her leadership.  "She's just so consistent" Sinn replied and she made mention of how much she has elevated her play and leadership over her four-year career at UST.  The one thing I had meant to ask Sinn about (and completely forgot) was the absence of junior point guard Sarah Krynski who did not dress on this day.  She was with the team but I was unable to tell if she was injured or not.  Whatever is keeping her out, I hope that it isn't serious and that she'll be back in action again soon.  Meanwhile, from an Augsburg standpoint, as disappointing as this setback is, I don't think it's devastating to their postseason hopes (more on that in another column).  They were ranked third in the first release of the West Region rankings and, assuming they make the MIAC Championship Game, they should pretty much be a lock for the NCAA Tournament.  They have two manageable games at home this next week against Macalester and St. Olaf to close out the regular season and I suspect they'll be just fine.  Still, I'm sure Riverso and his staff had to be disappointed with the final result on this day and a glance at the final box score likely revealed some more disappointments.  Though the Auggies shot decently on this day (23-52 from FG range for 44.2% and 7-19 from behind the arc for 36.8%), they got pounded on the boards (thanks in large part to Spaulding) by a 40-21 count (yikes) which pretty much negated the steals they were able to snare on this day (14).  UST also had a sizable advantage in points in the paint by a 40-28 margin and although Augsburg had a 21-13 advantage on points off of turnovers, that was pretty much negated by the fact that UST had a sizable edge in those all-important "second-chance" points by a 16-3 margin.  Sinn still thinks that they (UST)  have to do a better job of defending the three-point shot and pointed to McLemore going 4-7 from behind the arc on this day.  "That was a concern coming in" she stated.  Again, simply an outstanding day for Spaulding as I mentioned earlier with her impressive stat lines but there were other Tommies that deserve mention on this day as well.  Renikoff had a solid day again with her 21 points and Brazil; although she finished with only eight points on this day, seems to be the forgotten element on this team but she makes a lot of things happen on both ends of the floor and I thought Cox stepped in admirably into the starting line-up as well.  Augsburg had three players in double figures for scoring on this day.  McLemore had 21 points to lead the way and Wubben wasn't far behind with her 18 points and Solseth had a good day with her ten points.