MIAC Playoff Semifinal Game - Bethel vs Augsburg 2-21-19

After leaving UST's Schoenecker Arena, I rushed back over to the Minneapolis side of town and over to Si Melby Hall on the campus of Augsburg University for the second semifinal game on this night between visiting Bethel and host Augsburg.  I got settled in and ready to go at the 4:20 mark of the first period with Bethel leading 11-9.

Things appeared to go the Royals' way for the most part in this first period from what I could detect when I first walked in and that trend seemed to hold true when junior point guard Haylee Barker connected with a lay-up with 3:58 left to stretch Bethel's lead to four points at 13-9.  But the Auggies finally got their up-tempo game flowing that allows them to go bombs-away from downtown.  Junior guard Tamira McLemore banged home one three-point bomb from the right wing area with 3:46 left and junior reserve sharp-shooting guard Aiza Wilson drained a "3" of her own from the left top area with 2:55 left that propelled Augsburg into the lead at 15-13.  The Royals would take the lead back on a 7-0 run to finish off this first period as junior forward Taite Anderson got one free throw to go down with 2:01 left and willowy senior post Hannah Johnson connected with a lay-up with 1:34 left that put Bethel ahead 16-15.  A lay-up by sophomore reserve forward Elizabeth Schwarz with 1:05 left along with a trademark short turnaround one-handed jumper by Johnson with :25.4 left had the Royals in decent shape again up 20-15 going into the second period. 

In fact, things were still looking very good for Bethel in the opening minutes of the second period.  Taite Anderson would connected with a lay-up at the 9:34 mark to maintain the five-point edge and a Taite Anderson "3" from the left corner got the Royals' lead to six at 25-19 and when sophomore guard Bella Williams snared a steal and raced the other way for a lay-up at the 8:01 mark to make it 27-19, the Royals definitely appeared to be in control of things.  But Augsburg was finally able to get untracked at this point and they slowly started chipping away at things that not only closed the gap but propelled the Auggies into the lead.  A McLemore "3" from the left corner at the 7:40 mark sparked a 15-2 Augsburg run that really changed the complexion of things.  Two free throws by freshman reserve guard Selena Lor at the 5:45 mark reduced the deficit to five points at 29-24 and two more by McLemore after she was fouled with 4:54 left got the Auggies back to within a single possession down 29-26.  Senior guard/forward and former Park Center standout Camille McCoy knocked down a jumper from the right elbow area with 4:24 left that cut the deficit down to a single scant point at 29-28 and when McLemore got a lay-up in transition after a steal with 4:09 left, Augsburg was suddenly in front 30-29.  But the former Eagan standout was just getting warmed up as she would connect with another lay-up in transition with 3:39 left and then knock down a jumper from the right elbow area with 2:57 left that now had the Auggies up by five at 34-29.  Bethel finally stopped their extended dry spell when Johnson connected with a hook shot with 2:33 left but the Auggies still were able to close out this second period on a 5-1 push.  Two free throws by sophomore reserve forward Jazmyn Solseth with 2:00 left and one more by Wilson with 1:40 left got Augsburg's lead to six points at 37-31 and a jumper by McCoy with :29 left let the Auggies take a surprising 39-32 lead into the locker room at the half.  A check of the first half box score reveals that the Royals certainly shot well enough in this first half from FG range as they were 14-27 for 51.9% but behind the arc it was a different story as they were only 2-7 for 28.6% and perhaps even more problematic was that they were only 2-6 from the charity stripe for 33.3% but the real killer, of course, was the extended run the Royals gave up in the second period where their lead simply evaporated and for a team that prides itself with its defense, this had to be a very bitter pill for Bethel Head Coach Jon Herbrechtsmeyer and his staff.  Throw in the 13 first half turnovers that the Royals suffered likely had Herbrechtsmeyer reaching for the Rolaids as well during the halftime break.  The Auggies meanwhile shot well for the most part; going 13-25 from FG range for 52% and 6-12 from downtown for a straight 50%.  And going 7-8 from the charity stripe for 87.5% was definitely something that Augsburg Head Coach Ted Riverso and his staff wanted to see in the locker room.  What was truly striking, however, was that McLemore already had collected 22 points of her own. 

And the Auggies threatened to put Bethel in an even tougher spot in the opening moments of the third period.  Speedy junior guard Kaezha Wubben made a hard drive for a finish at the 9:14 mark to get the lead to nine at 41-32 and then Wubben; the former Hopkins standout, drained a "3" from the right corner at the 8:24 mark that maintained the nine-point edge at 44-35.  At the 7:33 mark, Solseth would connect with a lay-up that now had the Auggies up double digits at 46-35 and from a Bethel standpoint, things were beginning to look rather bleak.  But this Royals team is a veteran squad with experience and instead of reaching for the proverbial panic button, they settled down and got things flowing on offense again.  Two free throws by Taite Anderson at the 7:15 mark after she was fouled got Bethel back into single-digit range again down 46-37 and then sophomore forward Makenna Pearson finally got things going after a slow first half with her three-point bomb from the top of the key at the 6:42 mark that trimmed the lead down to eight points at 48-40.  Then Johnson; the former Duluth East standout, not necessarily known for her three-point prowess, got an open look behind the arc from the right top area at the 6:02 mark that found nothing but cotton and drew the Royals closer to five points at 48-43.  Then it was Taite Anderson connecting with a lay-up with 4:43 left that now had Bethel back in single-possession range down 48-45 and the Auggies' Riverso; not liking this 10-2 run that his squad had just given up, called a timeout in hopes of halting this latest invasion.  Still, the Royals capped this 12-2 run on a Taite Anderson score in the paint with 4:22 left that pulled Bethel back to being down just a single solitary point at 48-47 before the Auggies could pull themselves out of this latest mess.  McLemore unleashed one of her trademark three-point bombs with 3:51 left - this one coming from the right wing area and junior point guard Ari Jones made a drive and finish with 3:12 left that gave Augsburg some more breathing space at 53-47.  But any hopes of getting their opponent to just go away quietly were not working.  The Royals countered as Taite Anderson grabbed an offensive rebound for a putback with 2:55 left in the third period and was fouled in the process and the ensuing "and one" by the former White Bear Lake standout got Bethel right back in single-possession range again down 53-50.  With 1:43 left, Pearson found the range from downtown again with a three-point bomb from the right corner with 1:43 left that now reduced the deficit to two points at 55-53.  With 1:10 left, Schwarz muscled into the paint for a score that now had this contest knotted at 55 and although the Auggies got a bit of a reprieve with a McLemore drive and finish with :53 left, there was a lot of uncertainty in the air as Augsburg took a tenuous 57-55 lead into the fourth period. 

The Royals appeared to have gained the momentum back in the early part of the fourth period as a Johnson lay-up at the 9:43 mark tied the game at 57 and then a Pearson three-point bomb from the right wing area at the 8:10 mark finally had Bethel back out in front again at 60-57.  Two free throw by Johnson after she was fouled at the 7:03 mark maintained the three-point edge at 62-59 and one more by Schwarz at the 6:05 mark got the lead to four points at 63-59; not an insurmountable edge by any stretch but at playoff time with an NCAA Tournament berth likely hanging in the balance, it can seem like a mountain.  Solseth got the Auggies closer with an offensive rebound and putback of her own miss at the 5:46 mark but Johnson would stretch the Royals lead back out to three points with one free throw at the 5:26 mark at 64-61.  Augsburg would close back to two points on one free throw by junior forward Camryn Speese with 4:38 left but the Royals would have a chance to get their lead back to four points when Barker was fouled with 4:26 left.  Unfortunately for Bethel, the former Maple Grove standout couldn't get either charity stripe attempt to cooperate and, in looking back, I felt that this was a pivotal moment as it left the door open for the Auggies to usurp control, which they did.  Moreover, foul trouble was beginning to catch up with the Royals which only complicated matters that much more.  Augsburg got the game tied up when McLemore got into the paint for a score with 4:09 left and then it was Jones unleashing a "3" from the left wing area with 3:19 left that propelled the Auggies back out in front again at 67-64.  Bethel's Taite Anderson got her team back in one-point range with 2:58 left when she dropped two freebies after getting fouled but, just eleven seconds later, disaster struck the Royals as Taite Anderson was whistled for her fifth and final foul and with her now relegated to the bench, Bethel's best rebounder and enforcer hope down low was gone.  The Auggies' Wilson would knock down two free throws after getting fouled with 2:17 left to make it 69-66 but there was still hope for Bethel as Johnson would respond on the other end with two free throws after getting fouled with 1:57 left that kept things tight for the Royals down by only one at 69-68.  On Augsburg's next possession, McLemore would get fouled with 1:48 left and she got both free throws to go down to get the Auggie lead back to three at 71-68.  Not a fatal blow by any means for Bethel but another disaster would soon take place when the Royals inexplicably threw away an inbounds pass that gave the ball right back to Augsburg and with it, the likelihood of keeping this game within a single possession gone.  While the Auggies couldn't capitalize right away, Bethel missed yet another chance to crawl closer when Schwarz was sent to the free throw line after getting fouled with 1:42 left.  Both of her free throw attempts went awry, and this latest misfortune closed the door for good on the Royals.  Augsburg's Jones would get fouled with :47.2 left and the former Osseo standout got both of her free throw attempts to go down that now gave the Auggies some more breathing space again up 73-68.  The one last ray of hope for Bethel would occur with :45 left when Johnson connected with a lay-up off of an inbounds pass that cut the deficit to three at 73-70 but the Royals would never get that close again.  Augsburg's McCoy got into the paint for a score after the Royals gambled on defense and then the Auggies blocked a three-point shot attempt by Bethel's Pearson with :10 left that pretty much put a bow tie on things.  McLemore would get fouled after retrieving the ball and her two free throws with :08.6 left stretched the lead to seven at 77-70 and Wilson would add two more insurance free throws with :03.6 left as Augsburg advanced to its first-ever MIAC Championship Game with a thrilling 79-70 victory. 

After a long wait in which I'm sure that Bethel's Herbrechtsmeyer spent considerable time consoling his team and thanking his lone senior; Johnson, for her contributions to this program over the last four years, I was able to catch up with him.  "We had some things go against us down the stretch" he offered and undoubtedly there were some questionable calls on both ends of the floor that hurt the Royals at crucial times.  I rarely comment on the officiating in games but I genuinely felt that the officiating was subpar for such an important contest.  At the same time, I'd be amiss to not give credit where credit is due - in this case to Augsburg for their resiliency in fighting back not once, but twice in this contest.  Going into the MIAC Playoffs, the one concern I had about this team was how they would respond when the pressure was on as they had never been in this position before.  I think we know the answer to that now.  With this win tonight, the Auggies virtually assured themselves of an NCAA Tournament berth although I was pretty confident they'd get in regardless.  In checking the final box score for this contest, the Royals did have a decided edge on the boards by a 34-27 count but that edge was somewhat negated by the fact that Bethel was guilty of 23 turnovers on this night; a figure that is almost unheard of for the Royals.  Yet one more bitter pill for Bethel on this night that had to have been a hard one to swallow:  They only forced eight steals on this night compared to the 13 that Augsburg got.  Bethel did have a decided edge in points in the paint at 38-26 but again that was somewhat offset by the fact that Augsburg had a decided edge in points off of turnovers by a 27-17 edge.  Bethel did have the edge in those "second chance" points at 16-6 but again that was negated when you look at the fact that the Royals were 14-24 from the charity stripe on this night and in the playoffs, that's simply not going to get the job done.  McLemore was simply outstanding for Augsburg on this night as she led all scorers by lighting up Bethel for 33 points.  Jones had 12 points and Wilson had ten.  Johnson closed out her fabulous career at Bethel with a "double-double" (again) as she scored 24 points to pace the Royals attack and grabbed 12 rebounds as well.  Taite Anderson finished with 20 points but the Royals took a big hit when they lost her to fouls.  Pearson was the only other Bethel player in double figures with her 12 points.