Exhibition Game - Augsburg vs Concordia St Paul 10-29-19

Made my way over to Gangelhoff Center on this cold late October evening to take in this exhibition game between Augsburg of the MIAC and host Concordia St Paul of the NSIC.  This would be a great opportunity to see what both teams have to offer this season as hopes are definitely high on both sides.  Probably the best thing about this game is that it was indeed an exhibition; no marks would go for or against either team regardless of the outcome and the sun would come up in the east the following morning without any ramifications.

Both squads showed man-to-man defense from the opening tip-off but scoring would initially come at a premium on both ends with the Golden Bears doing most of their damage from the charity stripe.  Junior forward and former Elk River standout Sidney Wentland got the home team on the board first with her lay-up off of an inbounds pass at the 8:26 mark of the opening period and after Augsburg assumed a short-lived 3-2 advantage on a lay-up in transition by senior guard Tamira McLemore at the 8:16 mark and one freebie by fellow senior guard Camryn Speese at the 7:48 mark, Concordia St Paul would make four straight trips to the free throw line.  Wentland would get one free throw to go down at the 7:39 mark and one by willowy junior guard Riley Wheatcraft a few seconds later at the 7:36 mark had the Golden Bears up 4-3.  A little more than a minute later, reserve sophomore guard/forward Sydney Schultz got one freebie to go down after getting fouled at the 6:34 mark and slender sophomore guard Meghan DuBois would get a pair of free throws to go down after getting fouled at the 5:42 mark to give Concordia St Paul a 7-3 lead.  The Auggies managed to trim the deficit down to two points on a lay-up by Aiza Wilson at the 5:17 mark but a 5-0 by the Golden Bears gave them a bit more breathing room.  The speedy DuBois whizzed in with a lay-up in transition at the 5:08 mark and one Schultz free throw with 4:39 left and two more by DuBois who was fouled in a transition attempt with 4:05 left made it a 12-5 ballgame.  Augsburg again attempted to draw closer on a lay-up by junior reserve guard Nicole Zielsdorf with 3:56 left but the Golden Bears would soon stretch their lead to nine points as two free throws by Schultz with 3:24 left along with a score in the paint by freshman reserve post Makayla Johnson with 3:00 left gave Concordia St Paul a 16-7 lead.  A lay-up by junior point guard and former Park Center standout Danielle Schaub with 2:28 left in the first period maintained the nine-point lead at 18-9 and another score in the paint by Johnson with 1:43 left now had the Golden Bears up double digits at 20-9 before Augsburg could stop some of the bleeding on one free throw by junior reserve forward Jazmyn Solseth with 1:24 left.  Still Concordia St. Paul would get their lead to 22-10 on another lay-up in transition by DuBois before the Auggies reduced the deficit to ten points on a short jumper in the lane by senior guard Ari Jones with :51 left.

But Augsburg would get themselves into a heap of trouble in the first few minutes of the second period as back-to-back scores by the Golden Bears - a Wheatcraft "3" from the top of the key at the 9:18 mark and an offensive rebound and putback in transition by Schultz at the 8:56 mark - pushed Concordia St Paul's lead to 27-12 and Auggie Head Coach Ted Riverso quickly called a timeout to stop the hemorrhaging.  Still, a three-point bomb by DuBois from the left top area at the 8:17 mark pushed the Golden Bear lead to 30-12 before Augsburg was able to right the ship somewhat.  McLemore would unleash a "3" of her own from the right corner at the 8:06 mark and one McLemore free throw at the 6:43 mark had the deficit down to fourteen points at 30-16.  Then Jones would find the range with her three-point bomb from the left wing off the glass no less at the 6:12 mark that had the deficit down to eleven points at 30-19 before Concordia St Paul stepped on the gas again.  Wheatcraft would drain a "3" - this one from the right wing area at the 5:44 mark - and a Schultz lay-up in transition with 4:39 left along with a Wentland lay-up now had the Golden Bears in great shape again up 37-19.  Now it was Augsburg's turn to go on a run and two free throws by senior guard K'aezha Wubben with 3:59 left prompted a 7-0 push.  Fellow senior sharpshooting guard Aiza Wilson finally found her touch behind the arc as she let loose with a "3" from the left wing area with 2:24 left and a McLemore lay-up with 1:43 left had the Auggies back within lurking distance down 37-26 and prompted Concordia St Paul Head Coach Amanda Johnson to call a timeout of her own in order to cool off the visitors out of the MIAC.  The Auggies, however, managed to sneak back to within single-digit range on a McLemore "3" from the left corner with 1:20 left that made it a 37-29 game before Concordia St Paul's Wheatcraft could get the cushion back up to double digits with her three-point bomb from the left top area to make it 40-29.  Augsburg's McLemore would knock down one free throw with :55.2 left that allowed her team to go into the locker room down ten at 40-30 which was arguably a glass half-full proposition for both teams.

The Auggies got off to a solid start at the beginning of the third period on a 5-0 push as a Solseth jumper from the left elbow at the 9:37 mark and a Wilson three-point bomb from the top of the key at the 8:06 mark suddenly had Augsburg back within striking distance down five at 40-35 and perhaps the only fly in the ointment came a bit later at the 6:43 mark when Speese was tagged with her fourth foul of the night and the Auggies' Riverso had no choice but to yank her from the floor to sit her for a spell.  Still, Augsburg seemed to have the momentum now but pulling closer than five points was a tough proposition for the time being as the Golden Bears seemed to have an answer when they needed it.  Wheatcraft would drain a "3" from the left wing area to extend the Concordia St Paul lead to 43-35 and after the Auggies' McLemore banged home a "3" from the left wing area at the 6:27 mark, the Golden Bears' Wentland would muscle into the paint for a score at the 6:06 mark and a pretty drive and finish by Wheatcraft at the 5:15 mark had Concordia St Paul back up by seven points at 47-40.  Schultz would add a lay-up with 4:08 left and would also snare an offensive rebound of her own miss for a putback with 3:15 left that expanded the Golden Bear lead to nine points at 51-42.  Schaub would add a short jumper with 2:45 left that maintained the nine-point edge at 53-44 and Augsburg effectively seemed to be back at Square One again.  But this resourceful Auggie team would battle back with a 7-1 push.  Two freebies by Wubben with 2:33 left and a McLemore lay-up with 2:10 left had the deficit reduced to five points again at 53-48 and one Jones free throw with 1:29 left kept Augsburg in that five-point range down 54-49.  Then McLemore, acting like a thief in the night as she does so often on the court, snared a steal and dashed the other way for a lay-up that suddenly had the Auggies back within a single possession down 54-51.  Concordia St Paul tried to quickly hammer away to establish more breathing room again as a Wheatcraft score in the paint with :59 left and two Wentland free throws with :31.7 left had the Golden Bears up by a 58-51 margin but Augsburg's Wilson would get the last laugh of this third period when she uncorked one of her patented three-point bombs from the top of the key with :17 left and with Concordia St Paul's lead reduced to four points at 58-54, a lot of uncertaintly swirled around Gangelhoff Center as this contest morphed into the fourth period.

The Golden Bears again tried to establish some distance between themselves and their opponent in the opening moments of the fourth period as Wentland made a hard drive for a finish and drew a foul in the process as well and her ensuing "and one" pushed Concordia St Paul's lead back to seven at 61-54 at the 9:53 mark but that was quickly answered by the Auggies as sophomore reserve guard Selena Lor drained a "3" from the left wing area at the 9:37 mark.  Again, getting back to within a single-possession was proving to be problematic for Augsburg and after the Golden Bears' Schaub connected with a lay-up in transition at the 8:43 mark, the Auggies' Riverso called a timeout to try and come up with some more defensive answers.  Augburg's immediate hopes, however, took a major hit at the 7:19 mark when Speese drew her fifth and final foul of the evening and Concordia St Paul was able to get some more breathing room again as a short, turnaround jumper by Schaub at the 7:12 mark and one free throw by junior post Sydney Weierke at the 6:40 mark got the Golden Bear lead back up to seven points at 66-59.  That lead would increase to eight points when DuBois banged home a "3' from the left wing area with 3:46 left for a 69-61 advantage.  Augsburg tried to answer quickly with a Wilson "3" from the left wing area with 3:13 left but that was countered by Concordia St Paul when freshman reserve forward Sydney Zgutowicz made a hard drive for a finish and drew a foul in the process and her obligatory free throw had the Golden Bears back up by eight points again at 72-64.  Right back, however, came the Auggies as McLemore would make a hard drive and finish of her own that drew a foul and her ensuing "and one" kept Augsburg's slim hopes alive down 72-67 with 2:42 left.  Riverso would soon call timeout to set up strategy for the home stretch but again, getting key stops was proving to be problematic as the Golden Bears' DuBois would slither into the lane for a finish with 2:21 left that had Concordia St Paul's lead back at seven points at 74-67.  Still, the Auggies had one last gasp as Zielsdorf got a three-point bomb to go down from the left wing area with 2:10 left and two free throws by Jones with 1:13 left finally had Augsburg back within a single-possession again down 75-72.  On the Golden Bears' ensuing possession, Schaub would be fouled with :43.1 left but she was only able to come away with a split at the charity stripe that still left the door partially open for Augsburg.  But the Auggies best and last chance came with :17 left when a McLemore three-point shot missed its mark and the Golden Bears were there for the rebound.  Schaub would be fouled with :08.7 left in the contest and came away with an insurance free throw as Concordia St Paul claimed a tough 77-72 victory.

The Golden Bears had a very balanced scoring attack on this night as Wheatcraft's 17 points led the way for Concordia St Paul.  Right behind was DuBois with her 16 points while Wentland had 12 points and Schultz finished with 11 points and Schaub added 10 points.  Augsburg's McLemore easily led all scorers with her 28 points on this night while Wilson was the only other Auggie in double-figures with her 14 points.  One of the keys for Concordia St Paul on this night was their dominance on the boards as they outrebounded the Auggies by a 55-29 count including a 20-6 advantage on offensive boards.  On the other hand, the Golden Bears were guilty of 25 turnovers on this night as Augsburg did a much better job of getting into the passing lanes in the second half.