Augsburg vs UST 12-11-19

Was back over on the St Paul-side of town at UST's Anderson Athletic Complex and Schoeneker Arena on this cold December Wednesday night to take in another big matchup between visiting Augsburg and host UST.  The Tommies, of course, were looking to right the ship after having their 77-game MIAC win streak come to a screeching halt this last Saturday at home against GAC.  Augsburg meanwhile had won three straight (including two conference games against St. Olaf and Carleton) after getting bounced out in the Pacific Northwest over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend by Puget Sound.  Both teams came into this season ranked in the D3hoops.com poll and were the top two teams in the conference last year so there was arguably a lot riding in this early season clash on this night.

Just like this last Saturday, UST got off to the start it wanted; building an early 6-2 lead.  Sophomore post Brynne Rolland got a score in the paint at the 9:30 mark of the opening period to start things off and a lay-up by freshman guard Madi Schirmer at the 8:47 mark made it 4-0.  Fellow freshman reserve guard Abby Mackenthun would connect on a lay-up as well to give the Tommies their aforementioned lead at the 6:33 mark.  Augsburg on the other hand struggled with their half-court offense early on and despite free throws by senior guard Tamira McLemore at the 6:23 and 5:08 marks, the Auggies initially looked sluggish and perhaps even worse, they had some early defensive lapses as well.  After UST sophomore reserve post Allie Spaulding increased the Tommie lead to 8-4 with 4:57 left on her lay-up, Augsburg finally started showing signs of life.  Senior forward Camryn Speese maneuvered into the paint for one score with 4:39 left and fellow senior reserve guard K'aezha Wubben snared a steal in the backcourt and got a lay-up out of it with 2:51 left to get this game deadlocked at 8 a piece.  A score in the paint by sophomore reserve forward Jen Masello with 1:57 left kept the game tied at 10-all and the Auggies would take their first lead of the game with :52.8 left in the first period when Speese made a quick burst and connected with a lay-up and drew a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" put Augsburg out in front 13-10.  The Tommies, however, returned the favor when sophomore reserve guard Ellie Wolkow banged home a "3" from the left corner with just :00.8 left so going into the second period tied at 13 a piece, you could just tell there were going to be fireworks in this contest tonight. 

UST would again establish some breathing room in the early minutes of the second period as two Mackenthun "3's" - one from the right wing area at the 8:42 mark and another one from the left wing area at the 8:01 mark - had the Tommies up 19-15 and a steal and lay-up the other way by sophomore guard Shayla Wallin at the 5:37 mark had things looking good for the home team up 21-16 by this point.  Augsburg would have a second awakening, however, and it didn't take them long to forge another tie.  Junior forward Jazmyn Solseth would make a drive and a pretty spin move in traffic for a finish with 4:50 left and then McLemore would unleash one of her trademark three-point bombs - this one coming from the right wing with 4:20 left that again had this contest in a draw at 21 a piece.  A concerned UST Head Coach Ruth Sinn would call a thirty-second timeout to discuss her team's sudden defensive shortcomings and the Tommies appeared to come out of this short stoppage refocused.  Mackenthun muscled into the paint for one score with 3:12 left and although the Auggies' would get the game tied again at 23-all on two Solseth free throws with 1:38 left, UST would get two late scores that would allow them to take the lead into the locker room at the half.  Rolland would connect with a lay-up with 1:27 left and draw a foul in the process and her obligatory free throw had the Tommies up 26-23.  With just :21 left, Rolland would strike again with a jumper from the free throw line off the glass to make it 28-23 and, considering how hard the Auggies had to work just force a couple of ties in this game thus far, it seemed like their defensive lapses had taken some of the air out of their balloon.

Both teams came out of the locker room with both barrels blazing in the early moments of the third period.  UST's Rolland started it off with another jumper from the free throw line area at the 8:45 mark but the Auggies' Solseth came right back on Augsburg's ensuing possession and drained a cold-blooded "3" from the right wing area at the 8:21 mark.  On the Tommies' next possession, Rolland would strike again with a lay-up to give UST a 32-26 lead but right back came the Auggies' Solseth at the 7:56 mark with a lay-up that reduced the deficit to four points at 32-28.  While many within the UST faithful were hoping for some semblance of order to be restored, Augsburg one-upped their host with a push that put the visitors into the lead.  At the 7:28 mark, Solseth connected with a short, turnaround jumper in the lane to bring the Auggies back within a single possession down 32-30 and a bit later at the 6:49 mark, McLemore uncorked another one of her trademark three-point bombs - this one from the right wing off of an inbounds pass that suddenly pushed Augsburg back out in front 33-32.  This quickly got the attention of the Tommies who responded with an 11-0 run.  Rolland would drop two freebies after getting fouled at the 6:34 mark to put UST back up again 34-33 and that lead would grow to 36-33 when Rolland knocked down a jumper from the free throw line area at the 5:59 mark.  Then sophomore guard Amber Darge drilled a "3" from the left wing area at the 5:16 mark that pushed the lead to six at 39-33 and Auggie Head Coach Ted Riverso now felt compelled to call for a thirty-second stoppage in the action to try and get his troops re-assembled.  Still, the Tommies would cap this run a bit later with 4:45 left when Spaulding connected with a lay-up with 4:45 left along with one Schirmer free throw with 3:05 left and one by Mackenthun with 1:50 left before Augsburg could finally get something going again with a 6-2 push down the home stretch of the third period.  Wubben would get into the paint for a score with 1:31 left and Solseth would wheel and deal to get into the paint for a score with :56 left to reduce the deficit to eight at 45-37.  Then senior sharpshooting guard Aiza Wilson; who had struggeld thus far with her shooting touch, finally found the range from behind the arc when she unleashed a trey from the left top area off of the glass no less with just :11 left that brought the Auggies back within striking distance again down five at 45-40 going into the fourth period.

Augsburg would draw back to within a single possession early in the fourth period when Speese connected with a lay-up at the 9:29 mark that also drew a foul in the process.  Her ensuing "and one" now had the deficit down to two points at 45-43 but the Auggies' situation would be complicated a bit later at the 7:07 mark when Speese would also get tagged with her fourth foul of the night and Riverso had no choice but to yank one of his big playmakers off the floor to sit for a spell.  Trailing 47-43, the Auggies again made a splash when Solseth uncorked a rare "3" from the right corner at the 6:22 mark to cut the deficit to one point but on the ensuing UST possession, Solseth would pick up her fourth foul of the night as well and Riverso again had to yank another potential big scorer off of the floor for preservation.  The Tommies' Rolland would get both free throw attempts to go down with 6:05 left to give UST a bit more breathing room up by three at 49-46.  But you could tell at the beginning of this fourth period that Augsburg came out with a renewed sense of energy and being down three points was not going to be enough to keep the Auggies at bay on this night.  Things brightened considerably for Augsburg when they got into the bonus at the 5:53 mark  and at the 5:36 mark, senior point guard Ari Jones got a look behind the arc from the left top area and drained a "3" to get this game tied at 49.  The Tommies tried to counter as Wallin got to the charity stripe to drop two free throws to give UST the lead at 51-49 but then the Auggies would explode on a key 9-0 tear.  Jones would strike again with 4:32 left when she snared a steal and dashed the other way for a lay-up and drew a foul in the process and her obligatory free throw pushed Augsburg into the lead at 52-51.  Then Wilson drained a cold-blooded "3" from the left top area with 4:13 left that grew the Auggie lead to four at 55-51 and now the Tommies' Sinn was clamoring for a thirty-second timeout to try and cool down this suddenly hot opponent.  But when Speese - now back in the game - got one free throw to go down with 3:30 left and Masello connected with a lay-up with 3:11 left to give the Auggies a 58-51 lead, UST's fate seemed pretty much sealed at this point.

Or at least it SEEMED that way.  Right when the Auggies had UST behind the 8-ball, they mysteriously and shockingly let them get out of jail.  On the ensuing Tommie possession, Schirmer would get fouled with 2:52 left and promptly knocked down both free throw attempts to cut the deficit down to five points at 58-53.  On the next Augsburg possession, both Masello and McLemore were unable to connect on lay-up attempts and although UST turned the ball over on the defensive rebound, the Auggies' Solseth couldn't get a jumper attempt to cooperate.  The Tommies were unable to cash in on their ensuing possession so when Augsburg got the defensive rebound, it seemed like this is where they would likely close the door for good.  Instead, the Auggies' Solseth couldn't connect on her lay-up attempt and with 1:06 left, UST's Sinn called a timeout to set up strategy.  With :54.9 left, Wallin got a look behind the arc from the right top area and unleashed a "3" that had the UST faithful cheering loudly down 58-56.  On Augsburg's next possession, the Tommies' Schirmer got a steal and she quickly got the ball to Wallin who promptly connected on a lay-up in transition with :20 left that suddenly had this game tied at 58-all.  The Auggies' Riverso now called timeout in hopes of setting up one last play for the winning basket.  And when Augsburg inbounded the ball at the half-court line, it seemed like they had set things up beautifully when Wilson got the ball and appeared to have a clear path to the hole for the potential game-winner.  Her scoop shot, however, completely missed its intended mark and UST's Rolland was there for the rebound.  Sinn quickly called timeout for one last chance now given to her team.  But the Tommies suffered a turnover with just :02.7 left and Augsburg's Jones was unable to get up a shot before the buzzer so off to the extra session we went tied at 58. 

The Tommies definitely got the start they were seeking in the overtime period as junior point guard Macy Hatlestad drilled a "3" from the left wing area at the 4:35 mark to put UST up 61-58 and two Rolland free throws at the 3:27 mark not only maintained the three-point edge at 63-60, but now the Auggies' Solseth had fouled out and had to watch the rest of the one unfold from the bench.  But just when Augsburg seemed the most vulnerable at quite possibly the worst time, they somehow found a way to reach down and finally get this thing done after it appeared that they had blown their best chance late in the 4th period.  First, Masello was able get into the paint for a score at the 2:52 mark to reduce the deficit to one at 63-62.  The Auggies then were able to get a stop on the other end and on their next possession, Wubben blew by her defender for a lay-up with 2:09 left to push Augsburg into the lead for good at 64-63.  UST would then come up empty on their next possession and the Auggies' Masello would get fouled with 1:15 left and although she couldn't get the front-end freebie to go down, the back-end attempt was true to get the Augsburg lead to 65-63.  Still plenty of time for UST to counter down by only two but on their next ensuing possession, Wolkow suffered an untimely turnover and Augsburg was quick to capitalize as Wubben would connect with a lay-up with :53 left.  Still time left for the Tommies but now their room for error was no more and when a Rolland lay-up attempt down low missed its mark, UST's last chance had come and gone as the Auggies' Masello was there to grab the rebound.  With :18.1 left, McLemore would get fouled and she put both free throw attempts down to make it a 69-63 game that effectively sealed UST's fate.  The Tommies' Sinn would call another timeout to set something up but there would be no repeat of Lauren Fischer's miracle from two years ago.  Hatlestad would make a drive along the left baseline for a finish off the glass with :08.3 left and UST would immediately foul the Auggies' Jones with :07.7 left.  Even though Jones missed on both free throw attempts, the Tommies couldn't get a good look and the Augsburg contingent inside Schoenecker Arena exploded when the buzzer sounded with the Auggies triumphant in a 69-65 overtime victory. 

When I was able to finally catch up with Augsburg's Riverso in the post-game melee as he was being congratulated by several for this triumph over his former employer, he was quick to give his team a lot of credit for hanging tough after seeing their lead fall apart down the stretch of the fourth period.  At the same time, he also pointed out that he knows full and well that this UST team will be much, much better come late January when the Tommies come over to Si Melby Hall on 1-29-20 for the rematch.  And Riverso was in quick agreement when I asked him about his squad's shaky free throw shooting on this night (they finished 12-21 from the charity stripe for the game) and although they got away with it this time, they have to know that it's living dangerously at best and could cost them mightily at worst.  Still, like GAC, it has to be a shot of confidence to FINALLY have this monkey off of your back when it comes to playing UST.  I was also able to catch up with UST's Sinn outside the locker room a bit later and although disappointed with the outcome on this night, she was proud of how hard her team fought in this one.  Unlike Saturday against GAC, I thought the Tommies did a better job of attacking in this game but still had lapses in the critical moments.  "We're very young" Sinn replied and "it's a step-by-step process."  Again, without junior forward/post Kaia Porter on the floor, this is a much different Tommie team and it's quite possible that Porter won't be able to play again this season.  At the same time, we've seen UST teams before under Sinn in years past struggle some at the beginning of the season but come late January/early February, they're hitting their stride and at some point this core group of young players will "get it".  While UST wasn't much better than Augsburg from the charity stripe finishing 13-19 on that front, they did own the boards on this night by a 45-35 count.  But here's where some of the numbers begin to turn ugly for UST.  23 turnovers (compared to Augsburg's 12) and going 6-25 from behind the arc for 24% which is almost unheard of for any UST team.  Then you look at those turnovers and see that the Auggies had 25 points off of those turnovers compared to UST's nine points off turnovers.  Also, Augsburg held a 36-30 edge in points in the paint and held a 9-4 edge in those all-important "second-chance" points.  It was a fantastic night for Augsburg's Solseth as she led the way with 19 points while McLemore tallied 12 points.  UST's Rolland finished with a double-double on this night with 19 points at 15 rebounds to boot while Mackenthun finished with 11 points.