Bethel vs Augsburg 1-8-20

Made the drive over to Si Melby Hall on the campus of Augsburg University on this cold Wednesday night to take in the huge early-season match-up between visiting Bethel and host Augsburg.  The Royals were coming into this contest with an unblemished record of 11-0 and ranked 23rd in nation while Augsburg was sporting a sparkling 10-1 and a #11 ranking in the country so you knew this was going to be one of the biggest games out there.  I wouldn't go out on a limb and call this the sequel to the MIAC Women's Hoops Game of the Century from three years ago between UST and GAC but this one was very, very big to be sure and there was no way I was going to miss this.  You could tell from the warm-ups that both teams were fired up and ready to go.

The interesting thing about this game would be the vastly contrasting styles of both teams as Bethel relies primarily on its defense to get the offense going and prefers - for the most part anyway - the halfcourt game.  Augsburg meanwhile has a style unlike anyone else in the MIAC with its high-octane up-and-down style and the athletes to make it all work as well.  The Auggies would get off to a very good start in this one as senior forward Camryn Speese knocked down two free throws after getting fouled at the 8:39 mark of the opening period and although the former DeLaSalle standout would take a nasty spill at the 7:44 mark and have to leave the game for a spell, Augsburg would get their lead to 4-0 when junior forward Jazmyn Solseth connected with a jumper from the free throw line area off the glass at the 7:33 mark.  That lead would grow to a touchdown when senior guard Tamira McLemore banged home a "3" from the left wing area at the 6:52 mark before the Royals got on the board on a short, turnaround jumper by junior forward Makenna Pearson at the 6:32 mark.  The Auggies continued this early barrage, however, as a McLemore lay-up in transition at the 5:31 mark upped the lead to 9-2 and then a "3" from the right wing area by senior reserve guard K'aezha Wubben with 3:33 left made it 12-4.  Up-and-coming sophomore reserve guard Selena Lor inflicted even more damage as she unleashed a "3" from the top of the key with 2:50 left for a 15-5 advantage before Bethel could finally find some semblance of offensive life.  Senior forward Taite Anderson connected with a lay-up with 2:37 left as would Pearson with 2:14 left that had the deficit down to six points at 15-9 but Augsburg would set out to widen its advantage again.  One Lor freebie with 1:59 left and a lay-up in transition by senior point guard Ari Jones after a steal with 1:40 left made it 18-9.  Wubben would add one free throw with :32.1 left and one more with :04.4 left as the Auggies dominated this opening period up 20-11. 

So while Augsburg clearly had the upper hand in the first period, the first big momentum shift of this game took place once the second period got underway as the Royals usurped the tempo.  Freshman guard Kat Brown-Erdal started things off for Bethel with her lay-up in transition at the 8:30 mark and then Taite Anderson unleashed a "3" from the right top area at the 7:50 mark that shrunk the deficit down to four points at at 20-16.  Then junior reserve forward Elizabeth Schwarz connected with a lay-up and drew a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" at the 7:00 mark now had the deficit down to a scant point at 20-19.  The Royals; still showing aggressiveness on the offensive end, grabbed the lead at the 6:44 mark when Taite Anderson would get fouled and the former White Bear Lake standout's two freebies pushed Bethel ahead 21-20, capping this surprising 10-0 blitz.  The Auggies finally broke their dry spell when Wubben drilled a "3" from the left top area off the glass at the 6:35 mark to take the lead back at 23-21 but the pendulum for the moment anyway was still swinging the Royals way; especially when they got into the bonus at the 6:24 mark.  Schwarz would knock down one freebie after getting fouled at the 6:02 mark and Pearson would drop two more when she was fouled at the 5:48 mark to put Bethel back out in front 24-23.  That's when Augsburg recovered as a lay-up in transition by senior guard Aiza Wilson at the 5:42 mark pushed the Auggies out in front 25-24 and another lay-up in transition by Wubben at the 5:20 mark made it 27-24.  Wubben would give Augsburg a bit more breathing space when she connected with a jumper from the left elbow with 4:58 left to make it 29-24 but now it was the Royals turn to respond once again.  Brown-Erdal drained a "3" from the right wing area with 3:58 left to cut the deficit down to two points and a score in the paint by Schwarz with 3:10 left had this one all tied up at 29 a piece.  Two Pearson free throws with 2:05 left put Bethel back out in front 31-29 and two more by Brown-Erdal with 1:55 left maintained the two-point edge at 33-31.  The Auggies managed to get this one knotted at 33 when Speese whizzed coast-to-coast for a lay-up with :42.5 left but Bethel's Pearson would get fouled with :01.6 left and the former Blaine standout got both charity stripe shots to go down as the Royals took a 35-33 lead into the locker room at the half.  A check of the first half box score shows that both teams shot  similarly from FG range - Bethel going 10-25 for a straight 40% and Augsburg going 11-27 for 40.7%.  Conversely, the three-point shooting was far from stellar for both squads with the Royals going 2-11 for 18.2% and the Auggies not a lot better going 4-14 for 28.6%.  Free throw shooting left something to be desired for both squads as well as Bethel was 13-21 for 61.9% and Augsburg going 7-12 for 58.3%.  Both teams had their share of turnovers in this first half (Bethel 11 and Augsburg 14) and perhaps the only real positive for Auggie Head Coach Ted Riverso and his staff was that his team held a small advantage on the boards thus far by a 19-17 count.

The Royals would increase their lead to 37-33 when Taite Anderson connected with a lay-up at the 9:33 mark but then Augsburg grabbed the momentum torch and embarked on a 9-0 push.  Wilson uncorked one of her trademark "3's"; this one from the right corner at the 9:11 mark and then McLemore would make a hard drive and a pretty finish off the glass at the 8:22 mark to put the Auggies back up 38-37.  An offensive rebound and putback by the athletic Speese at the 7:50 mark coupled with a Solseth lay-up at the 7:20 mark seemed to re-energize the partisan Augsburg crowd inside Si Melby Hall with a 42-37 lead.  Despite the fact that Speese would pick up her third foul of the evening at the 7:05 mark, one Speese free throw at the 6:48 mark maintained the Auggie five-point lead at 43-38 so things seemed to be looking good for the home team.  It was here, however, where this Bethel team showed its true grit and determination and snared the momentum torch away from the home team.  An offensive rebound and putback by Schwarz at the 6:34 mark started this run and when Taite Anderson banged home a "3" from the right wing area at the 6:10 mark, this one was tied at 43 a piece.  That part in itself wouldn't have been quite so bad from an Auggie standpoint but when sophomore reserve forward Jen Masello was tagged with her fourth foul of the night, Riverso was taking no chances and had to yank one of his "bigs" off the floor for preservation purposes.  That seemed to open up yet another door for the Royals as they continued with their run.  Taite Anderson would put Bethel back into the lead with her lay-up with 4:45 left and Taite Anderson would respond with another lay-up with 4:22 left to keep Bethel up by two at 47-45.  Things turned even more sour for Augsburg when Solseth picked up her fourth foul of the night with 3:33 left and the Royals kept rolling.  Schwarz would connect with a lay-up with 3:13 left to make it 49-45 and then Pearson unleashed a back-breaking "3" from the right wing area with 1:46 left to expand the lead to six at 52-46.  Senior point guard Haylee Barker, struggling with her shooting touch in this game thus far, drained a dagger "3" of her own from the left top area with 1:11 left to maintain the six-point lead at 55-49.  Junior guard and backcourt mate Bella Williams would come up big a bit later when she snared a steal and raced the other way for a lay-up that drew a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" suddenly gave Bethel their first double-digit advantage at 58-48.  Junior reserve guard Michaela Craigan would come up big as well when she was able to score in the paint off of an inbounds pass with :20 left and two Barker freebies with just :01.2 left had Bethel up twelve at 62-50 going into the fourth period.

You would normally think that having a lead and not only having it evaporate but to suddenly find yourself down by double-digits would have felt like a punch from Mike Tyson for this Auggie team but instead of wilting and waving the white flag, Augsburg showed why it's the 11th-ranked team in the country and came out with both barrels blazing once the fourth period got underway.  A "3" by Wilson from the right top area at the 9:09 mark re-energized this team and Si Melby Hall and another "3" by McLemore from the right corner off of an inbounds pass at the 8:33 mark not only had this crowd roaring but, more importantly, had the deficit down to six points at 62-56.  Then Jones would unleash a three-point bomb of her own - this one from the right top area off the glass at the 7:31 mark to trim the deficit down to five at 64-59.  The Auggies cut into the deficit further when Speese snared an offensive rebound for a putback at the 6:49 mark and two free throws by McLemore when she was fouled in a transition opportunity at the 5:26 mark now reduced the deficit to a scant point at 64-63 and Bethel Head Coach Jon Herbrechtsmeyer had seen more than enough to know it was time to talk to his squad.  Still, Speese would cap this amazing 15-2 run with two free throws when she was fouled to put Augsburg back out in front by a 65-64 count.  Not that this game needed any more momentum shifts or wild plays, but the Royals snared the lead back with 3:16 left when Taite Anderson got into the paint for a score.  Augsburg's Jones would get a free throw after she was fouled with 2:39 left to tie the game at 66 and when the Royals' Taite Anderson was whistled for her fifth and final foul of the night with 2:10 left, Bethel; for all intents and purposes, looked sunk.  The Auggies had a chance to take the lead with 1:56 left when Solseth was fouled but she was unable to cash in on either free throw attempt and that quite possibly could have been the opening in the door that the Royals were looking for.  On Bethel's ensuing possession, Schwarz muscled into the paint for a score to push the Royals ahead 68-66 with 1:22 left.  That in itself wouldn't have been quite so bad from an Augsburg perspective with the amount of time left but the key turning point in this contest occurred when the Royals' Barker made perhaps the play of the game when she forced a steal of the ensuing Auggie inbounds pass and got a lay-up out of it with 1:12 left that suddenly made it a two-possession ballgame at 70-66.  Augsburg would cut the deficit to two point when McLemore connected with a lay-up with 1:04 left but now the Auggies had to either get a stop or foul to preserve clock.  Bethel's Schwarz would be fouled with :41.3 left and she casually dropped both free throw attempts to push the Royals lead to 72-68.  Augsburg's Riverso would call a timeout to set up strategy and the Auggies would again close the gap to two points on a score in the paint by Wubben with :26 left.  Again, however, the same set of circumstances existed for Augsburg as they had to foul to preserve clock.  Bethel's Barker would again come up big for her team when she was fouled with :21 left and she was able to cash in on both free throw attempts to make it 74-70.  The Royals' Herbrechtsmeyer would call timeout to set up strategy and they were able to thwart Augsburg's last gasp and got a huge, huge win on the road in this Top-25 matchup. 

All Bethel's Herbrechtsmeyer could do when I caught up with him afterward in the postgame melee was just heave some giant sighs of relief.  He half-heartedly joked that he thought he strained both pectoral muscles when he jumped up to cheer Barker's key steal late in the game.  I couldn't help but remark to him that all the different shifts in momentum in this game had to have been taxing for his team.  Herbrechtsmeyer was in agreement but he heaped a lot of praise on his seniors; particularly Taite Anderson who fouled out with a little over two minutes left.  "She's just matured so much from last year" he said.  I also got to chat briefly with Barker after the game as well and she was naturally excited after this thrilling win.  It's clear from talking with her that this Bethel team is focused and they have clear objectives and goals for this season.  On the Augsburg side, I wouldn't go as far as to say that this was a devastating loss but, at the same time, they probably learned the hard way what happens when you go just 16-30 from the charity stripe for this game for a measly 53.3%.  That's leaving a huge amount of points on the table that could have easily turned this game in the Auggies' favor.  What other ramifications this loss has down the road remains to be seen but Riverso and his staff had to cringe when they saw that number.  Both teams were guilty of several turnovers on this night (Bethel with 22 and Augsburg with 25) but I think those numbers cancel each other out considering the types of defense that they play.  Augsburg did have a decided edge on the glass by a 41-34 count but they sure didn't capitalize on that as they wound up shooting 23-58 from FG range for 39.7% and were only 8-26 from downtown for 30.8%.  Here's another stat that stands out:  Points off of turnovers.  Augsburg had only 20 points on that end compared to Bethel's 27.  Another big stat - fast break points.  Bethel enjoyed a sizable advantage on this front as well by a 24-10 count and for a team like Augsburg that lives on up-tempo play, this number was huge.  Bethel also enjoyed a 30-22 advantage in points in the paint as well.  I've already mentioned the free throw shooting aspect for Augsburg and here's where Bethel had the edge here as well going 23-34 for 67.6%; not great by any stretch but decidedly better than the Auggies on this night.  Both teams did have relatively balanced scoring attacks as Bethel's Taite Anderson led the way for her team with her 18 points while Schwarz added 15 and Pearson was right behind with her 14 points.  Brown-Erdal had a solid night as well finishing with 11 points.  Augsburg's Wubben led the way for her team with her 18 points while McLemore tallied 16 points and Speese had 15.