After much ballyhoo and ado, the MIAC Women's Basketball 2020-21 season finally got underway with a full schedule on this Saturday afternoon and I opted to cover the GAC - Augsburg game as the Gusties made their way up US Highway 169 and the UP's Mankato Sub portion of the famed "Omaha Route" mainline on this sunny but frigid day to take on the Auggies at Si Melby Hall in Minneapolis. This is arguably a new era at Augsburg with the departure of the "Fab Five" to graduation and a starting line-up with a new cast of characters for Ted Riverso's squad. GAC meanwhile comes into this truncated season losing only one to early graduation - Allison Hinck. Presumably anyway, this Gustie team was a year older and wiser not to mentioned more experienced and I was anxious to see them in action.
Both teams looked as if they had not played a game or a scrimmage in the last 345 days or so as both teams were a bit skittish from the outset. With the score tied at four a piece, the Auggies were able to launch a 5-0 burst. Junior guard Selena Lor would knock down one free throw after getting fouled at the 7:44 mark and a tough score in the paint by sophomore guard Grace Eastman at the 7:02 mark had Augsburg up 7-4 and then junior forward Jen Masello snared a steal and raced the other way for a lay-up at the 6:00 mark to cap this run. The Gusties were finally able to shake off some of the rust and close the gap to one as sophomore sensation guard Maddy Rice knocked down a mid-range jumper at the 5:42 mark and sophomore forward Caitlin Rorman connected with a lay-up at the 5:22 mark. But the Auggies were able to get their inside/outside game going that helped propel them on a 9-2 run. Masello connected with a lay-up at the 5:00 mark and a short jumper in the paint by sophomore forward Jaley Coplin with 4:19 left along with another Masello lay-up with 3:50 left had the lead back up to five again at 15-10. Sophomore Chloe Kintop then made a splash with her three-point bomb with 3:26 left to cap this run for an 18-10 Augsburg advantage. With 2:59 left, Coplin drained a "3" of her own to maintain the eight-point advantage at 21-13 and indeed the Gusties looked to be in a heap of trouble at this point. But instead of breaking out the proverbial panic button, GAC made some adjustments and shored up their defensive effort as well. Senior guard Marisa Gufstason got things going offensively with her jumper with 2:40 left and with 1:56 left, Gustafson; the former Mahtomedi standout, banged home a "3" that cut the deficit down to four points at 23-19. With 1:06 left, Gustafson would strike again with a score in the paint that drew a foul and allowed Gustafson to cash in on the "and one" that now had the deficit down to a scant point at 23-22. With just :35 left, senior guard Gabby Bowlin would connect with a short jumper in the paint that suddenly had GAC back into the lead at 24-23 and for a team that looked out of sorts for a good portion of this opening period, the Gusties showed their worth on a relatively short time span.
Despite losing the lead that they had held for most of the first period, Augsburg still managed to stay right in the thick of things and stayed close. Two Masello free throws at the 9:34 mark of the second period had the deficit down to one at 26-25 and a Coplin jumper at the 6:12 mark kept the deficit at one down 28-27 and at the 5:57 mark, freshman guard Kalena Myers would drain a "3" that would have this game tied at 30 a piece. GAC, however, had made some defensive adjustments that effectively took away the free passes that the Auggies' Masello had been getting down low in the first period and although Augsburg's Myers would connect with a lay-up with 4:27 left to giver her squad a short-lived 34-33 lead, the Gusties made their first significant move of the afternoon to establish some distance between themselves and their opponent. Senior forward Paige Richert; who had been quiet thus far from a scoring standpoint, got back-to-back scores: a score in the paint with 3:43 left and a lay-up in transition with 3:19 left to put GAC up 37-34. Richert would then knock down a pair of free throws with 2:09 left to extend the lead to 39-34 and Gustafson would contribute a pair herself with 1:08 left to make it 41-34. With just :39 left, Rice would drill a back-breaking "3" from the left wing area to make it 44-36 and then sophomore guard Anna Sanders would connect with a jumper with three ticks left before the halftime intermission buzzer as this 13-2 run down the stretch allowed the Gusties to take a ten-point cushion at 46-36 into the locker room with them at the halftime break. Augsburg Head Coach Ted Riverso had to be not only concerned with the defensive lapses his squad suffered down the stretch but also with the fact that his primary go-to player in the paint - Masello - was riding three fouls by this juncture as well.
The Auggies would manage to slim down the deficit to six points at 46-40 in the first few minutes of the third period but likewise, it didn't take long for GAC to rebuild their double-digit cushion. Richert would connect with a lay-up at the 7:30 mark and a lay-up in transition by Rorman at the 7:02 mark made it a 50-40 ballgame. Then Rorman; enroute to a huge afternoon on this day, unleashed her own personal mark on this game. The former Blue Earth standout would first drain a "3" at the 6:30 mark and then connect with a jumper in the paint at the 5:54 mark to make it 55-44. At the 5:29 mark, Rorman would strike again with a lay-up in transition to stretch the lead to thirteen at 57-44. But others would contribute to the Gustie attack on this day as well. Sophomore post Betsy Schoenrock; who had struggled at times on this day, connected with a lay-up with 4:54 left and Gustafson would bang home a "3" with 4:11 left to make it 62-49 and with 3:48 left Gustafson would add a lay-up in transition to make it 64-49. To their credit, the Auggies refused to even consider breaking out the white flag and were able to get the deficit back to ten points. Masello knocked a pair of free throws with 3:01 left and Myers would add a freebie of her own after getting fouled with 2:42 left. But getting things back into single-digit range again would prove to be a bridge too far as GAC would be able to throw a couple of late punches. Richert would connect on a lay-up with 2:04 left and then Rorman would do the same to cap off this great third period for her as the Gusties carried a 68-56 lead going into the fourth period.
GAC's Rorman would continue her heroics into the fourth period as well. One free throw at the 9:35 mark and a lay-up at the 7:15 mark had the Gusties maintaining their double-digit advantage at 71-58. Augsburg still had plenty of life left in them as Coplin drained a "3" at the 6:58 mark to get the deficit back to ten at 71-61 and a lay-up by Myers at the 5:47 mark kept the Auggies in that ten-point range down 73-63 and when Lor would drain a "3" at the 5:11 mark to finally get Augsburg withing single-digit range down 73-66 with a mountain of time left, there was plenty of reason to think that the Auggies could get themselves back to within striking distance. But this is precisely where GAC was able to shut the proverbial door for good. Richert would drop a pair of free throws with 4:43 left and then Rorman would connect with a lay-up that drew a foul and her obligatory "and one" had the lead back up to twelve at 78-66. Rorman would continue to be the savior for the Gusties on this day with a pair of free throws with 3:45 left and add a lay-up with 3:34 left to make it 82-68; effectively extinguishing any hopes Augsburg may have had. Senior point guard Ava Gonsorowski would add a pair of free throws after getting fouled with 3:08 left and would also connect on a lay-up in transition with 1:39 left. Freshmen Riley Queensland and Lexi Schermann would add lay-ups in the waning moments as well as GAC got this season off to a good start with a 92-74 win.
The two things that stood out to me just watching this game online was (1) how the Gusties were able to make some defensive adjustments to somewhat neutralize Augsburg's Masello in the second period and (2) how GAC Head Coach Laurie Kelly was able to substitute somewhat liberally in this game; getting good balance out on the floor at all times which really made a difference as this game wore on. Rorman, too, was exceptional on this day and if the Gusties can get performances like that from her on a consistent basis, GAC is going to be tough to beat. Disappointing for the Augsburg side obviously and it's going to be a lot different without the "Fab Five" for sure. But I also think that there's enough positives out there for Riverso and his staff that they can take going forward. Again, what can you say about Rorman today; finishing with 25 points with 21 of them coming in that second half alone. She can be great at times. But then there was also Richert finishing with 18 points and Gustafson not far behind with her 17 points on this day. And Kelly had several other players making contributions scoring-wise on this day. Augsburg also got a great day out of Masello as she finished with 25 points and both Coplin and Myers tallied 14 points. True, the Gusties had 17 turnovers on this day and Kelly will be the first one to tell you that that's got to get cleaned up. And Augsburg got 17 points off of those turnovers. But two numbers will tell you a lot about this game - and likely had Riverso and his staff reaching for the Tylenol PM when nightime came along: The Gusties out-rebounded Augsburg by a 45-26 count and GAC also enjoyed a sizable 50-32 edge in paints in the point. Throw in the fact that GAC also enjoyed a 16-8 advantage in those all-important "second chance" points and an 18-6 advantage in fast-break points plus a whopping 39-5 advantage on points off the bench and its easy to see why GAC was successful on a number of fronts on this day.
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