Working from home like I am for the time being definitely does have its benefits and one of those allowed me to get over to Si Melby Hall on the campus of Augsburg University on this late Wednesday afternoon for the early (5:15 P.M.) tip-off between visiting Concordia and host Augsburg. The Cobbers had put together a two-game win streak in getting dubs over both St. Olaf and St. Scholastica. For Augsburg, everything has come up roses for them since their last defeat back in November and came rolling into this contest on an eight-game win streak and the Auggie Express definitely looked to have a head of steam coming into this game.
That became all the more obvious in the first few minutes of the opening period as Augsburg quickly took control. Senior forward Jen Masello started things off by beating her defender off the dribble and getting a lay-up at the 8:54 mark and sophomore sensation guard Kalena Myers would do likewise at the 8:31 mark. Masello would strike again at the 7:41 mark with another lay-up and when Myers connected with a short jumper from the left side off the glass at the 7:13 mark, Cobber Head Coach Kim Wagers had seen enough to know that a thirty-second timeout was warranted to get her troops reassembled. Still, the Auggies would complete this early 10-0 run when Masello muscled into the paint for a score at the 6:36 mark before Concordia could finally dust off the forming cobwebs on its basket when senior guard Autumn Thompson connected with a lay-up at the 6:18 mark. Augsburg's Myers would then do her part to stretch out the home team's lead even more. The former Apple Valley standout would first drain a "3" from the left wing area at the 5:55 mark and follow that up with a lay-up at the 5:26 mark to make it a 15-2 game before the Cobbers could begin the arduous task of trying to cut into this deficit. Senior post Vanessa Kedl would connect with a pretty drive and finish off of an inbounds pass with 4:18 left and freshman reserve guard Taylor Jordan would knock down a jumper from the left elbow area with 2:31 left that cut the deficit down to ten at 16-6. But the Auggies would get two more scores before this first period was over. Sophomore reserve forward Anja Smith would connect with a sweet reverse lay-up with 2:11 left and two free throws by senior point guard Selena Lor with :42.2 left on the clock had the home team in great shape up 20-6 going into the second period.
Augsburg continued to put the Cobbers in a deeper and deeper hole once the second period got going. After Masello knocked down one free throw after getting fouled at the 9:43 mark, she would follow that up with yet another pretty drive and finish at the 9:06 mark to make it 23-8. Then junior forward Jaley Coplin got herself involved into the scoring fray in a big way. The former Shakopee standout would nail her first trey of the evening from the left wing area off of an inbounds pass at the 8:20 mark and although Concordia would try and counter when junior guard Emily Beseman snared an offensive rebound for a putback and drew a foul in the process and got the obligatory "and one" at the 7:55 mark, the Auggies' Coplin would strike again from behind the arc - this one from the left top area at the 7:21 mark to make it a 29-11 ballgame. Concordia; despites all of its offensive woes thus far, finally started finding some semblance of consistency in the midway portion of this second quarter. Sophomore reserve guard Jordyn Kahler would knock down a pair of free throws after getting fouled at the 5:47 mark and freshman reserve forward Makayla Anderson would connect with a short jumper off the glass at the 5:18 mark that had the deficit down to fourteen at 29-15. With 3:31 left, Anderson would connect with a lay-up that drew the Cobbers even closer down 29-17 and provided a momentary ray of hope for the Fargo-Moorhead gang. But that ray of hope quickly dissipated when Augsburg went on another offensive foray right before the halftime break. Coplin would unleash her third dagger three-point bomb of the evening; this one coming from the right wing area with 3:15 left and a routine drive and finish by the speedy Myers with 2:25 left had the Auggies up 34-19. Then, with :45.6 left, Lor would drain a "3" from the left top area that allowed Augsburg to take a cozy 37-19 lead into the locker room at the halftime break. A quick check of the first half box score must've made Concordia's Wagers and her staff shudder - Concordia shot 7-30 from FG range for 23.3% and were 0-8 from behind the arc plus the fact that the Auggies were owning the boards as well by a 22-16 count. Perhaps the only bright spot for the Cobbers at this juncture was that they were perfect from the charity stripe going 5-5 but they were going to need much more than that if they wanted to get back into this game.
One change that Concordia had made in that second period was switching up to a 2-3 "matchup" zone defense and Wagers decided to carry that strategy over into the third period as well in hopes of slowing down the potent Auggie offensive attack. Still, Augsburg would draw first blood again as Coplin unleashed her fourth dagger "3" of the evening; this one from the left wing area at the 9:40 mark to make it 40-19 before the Cobbers could find some more flow to their offensive attack. Thompson would connect with a jumper from the right elbow area at the 7:29 mark and Kedl would get one free throw to go down at the 5:25 mark after getting fouled that slimmed down the deficit a bit at 42-24. The problem was that they simply were not getting the stops on defense that they needed that might have changed the complexion of this contest a bit. Junior guard Grace Eastman; an often overlooked component of this Augsburg team, would connect with a jumper along the right baseline with 4:57 left and one free throw by Masello after she was fouled with 4:01 left made it 45-24. Still, Concordia would make another bid to try and get back into this contest before this third period was in the books. Kahler would drain a "3" from the right wing area with 3:40 left and freshman reserve guard Taylor Jordan would make a splash when she banged home a "3" of her own from the left wing area with 1:38 left to get the deficit down to seventeen at 47-30. Senior forward Mary Sem; who had been quiet up to this point, would connect with a lay-up with :26 left that had the deficit down to fifteen at 47-32 entering the fourth period.
A quick 7-0 push by the Auggies at the start of the fourth period effectively extinguished any fading hopes that the Cobber faithful may have had. Two free throws by Myers at the 9:31 mark and a tough, one-handed shot by Masello at the 8:45 mark pushed Augsburg's lead to 51-32. Fitting, Coplin's fifth three-point bomb of the night - this one from the left corner at the 8:17 mark - pushed the lead to 54-32 to cap this burst. Concordia would attempt one more bid to try and draw closer, however. Beseman would connect with a lay-up in transition at the 7:31 mark and lanky freshman guard Symone Beld would get one free throw to go down after getting fouled at the 6:21 mark. Anderson would bang home a "3" from the right top area at the 5:46 mark and a pretty drive and finish by Thompson with 4:57 left did have the deficit down to fourteen at 54-40 but this is where Augsburg slammed the door shut for good. Back-to-back three-point bombs - one by Eastman from the left wing area with 4:30 left and another one by Myers from the left corner with 3:28 left - quickly got the lead back up to twenty at 60-40. Masello would also knock down a short shot off the glass with 1:47 left and one free throw by junior reserve guard Samaiya Buchanan with :26.6 left made it 63-42 and although Cobber freshman reserve guard Sophia Tobin would collect the last points of the night with her pretty reverse lay-up with :16 left, it would be way too little, way too late as the Auggies collected a convincing 63-44 victory.
I did get to talk to Augsburg Assistant Coach (and former Minnesota/Park standout) Jackie Voigt afterward for a few minutes and told her that the thing that stood out most to me in this contest is that this team has grown so much from early on in the season. What I meant by saying that is that, before, beyond the starting five of Masello, Lor, Myers, Eastman and Coplin, you really didn't know what to expect once Head Coach Ted Riverso started digging into his bench. But tonight, you saw Riverso going to his bench much earlier than you might have thought that he would and you now see players such as sophomore guard Katie Manecke and freshman guard Mercedes Romo not only getting quality minutes but also looking incredibly confident out there as well. And we've also seen what Smith is capable of as well. I just told both Voigt (and Lor as well afterward) that each time I watch this Augsburg team play, I become more and more impressed with them each time. Just as important, (and I know I've touched on this before) I think this team has carved its own niche; it's own identity in it's own way. Maybe they're not the "Fab 5" from a couple two or three years ago but this group meshes quite well together and in some ways, might even be a more consistent team offensively than the Fab 5 squad of a few short years ago. In the final analysis, their undefeated conference record speaks for itself and Voigt maintains that this group just keeps working hard every day in practice. Meanwhile, another rough night at the O.K. Corral for this Concordia team which continues to struggle on a number of fronts which, given the talent they had coming back from last season when things started to appear to come together for them, is quite puzzling indeed. And you can bet it was a long, dark, tiring ride back up to Fargo-Moorhead for this group as well. A check of the final box score reveals that it was just a bad outing for Concordia on this night (although Augsburg's defense had a lot to do with that) as the Cobbers finished going 17-52 from FG range for 32.7% and 3-15 from downtown for 20% and the Auggies owned the boards on this night as well by a 38-28 count. Balanced scoring played a key in Augsburg's win on this night as Masello's 17 points (and 16 rebounds for a "double-double") led all scorers. Myers was right behind with her 16 points and what a night it was for Coplin; finishing with 15 points and going 5-8 from behind the arc.
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