This NFC/AFC Divisional Playoff Saturday was also an epic day for MIAC Women's Basketball as well and I made the trip over to Si Melby Hall on the campus of Augsburg University to take one of the two big games on this day in the conference - this one featuring visiting Hamline and host Augsburg. The Pipers had righted the ship after the upset loss at home to Macalester; reeling off two important road wins - most notably at Bethel this last Wednesday evening. Meanwhile, the Auggie Express has been rolling smoothly; enjoying an 11-game win streak coming into this big contest today. Both teams feature very good athletes, shooters and ball handlers and both know how to push the ball up the floor so the similarities between these two teams was very intriguing for sure and you couldn't help but wonder if this might be a MIAC Championship Game preview too.
Both teams would open scoring in the early moments of the first period on three-pointers - the Auggies drawing first blood on a bomb from senior point guard Selena Lor from the left corner at the 9:42 mark and Hamline doing it the old-fashioned way as senior guard Gabby Robinson made a hard drive and pretty lay-up that also drew a foul with the obligatory "and one" at the 8:38 mark. Augsburg would take a 5-3 lead when speedy sophomore guard Kalena Myers snared a steal and dashed the other way for a lay-up at the 7:41 mark but right back came the Pipers as sophomore forward Lydia Lecher connected with a lay-up at the 7:30 mark to get this one leveled. It was here that the Auggies made their first significant push of the day which was ignited when junior forward Jaley Coplin buried a "3" from the left corner at the 7:14 mark and followed up by another three-point bomb by Myers from the left wing area at the 6:04 mark that had Augsburg up 11-5. Coplin; the former Shakopee standout, would strike again from behind the arc from the left wing area at the 5:32 mark to maintain the six-point edge at 14-8. Senior forward Jen Masello would do her part to maintain the safety net at six with her score in the paint with 3:23 left to make it 16-10 but Hamline would prove to be an ornery visitor at this stage. Junior reserve guard Alyssa Williamson would drain a "3" from the top of the key with 2:18 left to pull the Pipers back to within a single possession down 16-13. A score in the paint by senior reserve forward Sarah Loken with 1:41 left cut that deficit down to a scant point at 16-15 and with :33.3 left, Hamline would poke its nose out in front when junior forward Tess Hauer connected with a lay-up. Still, the Auggies would retake the lead with just :05 left in this opening period when sophomore reserve forward Anja Smith would bang home a "3" from the right wing area to give Augsburg a 19-17 advantage; a precursor of things to come later on in this contest.
Augsburg had the spotlight on itself during most of the first period; now it was time for that spotlight to shine on the upstart Hamline Pipers once the second period got going. Two free throws by Hauer at the 9:46 mark after she was fouled was the start of a 6-0 push by the Pipers. Robinson; the former Tri-City United standout, would connect with a lay-up at the 8:33 mark to put Hamline back out in front 21-19 and then senior guard Sophie Findell; who had such a great outing against Bethel just a few nights ago, went coast-to-coast for a lay-up at the 8:05 mark to up the Piper lead to four at 23-19. Right back came Augsburg thanks to Myers as she would drill a "3" from the right top area at the 7:45 mark and two Myers freebies after she was fouled at the 7:15 mark suddenly pushed the Auggies back out in front by a 24-23 count. But this Hamline team came into this game meaning business and they embarked on another push. Lecher; the lefty standout from Concordia Academy, drained a "3" from the right top area at the 7:00 mark to put Hamline back into the lead at 26-24 and a short, one-handed jumper by Williamson in the lane at the 6:16 mark got the lead back to four at 28-24. Then junior reserve forward Iyanna Wieland would uncork a "3" from the right top area to stretch to lead to seven at 31-24 and given how the Auggies were firing nothing but blanks during this stretch, there was obviously some concern from the Augsburg faithful inside Si Melby Hall. But those fears would soon subside as the Auggies finally started finding their offensive groove again. Coplin would unleash more terror from behind the arc with a bomb from the right wing area with 3:32 left to cut the deficit to four at 31-27. Junior reserve guard Samaiya Buchanan would connect with a short, one-handed shot off the glass with 1:25 left to keep Augsburg in that four-point range down 33-29. Then, with just :26.6 left before intermission, Lor; the Winona product, may have made the play of the game as she made a hard drive along the left baseline and then finished underneath with an incredibly pretty reverse lay-up that drew a foul and her ensuing "and one" reduced the deficit to one at 33-32. Hamline was unable to convert on any opportunity in the waning moments so the Auggies definitely felt a lot better about themselves than they had a few minutes earlier. A check of the first half box score was arguably something of a mixed bag for both coaching staffs. Both teams shot similarly during the first half with the Pipers doing a bit better from FG range but Hamline Head Coach Alex Focke had to be a bit concerned with the number of turnovers his squad had in the first half - 11 in all compared to just two for Augsburg. Meanwhile, Auggie Head Coach Ted Riverso must've fallen off his chair when he saw that his squad was out-rebounded by a 29-9 count in this first half.
Focke had his Hamline team in a 2-3 "match-up" zone defense once the third period got underway and, initially anyway, the Pipers were able get the upper hand. Lecher would connect with a jumper from the free throw line at the 9:20 mark to make it a 35-32 game and two free throws by Hauer at the 7:21 mark maintained the three-point lead for Hamline at 37-34. But this Auggie team, which arguably struggled some in that second period, finally started coming alive and things quickly turned in this contest. Masello would come through three straight times to start things off as she would first make a hard drive for a finish at the 7:04 mark that also drew a foul and the Darien, IL native would come through on the "and one" that would get this game knotted at 37. A bit later at the 6:35 mark, Masello would connect on a lay-up to get Augsburg back out in front - this time for good - at 39-37 - and Masello would also knock down one free throw after getting fouled at the 6:19 mark to make it a 40-37 game. Then Coplin would unleash yet more terror behind the arc as her bomb from the right wing area at the 5:51 mark got the Auggie lead to five at 43-38. Coplin would also add a pair of freebies after getting fouled at the 5:35 mark to extend the lead to seven before the Pipers were able to narrow the gap a bit on a "3" by Lecher from the left top area with 4:41 left. Hamline would manage to stay within this striking distance range as Loken would connect with a short jumper in the lane with 3:53 left and Lecher's short, turnaround jumper in the lane with 2:14 left kept the Pipers close down 49-45. But Augsburg would create more breathing space for itself down the stretch of this third period. Another three-point bomb by Coplin - this one from the right wing area with 1:53 left - extended the lead to seven at 52-45 and two free throws by Smith after she was fouled with 1:35 left gave the Auggies their largest lead yet at 54-45. With :34 left, Smith would strike again with a tough jumper from the free throw line area as Augsburg started taking command of things up 56-48 going into the fourth period.
The Pipers and Focke knew they had to strike to get this gap narrowed up again and a pretty give-and-go lay-up by Robinson at the 9:51 mark got things tightened up a bit down 56-50 but Augsburg; specifically Smith, had vastly different ideas. Smith would knock down a pair of free throws after getting fouled at the 9:25 mark to re-establish the eight-point lead at 58-50 and a Smith drive and finish at the 8:46 mark did likewise making it a 60-52 ballgame. At the 7:55 mark, Smith would snare an offensive rebound and putback that now had the Auggies up by double digits at 62-52. Hamline would make another bid to get this one tight again as Lecher would bury a "3" from the right top area at the 7:42 mark and Williamson would knock down a short jumper off of an inbounds pass at the 7:22 mark that cut the deficit in half at 62-57. Williamson would also knock down one free throw after getting fouled at the 6:48 mark that seemingly gave the Pipers a chance down just 62-58 with a ton of time left. But each time Hamline would seem to be knocking on the door again, the Auggies would slam that door shut each time. Lor would bury a "3" from the left corner at the 6:29 mark to get the lead back to seven at 65-58 and then Smith; the Kewaskum, WI native, simply started taking over this game. Her short jumper off the glass at the 5:23 mark maintained the seven-point edge at 67-60 and then Smith would drain a "3" from the left wing area with 4:07 left that again gave Augsburg that seven-point lead at 70-63. With 3:31 left, Smith would unleash another three-point bomb - this one from the right wing area - that pushed the Auggie lead to eight at 73-65. Hamline would make one last-gasp bid in this contest as junior reserve guard Chan'el Anderson-Manning would make a hard drive for a finish with 2:42 left and sophomore guard Larisa O'Neil would bury a "3" from the left corner with 1:37 left that narrowed the gap to six at 76-70. The Pipers' Focke would call a subsequent timeout to set up strategy but Augsburg would have none of it as they put the finishing touches on this one. Masello would score in the paint with :33 left and Myers would add a drive and finish with just :22 left for insurance as the Auggies would stay undefeated in the conference with a big 80-70 victory.
I did manage to catch up with Hamline's Focke afterward and, despite the obvious disappointment of coming up short in this big game, he was far from despondent. "They played really well" he said of Augsburg "and they're a really good team......But I'm pleased with how we played as well." To me, it was just really a matter of Augsburg coming up with huge three-pointers when they needed them that made the difference in this one. I told Augsburg's Riverso that if his squad keeps playing like this, they'll win the MIAC. I could see the slight grin on his face despite the mask he was wearing but Riverso and his staff undoubtedly know they have something special. What's odd is that when you look at the final box score on this game, you'd almost swear that Hamline came out with the dub. Consider: They had a whopping 47-26 edge on the boards and had far more points in the paint by a 32-24 margin. And the Pipers certainly didn't shoot badly either; going 27-59 from FG range for 45.8% and 9-19 from downtown for 47.4% which isn't terrible. Free throw shooting could have been a bit better for Hamline as they were 7-11 for 63.6%. The one big stat that does stand out in this game that favored Augsburg in the end was the turnover margin where the Pipers were guilty of 18 turnovers on this day compared to just four for Augsburg and the Auggies got 12 points off of those turnovers, too.
It's just almost flabbergasting when you look at the final stats of this Augsburg team. Smith, with her takeover ability when it counted, led all scorers with her 21 points and right behind was Coplin who had a fabulous day with her 20 points that included going 6-9 from downtown. Masello was solid as always despite the fact that Hamline clamped down on her in that second period as she finished with 14 points and Myers had her moments as well as she tallied 12 points. Lecher had to shoulder the load for Hamline on this day as she led the way for the Pipers with her 17 points while Williamson had a very good game on this day with her "double-double" of 11 points and 10 rebounds while Hauer finished the day with 10 points.
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