Polished off a good Sunday breakfast/brunch of steak, eggs and hash browns to get me fueled up for the MIAC Championship Game on this Sunday afternoon. Made the relatively quick run over to Si Melby Hall on the campus of Augsburg University for this title bout between visiting GAC which had cruised past Bethel on Friday night against host Augsburg which came from thirteen down against Hamline to win in dramatic fashion on Friday night as well. These two teams had split during the regular season with the Auggies winning at Si Melby Hall back in early December and the Gusties returning the favor at Lund Arena three weeks ago. This game had so many different storylines revolving around it as well as this would be the first ever meeting between these two teams in the MIAC Playoffs with both teams seeking their first-ever MIAC Championship Game title but also the Pupil (Laurie Kelly of GAC) facing her old coach and mentor (Ted Riverso of Augsburg). Then you had the stories behind these two teams and how each had to overcome an identity crisis and/or a plethora of injuries and defections to reach this point. It didn't take long for Si Melby Hall to start filling up and both teams had their student sections on hand so this was obviously going to be one rowdy, crazy affair.
The Gusties certainly got off to the kind of start they wanted in this one; bolting out to a 5-0 lead on the strength of a three-point bomb by freshman point guard and former Maple Grove standout Kylie Baranick at the 9:15 mark of the opening period and a pretty lay-up in transition by slender sophomore guard Emma Kniefel at the 8:39 mark. Augsburg would come right back, however, and get the contest leveled at five as a score in the paint by senior forward Jen Masello at the 8:02 mark and a three-point bomb by slender junior forward Jaley Coplin at the 6:23 mark had the Auggie student section rocking. In what would kind of set the tone for this day, GAC would not be fazed and calmly stepped on the gas pedal. Freshman reserve forward Morgan Kelly would come right back on the Gusties' ensuing possession with a score in the paint at the 6:11 mark and a lay-up in transition by sophomore reserve forward Izzy (Izzy Izzy, you're making me dizzy) Quick at the 5:49 mark had GAC up by four at 9-5 and a drive and finish by Kniefel with 4:54 left maintained that four-point edge at 11-7. Less than a minute later, Kniefel; the former Medford standout, would strike again with 4:02 left to make it a 13-7 game. The Auggies quickly narrowed the gap as sophomore reserve sensation forward Anja Smith got a three-point play the old-fashioned way on a drive and finish that drew a foul along with the ensuing "and one" with 3:38 left. Then it would be Masello knocking down a jumper from the right elbow area off the glass with 3:07 left that had the Auggies down by only one at 13-12. Smith would keep Augsburg in that one-point range with her jumper from the right elbow area with 1:17 left but the Gusties would make another bid to establish more breathing room. Baranick would bury a "3" from the right wing area with :58 left and two free throws by Morgan Kelly after she was fouled with :39.9 left gave GAC a 20-14 lead but the Auggies would close back to within a single possession when senior point guard Selena Lor drained a "3" from the left top area with just :02.6 left that cut the Gustie lead to 20-17.
The Augsburg student section came alive again at the 9:47 mark of the second period when senior reserve forward Kevin Boysen made a pretty drive along the right baseline for a finish that again closed the gap to just one point at 20-19. But just like before, the Gusties responded quickly. Senior forward Grace Benz would make a hard drive for a finish at the 9:20 mark and a short shot off the glass by Kniefel at the 7:47 mark gave GAC some more breathing room again up 24-19. And Kniefel would come up big again for the Gusties as she drilled a heartbreaking three-point bomb from the left corner at the 6:24 mark to expand the GAC lead to 27-21. So now it was the Auggies turn to close the gap again as a short, turnaround jumper in the lane off the glass by Smith at the 5:59 mark and a three-point bomb by junior guard Grace Eastman from the right wing area at the 5:25 mark had the gap closed to a scant point again down 27-26. Just like before, the Gusties wasted little time in responding in widening the gap again. Quick would connect on a lay-up at the 5:10 mark and then Baranick would make a quick dart drive and finish that also drew a foul and although she couldn't cash in on the obligatory "and one", GAC re-established a five-point advantage at 31-26. Augsburg's Smith tried to bring her team right back with a spectacular drive along the left baseline for a finish with 3:07 left that brought the Auggies back to within a single possession down 31-28. The Gusties weren't having any of it, however, as junior guard Anna Sanders connected on a short, turnaround jumper with 2:42 left and freshman forward/post Rachel Kawiecki would do likewise with 1:51 left to make it a 35-28 game. With 1:04 left, Benz would knock down a short jumper off the glass with 1:04 left that gave GAC its largest lead at 37-28. More importantly, the Gusties were able to keep Augsburg off the scorer's book for the last minute and took this nine-point edge into the locker room at the half. A check of the first half box score indicates that GAC played a relatively "clean" first half as they enjoyed a 22-18 advantage on the boards and shot reasonably well from FG range going 16-35 for 45.7%. Three-point shooting, on the other hand, wasn't much to write home about as the Gusties 3-11 for 27.3%. But this aspect didn't bother GAC nearly as much as it did Augsburg as the Auggies were 12-31 from FG range for 38.7% and 3-19 from downtown for 15.8% and for a team that relies heavily on its three-point shooting prowess, this had to be a concern for Riverso and his staff.
Those worries that Riverso may have had and the Augsburg faithful in general were probably eased somewhat when the Auggies came out of the gate in the third period and launched an 8-0 run that once again had them right on the brink. Coplin would unleash another one of her trademark dagger three-point bombs - this one from the left corner at the 9:41 mark and two Eastman free throws at the 9:03 mark after she was fouled had the deficit down to four at 37-33. Then Masello, who was held in check for the second period, broke out of her slump with a tough score in the paint that drew a foul and the Darien, IL native cashed in on the obligatory "and one" that again brought Augsburg back to a single point down 37-36. Making things worse for the Gusties is that Benz had collected her third foul of the afternoon and had to come out and GAC's Laurie Kelly wasted little time in calling a halt to the action to get her team calmed down. It took a bit and some work but the Gusties were able to establish some more breathing room. Sanders would connect with a jumper along the left baseline at the 7:33 mark and at the 6:36 mark Sanders would strike from downtown with a three-point bomb from the right top area to make it a 42-38 game and Baranick would add a free throw after getting fouled with 4:52 left to make it a 43-38 game. Complicating things for the Auggies is that Masello was forced to retreat to the bench with her third foul during this GAC push but Coplin would come to the rescue for her squad with another three-point bomb - this one from the right top area with 4:42 left that had Augsburg right back in the thick of things down 43-41. Now the Gusties had to go back to work. Kawiecki would get a score in the paint with 4:28 left and one free throw by Quick after she was fouled with 3:52 left got the lead out to five again at 46-41. Augsburg's Smith would get fouled with 3:32 left and her two free throws again had the Auggies right there down 46-43 and making things even more encouraging from an Augsburg standpoint was that they were now in the bonus as well. But this didn't seem to faze the Gusties down the stretch of this third period. Kniefel would make one of her quick trademark drives into the lane for a finish with 2:32 left and a Kawiecki lay-up with 1:55 left made it 50-43. Morgan Kelly would add a lay-up of her own with 1:15 left and although Augsburg's Smith would drain a "3" from the left top area with :56 left, that would be offset as Benz would snare an offensive rebound for a putback with :21.2 left as GAC took a 54-47 lead into the fourth period.
You had to figure that the one person to try and step up and save the Auggies on this day would be Smith and her short, turnaround jumper off the glass at the 9:39 mark of the fourth period got the Augsburg faithful hoping again but those hopes took at major hit a short time later at the 9:28 mark when Masello collected her fourth foul of the afternoon and Riverso was not going to take any chances with one of his top players and she was quickly yanked back to the bench for preservation purposes. That opened a door for the Gusties to widen their lead again and they did just that as scores in the paint - one by Quick at the 7:53 mark and another one by Kawiecki at the 7:25 mark - pushed GAC's lead to 58-49. But any euphoria on the Gustie side was likely tempered significantly when Benz was sent to the bench for the rest of the day after collecting her fifth foul at the 6:17 mark. By this time, facing a nine-point deficit, Augsburg's Riverso decided to roll the dice and send Masello back into action again. But it may have been a decision that Riverso would come to regret as Masello would be whistled for her fifth and final foul of the afternoon. Still the Auggies would make another bid to try and get even again. Smith would uncork a "3" from the top of the key with 4:31 left that cut the deficit to six at 58-52 and with 4:03 left, Smith would connect on a short, turnaround jumper that had the deficit down to five at 59-54. Speedy sophomore guard Kalena Myers would get fouled with 3:22 left and she would get one free throw to go down as would Smith when she was fouled with 2:57 left that now had Augsburg back to within a single possession down 59-56 and you had to figure that this would be where the Auggies were going to have to make their move if they were going to repeat the miraculous comeback of Friday night. But when the Auggies needed a big three-pointer to fall or a spectacular finish by Smith, it just wasn't there down the stretch. That allowed GAC to put the finishing touches on this improbable run to the MIAC Championship. Sophomore reserve guard Syd Hauger would knock down a pair of freebies after getting fouled with 2:25 left and a daring drive into the lane and finish by Sanders with 1:36 left pushed the Gustie lead to 63-56. Kawiecki would add a pair of free throws for insurance herself after getting fouled with :26.4 left and finally, after multiple years of frustration and heartbreak, the Gustavus Adolphus Gusties claimed their first-ever MIAC Championship Game title with a 65-56 victory.
In the jubilation that follwed on the GAC side afterward, I had to congratulate Laurie Kelly on this win and right off the bat, I told her that what impressed me most about her team on this day was that every time that Augsburg threatened or got close, this team never flinched. It stayed calm, determined and they played to their strengths to fend off a very good Augsburg team. Now, consider for a second: This is a team that lost two of its top players before October practice even began (Paige Richert and Caitlin Rorman) that figured to play big roles this season. Then, three days into practice, sophomore guard Riley Queensland went down with an ACL injury. Then you had other players fighting through other injuries and maladies and then another defection right after the first of the year (Maddy Rice). This was a team that got beat at home by Bethel in January and then the real low point came early this month when they dropped a 67-64 decision to SMU in Winona. I was probably not the only one who left the Gusties for dead after that debacle but what nobody knew is that the Gusties did NOT give up on themselves. Instead, they showed resolve and quickly turned things around; winning their last nine games (including today's) by double-digits save for this one today. And now they're going to put on their dancing shoes and head for the Big Show - the NCAA Tournament. And they just may be crazy enough to throw caution to the wind and make a big run in the Dance. Don't put it past this group. Even Kelly told me afterward that "If someone would have told me back in December that we'd be 22-4 and dancing at this point, I'd have said 'You're smoking crack' ". Well, it's definitely real.
I also managed a moment with a disappointed Riverso on the Augsburg side and it was admittedly hard to get a lot out of him but one item I did bring up was the rebounding front where the Gusties had a 42-36 advantage; maybe not as big as I initially thought but still. "It's just a small piece" he replied. He also sounded fatalistic on the Auggies chances for the NCAA Tournament stating that "If they didn't take us in 2019 or 2020, they're not going to take us now." I can understand the disappointment and frustration on his end, don't think I don't. I'm still trying to hold some hope that the Auggies might somehow get in even though realistically I know that those chances are quite slim. But I do know that they definitely belong.
When I look at the final box score, I was surprised by a couple of things. First, the fact that GAC suffered only 13 turnovers on this day and Augsburg was guilty of only 11 so not bad on either side on this particular front. Also, that trademark pressure defense by the Auggies netted only six steals on this day and they didn't really have that big of an advantage on points off of turnovers either at 13-11. What I do see is that GAC had a whopping 36-20 edge in points in the paint and a 13-5 edge in those all-important "second chance" points. That's big. Now, the Auggies did have a 31-16 edge in bench points but considering that Augsburg was 20-62 from FG range for 32.3% and 7-37 from downtown for 18.9%, that didn't mean much. And that three-point shooting figure for a team that relies heavily on its three-point shooting was a killer - plain, pure and simple. Then you have the free throw shooting aspect where Augsburg was 9-15 for 60%. That's simply not good enough in a close game. I can't completely absolve GAC of transgressions on this front as the Gusties were 9-18 for 50% but they got away with it this time around.
Balanced scoring was key for the Gusties on this day and Kniefel paced the Gusties with her 13 points and Baranick had a solid day finishing with 11 points while Kawiecki made her presence felt down low as she tallied 10 points. No surprise who led Augsburg and was also easily the leading scorer on this day. It was Smith who poured in 29 points.
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