Made the relatively short drive over to Si Melby Hall on the campus of Augsburg University on this gray but not too cold January Saturday afternoon to take in this important clash between visiting CSB and host Augsburg. The Bennies had righted the ship earlier this week as they grabbed a tough win on the road over Carleton last Monday before exacting some revenge on St. Kate's on Wednesday night in the comfy confines of Claire Lynch Hall. The Auggies meanwhile did manage to come away with a win at SMU last Monday night but dropped a tough one up at Concordia on Wednesday night and given that Augsburg had dropped four of its last five games, this game at home today versus the Bennies was about as close to a "must" game for them as there could be this time of year. And making things even more difficult for Auggies Head Coach Ted Riverso and his staff was that he would be without the services of his star junior forward Anja Smith on this day.
But even with Smith relegated to wearing civies on the bench on this day didn't seem to faze Augsburg too much out of the gates as they would get early control of this contest. A pretty drive into the lane and finish by willowy senior forward Jaley Coplin at the 9:46 mark of the opening period and a jumper from the right elbow area by senior forward Nikole Gullerud at the 8:55 mark had the Auggies up 4-2. Then speedy junior guard Kalena Myers would connect with a lay-up at the 7:22 mark that also drew a foul and the ensuing "and one" by Myers pushed Augsburg's lead to 7-2. A score in the paint by senior guard Grace Eastman at the 5:23 mark maintained the five-point edge at 9-4 before the Bennies finally broke out of their early offensive doldrums. A "3" from the right top area by senior point guard Gabby Martin at the 4:02 mark quickly reduced the deficit to two point and then sharp-shooting sophomore guard Sophia Jonas would follow suit with a three-point bomb of her own from that same right top area with 2:22 left that had the deficit down to a scant point at 11-10. Sophomore reserve forward Olivia Boily would give the Bennies their first lead of the day at 12-11 when the Hudson, WI native connected with a lay-up with 1:54 left but that advantage proved to be short-lived when Augsburg's Coplin connected with a lay-up of her own with 1:24 left that took care of the scoring for this first period.
Both teams would trade small leads in the opening minutes of the second period as CSB's Martin would go on a coast-to-coast dash for a lay-up at the 9:26 mark after snaring a defensive rebound to put the Bennies back out in front 14-13 and then the Auggies' Myers would bury a "3" from the left wing area at the 9:08 mark to push Augsburg back out in front again by a 16-14 count. The Bennies would get the game leveled at 16 a piece when lanky junior forward Lydia Hay connected with a lay-up at the 7:52 mark but then Augsburg looked as if it were primed to take control of things again. Freshman reserve forward Amira LaDuke would connect with a lay-up at the 7:24 mark and one free throw by Myers after she was fouled at the 6:45 mark and two more by Coplin after she was fouled with 4:34 left had the Auggies up 21-16. Shortly afterward, Coplin would show her defensive prowess by snaring a steal and then racing the other way for a lay-up with 4:19 left that appeared to have Augsburg in great shape up 23-16. That notion was reinforced even more when Coplin unleashed more terror from behind the arc with a "3" from the left top area with 3:42 left that increased the Auggies lead to eight at 26-18 and with CSB continuing to struggle on the offensive end, Augsburg junior guard Katie Manecke would give the Auggies their biggest lead of the afternoon with her drive into traffic and finish off the glass with 2:23 left that made it a 28-18 ballgame. CSB, however, showed that it still had some life left in them as they closed out this second period on a 6-2 push. Junior guard Carla Meyer would knock down a jumper from the right elbow area with 1:33 left and a score in the paint by Hay with :45 left had the deficit down to six at 28-22. With just :02 left, freshman reserve guard Megan Morgan would sneak into the paint for a score that not only kept the Bennies in that six-point range down 30-24 but also had CSB feeling infinitely better about itself as both teams headed for the locker room for the halftime break. Both teams shot similar from FG range during the first half but one big difference for the Auggies thus far was that they were 6-7 from the charity stripe for 85.7% while the Bennies did not get to the free throw line once during the first half. Augsburg was also taking care of the rock better with only seven turnovers in the first half compared to 11 for CSB.
So while the Bennies may have lacked some spark during most of that first half, they were certainly weren't out of reach by any stretch and they just needed some sort of spark or something that would ignite this team. They certainly got that once the third period got underway as a score in the paint by Hay at the 9:44 mark ignited a key 13-1 run in the first five minutes. And then Meyer; the former Totino-Grace standout, would catch fire in the third period as her jumper from the left wing area at the 9:03 mark suddenly cut the deficit to two at 30-28. CSB would jump into the lead less than thirty seconds later when Hay would strike again - this time from behind the arc from the left wing area at the 8:35 mark that pushed the Bennies in fromt 31-30. That prompted Augsburg's Riverso to call for a thirty-second timeout to try and make some quick adjustments and to get his team calmed down a little bit. But this short stoppage in play didn't deter CSB's Meyer one bit as she would collect three straight scores - a jumper from the right elbow area at the 7:42 mark, a lay-up at the 6:11 mark that gave the Bennies a five-point edge at 35-30 and a jumper in the lane at the 5:38 mark that stretched the lead to 37-31. Augsburg finally appeared to recover when Myers knocked down a pair of free throws after getting fouled at the 5:20 mark and a jumper from the left top area; just inside the arc by Eastman with 4:38 left had the deficit knocked down to two points at 37-35. But then CSB would find a higher gear again as Meyer would bang home a "3" from the right wing area with 4:22 left and two fouls by Jonas after she was fouled with 2:43 left had the Bennies up by seven again at 42-35 and a worried Riverso of Augsburg called another thirty-second timeout to try and set up a quick fix to narrow the gap again. That strategy appeared to pay off as Manecke would snare an offensive rebound for a putback with 1:46 left and Coplin would unleash another one of her trademark three-point bombs - this one from the top of the key with :51 left - that had the Auggies down by only two again at 42-40. But on CSB's subsequent possession, Jonas would show off her three-point prowess by draining a bomb from the right wing area with :39 left to get the Bennies up by five at 45-40. Fortunately for the Auggies, Coplin would come through again for the home team with a hard drive into traffic and pretty finish with :14 left that at least had Augsburg back to within a single possession again down 45-42 as the contest morphed into the fourth period.
Cheers went up again from the Auggie faithful inside Si Melby Hall when Coplin knocked down a jumper from near the free throw line at the 7:56 mark of the fourth period that again had Augsburg right on the brink down only 45-44. But what was quickly seeming to become a recurring theme, every time that the Auggies had recovered and got themselves right on the cusp of re-taking the lead, CSB would seem to always have an answer and little surprise that it would be the Bennies' Meyer breaking the hearts of Augsburg fans again with a cold-blooded "3" from the left corner at the 7:29 mark to push the CSB lead to 48-44. A score in the paint by Boily at the 6:41 mark maintained the four-point edge at 50-46 before the Auggies made another bid to change things up. Manecke; not necessarily known for her three-point prowess, nonetheless got her team right on the brink again with a three-point bomb from the left corner at the 5:50 mark that Augsburg right there down just 50-49 with a ton of time left. But the Bennies would again answer when they had to. Jonas would unleash a "3" of her own from the right wing area at the 5:32 mark and then Meyer; working her magic, would drive right into the heart of Augsburg's defense in the lane for a tough finish that now had the Bennies up by six at 55-49 with 4:47 left. With 4:14 left, Morgan would knock down a short jumper off the glass that increased CSB's safety net to 57-49 and the Auggies' Riverso had no choice but to take a full timeout with this one getting away from his team again. Still, the Bennies would have a ten-point cushion at 59-49 with 3:21 left when Boily made a hard drive into the lane for a finish off the glass before Augsburg could start making inroads again. Coplin would slither into the lane for a finish with 3:04 left and with 2:31 left, Coplin; the former Shakopee standout, knocked down a jumper from the right wing area - just inside the arc - that narrowed the deficit to six at 59-53. With 1:34 left, Eastman would bury a "3" from the right corner that had the deficit down to five at 61-56 and two free throws by Myers with 1:02 left did likewise with the Auggies trailing 63-58. Augsburg's Riverso was naturally hoping to get a stop on the Bennies' subsequent possession but CSB senior post Tori Szathmary foiled those plans when she snared an offensive rebound for a putback with :33 left that upped the Bennies lead to seven at 65-58. The Auggies would get the deficit whittled down to five again at 65-60 when Gullerud snared an offensive rebound for a putback with :17.8 but now with the sands of time running out in this one, Augsburg's Riverso would call for another thirty-second timeout. The Auggies were able to force a turnover so with :07.6 left, Riverso would call for another thirty-second timeout to set up a play for a quick score. The plan worked to perfection as Coplin would bury yet another one of her trademark three-point bombs - this one from the top of the key - with just :04 left that cut the deficit to two at 65-63. CSB Head Coach Mike Durbin would then call a timeout to set up his team's strategy from near the half-court line. With such little time left, Augsburg's Riverso was going to have to roll the dice with his defensive strategy and on the ensuing inbounds play by the Bennies, the Auggies gambled in hopes of forcing a steal and that allowed CSB's Morgan to get free and get the inbounds pass for an easy lay-up with :02 left that gave the Bennies a hard-earned 67-63 road victory.
I was able to spend a little time with CSB Assistant Coach (and former CSB great) Alison Kendall as well as Durbin afterward and I couldn't help but remark what a second half that Meyer had for their squad. "She's really good; a great competitor" Durbin remarked and I now know why Durbin told me this last October that he'd put her up against anybody in the MIAC and she definitely showed what she's made of on this afternoon - especially with her 16 points in the second half alone that helped carry CSB to victory on this day. Just to give you an idea of how important Meyer was to the CSB attack on this day, she finished with a "double-double" of 22 points and 12 rebounds which gives you a pretty clear picture of how good she was on both ends of the floor on this day. And here's what's probably painful for the Auggie faithful: Even without Smith, they STILL got solid contributions from everyone and even though Coplin was "only" 3-8 from downtown she still finished with 27 points to lead all scorers that more than shows she has that unique "takeover" ability. Myers too had a solid day with her 14 points and as I said, everyone on the Augsburg team found a way to contribute today. But in the end, you can't help but wonder how much of a difference Smith might have made from just a pure scoring standpoint alone. In a four-point ballgame such as this, you're left thinking that it would have made a tremendous difference. And right now, it's unclear how long she's going to be out. CSB had a slight edge in rebounds on this day at 30-27 so I don't think that stat alone tells you too much. CSB did have a decided edge in points in the paint at 34-24 although Augsburg did a better job in getting points off of turnovers at 19-12. Ultimately, CSB did shoot better from FG range on this day going 28-52 for 53.8% while the Auggies were 22-56 for 39.3%.
The Bennies also got a solid day from Jonas with her 11 points which was almost overlooked considering the fabulous day the Meyer had. Interestingly enough, the leading rebounder for Augsburg on this day was senior reserve guard Samaiya Buchanan with eight.
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