Made the relatively easy drive over to Si Melby Hall on the campus of Augsburg University on this sunny (and not too cold) early January Saturday to take in an important clash between two in-town MIAC rivals on the opposite sides of town as Hamline made the trek from the St Paul side of town to face off against host Augsburg. I couldn't help but flash back to that wild MIAC Playoff Semifinal game this last season that these two teams played at this very same site and, to almost no one's surprise on this day, it was pretty much the same deal this time around as well. Both teams were coming off wins to start off the new year as the Pipers held off a pesky SMU team on Wednesday night at Hutton Arena while the Auggies dispatched St. Scholastica here at Si Melby Hall.
Augsburg Head Coach Ted Riverso probably couldn't have asked for a better start by his team in this one as the Auggies raced out to an early 11-2 lead. Junior phenom forward Anja Smith started things out with her short, turnaround jumper at the 9:50 mark and a pretty drive and lay-up by fellow junior guard Katie Manecke at the 9:07 made it 4-0. Then, willowy senior forward Jaley Coplin would unleash one of her trademark three-point bombs - this one from the left corner at the 8:29 mark - to make it 7-0 and Coplin would follow that up with a score in the paint at the 7:51 mark to make it 9-2. Speedy junior guard Kalena Myers would connect with a lay-up at the 7:30 mark to forge the aforementioned score before the Pipers finally awakened from their extended scoring slumber but they awoke with a vengeance. Junior sharp-shooting guard and former Rosemount standout Larisa O'Neil would bury a "3" from the top of the key at the 7:11 mark that sparked an equally-impressive 11-0 blitz by Hamline. Electrifying junior forward Lydia Lecher would make a hard drive for a finish at the 6:39 mark that cut the deficit to four at 11-7 and not long after that, Lecher would uncork one of her lefty three-point bombs - this one from the top of the key at the 6:02 mark that suddenly reduced the deficit to one at 11-10. Then at the 5:30 mark, O'Neil would drain her second trey of the ballgame - this one from the right wing area - that now had the Pipers back out in front 13-11. Both teams would go into a bit of a dry spell but the Auggies finally broke the ice when senior guard Grace Eastman banged home a "3" from the top of the key with 2:51 left that pushed Augsburg back out in front at 14-13 but right back came Hamline as Lecher would connect with a lay-up with 2:30 left that had the Pipers back up at 15-14. The Auggies would get the game tied at 15 when senior reserve guard Samaiya Buchanan knocked down one free throw after getting fouled but Hamline would poke its nose out in front again when senior guard Chan'el Anderson-Manning knocked down a pair of free throws with 1:12 left to make it a 17-15 game. That would take care of the scoring in an opening period that featured big runs by both teams and some already wild momentum swings.
Augsburg would quickly get the game tied again at 17 a piece when Eastman snared an offensive rebound for a putback at the 9:45 mark of the second period but then the Pipers would get things in gear again as Lecher unleashed more terror from behind the arc with a "3" from the right top area at the 9:21 mark and a pretty, one-handed runner by senior point guard Alyssa Williamson at the 8:12 mark had Hamline up by five at 22-17. Not to be outdone, the Auggies responded as two scores by Smith - one in the paint at the 7:51 mark and a lay-up in transition at the 7:21 mark - reduced the deficit to one at 22-21. Junior reserve forward Moriah McLendon would get in on the act as well with her offensive rebound for a putback at the 6:25 mark that pushed Augsburg back out in front at 23-22. The Pipers would then make another bid to snare control of this contest as junior reserve guard Michaela Stamer drilled a "3" from the right wing area at the 6:06 mark that had Hamline back out in front at 25-23 and a steal and lay-up the other way by the crafty Anderson-Manning at the 5:55 mark increased that lead to four at 27-23. A score in the paint by freshman reserve guard and former Centennial standout Camille Cummings with 4:35 left maintained the four-point edge at 29-25 but right back came the Auggies as two scores by Smith - a lay-up with 4:19 left and a pretty drive along the left baseline and finish with 3:22 left - knotted the contest at 29 a piece. Augsburg would get back out in front again when Coplin knocked down a jumper from the right wing area with 2:42 left but predictably the Pipers would answer the bell as they had done all this first half. Williamson would connect with a lay-up with 1:51 left to tie the game at 31 and two Williamson freebies after she was fouled with :05.4 left put Hamline back out in front 33-31 and it seemed as if the Pipers were set to take that lead into the locker room at the half. But Hamline made an egregious error just before the buzzer sounded as the Auggies' Manecke would be fouled with just :00.1 left on the clock and the former Mounds View standout got both free throw attempts to go down that fittingly leveled this wild affair at 33 as both team retreated to their respective locker rooms for the intermission. A quick check of the first half box score doesn't reveal too much that would have made either Riverso or Hamline Head Coach Alex Focke cringe although the Auggies arguably left some points on the table by going only 3-9 for 33.3% from the charity stripe. And the top guns for each side - Lecher for Hamline and Smith for Augsburg - both finished this first half with 10 points so things were definitely up in the air.
The Pipers seemed to have the upper hand once the third period got underway as a drive and nifty finish off the glass by Anderson-Manning at the 9:01 mark and a score in the paint by strong senior forward Iyanna Wieland at the 7:31 mark had Hamline up 37-34. Lecher would maneuver into the paint for a score at the 6:41 mark that gave the Pipers some more breathing room up 39-34. Augsburg would get back to within a single possession when Coplin made a pretty spin move and lay-up with 4:38 left but Hamline would get its lead back to five when Lecher knocked down a pair of free throws after getting fouled with 3:43 left and boosting the Pipers outlook at this juncture was the fact that they were now in the bonus the rest of the way in this period. But just when you thought Hamline might be safe, right back came the Auggies as a "3" from the right top area - off the glass no less - by slender reserve freshman forward Alli Born with 3:16 left and a short, turnaround jumper by Smith with 1:44 left knotted this contest again at 41 a piece. A short time later, Myers would snare a steal of an inbounds pass like a thief in the night and race the other way for a lay-up with 1:26 left that pushed Augsburg ahead 43-41 so it seemed like momentum now rested with the home team, right? Wrong. Piper reserve guard/forward Josie Wiebusch muscled into the paint for a score with 1:09 left that also drew a foul and her ensuing "and one" pushed Hamline back out in front 44-43 and with :42 left, sophomore reserve forward Kate Van Helden got into the paint for another score to make it a 46-43 ballgame and Anderson-Manning would add one free throw after getting fouled in a transition opportunity with :20.4 left in the period as the Pipers would take a 47-43 advantage into the fourth frame.
But Hamline's margin for error seemed to narrow more and more once the fourth period got underway. The Auggies' Smith would reinforce that notion when she casually drained a cold-blooded "3" from the right wing area at the 9:37 mark that cut the Piper lead to one at 47-46. Hamline's Lecher would temporarily give her team some more breathing space when she knocked down a short jumper in the lane off of her own miss at the 7:04 mark but the one weapon that the Pipers have relied on often with their stable of sharp-shooters - the three-point bomb - consistently failed them throughout much of the second half and especially in the fourth period when they were getting open looks from the land of plenty. This effectively opened the door for Augsburg; albeit slowly. Smith would get one free throw to go down after getting fouled at the 6:15 mark that had the deficit at two at 49-47. Smith would continue her drives into the paint and that tactic would pay off at the 5:56 mark when she was fouled and her two free throws not only tied the contest at 49 but, perhaps just as important, now had the Auggies in the bonus as well. Hamline would again attempt to snare the momentum away as Anderson-Manning would make a drive into traffic and get a nifty finish off the glass at the 5:28 mark that pushed the Pipers back out in front 51-49 but that lead was short-lived as Augsburg's Coplin would drain a "3" from the right top area with 4:31 left toat now had the Auggies back out in front by a 52-51 count. Undaunted, Hamline would come right back as Williamson would knock down a pair of charity stripe shots after getting fouled with 4:12 left to push the Pipers back out in front 53-52 and when O'Neil was finally able to get a three-point bomb to go down from the left wing area with 2:40 left to make it 56-52, many inside Si Melby Hall thought that Hamline had pretty much closed the door on any comeback attempt by the home team. Augsburg's Riverso would call a timeout to set up strategy for the next possession and whatever play he called sure worked to a "T" because Coplin; the former Shakopee standout, would break the hearts of Hamline's fans with her cold-blooded "3" from the left corner with 2:21 left that cut the deficit to one and definitely changed the dynamics for the Auggies in this latest comeback attempt. After a failed possession by the Pipers, the Auggies' Manecke would be fouled with 1:52 left and she would get both free throw attempts to go down that now had Augsburg out in front 57-56. Again, Hamline would manage to take a brief lead when Wieland connected with a lay-up with 1:06 left but a lapse on the defensive side would cost the Pipers dearly as Augsburg's Coplin again unleashed more terror from behind the arc with a three-point bomb from the left wing area with :46.4 left that put the Auggies back out in front - this time for good - at 60-58. With :31 left, Hamline's Lecher would put up a three-point attempt that missed its mark and Augsburg's Manecke would promptly get fouled with :27.6 left and Manecke would get one of two free throw attempts to go down to make it a 61-58 game. Hamline's Focke would then call a timeout and on the Pipers' ensuing possession, Anderson-Manning would get fouled with :23.1 left. but the former Cretin-Derham Hall standout could only get the back-end free throw attempt to go down which reduced the deficit to two at 61-59. Hamline's hopes now pinned on either getting a much-needed stop on the other end or hoping that a foul would result in two missed free throws. The latter scenario is what transpired when Augsburg's Myers was fouled with :21.6 left - Myers was unable to get either free throw attempt to go cooperate but when the Pipers needed a defensive rebound, the Auggies' Smith made perhaps the play of the game when she was able to outmaneuver the potential box-out and snared the missed freebie and got a putback out of it with :19 left that sealed the deal for Augsburg as they got a thrilling 63-59 victory.
When I caught up with Augsburg's Riverso afterward, I had to point out to him some of the big plays his squad made coming down the stretch that not only kept them alive but helped pave the way to a thrilling victory. "It's a team game" he replied but I think what he really liked about this win was that some of his bench players (freshman Wakinyala Bear, Samaiya Buchanan, Born, senior Nikole Gullerud and McLendon) are now getting more and more comfortable out on the floor in relief minutes for his main chain-gang and for a team that lost last year's MIAC POY (Jen Masello) to graduation, that's huge for this squad. The puzzling thing to me about this game is when I look at the final box score of this one and you just see red flags all over the place with neither team escaping blame. I pointed out how Hamline was ice-cold from behind the arc in the second half but was absolutely stunned to see that they were 1-14 from three-point land for 7.1% (!) in that second half alone. To me, it's kind of indicative of how much they miss the inside presence that injured senior forward Tess Hauer provided and, at some point, Focke and his staff will have to find some answers in how to balance out their offensive attack if they hope to prevail in what is already becoming an incredibly unpredictable and wild regular season ride in the MIAC (more on that in my first Power Rankings). Now, to be sure, Riverso and has staff had to cringe when they saw that they were (again) pounded on the boards by a 54-37 count. At the same time, Hamline was guilty of 18 turnovers in this contest and Augsburg was able to 19 points off of those turnovers. That's substantial in a close game. Both sides struggled at the charity stripe as well as Hamline finished going 11-17 for 64.7% and Augsburg was 10-23 for 43.5%. The Auggies got away with it this time around but will undoubtedly catch up with them sooner or later.
Little doubt as to who had high-scoring honors in this game as Smith's 20 points led all scorers and Coplin's 18 points - with much of that damage coming late in the contest from behind the arc - proved to be a difference-maker. Hamline's Lecher was solid as she always is; getting a "double-double" with her 16 points and 11 rebounds to lead the way for the Pipers and Anderson-Manning finished with 10 points.
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