My first MIAC Women's Hoops action of 2024 had me on the road over to the St Paul side of town again but this time over to venerable Hutton Arena on the campus of Hamline University as the host Hamline Pipers prepared to take on the visiting Augsburg Auggies who had made the short jaunt from the east side of downtown Minneapolis. After a relatively fast start, the Pipers have cooled off somewhat as of late as they took it on the chin against both Concordia and then down in Dubuque, IA against perennial ARC powerhouse Loras not long after. They were able to at least come away with a split down in Florida right before the new year - losing to DeSales out of the MAC Freedom Conference but then boatraced Salve Regina out of the NEWMAC and now were hoping to rekindle some of the early magic they had at the beginning of the season. It was a rough start out of the gates for the Auggies as they began this season with a grim 1-5 record but they've appeared to steady the ship somewhat and got a big home win against SMU this last Wednesday. Regardless of the records, it always seems like the sparks fly when these two teams hook up as of late and today would prove to be no different.
Hamline; despite a plethora of some minor boo-boos and some subpar shooting, at least got off to a halfway decent start on the scoreboard. Sophomore guard Sophie Stork would start things off with a three-point bomb from the left corner at the 9:42 mark of the opening period and a pretty reverse lay-up by willowy junior forward Faith Johnson at the 8:12 mark helped propel the Pipers to a 5-2 advantage. Stork would then add a short, pull-up jumper in transition at the 7:51 mark and then junior guard Kate Trachsel's short jumper in the lane at the 7:18 mark pushed Hamline's lead to 9-2. So while the early tempo of this game certainly seemed to favor the Pipers, something seemed to be just a little off and they weren't clicking on all cylinders as of yet and, because of that, they didn't get the early separation that Head Coach Josh Hersch had likely hoped for. That left the door open for Augsburg and the Auggies were able to narrow the gap. Sophomore guard Wakinyela Bear would connect with a jumper from the left corner at the 6:47 mark and a lay-up by senior sensation forward Anja Smith with 4:59 left reduced the deficit to four at 10-6. Then lanky sophomore forward Amira LaDuke went to work; getting one free throw to go down after getting fouled with 3:11 left and then maneuvering into the paint for a score with 1:49 left that now had the deficit cut to a scant point at 10-9. Hamline's Trachsel would give her team a bit more breathing room by knocking down a short jumper in the lane with 1:05 left but with just :00.4 left in this first period, Augsburg freshman reserve guard Saylor Gallagher would get this game leveled at twelve a piece when the freshman out of Irondale buried a "3" from the right corner.
Perhaps one of the reasons that Hamline seemed to be out of synch during that first period was that electric senior forward Lydia Lecher - other than one free throw in that opening period - hadn't been able to get going with her normal scoring bursts. That appeared to change at the 9:20 mark of the second period when the former Concordia Academy standout used a burst of speed for a pretty drive and finish to put the Pipers back out in front again at 14-12. But this small lead was short-lived as Augsburg would embark on a 5-0 push. Sophomore reserve guard Melanie Delestrez would connect with a lay-up at the 9:10 mark to get this game tied again and then the Auggies would snare their first lead of the day at the 8:20 mark when LaDuke made a tough drive for a finish as the shot clock was expiring to make it 16-14 and one free throw by Bear after she was fouled at the 7:01 mark pushed that lead to 17-14. Hamline then finally broke out of its extended slumber and reclaimed the lead on a barrage of three-point bombs - two by sophomore reserve guard Camille (CC) Cummings with one coming from the left top area at the 6:33 mark and the other from the right top area at the 6:07 mark and then Lecher would follow suit with a trey of her own from the top of the key at the 5:34 mark and just like that, the Pipers seemed to be fully in control again with a 23-17 lead. But just when Augsburg appeared to be most vulnerable, they calmly and cooly responded with a big 9-2 run to cap off this second period. Bear would knock down a jumper from the right wing area with 4:39 left and one free throw be Delestrez after she was fouled in a transition opportunity with 3:14 left had the Auggies back to within a single possession down 23-20. With 2:42 left, LaDuke would connect with a lay-up that cut the deficit to one at 23-22 and a short jumper along the left baseline by senior guard Katie Manecke off of an inbounds pass with :58 left kept Augsburg in that one-point range down 25-24. After a turnover by Hamline on its ensuing possession, LaDuke would put the Auggies ahead on a lay-up with :50 left and they would take this - to me anyway - very surprising 26-25 lead into the locker room at the half. Certainly Augsburg Head Coach Ted Riverso had to feel pretty good up to this point against a deeper Piper team with a lot of different scoring weapons.
The Pipers would again appear to have the momentum needle in their direction in the early minutes of the third period. Lecher would connect on a jumper from the top of the key just inside the arc at the 9:51 mark to push the Pipers back out in front at 27-26. Johnson would then add one free throw after getting fouled at the 8:00 mark and would then connect with a short jumper off the glass in transition at the 7:37 mark that had Hamline in front 30-28. Then Trachsel would snare an offensive rebound and get a putback out of it at the 7:05 mark to make it a 32-28 ballgame. But again, just when the Pipers thought that maybe they were safe this time around, this pesky Augsburg team would not only keep hanging around but roar right back and put the home team in a bad spot. Smith would knock down a jumper from the free throw line at the 6:52 mark and a lay-up by speedy senior point guard Kalena Myers at the 5:50 mark had this contest leveled again at 32. Hamline's Cummings would try and give her team new life with a tough jumper from the free throw line at the 5:23 mark to put the Pipers back out in front 34-32 but then Augsburg would unleash a 9-0 run. Freshman reserve forward Maecee Alexander would uncork a "3" from the right wing area at the 5:06 mark to put the Auggies back out in front at 35-34 and two free throws by Myers after she was fouled with 4:32 lead got the lead to 37-34. Myers would collect her third foul of the afternoon with 3:33 left but Augsburg's Riverso decided to roll the dice a little bit and left the former Apple Valley standout out on the floor. That decision appeared to pay dividends when Myers would connect on a lay-up a short time later with 3:01 left and two free throws by Delestrez after she was fouled with 2:27 left now had the Auggies assuming its largest lead of the day at 41-34 and Hamline's Hersch knew his team was in a rough patch and called a thirty-second timeout to quickly rectify things. That short stoppage in play appeared to be exactly what the doctor ordered for the Pipers as they were at least able to close out this third period with back-to-back scores. Johnson would use a burst of speed to make a hard drive and finish with a lay-up with 1:19 left and with :02.7 left, Cummings would get sent to the charity stripe and she would respond with two freebies that at least pulled Hamline back to within a single possession down 41-38. However, it was also becoming increasingly clear that the Pipers had a lot of work to do on both ends of the floor if they wanted eliminate this threat from the upstart Auggies.
Hamline's Lecher would start out the fourth period in almost the same fashion as she had started the previous period - but this time draining a "3" from her favorite spot - the top of the key - at the 9:50 mark that knotted up this ballgame at 41 a piece. Still, Lecher's heroics would not deter the Auggies on this day. Smith would knock down a pair of free throws after getting fouled at the 9:29 mark to nudge Augsburg back out in front at 43-41. The Pipers' Cummings would connect on a lay-up in transition at the 8:34 mark to tie the game again at 43-all but then right back came Augsburg as Bear would unleash a "3" from the right top area at the 7:35 mark to push the Auggies back out in front at 46-43. Hamline's Stamer would get this game tied yet again with a three-point play the old-fashioned way as she would connect on a lay-up at the 7:20 mark that drew a foul as well and the ensuing "and one" by the former Hutchinson standout had things even-steven yet again at 46. But the Pipers getting their nose back out in front was proving to be a tougher and tougher proposition as Augsburg would hold steady. Gallagher would get a pair of free throws to go down after getting fouled at the 6:59 mark to push the Auggies back out in front 48-46. With 4:13 left, Smith was able to get enough space to knock down a tough jumper along the left baseline that got Augsburg's lead to three at 50-47 and when the Auggies got into the bonus a short time later with 3:46 left, Hamline definitely appeared to be between a rock and a hard place. However, the Pipers appeared to get a second lease on life and were able to snare the lead away on back-to-back scores. Stamer would again come up big as she used a burst of speed to make a hard drive for a lay-up that drew a foul and her obligatory "and one" quickly had this game tied once more at 50 a piece. After a foiled Auggie possession, Hamline would retake the lead with 2:11 left when Johnson connected on a short, turnaround jumper in the lane that now had the home team out in front again at 52-50 and the Auggies' Riverso; not at all liking how things were beginning to unfold here, took a match to a timeout. This latest stoppage in play would pay off for Augsburg as LaDuke would connect with a jumper along the left baseline with 1:41 left to level this game at 52-all. With time now becoming a factor and with the tension in the air, the Pipers got a big lift when Stamer was fouled with 1:15 left and her two free throws pushed Hamline back out in front by a 54-52 count. Right back came the Auggies, however, as Smith would get fouled with :57 left and although she got the front-end to go down, the back-end was a different story and now the Pipers were still clinging to a 54-53 advantage. Hamline's Hersch would then call a thirty-second timeout and on the Pipers ensuing possession, Johnson would get double-teamed and Hersch wasted little time in taking a match to another full timeout. Then, with :27.5 left, Hamline had a huge opportunity to at least establish a bit more breathing room when Johnson was fouled. However, Johnson; the former St. Louis Park standout, was unable to get either free throw attempt to go down and that effectively let the door open for the Auggies. After Augsburg's Riverso took a time out to set up strategy, Myers then would subsequently be fouled after she made a hard drive to the basket with :20.3 left and she got both free throw attempts to go down that now pushed the Auggies back in front by a 55-54 count. Hamline's Hersch would then use another timeout to set up his team's next possession and it's no surprise that the ball would wind up in Lecher's hands. With :10.9 left in regulation, Lecher would get sent to the line after getting fouled. However, Lecher was only able to get the back-end attempt to go down that, once again, leveled this contest at 55 a piece. That then set the stage for the fitting climax to this wild, sometimes weird contest. The Auggies would push the ball down the court and with time winding down, Myers found herself open from behind the arc from the right wing area and her three-point attempt found its mark perfectly with just :03.4 left in regulation that put Augsburg back out in front for good at 58-55. Still one last chance for the Pipers but if Myers' "3" wasn't the knife in the heart for the Hamline faithful, the steal of the subsequent Hamline inbounds pass by the Auggies' Bear was as this gamey and never-say-die Augsburg team pulled off a huge road upset victory by a final margin of 58-55.
I was able to catch up with new Augsburg Assistant Coach (and former Lakeville North and St. Cloud State standout) Caitlyn Peterson afterward and, as you can imagine, she was genuinely excited for the big win and how the Auggies stayed steady in pressure-packed situations. "We've been so close lately" Peterson said about this team; regarding how they just haven't quite been able to get over the hump but finally found a way today. Perhaps just as important as Peterson and I discussed, they didn't get into too big of a canyon (deficit) where they had to work extra hard to dig themselves out of it. The tempo and momentum of this contest early on clearly belonged to Hamline but that didn't faze the Auggies one bit as time after time in this game, they battled back when they faced adversity. Regarding Myers' three-point bomb with :03.4 left that won this game, Peterson pointed out that she (Myers) was 0-5 from behind the arc before that game-winning shot but she just has that confidence and trust in herself. How much does this mean for Augsburg going forward? We'll just have to wait and see but I think that, without question, this win is a huge shot of confidence in the arm for them. One other item on the Auggie front on this day. Manecke had missed three days of practice this last week as she had been suffering from cold/flu-like symptoms and there was one instance where she had to come out for a break just to cough some and clear her nasal passages before Riverso inserted her back in. She's one tough cookie. As Peterson pointed out, she (Manecke) isn't a big "numbers" person and Manecke will probably be the first to tell you that she's not the big scoring machine that some other players are. Rather, it's her defense and toughness that makes her special. "She's really the 'calm' of this team" Peterson said. Ironically, Manecke happened to come over where Peterson and I were talking and I half-jokingly said, "We were just talking about you!" We all got a good laugh out of that. I'll admit that the big question for me coming into this game was what could we expect from some of the younger role players that Riverso has on this team. They showed me something today.
So, when I look back on this game, I had to ask myself if this game was more about Augsburg rising to the occasion or Hamline faltering when it counted. I believe it's more about the former. At the same time, when you look at the last five games they've played since early December, they've gone 1-4 so it's clear that after a pretty decent start, they're obviously trending in the wrong direction. You could just tell by watching them today that things - for whatever reason - just didn't look quite right. Just so many missed opportunities and chances to win this game and they never could capitalize. Again, let's give credit to the Auggies because they did a good job of bottling up both Lecher and Johnson down low and as a result, the Pipers were largely relegated to throwing up some ill-advised three-point bombs at times. Consider: Hamline was just 5-26 from downtown for a frigid 19.2%. Uff da. And things weren't much better from short- and mid-range either as Hamline was 20-56 from FG range for 35.7%. Here's another stat line that had to keep Hersch up late on Saturday night looking for the bottle of Tylenol PM - 10-16 from the charity stripe for 62.5%. I will harp on free throw shooting until the end of time but in a close game like this one, this in itself was a killer. Throw in those 16 turnovers that Hamline had on this day along with the fact that Augsburg had a 14-8 advantage in points off of turnovers, it's plain to see that Hamline kept leaving the door open for the Auggies and Augsburg was only too happy to oblige. And if you're Hamline, I'm not saying it's time to break out the proverbial panic button here but, without question, you've GOT to find a way to clean some things up and be a bit more efficient on the offensive end.
What a day it was for Augsburg's Myers on this day as her 13 points led all scorers but she got a lot help too as both Smith and LaDuke each poured in 11 points. Both Lecher and Cummings would finish with 12 points to help lead the Hamline attack.
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