Made the relatively short haul over to Si Melby Hall on the campus of Augsburg University on this icy/rainy/snowy/icky Saturday afternoon to take in the last weekend of play before Christmas break as Concordia made another trip back down US Highway 10 and the BNSF Staples Sub mainline to the Twin Cities to take on host Augsburg. Even though it was only mid-December, this game was crucial for the Cobbers as they've been on the skids as of late riding a four-game losing streak and needed desperately to get back into the win column and regain their confidence. It's arguably been a struggle for the Auggies thus far as they were coming into this game with a 1-5 record and not a lot right going for them lately but today was another opportunity for them to get headed in the right direction. I got settled into Si Melby Hall plenty early and watched an exciting finish in the men's game as the Auggies pulled off a thrilling last-second buzzer-beater to claim the dub.
Augsburg would break the ice in this game (slight pun intended with the icy weather that was gripping much of the upper Midwest on this day) as junior guard Wakinyela Bear would make a hard drive for a pretty finish at the 8:20 mark of the opening period but the Cobbers would respond. Senior guard Carlee Sieben would bury a "3" from the top of the key at the 7:47 mark and two free throws by junior guard Taylor Safranski after she was fouled at the 6:40 mark upped the lead to 5-2. Then senior guard Jordyn Kahler got a three-point play the old-fashioned way by snaring a steal in the backcourt and getting a lay-up out of it that also drew a foul and the ensuing "and one" by the former Wahpeton, ND standout pushed the Cobber lead to 8-4. But Augsburg's lanky junior forward Amira LaDuke would start her big day at the 5:10 mark as she knocked down a pair of freebies after getting fouled that closed the gap to two points at 8-6. More concerning for Concordia was the fact that sophomore reserve forward Genevieve Gruba picked up her second foul of the afternoon in this sequence and Cobber Head Coach Kim Wagers had little choice but to sit the former Enderlin, ND standout for a spell. Still Concordia responded to this initial setback by embarking on a 7-0 run that opened up some more breathing room. Strong senior forward Makayla Anderson started this push with a long jumper from the top of the key just inside the arc with 4:55 left and then a short jumper in the lane by junior reserve guard Molly Musland with 4:15 left boosted the lead to six at 12-6. Then up-and-coming sophomore reserve guard Alexa Snesrud would get one free throw attempt to cooperate after getting fouled with 3:40 left and would get two more to go down after getting fouled again with 2:40 left that seemed to have the Cobbers in pretty good shape with a 15-6 advantage. With 1:55 left, Snesrud would get to the charity stripe again after getting fouled and two more free throws by the former Cloquet standout maintained that nine-point lead at 17-8. But things would quickly go to hell in a handbasket for the Fargo-Moorhead faithful as Augsburg did get things tightened up. Junior reserve post Emma Kanz would make a hard drive for a finish with 1:45 left that also drew a foul and although she couldn't cash in on the "and one" attempt, the Cobbers' Anderson picked up her second foul of the day as well and Wagers wasted little time getting the former Bismarck Century (ND) standout yanked back to the bench for preservation purposes. Then the Auggies would get the defit cut to four when sophomore standout guard Saylor Gallagher drained a "3" from the left corner with 1:01 left that made it a 17-13 game. Again, Concordia would respond and get its lead back to nine as strong senior forward Greta Tollefson knocked down a pair of free throws after getting fouled with :48.8 left and a three-point bomb by Kahler from the left wing area with :27.2 left re-established the cushion that the Cobbers had but there was a price that was extracted from Concordia for that lead with both Anderson and Gruba with two fouls a piece in the first period alone.
A nine-point deficit; while not ideal, certainly didn't deter the Auggies from fighting back in this one and they slyly picked away at Concordia's lead once the second period got underway. Sophomore forward Maecee Alexander would get a pair of free throws to go down after getting fouled at the 9:23 mark and Gallagher would add one freebie after she was fouled at the 9:00 mark that got the deficit down to six at 22-16. The Cobbers would get their lead back to eight on two free throws by Safranski after she was fouled at the 8:39 mark to make it 24-16 and a lay-up by sophomore reserve post Maci Wheeldon at the 8:08 mark maintained the eight-point edge at 26-18. And Concordia still appeared to be in full control when Kahler connected with a jumper from the left wing area at the 7:34 mark to keep things at an eight-point spread at 28-20. But oh those young and tricky Auggies do have a way about them and they went right back to work. Bear would drain a "3" from the right top area at the 7:17 mark but the real gut-punch for Concordia came at the 6:58 mark when the officials slapped the Cobbers with a technical foul (I'll have more on this later) and fifth-year senior guard Katie Manecke got one free throw to go down that reduced the lead to 28-24. A bit later at the 6:46 mark, Bear would connect with a lay-up that got Augsburg back to within a single possession down 28-26. LaDuke would use her length to snare an offensive rebound for a putback at the 5:19 mark to keep the Auggies within a single possession down 30-28 and would repeat this feat with 4:45 left that kept Augsburg within a single possession down 32-30. Less than a minute later, LaDuke's heroics would get this game leveled as the former Cass Lake-Bena standout would connect on a short, turnaround jumper in the lane with 3:51 left to make it 32-all. Then Gallagher would come through on Augsburg's subsequent possession as she made a hard drive for a finish to put the Auggies back on top in this one at 34-32 and with her team reeling once again, Concordia's Wagers took a thirty-second timeout to try and put out the flames. The Cobbers regained the lead on a gutsy play by Snesrud as she snared an offensive rebound for a putback and drew a foul in the process and her obligatory freebie got Concordia back out in front by a 35-34 count. But that lead didn't last long as Augsburg's Gallagher would again unleash terror from behind the arc with a three-point bomb from the top of the key with 2:28 left that pushed Augsburg back into the lead at 37-35. Right back came the Cobbers as Wheeldon would get on free throw to go down after getting fouled with 2:20 left and a three-point bomb by Kahler from the right top area with 1:36 left got Concordia back out in front with 1:36 left at 39-37. The Auggies' LaDuke would get this game knotted at 39 a piece with 1:07 left with her jumper from the left elbow area and although the Cobbers would get their nose out in front with just :00.5 left on an offensive rebound and putback by Wheeldon, the momentum swing sure seemed to be with this young Augsburg team at the moment and the Cobbers definitely had to get something cooking if they wanted to snare it back as they took a slim 41-39 lead into the locker room at the half.
Concordia appeared to be back on track offensively once the third period got going but it was still difficult to open up much in the way of breathing room. Sieben would get things going with her jumper from the left wing area at the 9:37 mark to make it 43-39 but right back came the Auggies and LaDuke as she connected on an incredibly tough reverse lay-up underneath the basket at the 9:17 mark to keep Augsburg within a single possession. The Cobbers would get their lead to four again at 45-41 when Anderson connected with one of her patented turnaround jumpers at the 9:01 mark. Augsburg would again close the gap to two as - guess who - LaDuke dropped a pair of charity stripe shots after getting fouled at the 8:06 mark. Concordia's Sieben tried a different tactic - burying a three-point bomb from the left top area to make it 48-43 but unfortunately for the Cobbers it was met with the same result as the Auggies' Gallagher would drain a trey of her own from the left wing area at the 7:23 mark that again closed the gap to just two points at 48-46. Concordia was then finally able to shift gears and establish some more breathing room. Two free throws by Anderson after she was fouled at the 6:35 mark and two more by Kahler after she was fouled at the 6:00 mark stretched the lead to six at 52-46 and although that wasn't that big of a deficit for the home team, Augsburg's position grew a bit more complicated a short time later at the 5:56 mark when LaDuke collected her third foul of the day and new Auggie Head Coach Mallie Doucet wasn't going to take any chances at this stage and had LaDuke retreat to the pine for a spell. That provided a slightly larger opening for the Cobbers and they wasted little time in taking advantage of the situation. Kahler would unleash one of her trademark three-point bombs from the left top area at the 5:51 mark and would follow that up a bit later with a short jumper at the 5:24 mark that gave Concordia a ten-point cushion at 57-47. The Cobbers also got a boost when they got into the bonus with 4:52 left and Sieben would cap this key 11-1 run when she connected with a jumper from the left wing area with 4:44 left that grew the lead to twelve at 59-47 and Augsburg's Doucette knew the time was now to take a match to a thirty-second timeout in hopes of getting her troops reorganized. The Auggies had their hopes revived a bit when freshman reserve guard Lani Fonoti drained a "3" from the left corner with 4:27 left but Concordia was not letting up on its grip for the moment as Wheeldon connected with a tough jumper along the right baseline with 4:12 left and two free throws by freshman reserve guard Brooklyn Christianson with 3:20 left gave the Cobbers their largest lead yet at 63-50. To their credit, Augsburg got on a bit of a push that tightened things up a bit. Bear would knock down a pair of free throws after getting fouled with 2:07 left and a short, turnaround jumper by LaDuke - carrying those three fouls - with 1:35 left got the Auggies back to within single-digit range down 63-54. Junior reserve guard Melanie Delestrez would get one free throw to go down after getting fouled with :59 left as Augsburg cut into the deficit further. Concordia would recover from this as Sieben would snare a steal and race the other way for an easy lay-up with :16.3 left but the Cobbers certainly weren't out of the woods just yet with a 65-55 lead.
Augsburg's situation meanwhile would grow even more delicate once the fourth period got underway. LaDuke picked up her fourth foul of the afternoon at the 9:18 mark and a bit later at the 9:01 mark, Gallagher collected her fourth foul as well and with Doucette's two primary scoring weapons sitting at the bench, the Auggies prospects dimmed considerably. Concordia's Sieben would get a pair of free throws to go down after Gallagher's foul to make it 67-55 and Kahler would connect on a lay-up at the 8:45 mark to make it 69-55. A three-point bomb by Musland from the left top area at the 5:47 mark maintained the status quo for a 72-58 Cobber lead. With time now becoming a factor, Augsburg's Doucette had little choice but to roll the dice in hopes of tightening things up. Manecke would connect with a lay-up at the 5:26 mark and a "3" by Fonoti with 3:50 left from the right corner got the Auggies back to within single-digit range again down 72-63. Concordia's Anderson would re-build the double-digit advantage with a tough score in the paint with 3:07 left and one free throw after getting fouled with 2:45 left that made it a 75-63 ballgame. The Auggies would climb back into single-digit range again but could never get close enough to truly threaten. Delestrez would connect on a lay-up with 2:27 left and LaDuke would continue with her heroics despite the foul situation with a three-point bomb from the top of the key with 1:16 left that got the deficit down to seven at 75-68. But LaDuke would be done for the day a bit later when she fouled the Cobbers' Sieben with 1:05 left and Sieben would calmly respond by dropping two free throws. Snesrud would also come up big for Concordia in the waning moments as she dropped two pairs of free throws after getting fouled - with :29 left and again with :21.2 left to put Concordia up 81-70. The Auggies would add to their ledger when Alexander was fouled behind the arc with :14.6 left and got a couple of free throws out of it but it wasn't nearly enough as the Cobbers got out of town with an 81-72 victory.
You could kind of sense the relief on the Concordia side after this one as the last couple of weeks have been a rough one for the Cobbers who had to endure a somewhat unexpected four-game losing streak and things were definitely not looking bright after the loss to Bethel a mere ten days ago. Just getting a win to break that skid as you go into the holiday break at the very least has to give you a boost. Still, there's some things that you can't help but be concerned about from a Cobber standpoint when you look at the final box score. True, Concordia was "better" in the turnover department today with "only" 13 (although it seemed like it was more than that) but there's still plenty of room for improvement as there's still some careless turnovers that shouldn't be happening. More concerning, however, is the fact that the Cobbers were outrebounded by a 37-32 count and Augsburg also had a 24-20 advantage in points in the paint. The Auggies also had an advantage in those all-important second-chance points at 13-10 but Concordia was able to withstand all that. To be sure, there were positives out there for Concordia as well today. Stellar free throw shooting was huge for the Cobbers on this day as they were 31-35 for 88.6% which is pretty solid. The big one was the 17 turnovers for Augsburg and the fact that Concordia was able to cash in for 24 points off of those turnovers which was huge on this day. The other thing that really stood out to me on this day from a Concordia standpoint was Snesrud. She's really stepped up her all-around game and as I mentioned to Wagers and her staff afterward, she's just tough and that's something that the Cobbers desperately need right now. One other item: It was interesting to see Christianson get quality minutes out there on this day for Concordia and with fellow freshman guard Peyton Breidenbach out for an unspecified period of time after the injury she suffered at GAC last weekend, Wagers will need Christianson and others to step up.
I really wasn't sure what to expect from Augsburg on this day with such a young team save for Manecke (5th year senior) and Cassidee Thorvig (senior). But even with another L on the ledger, you do see potential for this squad and Doucette has some nice weapons to work with. LaDuke has just grown her game so much and it doesn't matter whether she's out on the perimeter or down low. She can do damage. Ditto for the young sophomore, Gallagher, who's fitting in nicely with this team. I think the big thing for the Auggies right now is that they've got to find some consistency which I know is not an easy thing for such a young team. And they had there chances in this game. The one big stat for them that stood out for me was from the charity stripe where Augsburg was 18-24 for a straight 75% which isn't terrible but you're still leaving some crucial points on the table that could have changed the complexion of this game at the very least.
What a day it was for Concordia's Kahler as her 20 points not only led all scorers but paced a very-balanced Cobber attack on this day. Sieben came up big in the second half of this contest and finished with 16 points. The aforementioned Snesrud was pretty solid on the scoring front as well as she tallied 12 points while Anderson was her usual steady, solid, reliable self finishing with 11 points and just missing out on a double-double with nine rebounds. Augsburg relied heavily on LaDuke's heroics and she responded with 19 points while both Bear and Gallagher finished with 14 points a piece.
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