Made my way over to the St Paul side of town on this sunny but cold and windy Saturday - first over to El Burrito Mercado to get stocked up on their fabulous salsa and chicken for the best homemade tacos in town - and then over to Leonard Center on the campus of Macalester College for the 1:00 PM start between visiting Augsburg and host Macalester. It's been a rough season for the Auggies and first-year Head Coach Mallie Doucette as Augsburg has been able to notch one win since the first of the year - a home win over St. Olaf back last weekend. It hasn't been exactly smooth sailing for the Scots this season either but they've shown the ability to compete and they gave Concordia all they could handle this last Wednesday night up in Moorhead before they grudgingly fell short. And Macalester is working hard to stay in the hunt for the MIAC Playoffs so this game today would be vitally important for them.
It would be the Auggies trying to set the tone early in this one; in large part because of the attacking and shooting prowess of freshman guard Lani Fonoti as she would start things out by first making a daring drive into traffic and finishing with a nifty reverse lay-up at the 9:14 mark and then follow that up with a three-point bomb from the left top area at the 8:47 mark that had Augsburg up 5-0. Despite the relatively slow start by the Scots, Macalester did not panic and instead paced themselves and slowly crawled back into this one and went on a 10-0 run in the process. Senior combo guard/forward Peyton Starks - who was a one-person wrecking crew up in Moorhead this last Wednesday night - would grab an offensive rebound for a putback at the 7:59 mark and then fellow senior combo guard/forward Katherine Norquist would connect with a short jumper in the lane at the 6:28 mark that cut the deficit to one at 5-4. The Scots would push ahead at 6-5 when Norquist made a hard drive along the left baseline for a pretty reverse lay-up at the 5:37 mark and then Starks would help pad this lead a bit with free throws after getting fouled - one with 4:59 left and another with 4:22 left - that now had Macalester up 8-5. Sophomore guard Mary Daley would cap this early run with a lay-up with 3:59 left that grew the Scots lead to 10-5 before Augsburg finally ended this drought on another three-point bomb by Fonoti - this one from the top of the key with 3:42 left. But there was a reason for this dry spell by the Auggies as Macalester was employing both full-court and half-court pressure that befuddled Augsburg and largely made them one-dimensional. This allowed the Scots to at least maintain a cushion and grow it a bit before this first period was out. Daley would drop a pair of free throws after getting fouled with 3:30 left and then Norquist would come through big again for Macalester. The Chicago native would first get a short jumper in the lane off the glass with 3:05 left and would follow that up a short time later by stealing an inbounds pass and then racing the other way for a lay-up with 2:37 left to push the Scots lead to 16-8. Augsburg would finally get a bit of relief from the charity stripe as fifth-year senior point guard Katie Manecke would get one free throw to go down after getting fouled with 1:48 left and junior forward Amira LaDuke would get a pair of free throws to go down after getting fouled with :49.8 left that slimmed the deficit down to five at 16-11. Still, Macalester would increase its lead to seven when senior reserve guard Jessica Sabbagh buried a '3" from the left corner off of an inbounds pass with :38 left as the Scots carried an 18-11 lead into the second period.
The Auggies would try and get off on a positive note again once the second period got underway as Fonoti would connect on a jumper along the right baseline at the 9:44 mark that again got the deficit down to five at 18-13. But the pressure defense that Macalester was employing in this contest made it difficult for the group from the east side of Minneapolis to sustain much offensively as the Scots continued to set the pace. Norquist would get one free throw to go down after getting fouled at the 8:13 mark and then a lay-up by Daley at the 6:39 mark got Macalester's lead back to seven at 21-14. The Scots offensive pace would slow a bit over the next few minutes as they could only get one free throw by senior reserve guard Camille Samuel after she was fouled at the 6:01 mark but with 3:50 left, Macalester would go on another push that got them a double-digit cushion. Starks would connect on a lay-up that also drew a foul and the obligatory "and one" by the St Louis, MO native made it a 25-16 game and then sophomore reserve guard Kendall Bernbaum would bang home a "3" from the left corner with 3:03 left that now had the Scots up 28-16. With :57.1 left, sophomore guard Sydnee Smith would get a pair of free throws to go down after she was fouled to cap this 9-0 run and although Augsburg would get a nibble off of the deficit on one free throw by freshman reserve guard Evelyn Perkins with :32 left, the Auggies looked like a team that was out of answers at the moment as they were on the wrong end of a 30-17 score as both teams headed to their locker rooms for the halftime intermission.
Because Augsburg was basically reduced to being one-dimensional - essentially Fonoti and no one else throughout the first half, they needed to make some adjustments on both ends of the floor during the halftime break and it appeared that they did just that once the third period got underway. To be sure, things started off on a bit of a sour note for the Scots when Daley was nabbed with her third foul of the afternoon at the 8:32 mark but Macalester Head Coach Katie Kollar rolled the dice here a bit and left the youngster from Rhode Island on the floor. Still, the Auggies rediscovered their normally high-octane offense and started to take some chunks out of the deficit - and spread some of the wealth as well. LaDuke would get a short, turnaround jumper to go down at the 8:22 mark and sophomore guard Saylor Gallagher would drain a "3" from the right wing area at the 7:35 mark that got Augsburg back into single-digit range again down 30-22. Then Fonoti would make a hard drive along the right baseline and get a finish at the 6:48 mark that had the deficit down to six at 30-24 before the Scots finally ended their extended drought at the 6:30 mark on a score in the paint by Norquist. Augsburg would get another push as Gallagher would get one free throw to go down after getting fouled at the 5:50 mark and then freshman forward Jada Stanford would snare an offensive rebound for a putback at the 5:17 mark that drew the Auggies closer down 32-27. Alarmed at this development. Macalester would regrow its lead again. Samuel would get a pair of free throws to go down after getting fouled with 4:52 left and then Norquist would make a daring drive into traffic to finish with a lay-up as the shot clock was winding down with 4:07 left that had the Scots up by nine at 36-27 and seemingly in good shape once again. But that didn't seem to deter Augsburg one bit as they would proceed to embark on another comeback bid. Manecke would grab a defensive rebound and race away on a coast-to-coast lay-up with 3:30 left that cut the deficit to seven at 36-29 and would also knock down a pair of free throws after getting fouled with 3:06 left to keep the Auggies in that seven-point range down 38-31. A short time later, Gallagher would knock down a jumper from the right wing area with 2:23 left that drew Augsburg even closer down 38-33 and the Scots' Kollar; fearful of seeing her team's lead shrink even further, decided to take a match to a timeout in hopes of making some quick adjustments. This stoppage in play seemed to have the desired effect at first as Sydnee Smith connected with a jumper from the left elbow area off of an inbounds pass with 2:08 left and two free throws by Norquist after she was fouled with 1:13 left seemed to restore order with Macalester back up by nine at 42-33. But the Auggies would again unleash another push before this third period was over. Gallagher would connect on a jumper just inside the arc from the left wing area with 1:03 left and with :25 left, LaDuke would bang home a "3" from the right wing area that cut the deficit back down to six and given the fact that the Scots were unable to consolidate on the gains they had made earlier in this contest, a sense of uneasiness seemed to swirl around Leonard Center as this one morphed into the fourth period.
That uneasiness was justified as Augsburg closed the gap even further once the fourth period got underway. LaDuke would maneuver into the paint for a score at the 9:44 mark that cut the deficit to four at 44-40 and a jumper by Manecke from near the free throw line area at the 9:13 mark kept the Auggies in that four-point range down 46-42. At the 8:36 mark, Augsburg closed to a single possession when Fonoti unleashed a three-point bomb from the left wing area that cut the Scots lead to 48-45 and momentum definitely appeared to be on the Auggies side at this point. Curiously, however, Augsburg was unable to sustain as Macalester regained control of this one for good. First, Starks would knock down a short jumper at the 8:23 mark and then Daley would come through big time for the Scots. She would first get sent to the charity stripe after getting fouled at the 7:54 mark and got a pair of free throws to go down and would follow that up a bit later at the 6:44 mark with a heart-breaking "3" from the right wing area off of an inbounds pass that suddenly made it a ten-point game at 55-45 and Augsburg's Doucette; clearly seeing the window of opportunity closing fast, called for a halt to the action in hopes of making some quick fixes. Still, Macalester would continue with its newfound offensive. Starks would connect on a lay-up at the 6:10 mark and Norquist would connect on a short, turnaround jumper in the lane at the 5:34 mark that stretched the Scots lead to fourteen at 59-45 and the Auggies' Doucette would quickly call for a thirty-second timeout as this one was getting away from her squad once again. But Augsburg could only take nibbles off of the deficit down the stretch. Gallagher would drain a "3" from the right wing area at the 5:10 mark but the Auggies were unable to recapture the same offensive magic they had found back in the third period and Macalester was now in position to close this one out. Starks would make a hard drive along the left baseline and finish with a pretty reverse lay-up with 4:11 left and the Scots were getting the job done at the charity stripe as well. Sydnee Smith would get pairs of free throws to go down after getting fouled with 2:17 and 1:40 left and Daley would follow suit after getting fouled with 1:13 left. Daley would leave her mark on this contest when she used a burst of speed to connect on a tough lay-up that also drew a foul and although she couldn't cash in on the "and one" opportunity, her toughness and tenacity were undeniable in this game. Augsburg would get a couple of late meaningless scores at the end but it would be Macalester emerging triumphant with a 69-54 victory.
I was first able to catch up with Augsburg's Doucette who was understandably disappointed with the outcome in this one. She was quick to agree that her squad was pretty much one-dimensional in the first half; relying primarily on Fonoti for offensive production. I pointed to the adjustments she made at the halftime break that allowed them to get right back into the contest only to mysteriously disappear after they had closed to within a single possession. To be sure, the Auggies have been enduring their share of the injury bugaboo at the moment as junior guard Wakinyela Bear, junior guard Melanie Delestrez and junior post Emma Kanz are out with unspecified injuries right now. But Doucette refused to use that as an excuse saying that "everybody's going through these issues right now." But Augsburg was definitely hampered on this day with the 17 turnovers they committed and that was in large part due to the pressure defense that the Scots were applying in this contest. Then you look at Augsburg shooting only 19-58 from FG range for 32.8% and 6-17 from downtown for 35.3% and you can kind of guess that they had a rough day at the office. But a closer look at this game reveals more in that there were a lot of "bunnies" and short shots that were missed on this day and considering how the Auggies were able to close they gap early in the fourth period, something like that looms large not to mention that it makes coaches reach for the Tylenol PM at night. I already mentioned the 17 turnovers and Macalester did a good job of making the Auggies pay for those transgressions by getting 18 points off of them. The Scots also enjoyed a whopping 38-18 edge in points in the paint and a 17-6 advantage in those all-important second-chance points. That pretty much tells you all you need to know about this one.
When you look at this Macalester team at first glance, you likely don't think of them as a real contender status-wise. But then you watch them play - especially in person - and your eyes open up. The first thing that caught my eye is that this is a team that not only enjoys playing with each other, they also enjoy playing for each other. It's a tightly-knit group that just works together really well and they don't beat themselves. We saw this last Wednesday night how Starks almost single-handedly got this team in position to knock off Concordia up in Moorhead before falling short. They're not what you'd call a great shooting team by any stretch but when they get hot - particularly Starks - and when they use that pressure defense of theirs, they're just sneaky dangerously good. I've mentioned Starks already and what she brings to the table but one player on this team who deserves perhaps just as much credit is Daley and she may very well be the best-kept secret in the MIAC. You watch her out there and she plays with such joy and you can see that when, even in a competitive situation, she may be jiving to one of her favorite songs coming out of a timeout or just encouraging one of her teammates that may need a lift. She's just a pleasure to watch. I asked Macalester's Kollar about this group and you could see her bubbling with enthusiasm as this squad is very much in the thick of the MIAC Playoff race. Whether they can get there at the end remains to be seen but Kollar was quick to point out the one thing that I asked her about when it came to contrasting last year's team with the current squad. "Experience" she replied. This is probably the last team you want to have to face if you're looking for an easy win as the Cobbers almost found out the hard way this last Wednesday night and it'll be interesting to see how they fare down the stretch.
What a day it was indeed for two of the Scots big performers - Starks and Norquist - as they both tallied 17 points on this day and Norquist would also have a double-double with her 14 rebounds as she's a rebounding machine. Then there was Daley right behind with her 15 points and who also had a solid day at the charity stripe going 6-7. Sydnee Smith was solid as well on this day with her 12 points. Augburg's Fonoti also poured in 17 points on this day to enjoy the high-scoring honors and the Auggies had to rely on her for their meager offensive output in that disastrous first half. Gallagher finally came alive in the third period; going 2-3 from downtown and finishing with 13 points. LaDuke would tally 11 points on this day and Manecke was right behind with her 10 points.
No comments:
Post a Comment