Was over at Augsburg's Si Melby Hall on this Saturday afternoon to take in this match-up between visiting Concordia and host Augsburg. The Cobbers rolled into the Cities riding a four-game win streak while Augsburg was riding the coattails of its big road win at SMU on Wednesday night. While the Cobbers had put together a solid 12-6 overall record (8-3 in MIAC play), the Auggies were looking for not only some consistency but another big win to help position them to finish in the top six for a playoff berth.
Scoring came at a premium in the early going of this one. Concordia looked out of sorts on offense and the Auggies weren't exactly lighting the place on fire either. But with just under six minutes left with the Cobbers up 3-2, Augsburg senior point guard Maria Loughlin got on a hot streak. One jumper from the right wing by the Rogers native and one free throw by fellow senior forward Jessica Lillquist had the Auggies up 5-3. Then Loughlin went on her own personal 6-0 run. A pretty one-handed shot from the left wing with 2:46 left and a lay-up with 2:07 left made it 9-3 and a jumper from the left elbow area with 1:30 left now had Augsburg up 11-3 and Cobber Head Coach Jessica Rahman; not liking for one moment how this one was going, called a time out to give her squad a talking to. The Cobbers seemed to finally find a bit of a pulse after that timeout. Junior forward/post Jenna Januschka connected with a jumper from the free throw line with 1:13 left and a jumper from the left elbow area by senior guard Katie Rosenfeldt with just :05.5 before the end of the opening period helped slice some of the fat off of the deficit but with the Auggies up 13-7 Concordia was going to have to find a way to shake off the cobwebs from their long trip down U.S. Highway 10 and the BNSF's Staples Sub mainline.
Augsburg looked to be in great shape when senior reserve guard Jenna Orth drilled a "3" from the right corner at the 9:48 mark of the second period that extended their lead to 16-7 but this is where the Cobbers put in second gear and turned the tables in this one. While Loughlin carried her Auggie teammates in the first period, junior guard Greta Walsh stepped up big time for her Concordia teammates. Back-to-back treys by the Litchfield native - one from the left corner at the 9:29 mark and another one from the right wing area at the 8:52 mark - suddenly cut Augsburg's lead down to 16-13. A Rosenfeldt lay-up in transition at the 8:26 mark cut the Auggie lead down to one and then a sweet reverse lay-up by Walsh underneath the basket gave the Cobbers the lead for good at 17-16. An offensive rebound and putback by Januschka at the 7:03 mark and another Walsh "3" - this one from the right corner at the 6:11 mark increased the Concordia lead to 22-16 and Augsburg Head Coach Ted Riverso; jolted by the 15-0 run, called a timeout to get his troops reorganized. It looked as if the Auggies had recovered from this temporary shock as they were able to gradually get the game back to within a single possession. A Lillquist score in the paint and a lay-up by freshman reserve guard Alaina Quaranta narrowed the Cobber lead down to four at 24-20 with 4:20 left and a jumper in the lane by sophomore forward Bridget Bednar with 3:34 left cut Concordia's lead down to 24-22. But the Cobbers were able dig in and keep the cushion at four points down the stretch. Two Januschka freebies and a short, turnaround jumper by senior forward Olivia "Dibs" Johnson had Concordia up 28-24 with 2:12 left. A Lillquist score in the paint momentarily made it a one-possession game again at 28-26 but Januschka provided the final points of an interesting first half with her lay-up with :51 left that gave the Cobbers a 30-26 lead going into the break at the half. Walsh's big second period really helped turn this one around for Concordia but the other statistic that certainly stood out like a sore thumb for Riverso and Assistant Coach Josh Hersch was that the Cobbers outrebounded Augsburg by a 23-12 margin and that was certainly going to have to change for the Auggies in the second half.
Augsburg looked as if they had figured out their problems in the early going of the third period. An offensive rebound and putback by Lillquist at the 7:50 mark and a "3" by senior guard Allison McKee from the left wing area at the 6:57 mark cut Concordia's lead down to one at 32-31. But the Auggie comeback bid curiously seemed to stall and the Cobbers once again righted the ship. A Januschka score in the paint and two Januschka free throws made it 36-31 with 4:02 left. Junior reserve forward Crystal Amundson connected with a short jumper from the left side with 3:16 left and two more charity stripe shots by Januschka who was controlling the paint upped the lead to 40-31 with 2:36 left. Augsburg would get a bit of a spurt as Bednar connected with a jumper from the free throw line off the glass with 2:19 left and on Orth's offensive rebound and reverse putback with 1:39 left but free throws by Januschka and Johnson and a short jumper in the lane by Januschka with just :01.2 left in the period got the lead to seven at 44-37 and the opportunities that the Auggies had let slip through their fingers were really coming back to hurt them now.
Concordia methodically and purposefully got Augsburg into even deeper doo-doo in the early stages of the fourth and final period. A fadeaway jumper by Johnson at the 9:18 mark and another Walsh "3" - this one from the right corner at the 8:52 mark - got the lead to ten points at 49-39. Free throws by Januschka and senior guard Hannah Jeske increased the lead to twelve at 51-39 at the 7:15 mark before the Auggies finally found a sense of urgency. Loughlin; who had been relatively quiet since that great first period that she had, decided it was time to put the team on her shoulders for a comeback bid. A drive and finish at the 7:02 mark and a jumper along the left baseline at the 5:30 mark reduced the deficit back into single-digit range at 51-43. Then the former Rogers standout unleashed a "3" from the left wing area with 4:52 left that cut further into the Cobber lead at 51-46. Concordia was able to get the lead back to eight points on a short jumper by Walsh and a Jeske lay-up at 56-48 with 2:54 left but Loughlin's single-handed attempt to bring her squad back was not done yet. One free throw with 2:37 left and back-to-back treys - both from the right top area - suddenly made it a one possession game again as the Cobbers lead was down to a precarious two points at 59-57 with :30.1 left. Riverso called a timeout to set up strategy and the Auggies immediately fouled Johnson who promptly stepped to the charity stripe with :26.2 left and cooly dropped both attempts for a 61-57 Concordia lead. Loughlin struck again with just :17.6 left when she drove along the left baseline for a finish to get Augsburg back to a single possession game again trailing 61-59. On the ensuing Cobber possession, Jeske was immediately fouled and she connected with her first free throw attempt. The second attempt rolled off but Johnson was there for the offensive rebound and now the Auggies had to foul her. With :13.3 left, Johnson got the first attempt to go down for a 63-59 lead but the second attempt went awry. But, just like before, the Auggies could not come up with the defensive rebound. Instead, Januschka was there to snare it way and that effectively killed any hope Augsburg may have had. Januschka connected on both charity stripe shots with :10.8 left for a 65-59 lead and although Loughlin had one last score left in her in the form of a short jumper with :03 left, her magic on this afternoon was not enough as Concordia took a 65-61 road win back to Moorhead with them.
A happy Rahman said afterward that she needed someone to step up for her squad after a sluggish start. Walsh did just that in the St. Olaf game from Wednesday night and did the same on this afternoon. The thing that really makes the Cobbers an interesting and fun team to watch is that they've got so many moving and interchangeable parts that there really isn't any noticeable drop-off as such when one of the starters come out. At the same time, it's obvious who the three "go to" players are on this team - Januschka, Walsh and Johnson and it's no surprise that they led the way in this game with 23, 17, and 12 points respectively. In fact, both Januschka and Johnson each recorded a "double-double" on this day as Januschka's 13 rebounds and Johnson's 12 rebounds were the main reason that Concordia owned the glass over the Auggies in this contest by a 43-28 margin. And the really cool thing about this squad is that they get the job done with a true team effort. Nothing flashy or glitzy with this group. They each go out and work together as a team no matter who's out on the floor and that's one of the main reasons that Rahman and Concordia have been so successful over the years.
As for the Augsburg, it's definitely a letdown after Wednesday night's huge road upset of SMU. They're not out of the playoff race by a longshot but the road ahead for them is treacherous at best and they've simply got to find a way to make the most of the opportunities that are laid out in front of them. No doubt about it - Loughlin is probably the best play maker in the conference and her ability to create something out of nothing is truly amazing to watch. She led all scorers on this day with her 26 points. The thing is, the Auggies margin for error is so small that they can't rely solely on her carrying the team. Others need to step up and even Hersch admitted as much afterward.
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