MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The ninth-seeded St. Olaf College women's basketball team saw it season come to an end in the quarterfinals of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoffs with a 67-45 loss to top-seeded Augsburg University on Wednesday evening at Si Melby Hall.
St. Olaf (9-18) cut a 22-point deficit to 10 early in the fourth quarter, but Augsburg (20-5) responded with a 16-0 run to put the game out of reach. The Oles were coming off their first victory in the MIAC Playoffs in program history and were appearing in the tournament for the first time since 2014.
With the win, the Auggies advanced to the semifinals where they will host fourth-seeded Hamline in the semifinals on Friday evening. The Pipers topped fourth-seeded Saint Ben's, 78-61, in their quarterfinal matchup in St. Paul.
The loss brought an end to the careers of St. Olaf's two seniors:
K'Lynn Lewis and
Camryn Scott. Lewis finished her career with 877 points, 249 rebounds, 211 assists, and 96 steals in 71 games, averaging 12.4 points per game for her career. Scott started 34 of the 65 games she played in during her career, recording 307 points and 300 rebounds.
Junior
Rachel Kelly shot 8-for-16 from the field on her way to a team-high 18 points and six rebounds for the Oles, who shot 44.8 percent (13-for-29) from the field in the second half after shooting just 24.0 percent (6-for-25) before the break. Kelly was the lone scorer in double figures for St. Olaf, as Lewis had nine points and first year
Paige Yagodinski added six points and six boards off the bench.
St. Olaf scored the game's first five minutes on a three-pointer by Kelly and a jumper by Scott before Augsburg rattled off 12-straight points, holding the Oles scoreless for 7:29 before Kelly hit a jumper with 22 seconds remaining in the quarter. Both teams shot under 30.0 percent from the field in the opening 10 minutes as the Auggies took a 12-7 lead into the second.
A jumper by junior
Sophie Olmen a minute and a half into the second quarter made it a 14-10 game in favor of Augsburg. From that point on, the Auggies outscored the Oles by a 21-6 margin over the final 8:32 of the half to take a 35-16 halftime lead. Augsburg shot 10-for-15 (66.7 percent) from the field in the second quarter after going just 4-for-15 (26.7 percent) in the first.
In the third quarter, St. Olaf used a 10-2 run to cut a 21-point deficit to 13 at 39-26 with 5:29 to go, but Augsburg maintained the 13-point margin headed to the fourth quarter. Kelly had nine of her 19 points in the quarter for the Oles, who were 8-for-15 (53.3 percent) from the field in the third.
Five points in the first 1:13 of the fourth quarter from Lewis helped St. Olaf close the gap to 10, 49-39, but Augsburg answered with a 16-0 run to open up its largest lead of the game at 65-39 with 3:15 remaining.
Jan Masello led Augsburg with 20 points, eight rebounds, six assists, four blocks, and three steals in the win. Selena Lor hit three three-pointers on her way to scoring 13 points and Anja Smith contributed 11 points and seven rebounds off the bench for the Auggies, who shot 48.2 percent (27-for-56) from the field in the game.