Duluth, Minn.- No. 10 UMD women's basketball came up just short against Augustana (19-3 overall, 13-3 conf.) on Saturday in what was a battle between two NSIC heavyweights, the Bulldogs losing to the Vikings 53-51. This marks UMD's first loss in 15 games, having come into this contest with 14-consecutive victories under its belt. It's also just the first NSIC loss to hit the Bulldogs' resume. UMD's record now stands at 18-3 on the season, it's in-conference mark clocking in at 15-1. 

It was the Vikings that came out swinging early in this one, tallying two quick buckets by the 8:56 mark to secure a 4-0 lead. Not to be outdone, consecutive threes from Brooke Olson and Madelyn Granica quickly propelled UMD to its first advantage of the contest at 6-4 with 7:07 to go in the first. That starting 4-0 score would be the only one of its kind through 10 minutes- neither team was otherwise able to build a two-score advantage. Instead, what was a back-and-forth affair with three lead changes ultimately left the Bulldogs with the honor of leading the game going into the second quarter. UMD's advantage was narrow at 11-10, but it was an advantage nonetheless.

Granica was the Bulldogs' leading scorer through the first frame, putting up five points. And of course there were Olson and Nelson, who each potted threes earlier on. Three UMD players closed the quarter with two boards, those being   Taytum Rhoades, Taya Hakamaki and Lexi Karge. Rhoades also had two assists through 10 minutes. On the other side of the court, Augustana's Lauren Sees had been red-hot. Sees walked into the second frame with six points on 3-4 shooting from the field. 

If you thought we might see one team really establish itself as the head honcho of this contest in the second quarter, we have bad news for you. This frame ended up operating much like the first- in fact, there were four total lead changes here compared to just three from the quarter before. But this wasn't really your average everyday back-and-forth pace. It seemed like we might be in for a blazing fast 10 minutes when Michaela Jewett scored at the 8:56 mark to give the Vikings the lead only for UMD to respond 26 seconds later with a Rhoades bucket to take control again at 13-12. Instead, this ended up being rather misleading. The second frame was more of a slow burn. It was a methodical pace that was bookended, though, by brief explosions of action, the closing chapter lasting from the 3:55 mark onwards and consisting of nine of the quarter's 13 total points. It'd be the Bulldogs that would prove to have the last laugh heading into the break, and Olson three-ball with just 44 seconds left securing an 18-16 lead for the club through 20 minutes. 

Olson led UMD in scoring at the break off of a second quarter that saw her tally five points. The graduate guard closed the half with eight total points and three rebounds. Rhoades did a little bit of everything in the first two frames, pairing two points with a team-high three assists and a four rebounds mark that found her tied with Thiesen for the team lead. Granica had five points to go along with two blocks. Karge also had two blocks to that point. Hakamaki led the Bulldogs in steals with two.

Augustana was led at the break by Sees, whose quick start of six points in the first quarter was still enough to situate her at the top of her team's scoring charts.

A quick bucket from Thiesen just 13 seconds into the third frame gave UMD its first two-score lead of the entire contest at 20-16. A 4-0 Vikings run powered by Aislinn Duffy and Sees would quickly extinguish that advantage, though. Soon enough It was Augustana that was in the lead itself, holding a 26-25 advantage with 5:50 to go until quarter four. It was the first time the Vikings had been in control since the 1:23 mark of the third quarter at a score of 16-15. This incarnation would last all of 20 seconds after an Olson layup re-established Bulldog control at 17-16. However, there was more to come for Augustana. Sees would ultimately be the one to regain the lead for the Vikings at 29-27. This time around, Augie would do pretty good work to maintain their offensive success. It would close the rest of the quarter on a 10-3 run to secure a 37-30 lead that probably would have sounded like a dream 10 minutes ago.

What a third frame it'd been for Sees, who measured nine points on 4-5 shooting from the field. That proved to be a large chunk of the Vikings' overall group shooting mark of 8-13 in the quarter, good for a percentage of 61.5%. 

Talk about UMD turning a new leaf. Across less than three minutes of the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs mounted a 9-2 scoring run to knot the game up at 39 a pop with 7:02 to play. Naturally, it'd been Olson that'd dealt the tying blow.  But just as it seemed the Bulldogs' fortunes were turning around… in came an 8-2 run of Augustana's own. This left the Vikings on top once again at a score of 47-41 with just 4:57 to play. It was a six-point lead that the club would still hold with only 2:14 on the clock at a score of 49-43. 

It ended up being one of the stranger sequences you'll ever see in a basketball game that breathed new life into this Bulldogs squad after what could have been a final blow in that 8-2 stretch. With just 16 seconds remaining, the score was 51-49. Olson had fouled Jewett to send her to the line with hopes of extending the game through a miss. Instead, something entirely unexpected happened- Augustana's bench was issued a technical foul before Jewett had even shot one of her freebies. This is the sequence of events that followed: Jewett would only make one of her free throws. That left the score at 52-49 UMD, which already would have been a good sign for the Bulldogs. Factor in the fact that Thiesen was granted two free throws of her own by way of the tech, two that she sank with ease, and life is really good. Out of nowhere, the score was just 52-51 with a considerable 16 seconds left to work with. 

The Vikings would make just one more free throw before the game's end to make the score 53-51 with five ticks left. It was Hakamaki that found herself with the game in her hands in a last-shot scenario. Her quick attempt before the final buzzer was ultimately a no-go. There was unfortunately no Romano magic in store on Saturday.

Olson had done all she could through the second frame to push things in the Bulldogs' favor, having really come alive in the final 20 minutes. The graduate forward had 16 points on 7-13 shooting to go with three rebounds and two steals. Unfortunately, Sees had put up a similar effort on the other end to see to it that this comeback bid wasn't completed. The Viking put up 16 points of her own on 6-9 shooting.

Olson ultimately led the Bulldogs in scoring on the night with 24 total points. The graduate forward also grabbed six boards. Maesyn Thiesen was the other double-digit UMD scorer with 12 points to go along with five rebounds. Hakamaki controlled the glass for the Bulldogs in this one, leading the way with seven rebounds. 

Rhoades had a strong outing all-around, pairing nine points with five rebounds and team-leading marks of four assists and three steals. Those points are of particular note- factoring them into the senior guard's career total leaves her with 496. With just four more points, Rhoades will hit 500 across her tenure as a Bulldog. Certainly not an easy thing to do. 

It was a big night for Sees on the other end, who left Saturday with 22 total points on 9-16 shooting to couple with four rebounds. Both Jewett and Duffy also ended the game in double-figures with 13 and 12 points respectively. Jewett combined her points with a game-high 11 rebounds to secure a double-double on the night.