Women's Basketball 12/6/03 -- Carleton 81, Augsburg 53 

BOXSCORE

MINNEAPOLIS (12/6/03) -- Kristi Colbenson (Jr., Rushford, Minn./Rushford-Peterson HS) scored a career-high 18 points, pulled down seven rebounds and had three steals, leading Carleton College to a 81-53 triumph over host Augsburg College in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference women's basketball game Saturday afternoon at Si Melby Hall.

Linnea Engel (Sr., Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View HS) scored 16 points, with six rebounds and seven steals, as Carleton, the 14th-ranked team in the D3hoops.com Division III national poll, remained unbeaten at 4-0 overall and 2-0 in MIAC play.

Selina Theisen (Fr., Circle Pines, Minn./Centennial HS), last week's MIAC Player of the Week, had her third straight double-double for Augsburg, with 24 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots.

Augsburg is now 0-5 overall and 0-2 in MIAC play. Augsburg will face all three MIAC regular-season co-champions from last year (Gustavus, Carleton and St. Benedict) in its first four conference games before the holiday break.

Carleton led from start to finish in the contest, as every player of the 10 who saw action scored in the contest. Carleton had 26 bench points to Augsburg's two.

For the second straight game, Augsburg gave up 30-plus points on 30-plus turnovers, as Carleton scored 31 points off of 31 Augsburg miscues. By comparison, Augsburg managed just 12 points off of 13 Carleton turnovers.

Carleton outscored Augsburg 16-9 in the first nine minutes of play, eventually using a 21-12 run over a seven-minute span midway through the first half to build a commanding 37-13 lead with 3:53 remaining. Carleton led 45-21 at halftime and did not see its lead dip below 22 points in the second half. Carleton led by as many as 36 points in the second half, before Augsburg cut the lead under 30 points in the closing minutes.

Engel's seven steals puts her over the 200 mark in career steals for the Knights. Kate Krueger (Jr., Kirkland, Wash./Seattle Prep HS) had nine points for the Knights, while Cassie Hammond (Fr., Falls Church, Va./Robinson HS) and Andrea Dahl (Fr., Maple Grove, Minn./Totino-Grace HS) had eight points apiece. Megan Vig (So., Northfield, Minn.) scored seven points.

Augsburg was led by Theisen's double-double, the lone Auggie to score in double figures. Julie Andert * (Sr., Eden Prairie, Minn.) had nine points and six rebounds, and Emily Anderson (So., Hudson, Wis.) had nine points, three rebounds and two steals. Katie Kelsey (Jr., Burnsville, Minn.) had five points and three assists.

Both teams return to MIAC action on Monday (12/8) at 7:30 p.m. Augsburg hosts Macalester at Si Melby Hall, while Carleton plays at St. Catherine.