Women's Basketball 1/29/05 -- Augsburg 73, Bethel 65

BOXSCORE

MINNEAPOLIS (1/29/05) -- Rachel Cherry (Jr., Rosemount, Minn.) and Hannah Bratzel (Fr., St. Paul, Minn./Christ Household of Faith HS) both scored in double figures for the first times in their careers, with 22 and 17 points respectively, leading Augsburg College to a 73-65 victory over Bethel University in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference women's basketball game Saturday afternoon at Augsburg's Si Melby Hall.

Kristina Lurken (Fr., Kenyon, Minn./Kenyon-Wanamingo HS) had 12 points, seven assists, four steals and five rebounds, and Rosinta Stromquist (Jr., Brooklyn Park, Minn./Robbinsdale Cooper HS) had 11 points for the Auggies.

Augsburg is now 2-14 overall and 2-11 in MIAC play. After starting the season 0-13, Augsburg has now won two of its last three games.

Jen Ahlberg (Jr., Milaca, Minn.) had 25 points and Heather Davis (So., Eden Prairie, Minn./Minnetonka HS) had 13 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots for Bethel, which drops to 7-9 overall, 6-7 in MIAC play.

Trailing 57-54 with 6:29 left, Augsburg outscored Bethel by a 19-8 margin down the stretch to register the victory. Lurken had 10 points in the closing run, including going 6-for-6 at the free-throw line, while Bratzel had five points in the run.

The game was a close affair throughout, with eight ties and 18 lead changes -- seven ties and 12 lead changes in the second half alone.

A 14-4 run early in the first half gave Bethel its biggest lead, 20-10, with 9:04 remaining in the period. Ahlberg had seven points in the early Bethel run. But Augsburg outscored the Royals by a 13-5 margin to trail just 25-23 at intermission. Cherry had seven points in the Auggie run.

Bethel led by four points early in the second half, before Augsburg rallied again to take a six-point lead, 51-45, with 10:25 left. Bethel then went on a 12-3 run over the next four minutes to lead 57-54.

Seven different Auggies scored in the game. In addition to her 17 points, Bratzel added a career-high six rebounds and three steals. Cherry also had six rebounds, four assists and two steals in addition to her 22 points. Katie LaGrave (Fr., Okinawa, Japan/Kadena HS) scored scored eight points with six rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Ahlberg went 11-of-13 at the free-throw line to lead the Royals, and also contributed four rebounds and three assists. Emily Uzpen (So., Oakdale, Minn./Tartan HS) had nine points, five rebounds and three assists, Kayla Shumpski (Fr., East Chain, Minn./Granada-Huntley-East Chain HS) had eight points, six rebounds and three assists, and Bridget Weber (So., Corcoran, Minn./Buffalo HS) had six points and four assists.

For just the second time this season, Augsburg committed fewer turnovers than its opponents, as Augsburg had 21 turnovers to Bethel's 26. Augsburg scored 24 points off of Bethel miscues, compared to Bethel's nine points off turnovers.

Both teams return to MIAC action on Monday (1/31) at 7:30 p.m., with Augsburg playing at Carleton and Bethel playing at St. Benedict