Women's Basketball 12/17/05 -- Chicago (Ill.) 76, Augsburg (Minn.) 54 

BOXSCORE

MINNEAPOLIS (12/17/05) -- Nofi Mojidi (So., Silver Spring, Md./Bullis School) led all scorers with 22 points, adding eight rebounds and three steals, and Susie Gutowski (Sr., Northampton, Mass.) became the sixth University of Chicago (Ill.) women's basketball player in history to reach the 1,000-point career scoring plateau, as the Maroons topped host Augsburg College (Minn.) 76-54 in a nonconference contest Saturday afternoon at Si Melby Hall.

Gutowski, the Maroons' leading scorer on the season (14.6 points per game entering Saturday's play), was limited to just four points, but her second field goal of the game, at the 3:43 mark of the second half, pushed her over the 1,000-point mark. She now has 1,001 career points.

Chicago outscored Augsburg 39-23 in the second half to improve to 9-0 on the season, its best start to a season since a similar 9-0 start in the 1989-90 campaign. Chicago is ranked No. 22 in the latest D3hoops.com NCAA Division III national poll.

Augsburg, led by 12 points from Katie LaGrave (So., Okinawa, Japan/Kadena HS), is now 3-5 overall, having lost its fourth game in a row after a 3-1 start to the season.

The Maroons had two players claim double-doubles -- Jennifer Kaiser (Sr., San Diego, Calif./LaJolla HS) had 12 points, 12 rebounds and four assists, while Nicaya Rapier (So., Munster, Ind./Bishop Noll HS) had 15 points, 11 rebounds and three steals. Janae Winner (Sr., Lincoln, Neb./Christian HS) added 16 points with four assists.

The game was a close one early, before a 16-3 run midway through the first half gave the Maroons a 30-19 advantage. The run was keyed by three consecutive three-pointers -- two from Winner and one by Kaiser.

However, Augsburg cut the advantage to six points at halftime (37-31) behind an 8-2 run over the final three minutes of the half, with Michelle Richter (Fr., Chaska, Minn.) scoring four points in the run.

Chicago opened the second half scoring the first nine points in a 2:35 run, with Mojidi scoring seven in the stretch, to take a commanding 46-31 advantage. Again, Augsburg cut the lead to single digits midway through the half, as an 8-2 sprint cut the leag to 53-48 with 9:32 left. But Chicago scored the next 10 consecutive points over a 2:32 span to take a 63-48 advantage with 7:00 left, and the 22-point final margin of victory was the largest lead the Maroons held in the game.

Rachel Cherry (Sr., Rosemount, Minn.) and Rosinta Stromquist (Sr., Brooklyn Park, Minn./Robbinsdale Cooper HS) had nine points each for the Auggies, with Cherry adding seven rebounds and four assists, and Stromquist adding five rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Richter had eight points, four rebounds and three steals, and Jacci Mattern (Fr., Lakeville, Minn.) and Alissa Blood (Jr., Mounds View, Minn./Irondale HS) scored six points apiece.

Augsburg returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Monday, Jan. 2 as part of a doubleheader at St. Thomas. The women's game is at 5:45 p.m., with the men's game to follow at 8 p.m. Chicago hosts North Central (Ill.) on Friday, Dec. 30 at 6 p.m.