Women's Basketball 2/12/05 -- Augsburg 69, Gustavus Adolphus 65

BOXSCORE

ST. PETER, Minn. (2/12/05) -- Lia Ragozzino (Fr., Minneapolis, Minn./Southwest HS) led four Augsburg College players in double figures with 14 points, as the Auggies rallied from a 12-point second-half deficit to claim a major upset over host Gustavus Adolphus College on Saturday, in a 69-65 win in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference women's basketball action at Gus Young Court.

Trailing 39-32 at halftime, the Gusties expanded the lead to 12 points, 48-36, with 16:39 left, and later led by nine points, 53-44 with 12:50 left, before Augsburg staged a 10-0 run to take its second lead of the game, 54-53 with 10:03 left. Ragozzino had four of the Auggie points in the run. Another Auggie run, an 8-1 sprint over a four-minute span, gave the Auggies the lead to stay, 62-57 with 4:33 left.

Gustavus had a chance to catch the Auggies in the final minute, but missed four shots, missed two free throws and had a turnover in its last four possessions.

Augsburg is now 4-18 overall, 4-15 in MIAC play, claiming its first victory on the road this season. Gustavus, which had already clinched a spot in the six-team MIAC postseason playoffs, is now 14-8 overall, 12-7 in MIAC play.

Despite committing 32 turnovers, the Auggies were able to claim the win with its strongest shooting performance of the season. Augsburg shot 61.7 percent (29-of-47) from the field and 62.5 percent (10-of-16) from the free-throw line. Though the Gusties hit seven 3-pointers in the game, they only hit 36.2 percent (25-of-69) overall from the field, and just 47.1 percent (8-of-17) from the free-throw line.

Rachel Cherry (Jr., Rosemount, Minn.) scored in double figures for the fifth time in her last seven games, notching 13 points to go with a team-high seven rebounds. Katie Kelsey (Sr., Burnsville, Minn.) had 12 points and six rebounds. Kristina Lurken (Fr., Kenyon, Minn./Kenyon-Wanamingo HS) had 10 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals, and Amy Jones (Sr., Brooklyn Park, Minn./Minneapolis South HS) had nine points.

Bri Monahan came off the bench to lead all players with 21 points and eight rebounds, including seven offensive rebounds. Kristin Kachelmyer had 18 points, six rebounds and three steals, and Jess Vadnais had 12 points, seven assists and two steals. Sara Boldt contributed seven points and five rebounds.

Augsburg closes its 2004-05 season on Wednesday (2/16) at 7:30 p.m., hosting St. Benedict at Si Melby Hall. Augsburg's final scheduled game against Macalester next Saturday (2/23) has been cancelled due to the Scots cancelling their season earlier this year. Gustavus closes its regular season next Saturday at 1 p.m., with a game at St. Benedict.