Women's Basketball 1/11/06 -- Concordia-Moorhead 86, Augsburg 52

BOXSCORE

MOORHEAD, Minn. (1/11/06) -- Concordia College-Moorhead started the game on a 9-0 run and never looked back as they cruised to a 86-52 win over Augsburg College in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference women's basketball game Wednesday night at Concordia's Memorial Auditorium. The Cobbers had 11 players score and shot 51.7 percent (31-of-60) from the floor in picking up their sixth straight conference win.

Concordia is now 6-1 in the MIAC and tied with St. Benedict for the top spot in the conference. The Blazers had the bye on Wednesday and are also 6-1. The Cobbers are now 8-3 on the season and have won six of their past seven games. Augsburg has now lost eight straight games and is now 1-7 in the MIAC. The Auggies drop to 3-9 overall.

The Cobber depth was the story throughout the game. Concordia head coach Jessica Rahman rotated 11 players who all logged at least 10 minutes in the game. The Cobber bench outscored their Augsburg counterparts 36-18. Concordia sophomore Emily Swierenga had the best game of her career, as she came off the bench to score a game-high 17 points and did not miss a shot from the floor. She was a perfect 7-of-7 from the field, including 3-of-3 from 3-point range.

A pair of starters were the only other Concordia players in double figures. Melanie Hageman followed up her season-high 25 point effort on Saturday by scoring 15 points. Senior Tori Ehlert collected her third double-double of the year and first in eight games. She finished with 14 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

Augsburg was led by Michelle Richter (Fr., Chaska, Minn.). Richter scored nine points as the Auggies were held without a player in double figures for the first time all year. Katie LaGrave (So., Okinawa, Japan/Kadena HS) came away with a team-high six rebounds. Brietta Schluender (Fr., White Bear Lake, Minn.) had nine points and Kristina Lurken (So., Kenyon, Minn./Kenyon-Wanamingo HS) had eight points.

After the Cobbers bolted to a 9-0 lead, Augsburg was able to cut the lead to four at 12-8 with 11:12 remaining in the half. That would be the closest the Auggies would get for the rest of the game. Concordia built the lead to as many as 19 in the opening period before settling for a 36-19 lead at the break.

The second half was more of the same for the Cobbers. Concordia continued to hold on to a 20-point plus lead for the entire final 20 minutes and ended the game with their biggest lead of the contest of 34 points at 86-52.

Augsburg was never able to get on track from the outside during the game. They did not hit on a 3-point basket the entire game, going 0-of-7 from behind the arc. On the other end, Concordia continued to get consistent long-range shooting - something they did not have at the beginning of the year. The Cobbers shot a season-best 61.5 percent (8-of-13) from 3-point range. Concordia is averaging eight 3-point field goals in their past three games and are shooting 51.1 percent from long range during that span.

Concordia also held a decided edge in rebounds. The Cobbers outrebounded the Auggies 35-22.

Both teams are back in action on Saturday (1/14) at 1 p.m., as Concordia plays at Bethel and Augsburg hosts Gustavus.