Women's Basketball 1/14/06 -- Gustavus 75, Augsburg 64

BOXSCORE

MINNEAPOLIS (1/14/06) -- Jess Vadnais (So., Hudson, Wis.) scored 19 points with five rebounds, five assists and three steals, leading Gustavus Adolphus College to a 75-64 victory over host Augsburg College in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference women's basketball game on Saturday afternoon at Si Melby Hall.

Gustavus jumped out to a 16-5 advantage and led 40-25 at halftime, eventually leading by as many as 23 points in the second half to improve to 9-3 overall, 7-2 in MIAC play. Gustavus has now won its last five games in a row.

Despite a career-high 29 points with 11 rebounds from Rosinta Stromquist (Sr., Brooklyn Park, Minn./Robbinsdale Cooper HS), Augsburg lost its ninth straight game to fall to 3-10 overall, 1-8 in MIAC play.

Gustavus led from start to finish in the game, taking advantage of a strong shooting day. The Gusties hit 50.9 percent (28-of-55) from the field, including a 57.1-percent (16-of-28) performance in the first half in building the 15-point halftime advantage.

Meanwhile, Augsburg hit just 38.3 percent (23-of-60) from the field and committed 28 turnovers, which Gustavus converted into 27 points. Augsburg scored 19 points off of 24 Gustavus turnovers.

Trailing by 22 points midway through the second half, Augsburg cut the lead on a 15-4 run to trail 67-65 with 3:28 left. But the Auggies could not cut the advantage under double digits the rest of the way. Stromquist had 18 points and eight rebounds in the second half. In the game, she hit 12-of-25 from the field and had nine offensive rebounds, along with three steals and a blocked shot.

Eleven Gusties saw game action and 10 scored. Kenzie Consoer (So., Mankato, Minn./West HS) had 13 points, hitting 6-of-9 from the field, and Bri Monahan (Jr., Hutchinson, Minn.) had 10 points, six rebounds and three steals. Sara Boldt (Sr., Faribault, Minn.) had nine points, six rebounds and three assists, and Emily Nelson (Fr., Mankato, Minn./Loyola HS) had eight points.

Augsburg's Katie LaGrave (So., Okinawa, Japan/Kadena HS) scored 15 points, hitting three 3-pointers, while pulling down five rebounds. Michelle Richter (Fr., Chaska, Minn.) and Rachel Cherry (Sr., Rosemount, Minn.) had six points each.

Both teams face St. Benedict in their next contests. Augsburg hosts St. Benedict on Monday (1/16) at 7:30 p.m., while Gustavus plays at St. Benedict on Wednesday (1/18) at 7:30 p.m.