Women's Basketball 2/7/07 -- St. Benedict 69, Augsburg 53 

BOXSCORE

MINNEAPOLIS (2/7/07) -- Ellie Boone (Sr., Maple Grove, Minn.) recorded team highs of 17 points, six rebounds and two steals, as her College of St. Benedict women's basketball team used a late first-half run to pull away en route to a 69-53 victory over Augsburg College in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest Wednesday night at Augsburg's Si Melby Hall.

Darby Noreen (Sr., Avon, Minn./Albany HS) had 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting from three-point range, while Mindy Schmidt (Fr., Brooklyn Park, Minn./Champlin Park HS) came off the bench to score 10 points with five rebounds and three assists for the Blazers (18-4 overall, 17-2 MIAC). Ariel Tauer (So., Edina, Minn.) scored eight points with six rebounds and four assists, and Judy Falvey (Jr., Lakeville, Minn.) had six points, four assists and four rebounds.

Augsburg (1-21 overall, 1-18 MIAC) was led by Kristina Lurken * (Jr., Kenyon, Minn./Kenyon-Wanamingo HS) and Michelle Richter (So., Chaska, Minn.), who recorded 18 points each. Lurken added a game highs of nine rebounds and five assists, while Richter had four rebounds and three assists. Marissa Lindback (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn./South HS) had eight points with five rebounds, and Megan Krumrie (So., Elk Mound HS) had six points. Katie LaGrave * (Jr., Okinawa, Japan/Kadena HS) had six rebounds.

The game was a close one in the early going, as the Blazers led by one point, 15-14, with 12:11 left in the first half. But the visitors pulled away from there, using a 29-6 run to take a 44-20 lead into the locker room at halftime. St. Benedict connected on 56.3 percent (18-of-32) from the field in the first half, while Augsburg hit 34.6 percent (9-of-26) from the field.

Boone scored 15 of her 17 points in the first half for the Blazers. All 15 Blazers who dressed for the game saw action, with 10 scoring.

St. Benedict eventually led by 33 points in the second half, before the Auggies closed the game strong, outscoring the Blazers by a 19-2 margin in the final 7:06 of play. Richter scored 10 of her 18 points in the final Auggie run.

In the game, St. Benedict connected on 43.5 percent (27-of-62) from the field, while Augsburg connected on 39.6 percent (21-of-53) from the field. Augsburg outrebounded St. Benedict by a 40-32 margin, but the Blazers forced 24 Augsburg turnovers, turning them into 38 points. Augsburg had 13 points off of 11 Blazer turnovers.

Both teams return to action on Saturday (2/10) at 3 p.m., with Augsburg hosting St. Mary's and St. Benedict hosting St. Catherine.