Women's Basketball 11/16/08 -- Augsburg 54, Ithaca (N.Y.) 44
CHICAGO, Ill. (11/16/08) -- Christa Suedbeck (SR, Hugo, Minn./White Bear Lake HS) scored 11 points with six rebounds, while Serenae Levine (FY, Eden Prairie, Minn.) scored eight points with 10 rebounds, five assists and three steals, leading Augsburg College to a 54-44 victory over Ithaca College (N.Y.) in the third-place game of the University of Chicago Midway Classic tournament on Sunday afternoon at the Ratner Athletics Center.
Augsburg (1-1 overall) took a 2-1 lead at the 17:24 mark of the first half and never trailed after that point, leading by as many as 14 points twice in the contest. Augsburg connected on 40.7 percent (22-of-54) from the field and outrebounded Ithaca (0-2 overall) by a 49-40 margin. Levine was named to the six-player All-Tournament Team.
Ashley Thoeny (JR, Golden Valley, Minn./Hopkins HS) scored 10 points with three rebounds for the Auggies, while Shannon Renne (SO, Nicollet, Minn.) scored nine points, and Michelle Richter (SR, Chaska, Minn.) scored six points with five rebounds and two assists. Eight of the 10 Auggies who saw game action on Sunday scored.
A 13-2 run over a four-minute span, with Thoeny scoring four points, gave the Auggies a 23-9 lead with 4:09 left in the first half, and the Auggies took a 29-19 lead into the locker room at halftime. Thoeny scored eight points and Renne scored seven points in the first half, as Augsburg shot 44.4 percent (12-of-27) from the field, while Ithaca hit just 13.3 percent (4-of-30).
A quick 9-0 run in the first 2:35 of the second half cut the Augsburg advantage to 29-28, but it was the closest the Bombers could get to the Auggies. Augsburg then went on a 14-4 run to take a 43-32 lead with 8:04 left to play, an advantage again spread to 14 points in the closing minutes. Suedbeck had seven points and five rebounds in the second half for the Auggies.
Ithaca was led by Tracy Bradley, who scored 19 points as the lone Bomber to score in double-figures. No other Ithaca player scored more than six points in the game.
Augsburg returns to action on Tuesday, Nov. 25 at 7:30 p.m., hosting Northwestern-Roseville in a nonconference game at Si Melby Hall.
