Women's Basketball 11/25/08 -- Augsburg 51, Northwestern-Roseville 48
MINNEAPOLIS (11/25/08) -- Augsburg College beat Northwestern College-Roseville 51-48 on Tuesday night in nonconference women's basketball action at Si Melby Hall. Augsburg was led by Jacci Mattern (SR, Lakeville, Minn.) and Christa Suedbeck (SR, Hugo, Minn./White Bear Lake HS). Mattern scored 12 points on a 6-for-9 shooting performance, while also collecting three assists and two rebounds in the victory over the Eagles. Suedbeck led the Auggies (2-1 overall) in rebounding with 11. She also registered six points and three blocked shots in 34 minutes of action.
Northwestern (1-4 overall) was led by Ariel Liesch and Katie DeWitt. Liesch dropped in 15 points while collecting five rebounds and five assists. DeWitt led the Eagles on the boards with 11, while also contributing eight points and three blocked shots.
The Auggies jumped out to an early 6-3 lead off jumpers by Shannon Renne (SO, Nicollet, Minn.) and Lexi Thompson (FY, St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville HS) and a layup by Mattern. Northwestern would tie things up at 8-8. The Eagles used a 50 percent (6-of-12) three-point shooting percentage in the first half to take a six-point lead (31-25) into the locker room at halftime.
The Auggies regained the lead with 3:48 left to play on a jumper by Michelle Richter (SR, Chaska, Minn.), giving Augsburg a 46-45 advantage. Northwestern would regain the lead one more time before a jumper by Mattern and two key free throws by Serenae Levine (FY, Eden Prairie, Minn.) would seal the win for the Auggies.
For the game, Northwestern outshot Augsburg by a 38.0 percent (19-of-50) to 31.9 percent (22-of-69) margin, and also maintained a slight advantage in rebounds (42-40). The difference in the game came down to turnovers. Augsburg forced Northwestern into 28 turnovers, which the Auggies converted into 24 points on their way to a victory in their home opener.
Augsburg returns to action on Wednesday, Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m., when it travels to Hamline University for its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference-opener.
