Women's Basketball 12/3/08 -- Hamline 65, Augsburg 61
ST. PAUL, Minn. (12/3/08) -- Christa Suedbeck (SR, Hugo, Minn./White Bear Lake HS) led Augsburg College in a hard fought 65-61 loss to Hamline University in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference women's basketball action on Wednesday night at Hamline's Hutton Arena. Suedbeck recorded her first double-double of the season, and eighth of her Auggie career, by posting a team-high 20 points and 15 rebounds.
Hamline (4-1 overall, 2-1 MIAC) was able to claim the come-from-behind victory, despite being outshot by Augsburg (2-2 overall, 0-1 MIAC) by a 41-percent to 33.3-percent margin. The Pipers scored 17 points off 19 Augsburg turnovers and the Hamline bench was able to outscore the Auggies 18-4, which turned out to be the difference in the game.
Both teams played evenly in the first half, with the largest lead being a six-point advantage by Hamline at the 10:28 mark. The Auggies would go on a 6-0 run to end the half and tie things up at 26-26 and take the momentum into the locker room.
Augsburg came out strong in the second half, sparked by a jumper and three-pointer by Shannon Renne (SO, Nicollet, Minn.) to start the frame. The Auggies built their largest lead of the game, a 10-point advantage, off a jumper by Michelle Richter (SR, Chaska, Minn.) at the 13:31 mark. Hamline slowly chipped away at the Augsburg lead, grabbing its first lead of the half, 62-61 with only 50 seconds remaining. Good free-throw shooting in the final seconds sealed the win for the Pipers.
In addition to Suedbeck, Augsburg was paced by three other players -- Renne and Jacci Mattern (SR, Lakeville, Minn.) had 15 and 10 points respectively, while Serenae Levine (FY, Eden Prairie, Minn.) led the Auggies in assists with seven.
Hamline was led by Jessica Heinen and Mary Wilkowski. Heinen dropped in 20 points and six assists, while shooting 3-4 from the three-point line. Wilkowski recorded 12 points and collected six boards.
Augsburg returns to action on Saturday, Dec. 6 at 3 p.m., when it hosts the College of St. Catherine at Si Melby Hall.
