Women's Basketball 1/19/09 -- Augsburg 69, St. Mary's 66
MINNEAPOLIS (1/19/09) -- Serenae Levine (FY, Eden Prairie, Minn.) hit the game-winning jumper and converted a free throw for a three-point play with 3.8 seconds remaining, lifting Augsburg College to a 69-66 victory over visiting St. Mary's University in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference women's basketball action on Monday night at Augsburg's Si Melby Hall.
Shannon Renne (SO, Nicollet, Minn.) scored a career-high 25 points with a career-high seven 3-pointers and three rebounds, while Christa Suedbeck (SR, Hugo, Minn./White Bear Lake HS) posted her fourth double-double of the season, scoring 20 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, including a career-high eight offensive boards, for Augsburg (3-11 overall, 1-10 MIAC). Levine again captained the Auggie offense, dishing out nine assists, while adding eight points and seven rebounds.
St. Mary's (1-13 overall, 1-10 MIAC) was led by the duo of Jesa Hall (SO, Glenwood City, Wis.) and Cherie Kulig (SO, Independence, Wis.). Hall scored a team-high 21 points, on 5-for-8 shooting from the 3-point line, and added five rebounds. Kulig posted 16 points, six boards and dished out a team-high five assists.
The first half of action was evenly matched, with three ties and 11 lead changes. A three-pointer by Lexi Thompson (FY, St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville HS) with 49 seconds remaining gave the Auggies a 32-28 advantage, their largest lead of the period. St. Mary's answered back on the next possession to cut it to a two-point lead with 15 seconds remaining but Michelle Richter (SR, Chaska, Minn.) put back and offensive board with two seconds left in the half to give the Auggies a 34-30 lead at the intermission.
Renne opened the second half by connecting on her fourth 3-pointer of the night, giving the Auggies a seven-point advantage, the largest lead for either team in the game. St. Mary's chipped away at the Augsburg lead and tied things up at 43-43 six minutes into the period. Both teams traded baskets over the next 12 minutes with neither team able to gain a substantial lead over their opposition. In total, there were 17 lead changes and eight ties in the game.
With 2:44 left on the clock, the teams tied were at 62-62. St. Mary's converted on a pair of free throws to take a two-point advantage. Suedbeck got fouled on an offensive rebound and went to the line for the one-and-one. She converted on the first but just missed the second. St. Mary's came down the floor and hit a quick jumper to extend its lead to three. With 1:01 left to play, Renne nailed a 3-pointer to tie things up at 66-66. With 12 seconds to play, Richter stepped up and took a charge to give the Auggies the ball and the momentum. Levine marched the Auggies down the court and scored on a layup and was fouled with only 3.8 seconds left in the action as she regained the lead for Augsburg. Levine converted on the free throw attempt and sealed the Augsburg victory with a steal as St. Mary's threw a deep pass downcourt.
Augsburg shot 32.1 percent (25-for-78) for the game, while the Cardinals connected on 48.9 percent (23-of-47) from the field. The Auggies forced 17 St. Mary's turnovers while committing a season-low six. Augsburg won the battle on the boards 45-37, which proved to be the difference in the game as the Auggies outscored the Cardinals 20-2 in second chance points.
Augsburg returns to action on Wednesday (1/21) at 7:30 p.m. when it hosts Hamline University at Si Melby Hall.
