MINNEAPOLIS -- Camryn Speese (FY, Bloomington, Minn./DeLaSalle HS) led all players scoring 15 points, as the Augsburg College women's basketball team fell 69-60 in a hard-fought battle with No. 6-ranked University of St. Thomas in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action on Saturday afternoon at Si Melby Hall.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: St. Thomas 69, Augsburg 60
LOCATION: Si Melby Hall, Minneapolis
RECORDS: Augsburg 6-1 overall (1-1 MIAC), St. Thomas 5-0 overall (2-0 MIAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Augsburg defense held St. Thomas to a season-low 69 points and a season-low 43.3 percent (26-of-60) shooting from the floor.
• The Auggies trailed 36-31 at the half and were within striking distance the remainder of the action, but could never quite pull in front of the Tommies, who were able to hit 5-of-6 from the free throw in the final two minutes line to seal the victory.
• Augsburg had its second-best shooting night of the season, hitting 47.1 percent (24-of-51) of its shots from the floor and 50.0 percent (9-of-18) from three-point range.
• The major difference in the game game down to second-chance points and free throws. St. Thomas was able to claim a 18-2 advantage in second-chance points and hit 13-of-16 from the charity stripe, while Augsburg was only able to hit 3-of-6.
• Speese finished an impressive 6-of-6 from the floor and 3-of-4 from the free-throw line, while adding five rebounds and a game-high five steals.
• Coming off the bench, Arianna Jones (FY, Brooklyn Park, Minn./Osseo HS) shot a perfect 4-of-4 from three-point range for 12 points on the afternoon, while dishing out a season-best four assists. Jones has now scored in double-figures in three consecutive games.
• Also finishing in double-figures for the Auggies was Tamira McLemore (FY, Eagan, Minn.), who finished with 11 points and a pair of rebounds.
• The Augsburg defense picked up 11 steals and has now recorded double-digit steals in all but one game this season.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
• Despite the loss, the Auggies' 79.3 points per-game average remains tops among Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference teams in overall statistics. Augsburg also leads the MIAC in made three-pointers (71) and three-point field-goal percentage (42.3).

FOR THE FOES
• Kaitlin Langer, Gabby Zehrer and Hannah Spaulding led the Tommie offense with 14 points apiece.
• Langer pulled down a team-best seven rebounds, while Zehrer dished out a game-high five assists for the Tommies, ranked No. 6 in the latest D3hoops.com Division III national poll.

UP NEXT
• The Auggies return to action on Monday (12/5) at 7:45 p.m., hosting the Martin Luther College at Si Melby Hall in a men's and women's double-header.
• St. Thomas returns to action on Wednesday (12/7) at 7 p.m., when they travel across town to take on Hamline.