ARDEN HILLS, Minn. -- Despite a strong first half and leading 31-30 at the intermission, Augsburg College was not able to keep up with Bethel University, as the Auggies fell 70-56 in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference women's basketball quarterfinal game on Wednesday. The game marked the second time in the past three seasons that the Auggies have qualified for the MIAC postseason playoffs. 

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Bethel 70, Augsburg 56
LOCATION: Robertson Center Gym, Arden Hills, Minn.
RECORDS: Augsburg 15-11 overall, Bethel 22-4 overall

HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Auggies put together a solid first half, battling the Royals point for point and run for run. Augsburg's Tamira McLemore (FY, Eagan, Minn.) hit a huge three-pointer with four seconds to play in the first half to give the Auggies a 31-30 advantage at the break. Augsburg's Camryn Speese (FY, Bloomington, Minn./DeLaSalle HS) scored the first four points of the second half, to give Augsburg a five-point lead, but Bethel countered with a 16-3 run which proved to be a lead it would never relinquish. The Auggies were able to cut the Royal lead to 52-48 early in the fourth quarter, but couldn't get any closer as the Royals moved on to the semifinals. 
• Offensively, Augsburg was led by McLemore, who despite battling foul trouble, scored 15 points, while adding two steals and a rebound.
• Also finishing in double figures for the Auggies was Speese, who posted 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the floor. Speese also pulled down five rebounds.
• Bridget Bednar (JR, Pierz, Minn.) and Abby Jordan (FY, Rogers, Minn.) led Augsburg the boards, pulling down seven and six rebounds respectively. Jordan added eight points and two blocked shots, while Bednar added four points and two steals.
• Augsburg forced 25 Bethel turnovers, picking up 11 steals in the process. The Auggies posted a 26-13 advantage in points off-turnovers. Augsburg finished the season ranked second in the conference in steals per-game (11.2).
• For the game, Augsburg shot 31.1 percent (21-of-67) from the field, while Bethel converted an impressive 51.0 percent (26-of-51) of its shot attempts. The Royals posted a 47-33 advantage on the boards.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
• Augsburg matched its program record for single-season wins (15), set by the 2014-15 squad that qualified for the MIAC playoffs for the first time in school history.
 
FOR THE FOES
• Bethel was led offensively by Abby Miller, who scored a game-high 28 points, shooting 10-of-15 from the field and 4-of-7 from three-point range.
• Hannah Johnson posted a double double for the Royals, finishing with 16 points and 13 rebounds.