MINNEAPOLIS – Using a balanced effort on offense featuring four players scoring 12 or more points, the Augsburg University women's basketball team claimed a 64-56 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory over Saint Mary's University on Wednesday evening at Si Melby Hall.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Augsburg 64, Saint Mary's 56
LOCATION: Si Melby Hall, Minneapolis, Minn.
RECORDS: Augsburg 16-5 overall (16-2 MIAC), Saint Mary's 7-15 overall (6-13 MIAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
• The first quarter featured nine lead changes with neither team leading by more than three at any point. The Cardinals held a slim 19-16 advantage at the end of one. The Auggies jumped back on top at the 6:42 mark in the second and held the lead for the rest of the quarter as they carried a nine-point advantage at the half.
• The Auggie lead grew to as many as 15 points in the third quarter, ending with a 50-40 Augsburg lead heading into the final frame. Saint Mary's managed to make it a six-point game at the 1:21 mark, but Augsburg quickly made it a three-possession game once again and iced the victory.
• Jaley Coplin (JR, Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee HS) notched her ninth game with at least three made three-pointers this season, hitting four of her eight shots from deep and six-of-11 from the floor for a team-leading 18 points along with two steals, a rebound, and an assist.
• Jen Masello (SR, Darien, Ill./Downers Grove South HS) returned to form in a big way, registering her 10th career double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds in the game.
• Anja Smith (SO, Kewaskum, Wis./Saint Mary's Springs HS) nearly notched another double-double, tallying 15 points and nine rebounds. Kalena Myers (SO, Burnsville, Minn./Apple Valley HS) recorded her first career game with at least three made three-point shots, scoring 12 points and grabbing three rebounds, three assists, and two steals.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
• Following the game, both Jen Masello (SR, Darien, Ill./Downers Grove South HS) and Smith rank within the top five in several categories of the MIAC overall statistics rankings. Masello ranks second in rebounds per-game (9.3) while Smith ranks second in points per-game (15.1) and fifth in rebounds per-game (7.1). Coplin currently sits fifth in the conference with a three-point field goal percentage of 38.1%.
• Augsburg's 16 wins so far this season are the third-most in school history, having finished with 22 wins in both 2018-19 and 2019-20.

FOR THE FOES
• Brooklyn Paulson led the Cardinals with 19 points and five rebounds while Izzy Goettelman finished with 13 points.

UP NEXT
• The Auggies are set to wrap up the season series against the College of Saint Benedict on Saturday (2/12) at 1 p.m. at Si Melby Hall.