WINONA, Minn. – The Augsburg University women's basketball team got back to winning ways on Monday evening, defeating Saint Mary's University 50-44 in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Augsburg 50, Saint Mary's 44
LOCATION: SMU Gym, Winona, Minn.
RECORDS: Augsburg 9-5 overall (6-5 MIAC), Saint Mary's 4-10 overall (3-8 MIAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
• Augsburg dominated the opening minutes of the game, working out to a 9-0 lead and holding a 9-5 advantage at the first quarter break. The Auggies pushed the advantage all the way to 11 at the halfway point of the second quarter, but the Cardinals managed to cut the deficit back to nine at 21-12 when the buzzer sounded at halftime.
• Saint Mary's opened the third quarter on a 10-2 run that made it a one-point game, but Augsburg had an answer once again as it fended off the Cardinal rally to maintain a narrow lead throughout the remainder of the quarter. With Augsburg leading by nine with 1:58 to play, the Cardinals worked to make things interesting as they chipped the deficit all the way down to four with just 11 seconds on the clock. The Auggies came up with one final answer, however, drawing a late foul and sinking both free throws to ice the six-point win.
• Jaley Coplin (SR, Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee HS) tied for the game high with 15 points in 4-9 shooting, also adding five rebounds, a block, and a steal.
• Katie Manecke (JR, Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View HS) matched her career high with 10 points on 3-7 shooting while getting involved on defense with three steals and three rebounds.
 • Kalena Myers (JR, Burnsville, Minn./Apple Valley HS) finished with eight points and a team-best eight rebounds. Nikole Gullerud (SR, Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley HS) added six points and seven rebounds in her first career start.
• Both teams struggled to shoot the ball at an efficient rate with Augsburg going 16-46 (34.8%) from the floor and Saint Mary's going just 15-56 (26.8%). The Auggies were much better at capitalizing on second-chance opportunities, cashing in 10 offensive boards for 10 points while Saint Mary's scored just three points off 12 offensive rebounds.

FOR THE FOES
• Brooklyn Paulson led the Cardinals with 15 points while Ashley Streveler and Katelyn Cruze scored eight each.

UP NEXT
• The Auggies will make the long drive to Moorhead, Minn. on Wednesday, January 18 for a 7:15 pm tip-off with Concordia-Moorhead.