Women's Basketball 2/13/02 -- Gustavus 67, Augsburg 52

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MINNEAPOLIS (2/16/02) -- Angie Peterson (So., Northfield, Minn.) had 21 points and four steals, and Kelly Etzel (Jr., Hamel, Minn./Wayzata HS) scored 18 points and pulled down seven rebounds, leading Gustavus Adolphus College to a 67-52 win over Augsburg College in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference women's basketball game Saturday afternoon at Augsburg's Si Melby Hall.

An 14-4 run to open the second half enabled the Gusties to work from a 24-24 tie to a 38-28 lead, and the Gusties never trailed after that to improve to 19-6 overall and 18-4 in the MIAC. Augsburg finished its season at 8-17 overall and 7-15 in MIAC play, losing its third straight game and fourth of its last five.

Gustavus opened the game with a 7-0 run, but the Auggies slowly closed the lead with an 11-4 run to tie the game midway through the first half.

While the first half featured three ties and seven lead changes, the second half was all Gustavus. After the 14-4 run, the closest Augsburg was able to cut the lead was to five points. The 15-point final margin was the largest lead of the game for the Gusties. Gustavus outscored Augsburg 43-28 in the second half.

Etzel connected on 9-of-10 field goals for the Gusties, while Peterson hit three 3-pointers. Marnie Stenson (Jr., Prior Lake, Minn./Shakopee HS) had eight points and four assists, and Carey Willis (Sr., Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata HS) had six points, four assists, five steals and two blocks. Jennifer Klohs (So., Brooklyn Park, Minn./Champlin Park HS) had six points and four steals.

With the win, Gustavus clinches a fourth-place conference finish and will host fifth-place St. Mary's (14-11 overall, 11-11 MIAC) in an opening-round MIAC playoff game on Monday (2/18) at 7:30 p.m. in St. Peter, Minn.

The game was the final one for five Auggie seniors -- Carrie Schwartz (Sr., Hutchinson, Minn.), Allison Illa (Sr., Cannon Falls, Minn.), Jennie LaManna (Sr., South St. Paul, Minn.), Betsy Gessell (Sr., Crystal, Minn./Robbinsdale Cooper HS) and Rowena Sizer (Sr., Rochester, Minn./Mayo HS).

Sizer led the Auggies with 15 points and four rebounds, while Illa had her third double-double of the season -- and third of her career -- with 10 points and 11 rebounds. She also had two blocked shots. LaManna also had 10 points for the Auggies.

Four of the five seniors saw significant game action, though Schwartz -- who suffered a knee injury in Augsburg's loss to St. Thomas on Feb. 2 -- took the opening tap and was immediately subbed out of the game.

Gustavus' defense was able to keep Augsburg's leading scorer, Kelly Chapman (So., Willernie, Minn./Mahtomedi HS), scoreless with an 0-for-12 shooting night, though Chapman did contribute eight rebounds.