ST. JOSEPH, Minn. -- The Augsburg College women's basketball team recorded a 61-50 victory over the College of Saint Benedict on Wednesday night in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action at Claire Lynch Hall. The win breaks a 25-season, 50-game losing streak to the Blazers and is the first time in Saint Benedict coach Mike Durbin's career that he has lost to the Auggies.

Augsburg was led by Serenae Levine (SR, Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie HS) and Brittany Zins (JR, Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy HS). Levine scored a season-high 17 points, which included a 9-of-10 performance from the free-throw line, and posted a career-high six steals. Zins posted the only double-double of the night, and second of her career, with a 16-point, 10-rebound performance.

Augsburg claimed its first victory over Saint Benedict since a 67-49 triumph on Feb. 22, 1986 at Saint Benedict. Augsburg is now 2-0 overall (1-0 MIAC) under new head coach Bill McKee.

In just the second game of their Auggie debut seasons, Abbey Luger (FY, Oakdale, Minn./North St. Paul HS) and Kendra Ware (SO, Brooklyn Park, Minn./Osseo HS) combined to shoot 6-for-7 from the floor and came off the bench to score six and eight points, respectively.

Saint Benedict (3-1 overall, 0-1 MIAC) was led by Brianna Barrett (SO, Annandale, Minn./Annandale), who finished with 11 points, three rebounds and two steals.

The first nine minutes of action was hard-fought, with four tie scores and two lead changes. A jumper by Katie Ahlstrom (JR, St. Paul, Minn./Henry Sibley HS) at the 10:33 mark of the first half proved to be the spark the Auggies needed. Ahlstrom's jumper broke a 10-10 tie and sparked a 13-2 run for the Auggies, creating a lead the Auggies would not relinquish.

After leading 31-19 at the half, Augsburg extended its lead to as many as 15 points before the Blazers could put together a rally. Saint Benedict cut the Auggie lead to 53-50 with just 2:26 to play, but 6-of-6 shooting from the free-throw line and a jumper from Zins as time ran out was enough to seal the win for Augsburg.

For the game, Augsburg converted on 43.4 percent (23-of-53) from the field, while holding the Blazers to just 38.8 percent (19-of-49). The Auggies claimed a 36-26 advantage on the boards and forced 27 Saint Benedict turnovers, which Augsburg converted into 28 points.

Both teams return to action on Saturday (12/3) with MIAC contests. Augsburg plays host to Concordia College-Moorhead with a 1 p.m. scheduled tipoff, while Saint Benedict hosts Carleton College at 3 p.m.