MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The St. Olaf College women's basketball team fell in a nine-point hole after the first quarter and was unable to dig its way out in a 52-46 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) road loss to Augsburg University on Saturday afternoon at Si Melby Hall.

Augsburg (4-3, 1-1 MIAC) shot 64.3 percent (9-for-14) from the field in the opening quarter to build a 21-12 lead and held off St. Olaf (4-3, 0-2 MIAC) despite scoring just 20 points in the second half. After trailing by as many as 14 early in the second quarter, the Oles got within two with over seven minutes to go in the fourth quarter but could not complete the comeback.

Sophomore Elise Hahn continued her strong start to the season with a fifth double-double in seven games, compiling 16 points and a career-high-tying 17 rebounds to go with a career-high-tying five blocked shots and three steals. Junior Joy Brandenstein was also in double figures with 14 points on 5-for-10 shooting from the field, but St. Olaf could not overcome a 1-for-24 (4.2 percent) shooting day from behind the arc.

Saylor Gallagher hit back-to-back three-pointers midway through the first quarter to help Augsburg to a 12-4 lead early on. The Auggies held an 18-6 lead with 2:22 remaining before Hahn scored six of the final nine points of the quarter to cap her eight-point quarter for the Oles.

Augsburg extended its lead to 26-12 – its largest of the day – 2:38 into the second quarter and maintained a double-digit-point lead at the break at 21-21. Brandenstein scored six of St. Olaf's nine second-quarter points, with seven of the Oles' nine points coming from the free-throw line.

Brandenstein and Hahn combined for 11 of St. Olaf's 13 points in the third quarter, as the Oles limited the Auggies to 3-for-19 (15.8 percent) shooting in the quarter to shave three points off the Augsburg lead. Consecutive layups by Brandenstein made it a four-point game with a little over one minute to play in the third before the Auggies scored the final four points to enter the fourth with a 42-34 lead.

First year Emanuella Sennowo scored four of the first six points of the fourth to get St. Olaf within two at 42-20 with 7:18 remaining, but that was as close as the Oles got over the final 10 minutes. Augsburg held the Oles scoreless for nearly the next five minutes while pushing its lead back to eight. Sophomore Grace Gertner made a three-pointer and split a pair of free throws in the final 2:30 to get St. Olaf's deficit back to just four, but it was not enough.

Next up for the Oles is a home game against Concordia-Moorhead at 5:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 10 to kick off a doubleheader at Skoglund Center.