CLINTON, Iowa - The Ashford University (6-4, 1-0 MCC) women's basketball team opened the Midwest Collegiate Conference schedule with a home victory over Clarke College (2-8, 0-1 MCC) on Wednesday evening, toppling the Crusaders, 63-44.

Senior guard Kim Fabry of Oconto Falls, Wis., collected a team-high 14 points and nine rebounds and junior forward Heather Hoge of Camanche came up big in a reserve role, scoring 10 points without missing a shot.

AU was riding momentum from its last game on Nov. 28, a win over No. 3 (USCAA) Rochester College (Minn.) in the waning moments.

"It feels good to get that first conference win under our belt and our goal is to continue to build off this effort," AU Head Coach Chris Powers said. "We rebounded well and made the most of our chances at the free-throw line. I thought we defended well and it was a very solid all-around performance on the court tonight."

The Saints bottled up the MCC's leading scorer, Crusaders' guard Casey Breitbach, to just five points on 2-of-9 shooting. Breitbach entered tonight's game averaging over 21 points per contest.

AU also held the MCC's leading rebounder, Joquetta Rolle, well below her season averages of 14.6 rebounds per game, limiting the 5-7 forward to five total boards.

Breitbach his a three-point field goal to open the game and the Saints responded by putting the defensive clamps on the St. Ambrose University transfer. She would make just one more field goal for the game and was saddled with early foul trouble.

Hoge, a transfer from Kirkwood Community College, made her presence felt off the bench, making all three of her tries from the floor and all four attempts from the free-throw line.

AU senior forward Jessie Rosenow of Erie, Ill., hit a pair of buckets on back-to-back possessions in the paint to key a 14-2 run by the Saints to end the first half. The run broke a 20-all tie with just over six minutes left before the break.

The Saints controlled momentum after halftime, going on a 8-1 run to push their lead up to 19. AU would enjoy a double-digit lead the rest of the way with Clarke coming no closer than 12 points.

Contributing to another balanced scoresheet was three AU players scoring eight points each in senior Shel'si Weaver of Beloit, Wis., Kayla Crist of Stanwood and senior guard Kelly Fisher of Fremont, Calif.

AU continues MCC play on Saturday in La Crosse, Wis., traveling to Viterbo University for a 1 p.m. game.