Box ScoreThe Augustana women's basketball team opened the 200708 season in impressive fashion as the Vikings dispatched of Western Washington 83-58 at the Disney West Coast Tip Off Classic Friday afternoon in Anaheim, Calif. It was the season opener for both teams.
Augustana, ranked No. 22 in the USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Division II Top 25 Poll, had 5 players score in double figures as they cruised to the easy win.
Augie began to pull away from WWU late in the first half. Leading 21-15 with 7 minutes left in the half, Augustana closed out the period with a 14-7 run to take a 35-22 lead at the break.
The second half belonged to Augustana. The Vikings shot 62 percent (18 of 29) from the field including a 7 of 9 effort from 3-point range.
Western Washington closed to within 8 at 37-29 with 14:42 remaining, but Augustana used back-to-back 3-pointers by
Molly Hayes and
Chelsea DeVille to boost the lead back to 14 at 43-29 with 13:29 left on the clock. Augie led by double digits the rest of the way.
Amy Puthoff and
Ashley Holiday led Augustana with 15 points apiece. Puthoff netted 12 of her points in the first half, while Holiday scored 12 of her points after intermission.
Hayes, a redshirt freshman, added 13 points, 4 assists and 4 steals in her first career start, while
Whitney Hofer added 12 points and a game-high 6 rebounds. Puthoff also had 5 assists and 3 steals. DeVille was the only starter not to score double figures, but she still managed 8 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals.
Meanwhile,
Liz Helsper, another freshman, came off the bench to score 12 points on 4 of 4 shooting. She made all 3 of her shots behind the arc.
Augustana's defense proved to be too much for Western Washington as Augie forced 36 WWU turnovers.
Augustana will be in action again on Saturday when the Vikings take on 10th-ranked UC San Diego in a 5 p.m. (PDT) contest.
