Box Score
The Augustana women's basketball team has its home winning streak snapped Saturday night with a 80-75 loss to Minnesota State University Moorhead. The Vikings made 12 3-pointers in the contest, but were unable to come out with the victory.
The loss drops the Vikings to 10-3 on the season and 4-2 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. The Dragons improve to 11-3 and 5-2 in NSIC play.
The Dragons took control of the game right away, outscoring the Vikings 12-6 in the first four minutes of the half. A 3-pointer by junior guard
Megan Doyle plus a bucket by freshman center
Alex Feeney pulled the Vikings to within one at 12-11 with 15:10 to play.
The Dragons started to pull away and led by as many as six before sophomore guard
Molly Hayes sunk a three to cut the lead to 26-23 with 5:40 remaining in the half.
Down 34-29 with 3:17 to play, the Vikings started to light it up from downtown, making three tres in the last three minutes of the half. Sophomore forward
Liz Helsper sank one at 2:55 before a layup by sophomore forward
Teri VerSteeg tied the score at 34-34 with 2:18 to play.
On the following Viking possession, Doyle drained a 3-pointer to give the Vikings their first lead of the half at 37-34 with 1:54 on the clock. MSUM's senior center Meghan Rettke sank two free throws to pull the Dragons back to within one, but Feeney dropped in a three from the top of the arc for the 40-36 lead.
A final layup by MSUM's senior forward Alison Nash-Gerlach ended the half with the Vikings leading 40-38.
Augie outshot the Dragons, shooting 51.6 percent (16 of 31) from the field and 58.3 percent (7 of 12) from behind the arc. MSUM was 40 percent (14 of 35) from the field and 33.3 percent (3 of 9) from 3-point range.
However, the Vikings shot just 25 percent (1 of 4) from the free throw line while the Dragons were 63.6 percent (7 of 11).
The Dragons also took advantage of their offensive rebounds, scoring 10 second-chance points while the Vikings were unable to score any.
MSUM came out hot in the second half, outscoring the Vikings 11-6 in the first five minutes to take a 49-46 lead.
VerSteeg made two free throws before junior guard
Tessa Wilka was fouled on a made layup and sank the free throw. This gave the Vikings a 51-49 lead with 14:28 to play.
The Dragons then scored ten unanswered points, six of which came from sophomore forward Angie Jetvig.
Augie fought back, and another three by junior forward
Kristi Board at the 6:09 mark pulled the Vikings to within one at 67-66.
A bucket by Rhettke was answered with a layup by Board before the Dragons scored six straight points to take a 75-68 lead with 2:26 left in the game.
Neither team would score for over a minute until the 1:20 mark, when Doyle was fouled on a layup and sunk the free throw to convert on the 3-point play. This cut the Dragon lead to 75-71.
On the ensuing inbounds play, the Vikings came out with a full-court press and seemed to have the Dragons trapped, but head coach Karla Nelson called a timeout just before the referee blew his whistle for the violation.
Brittany Mayclin was fouled on the next play, but made one only one of two free throws allowing VerSteeg to be fouled while bringing down the defensive rebound. She made both of her free throws to give the Vikings a chance at 76-73 with only 57 seconds on the clock.
Sophomore forward
Faith Tinklenberg made a steal on the Dragon's next possession, and a 3-point attempt by Doyle rimmed out. Tinklenberg got the rebound and the putback at 0:43 to move the score to 76-75 in favor of the Dragons.
Augie fouled Rettke, who made both of her free throws, before Hayes received a back door pass at the other end and narrowly missed a layup with Rettke grabbing the rebound.
Hayes fouled Mayclin, who sank two from the charity stripe to go up 80-75 with 22 seconds to play.
Augie had a chance to stay in the game, but a long three by Doyle hit the side of the rim and the Dragons held the ball for the final 18 seconds.
The Vikings were 44.3 percent (27 of 61) from the field and 44.4 percent (12 of 27) from 3-point range. They shot 64.3 percent (9 of 14) from the free throw line. The Dragons were 43.5 percent (27 of 62) shooting and 40 percent (6 of 15) from downtown. They were 69 percent (20 of 29) on free throws.
Augie recorded 21 assists to MSUM's 11, but the Dragons outrebounded the Vikings 43-35 and scored 17 second-chance points.
Doyle led the Vikings with 21 points, her second 20-point game of the season. She also dished out four assists.
Board contributed 11 points and five rebounds, while Tinklenberg, Feeney, and VerSteeg each added 10 points. This marked a career-high for VerSteeg.
Rettke led all scorers with 24 points and 15 rebounds and Nach-Gerlach also recorded a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Mayclin added 17 points.
The Vikings will play at home again Sunday against Minnesota, Crookston. Tipoff is at 2 p.m.
