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This week: Augustana (1-0) battles cross-town rival the University of Sioux Falls (4-0) on Wednesday in the fourth annual Prairie Spirit Charitable Challenge. Tipoff against the Cougars is set for 6 p.m. at the Sioux Falls Arena.
The Prairie Spirit Charitable Challenge: 2010 marks the fourth year for the Prairie Spirit Charitable Challenge, a contest that has annually featured Augustana and the University of Sioux Falls. All proceeds generated from the game will benefit “Children's Home Society.” CHS provides a home, school and therapy for children with emotional and behavioral problems. The majority of children have a history of abuse and neglect. Foster care and adoption services are provided for children who are unable to return to their birth families. CHS also provides emergency shelter services and counseling for women and children who are victims of domestic abuse.
Last time out: Augustana had five players score in double figures as the Vikings cruised past William Penn 103-60 in Monday night's season opener in Sioux Falls.
Alex Feeney led all scorers with 18 points, while
Molly Hayes and
Megan Doyle each had 15.
Faith Tinklenberg added 14 points, and
Kristi Board finished with 12.
The series: Augustana is 23-2 against USF in a series dating back to the 1972-73 season in which the Vikings experienced their first of two losses. The last time USF saw a win against Augustana was on Dec. 15, 1988, when the Cougars notched an 80-77 victory. A year ago when the two teams met up, the Vikings won by a margin of 30 points.
Feeney on fire: The leading scorer in Monday night's game against William Penn was sophomore
Alex Feeney (Bismarck, N.D.) who posted 18 points. This marks Feeney's fourth time as the leading scorer during her carreer as a Viking. She was four for four in 3-pointers while shooting six of seven from the field.
Up for grabs: Faith Tinklenberg (Pipestone, Minn.) grabbed a game-high nine rebounds to just miss a second-career double-double after finishing the evening with 14 points.
Seeing double: With 15 points and 11 assists,
Molly Hayes (Harrisburg, S.D.) recorded her first double-double of the 2010-11 season on Monday in the Vikings' season opener. Currently, Hayes leads Augustana with three career double-doubles.
With a win: A win on Wednesday would give Augustana its seventh 2-0 start to a season since 2000. The Vikings also began the 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2008 and 2009 seasons with a pair of victories.
Who's back: Megan Doyle (Alexandria, S.D.),
Molly Hayes (Harrisburg, S.D.),
Alex Feeney (Bismarck, N.D.), and
Faith Tinklenberg (Pipestone, Minn.) started every game a year ago.
Kristi Board, a 5-10 senior from Doland, S.D., started the first 21 games before an injury took her out of the rotation. Board finished the season averaging 11.3 points a game and was among the leading rebounders with 127.
Tessa Wilka (Sioux Falls), a 5-11 senior guard,
Liz Helsper (Brookings, S.D.), 5-10 senior forward, and
Katie Van Duynhoven (Mankato, Minn.), 6-0 junior center, played in all 31 games.
Lydia Nelson (Lake Preston, S.D.), 5-11 sophomore forward, and
Teri VerSteeg (Platte, S.D.), 6-0 junior forward, made appearances in 30 games.
Cami Koehn (Egan, S.D.), 5-10 sophomore guard, saw action in 19 games.
Now in blue and gold: Redshirt freshmen
Emily Schulte (Sioux Falls),
Rhianna Gullickson (Alexandria, S.D.), and
Katie Meister (Sioux Falls) will be waiting for their chance to contribute along with true freshmen
Shaunteva Ashley (Sioux Falls),
Emily Bose (Hadley, Minn.),
Andrea Whitney (Sartell, Minn.) and
Caitlin Whiting (White River, S.D.).
Roster breakdown: The Vikings return all six starters and 11 letterwinners from last year's NCAA Tournament squad that had 24 wins. Augustana features seven guards and eight forwards on its 2010-11 roster. There are also four seniors, four juniors, three sophomores, three redshirt freshmen and four freshmen.
Guard it: Megan Doyle, 5-foot-8 senior from Alexandria, S.D., is one of the top guards in Division II. Doyle was an All-NSIC first-team selection a year ago, leading the Vikings in scoring (14.6 points a game). She was second in rebounds (165), and first in assists (164) and shared the top spot for steals. Doyle was the leading scorer in a dozen games. She has been named Augustana's 2010-11 NSIC Player to Watch.
Praise for Hayes: Last season,
Molly Hayes, a 5-6 junior from Harrisburg, S.D., averaged 11.2 points a game to go along with 156 assists and 120 rebounds, while sharing the top spot for steals with 60. She set the scoring pace in nine games and earned All-NSIC second team last season.
She shoots, she scores: At one forward Augustana returns the 2009-10 NSIC Freshman of the Year in 6-foot sophomore
Alex Feeney (Bismarck, N.D.), who was also selected to the Division II Bulletin All-Freshman Team. She averaged 10.3 points a game, led the team in rebounds (174) and blocked 29 shots last season.
Receiving votes: Augustana received 38 votes in the USA TODAY/ESPN Coaches' Preseason Poll released Nov. 3. The Vikings were one of four NSIC teams to be ranked or receive votes. Arkansas Tech took the No. 1 spot with 671 points and 15 first-place votes. NSIC neighbors Wayne State (Neb.) checked in at 18 with 198 points. Concordia University, St. Paul and Minnesota State received 95 and 16 points, respectively.
According to the coaches: Augustana was selected second in the 2010-11 NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Vikings received two first-place votes and 152 points from the conference's 14 head coaches. Wayne State received 11 first-place votes and 166 points to take the No. 1 position. Concordia-St. Paul was third (one first-place votes, 150 points), and Minnesota Duluth and Winona tied for fourth (125 points).
1. Wayne State (11) 166
2. Augustana (2) 152
3. Concordia-St. Paul (1) 150
4. Minnesota Duluth 125
Winona State 125
6. MSU Moorhead 97
7. Northern State 93
8. Minnesota State 91
9. Minnesota, Crookston 63
10. St. Cloud State 69
11. U-Mary 51
12. Southwest Minnesota State 49
13. Bemidji State 40
14. Upper Iowa 13
( ) First Place Votes
NCAA Tournament time: The Vikings advanced to the NCAA?Tournament in 2009-10 for the second consecutive year. Last season, the Vikings made it to the semifinals before dropping to Fort Lewis. Krauth has 11 NCAA?Tournament appearances under his belt.
Coaches' corner: Dave Krauth enters his 22nd campaign at the Viking helm. His 421-192 won-loss record is unmatched in school history. In his 21 years on the bench, Krauth has experienced just one losing season. The veteran head coach has guided his squads to 11 NCAA Tournament appearances and finished second in the NSIC in 2009-10 before qualifying for the NCAA Tournament and advancing to the region semifinals. Krauth is assisted by
Mark Stavenger, Amy Puthoff and Shawn Bergan.
Coach Puthoff: Amy Puthoff has not always enjoyed basketball from the sidelines as a graduate assistant coach. She once had a successful career at Augustana herself. In her senior season, the Hartford, S.D., native became the 24th player in school history to score 1,000 points and ended her career eighth on the all-time scoring list with 1,384 points. In addition, Puthoff is fourth on the all-time career 3-point field goal chart with 207.
Vikings add three for 2011-12: Head coach
Dave Krauth announced Nov. 9 that Alex Kneeland from Summit, S.D., Sophie Kenney from Fargo, N.D., and Nicole Kerkhoff from Morgan, Minn., have all signed letters of intent to continue their academic and athletic careers at Augustana beginning in 2011-12. Kneeland, a 5-foot-7 guard, averages 26.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game and is a two-time All-State first team selection. Kenney, a 5-foot-10 guard, lead Shanley High School to the consolation championship and averaged nine points, four rebounds and 6.5 assists per game during her junior season. Kerkhoff is a 5-foot-11 forward who averaged 15 points and eight rebounds per game to earn All-Area first team honors as a junior.
Follow live: There are several ways to get up-to-the-second updates from Augustana basketball games--both home and away. Jeff Fylling calls all the games live on KXRB-AM 1000; that broadcast can also be picked up at www.kxrb.com/stream/. All of the Vikings' home games are video webcasted at www.GoAugie.com/webcast. Each conference road contest is also webcast by the host institution. A link for broadcasts on the road can be found on the “schedule” page on the women's basketball home page. Live statistics for all of Augustana's home games can be viewed by logging onto www.GoAugie.com/livestats. For live stats of each road game, check out www.GoAugie.com/livecentral or go the “schedule” page on the women's basketball home page.
The Augustana Coaches' Show: Live from the Gateway Lounge in Sioux Falls, The Augustana Coaches' Show airs each Monday at 5 p.m. Join Jeff Fylling and Augustana head coaches as they discuss various topics surrounding Viking athletics.
Stay connected: Follow Augustana all season long on its official online home, www.GoAugie.com. You can also get the latest news and updates on the Vikings on Facebook (www.facebook.com/GoAugie) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/GoAugie). To view video highlights and the latest episode of the Augustana Sportscene, log onto the Vikings' official YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/GoAugie).
