GAME NOTES PDF
This week: No. 17 Augustana (7-0) opens Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action this weekend with a pair of road games. On Friday, the Vikings look to extend their seven game winning streak against Southwest Minnesota State (1-3) in Marshall, Minn. Game time is scheduled for 6 p.m. Augustana will then face off against Minnesota State (3-1) in Mankato, Minn., on Saturday for a 4 p.m. tipoff.
Last time out: Augustana got double-figure scoring efforts from five players en route to picking up a 96-62 victory over Dakota State Monday night in Sioux Falls.
Lydia Nelson anchored the balanced Augustana offensive effort, scoring 16 points on 7 of 12 shooting from the floor.
Tessa Wilka added 15 points,
Megan Doyle had 13,
Molly Hayes scored a dozen and
Emily Schulte netted 10.
The series: The Vikings are 11-7 against SMSU all-time, including having won the past seven meetings. The series first saw action in 1972, the first season of women's basketball at Augustana, and the Vikings lost 43-23. A year ago when the two teams played, Augustana topped the Mustangs 78-58. The Vikings are 35-22 in the series against Minnesota State that began during the 1983-84 season. In the last meeting on Feb. 24, 2010, the Vikings picked up a 65-54 win. For more information on each series, turn to page 8 and 9.
Dominant Doyle: With a scoring average of 16.3 points per game,
Megan Doyle has led the Vikings to finish their non-conference schedule a flawless 7-0. Doyle has led Augustana in scoring against Sioux Falls (17), Gustavus Adolphus (21) and Puerto Rico-Mayaguez (26). She has also led the Vikings in rebounds twice this season--first against USF (9) and again against GAC (7).
Rockin' redshirts: The Vikings' have seen impressive performances so far this season from redshirt freshman
Emily Schulte and
Katie Meister. Schulte had her first double-digit scoring outing on Monday against Dakota State, recording 10 points in the evening. Meister has seen action in all seven of Augustana's games to tally 12 points and nine rebounds.
Down south: Augustana was in Puerto Rico over Thanksgiving on a working holiday. They played a series of three games and won by margins of 49, 44 and 43 points.
Alex Feeney recorded her first-career double-double against American University-Puerto Rico, scoring 10 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
Conference openers: Since 2000-01, Augustana is 8-2 in conference-opening contests. The Vikings' only losses in that span came to Nebraska-Omaha to open conference action during the 2004-05 season and versus U-Mary to usher in the 2008-09 conference schedule.
Date Opponent W/L Score
Dec. 8, 2000 North Dakota W 73-71
Dec. 7, 2001 North Dakota State W 66-63
Jan. 4, 2003 Minnesota State W 85-84
Jan. 9, 2004 Nebraska-Omaha W 85-71
Jan. 6, 2005 Nebraska-Omaha L 57-58
Jan. 5, 2006 Nebraska-Omaha W 80-64
Jan. 4, 2007 Nebraska-Omaha W 70-62
Jan. 10, 2008 Nebraska-Omaha W 80-70
Dec. 5, 2008 University of Mary L 66-79
Dec. 4, 2009 University of Mary W 85-81
National news: Augustana is ranked No. 17 in the latest USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll released Tuesday by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association. The Vikings received 201 points and moved up five spots from their debut at No. 22 a week ago.
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), while 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 428-192 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.northernsun.org/live.cfm. 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 to the “schedule” page on the women's basketball homepage.
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).
Up next: The Vikings return home Dec. 10 and 11 to continue NSIC action against U-Mary and Northern State.
