GAME NOTES (PDF)
This week: Augustana (10-1, 3-1 NSIC) is on the road this weekend for a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference encounters. The Vikings visit Minnesota, Crookston (4-3, 1-2 NSIC) on Friday for a 6 p.m. game in Lysaker Gymnasium. On Saturday, Augustana takes on Minnesota State Moorhead (6-1, 3-0 NSIC) at 6 p.m. in Alex Nemzek Fieldhouse.
Last time out: The Vikings returned to the Elmen Center's Hall Sports Forum last weekend and swept a Northern Sun doubleheader from U-Mary (76-74) and Northern State (71-62).
The series: Friday will be the 10th meeting between the Vikings and Minnesota, Crookston in a series that first saw action in 1999. Augustana leads the series 8-1, with the lone loss occurring Dec. 1, 2004, in Crookston, Minn. A year ago when the Vikings and the Golden Eagles took to the court, Augustana topped UMC 92-60. Augustana is 9-3 in the series against Minnesota State Moorhead that began during the 1990-91 season. The Vikings' three losses in the series have occurred during the previous three meetings. In 2008 and 2010, Augustana dropped 66-79 and 75-80 decisions to MSUM while playing at home. In 2009, the Vikings were defeated 67-75 by the Dragons while on the road.
Tessa Terrific: Tessa Wilka's (Sioux Falls) late game efforts contributed to Augustana's sweep of U-Mary and Northern State last weekend. The 5-foot-11 senior guard was plugged into the starting rotation when
Faith Tinklenberg was lost for the season with a knee injury. Against U-Mary, Wilka blocked a 3-point attempt by Kayla Schmidt that would have put the Marauders on top with 21 seconds to play. Wilka also snared a game-high nine rebounds. A 14-4 stretch run against Northern allowed the Vikings to pull away from the Wolves for the win. Wilka helped fuel the surge with 6 of her 9 points, including a 3-pointer.
M & M show: Augustana's backcourt combination of
Molly Hayes (Harrisburg, S.D.) and
Megan Doyle (Alexandria, S.D.) is difficult to defend. Hayes had 25 points vs. U-May on 8-for-14 shooting to go along with 6 rebounds and 4 assists. She was 5-for-6 from the field vs. Northern State to finish with 14 points and 5 assists. Doyle put up 15 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists against U-Mary, and followed with 17 points and 4 assists against Northern State. Together they are averaging 29.3 points a game.
Offering assistance: As if the
Molly Hayes-
Megan Doyle duo scoring threat isn't enough for opposing teams, the pair is also liable to create plays. Hayes and Doyle are both in the top 10 in assists per game in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. Hayes is second in the conference with 4.25 assists per contest, while Doyle is ninth with 3.5 (conference games only).
Close calls in the Northern Sun: Four Northern Sun Conference contests were decided by three points or less last weekend, including Augustana's 76-74 victory over U-Mary on Friday evening.
Low turnover total: The Vikings have had fewer or the same turnovers as their opponents in every game this season. The only contest in which Augustana didn't have fewer turnovers was against the University of Sioux Falls when the two teams each had 24 (a season high for the Vikings). Augustana put together its lowest turnover total of the season against Northern State last Sunday, tallying just five. The Viking have had single digits in turnovers three times this season.
Ranked: Augustana jumped three spots and is ranked No. 16 in the latest USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll released Tuesday by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association. The Vikings received 216 points and moved up from their No. 19 position a week ago. Delta State again took the top spot in the poll, racking up 692 points and 22 first-place votes. Conference-neighbor Wayne State is ranked No. 10. To view this week's complete poll and see where Augustana has been ranked each week, turn to page 8
Double the fun: Senior
Megan Doyle (Alexandria, S.D.) has yet to not score in double figures this season. Her season low was a 10-point performance against American University of Puerto Rico on Nov. 24. The very next day, Doyle proceeded to drop a season-high 26 points on Puerto Rico-Mayaguez. The guard is averaging 16.3 points per game.
In good standing: The Vikings have a chance to knock off one of the conference's top teams on Saturday at MSU Moorhead. The Dragons currently sit atop the NSIC standings with a blemish-free 3-0 mark. MSUM is one of two teams that have yet to lose in conference competition as Wayne State is perfect through four conference tilts this season.
Get that out of here!: Augustana's blocking ability is beginning to haunt its opponents. The Vikings are averaging 4.3 blocks per game, a statistic that is getting a boost from
Tessa Wilka (Sioux Falls) and
Alex Feeney (Bismarck, N.D.). The tandem combines for nearly two blocks per contest; each is averaging 0.9 stuffs a game. As a team, the Vikings are second in the NSIC with 4.25 blocks per game.
Another great start: Augustana started the season 7-0, a tie for its best start to a season since 2000-01. During the 2004-05 season the Vikings also won seven contests in a row to start the season before Minnesota, Crookston snapped the streak, topping Augustana 81-68 on Dec. 1.
Roster breakdown: The Vikings return all five starters and 11 letterwinners from last year's NCAA Tournament squad that had 24 wins. Augustana features seven guards, seven forwards and three centers on its 2010-11 roster. There are also four seniors, four juniors, three sophomores, three redshirt freshmen and three freshmen.
Coaches' corner: Dave Krauth enters his 22nd campaign at the Viking helm. His 431-193 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.
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.
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).
