GAME NOTES (PDF)
This week: No. 16 Augustana (11-2, 4-2 NSIC) returns home this weekend to open play in the new year against a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference opponents. St. Cloud State (6-3, 3-2 NSIC) will visit the Elmen Center on Saturday and Concordia University, St. Paul (3-6, 2-3 NSIC) on Sunday. Tipoff for both games is 4:05 p.m.
Last time out: Augustana had its final games in 2010 on Dec. 17 and 18 with NSIC treks to Minnesota, Crookston and Minnesota State Moorhead. The Vikings picked up an 84-58 victory over UMC and fell 63-60 to MSUM the following evening.
On the tube: Both games this weekend will be regionally broadcast by Midco Sports Network. Midcontinent Communications subscribers can find MidcoSN on Channel 26. Tom Neiman will handle the play-by-play, while Al Bahe will provide color commentary.
The series: Augustana is 29-25 against St. Cloud State in a series that first saw action during the 1983-84 season. The Vikings have won the last seven tilts between the two schools, including a 77-73 victory last season in St. Cloud. Augustana is 5-4 in the series against Concordia University, St. Paul. The two programs first met on Nov. 29, 1994. The Golden Bears have won the last three contests and were victorious in the last meeting in St. Paul, posting an 84-71 win.
Ranked: Augustana jumped three spots and is ranked No. 16 in the latest USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll released Dec. 13 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.
Happy New Year: Since the 2000-01 season, Augustana is 7-3 in games to open the new year. The Vikings last lost a year-opening contest in 2005 when Nebraska-Omaha took a 58-57 decision from Augustana. Since then, the Vikings have won five straight to open a new year.
Date Opponent W/L Score H/A
Jan. 5, 2001 Minnesota State L 68-61 A
Jan. 4, 2002 Minnesota State L 70-68 H
Jan. 4, 2003 Minnesota State W 85-84 A
Jan. 3, 2004 Dakota Wesleyan W 83-72 H
Jan. 6, 2005 Nebraska-Omaha L 58-57 A
Jan. 5, 2006 Nebraska-Omaha W 80-64 H
Jan. 4, 2007 Nebraska-Omaha W 70-62 H
Jan. 5, 2008 Dakota State W 65-63 H
Jan. 2, 2009 Bemidji State W 92-69 H
Jan. 2, 2010 Bemidji State W 82-65 A
Fantastic five: Each of Augustana's starting five scored in double-figures against Minnesota, Crookston to assist in the 26-point victory over the Golden Eagles.
Alex Feeney (Bismarck, N.D.) finished with 19 points and nine rebounds.
Megan Doyle (Alexandria, S.D.) added 18 points,
Molly Hayes (Harrisburg, S.D.) had 13 and
Kristi Board (Dolan, S.D.) and
Tessa Wilka (Sioux Falls) each netted 10.
Viking firsts: Augustana dropped just its second game of the season against Minnesota State Moorhead and in doing so picked up a couple firsts of the season. For starters, the outing marked the first time Augustana has been outscored in the second half. MSU Moorhead tallied 32 points in the final half, while the Vikings had 21 points. Also, for the first time this season the Vikings recorded more turnovers than their opponent. Augustana recorded 14 turnovers in the game against the Dragons, while MSU Moorhead had 13.
Shooting freebies: Six Vikings are shooting 70 percent or better from the charity stripe heading into the 2011 portion of the season.
Megan Doyle (Alexandria, S.D.) leads that effort, as she has gone 45 of 51 (88.2).
Fabulous Feeney: Sophomore
Alex Feeney (Bismarck, N.D.) was one point away from recording her second double-double of the season in Augustana's game against Minnesota, Crookston. She led the team in scoring with 19 points and also in rebounds with nine.
Prairie home companion: The Vikings have been flawless against Concordia University, St. Paul at home, having never lost to the Golden Bears in five meetings at the Elmen Center.
Keeping the streak alive:
Megan Doyle (Alexandria, S.D.) will be looking to extend her double-digit scoring record this weekend. The guard has scored in double-figures during all 13 games this season and has led the Vikings in scoring in five games.
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 432-194 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).
