GAME NOTES
This week: Augustana (8-1, 1-1 NSIC) hosts U-Mary (4-2, 1-1 NSIC) on Friday at 6:05 p.m. and Northern State (5-1, 2-0 NSIC) on Saturday at 4 p.m. to play its first home Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference games of the season.
On the tube: Both games this weekend will be regionally broacast 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.
Last time out: Augustana was on the road last weekend to open NSIC play against Southwest Minnesota State and Minnesota State. SMSU snapped a seven-game winning streak for the Vikings in a 63-56 victory over Augustana. The Vikings then picked up a 69-55 win over MSU.
The series: Augustana first faced U-Mary in 2006, and won 86-55. The Vikings are now 3-2 in the series, having beat the Marauders twice last season. Augustana is 19-13 in the series against Northern State that began during the 1972-73 season. The Vikings have been victorious against the Wolves in the previous four meetings.
Ranked: Augustana fell two spots and is ranked tied for No. 19 in the latest USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll released Tuesday by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association. The Vikings received 162 points in the poll. ?
Shootin' buckets: With 22 points against Minnesota State last Saturday,
Megan Doyle (Alexandria, S.D.) was Augustana's leading scorer for the fourth time this season. She has scored in double-figures in all nine of the Vikings' games. Against Puerto Rico-Mayaguez, Doyle scored a season-high 26 points.
From the line: Molly Hayes (Harrisburg, S.D.)?was unstoppable at the free-throw line last week, shooting a perfect 9 of 9. Seven of the nine were scored against Southwest Minnesota State.
On the rebound:?In both of the Vikings' games last weekend,
Kristi Board (Doland, S.D.) led Augustana in rebounds. She had eight against SMSU?and another five when the Vikings took on Minnesota State. Board also scored 13 points against SMSU?to be Augustana's leading scorer.
Starting for the Vikings: Tessa Wilka has been a starter for the Vikings in Augustana's past six games. She is averaging 6.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game.
Feeney from the field: Last weekend against Minnesota State,
Alex Feeney had a successful game, shooting 5 of 6 from the field and grabbing three rebounds. The evening prior she went 5 for 6 in free-throws against Southwest Minnesota State.
From the bench: Augustana's bench scored its lowest points of the season last weekend, combining for 12 points in the Vikings' two games. Against Minnesota State, the Vikings' bench scored eight points, while the Mavericks' bench had 20. SMSU's bench outscored Augustana's 16-4.
Leading the NSIC: Both
Megan Doyle and
Molly Hayes are sitting among the top of the NSIC for seals per game and free throw percentage, respectively. Doyle is No. 1 in the conference averging 3.5 seals, while
Molly Hayes is tied for No. 1 in free throw percentage, shooting 9 of 9. Augustana has also averaged 13 steals to take the No. 2 spot in the conference.
Conference openers: After last weekend, the Vikings are now 8-3 in conference openers since 2000-01, after their loss last weekend to SMSU. The Vikings' also lost to Nebraska-Omaha during the 2004-05 season and U-Mary in the 2008-09 season to open conference action.
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 six 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 429-193 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).
Up next: The Vikings take to the road to face Minnesota, Crookston and Minnesota State Moorhead on Dec. 17 and 18. Augustana then takes a week break for the holidays and will resume its NSIC schedule on Jan. 1.
