GAME NOTES PDF
This week: Augustana (15-5, 8-5 NSIC) travels to Minnesota this weekend for contests against Concordia University, St. Paul (9-8, 8-5 NSIC) on Friday and St. Cloud State (9-8, 6-7 NSIC) on Saturday. Tip off is at 6 p.m. and 4 p.m., respectively. This marks the second time this season the Vikings will face these two conference opponents.
Last time out: The Vikings picked up a pair of home wins last weekend against Upper Iowa and Winona State. Augustana shot 57.8 percent from the floor and had five players in double-figure scoring en route to picking up a 101-53 victory over UIU Friday evening, The win snapped a three-game losing streak for Augustana. On Saturday, the Vikings used an 18-2 scoring run midway through the second half to defeat WSU 81-67. The wins extended Augustana's home winning streak to 16 games.
The series: Augustana first faced Concordia University, St. Paul in 1994 and is now 6-4 in the series. While the Vikings dropped both games to the Golden Bears last season, Augustana picked up an 84-75 victory on Jan. 4. The Vikings have yet to win on CU's home court. All 10 of the Vikings' appearances against the Golden Bears have been under the direction of head coach
Dave Krauth. Augustana is 30-25 against St. Cloud State. The Vikings are riding an eight-game winning streak against the Huskies that dates back to the 2006-07 season. On Jan. 3, the Vikings topped SCSU 81-67. Krauth is 30-14 against SCSU.
Regionally speaking: The Vikings are ranked No. 6 in the first week of the regional rankings which were released Wednesday by the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Committee. NSIC foe Wayne State is ranked No. 1, while Northern State is No. 5. Winona State checked in at No. 7 and Concordia University, St. Paul is No. 9.
NSIC Player of the Week: The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference announced Monday that Augustana junior guard
Molly Hayes (Harrisburg, S.D.) has been named Player of the Week after leading the Vikings to a pair of victories this past weekend. Hayes averaged 23.5 points and dished out nine assists to lead the Vikings to wins over Upper Iowa and Winona State. Hayes scored 21 points against Upper Iowa on Friday evening and was nearly perfect shooting as she was 8 of 9 (88.9 percent ) from the field. She was a flawless 2 of 2 in 3-pointers and 3 of 3 from the foul line. In the Vikings' win over WSU, Hayes began an 18-2 scoring run midway through the second half, which broke Augustana away from a tie at 53-53 for the Vikings to pick up an 81-67 victory. She scored a career-high 26 points on 9 of 13 shooting while tallying eight assists and grabbing six rebounds. She also had three steals.
1,000-point club: Molly Hayes (Harrisburg, S.D.) is now the 25th member of the 1,000-point club after her spectacular performance last weekend. At 9:16 in the second half against Upper Iowa on Friday, Hayes drilled a 3-pointer to record her 1,001 career point. She went on to collect 21 points in the evening, a game-high.
Winning streak: The Vikings extended their home winning streak to 16 games with the pair of weekend wins. The last time Augustana lost at home was on Jan. 9, 2010, to Minnesota State Moorhead. The Vikings are 9-0 in the Elmen Center this season.
New combo: Augustana's starting line up was changed against Winona State last Saturday. In 16 of the Vikings' 20 games this season,
Kristi Board (Doland, S.D.),
Megan Doyle (Alexandria, S.D.),
Molly Hayes (Harrisburg, S.D.),
Alex Feeney (Bismark, N.D.) and
Tessa Wilka (Sioux Falls, S.D.) have started on the court for Augustana. On Saturday, however,
Lydia Nelson (Lake Preston, S.D.) joined the starting lineup, replacing Board who was out with an injury. Nelson recorded 10 points and was 5 of 8 from the field.
Top 10: With 1,354 career points,
Megan Doyle (Alexandria, S.D.) surpassed Katie Krauth (1,335 career points) and is now No. 10 on the list of the top scorers at Augustana. She combined for 37 points last weekend to move up from the No. 12 position where she sat last week. With 36 more points, Doyle will surpass Tamera Oltmanns at the No. 7 spot.
1. 2001 Melissa Olson (109 games) - 1983-87
2. 1978 Dana Nielsen (116 games) - 1989-93
3. 1740 Sandra Zwach (106 games) - 1993-97
4. 1667 Cindy Heyden (77 games) - 1979-82
5. 1502 Heidi Morlock (116 games) - 1990-94
6. 1476 Candi Nielsen (110 games) - 1984-88
7. 1389 Tamera Oltmanns (112 games) - 1998-02
8. 1384 Amy Puthoff (123 games) - 2005-09
9. 1382 Lori Anderson (100 games) - 1987-91
10. 1354
Megan Doyle (110 games) - 2007-11
Career highs: Cami Koehn (Egan, S.D.) was just one of five Vikings in double-figures against Upper Iowa. The 13 points she recorded was a career high for the sophomore who has seen action in 16 games for Augustana this season. She also recorded a career high with six rebounds on the evening.
Record holders: Molly Hayes (Harrisburg, S.D.) moved up two spots and is now No. 4 on the career assists list at Augustana. She had nine assists in the Vikings' two games last weekend.
Megan Doyle (Alexandria, S.D.) is also in the top 10 at Augustana for assists with 397. She is eight assists shy of moving up to the No. 7 position.
Assists
1. 569 Sandra Zwach - 1993-97
2. 444 Tamera Oltmanns - 1998-02
3. 442 Laura Hensley - 2001-05
4. 411
Molly Hayes - 2006-08, 09-11
5. 408 Shelly Allen - 1980-84
6. 404 Alison Adamson - 2003-07
7. 402 Tracy Johnson - 1989-93
8. 397
Megan Doyle - 2007-11
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 436-197 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.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 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).
