GAME NOTES (PDF)
This week: Augustana (16-6, 9-6 NSIC) hosts Minnesota State (11-8, 8-7 NSIC) and Southwest Minnesota State (7-12, 6-9 NSIC) this weekend at the Elmen Center. Friday's contest against MSU is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m., while tipoff is set for 4 p.m. on Saturday against SMSU.
Last time out: Concordia University, St. Paul handed Augustana a 76-60 defeat on Friday evening before the Vikings picked up an 81-74 win on Saturday against St. Cloud State. With the win, the Vikings snapped a four-game road losing streak.
The series: This is the Vikings' second meeting this season with Minnesota State and Southwest Minnesota State. Augustana is 36-22 in the series against MSU that began during the 1983-84 season. On Dec. 4, Augustana had a 69-55 victory over the Mavericks.
Dave Krauth is 34-11 against the Mavericks. The Vikings are 11-8 against SMSU all-time. The series first saw action in 1972, the first season of women's basketball at Augustana, and the Vikings lost 43-23. Augustana picked up its first loss of the season against SMSU on Dec. 3. Krauth is 9-6 against the Mustangs.
Winning streak: The Vikings are riding a 16-game home winning streak. 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.
Top 10: With 1,383 career points,
Megan Doyle (Alexandria, S.D.) is now No. 9 on the list of the top scorers at Augustana. Last Friday she had 14 points and picked up another 15 points on Saturday to pass Lori Anderson (1,382 points) and move up from the No. 10 position where she sat last week.
Top Scorers
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. 1383
Megan Doyle (112 games) - 2007-11
Assist leaders: Megan Doyle (Alexandria, S.D.)?moved up three spots and is now No. 5 on the career assists list at Augustana. Last weekend she combined for 14 assists.
Molly Hayes (Harrisburg, S.D.) has 421 assists and is No. 4 on the list. She had 10 assists in the Vikings two games a week ago.
Assists
1. 569 Sandra Zwach - 1993-97
2. 444 Tamera Oltmanns - 1998-02
3. 442 Laura Hensley - 2001-05
4. 421
Molly Hayes - 2006-08, 09-11
5. 411
Megan Doyle - 2007-11
Career high: Molly Hayes (Harrisburg, S.D.) topped the career-high she set the previous weekend and scored 28 points for Augustana against St. Cloud State last Saturday. She is one of three Vikings averaging in double-figure scoring with 14.9 points per game.
Solid showing: For her first time in a conference game this season,
Lydia Nelson (Lake Preston, S.D.) scored the high for Augustana with 15 points against Concordia, St. Paul.
Above and beyond: Molly Hayes (Harrisburg, S.D.) and
Alex Feeney (Bismark, N.D.) are shooting more than 50 percent from the field at 53.6 percent and 53.2 percent, respectively. Feeney is also the only Viking above 50 percent in 3-point shooting (51.7 percent)?and is one of three Vikings above 80 percent from the foul line (84.6 percent).
Megan Doyle (Alexandria, S.D.) is 88.8 from the charity stripe, while
Cami Koehn (Egan, S.D.) is 81.3 percent.
Triple-double: Megan Doyle (Alexandria, S.D.) scored 15 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and tallied 12 assists against St. Cloud State last Saturday to record a triple-double. The previous evening, Doyle had 14 points and 11 rebounds to record her first double-double of the season.
Conference leaders: Augustana is leading the conference in five statistical categories. The Vikings are No. 1 in scoring offense (74.5 ppg), assists (15.8 apg), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.13), defensive rebounds (27.13 rpg) and 3-point field goals made (9.0 per game).
Regionally speaking:?Augustana is ranked No. 6 in the first Central rankings of the season released Jan. 26 by the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Committee. The Vikings have a Division II record of 9-5.
Rank/Team/DII Record/Region Record
1 Wayne State (Neb.) 16-1 16-1
2 Fort Lewis 17-1 16-1
3 Metro State 15-1 14-1
4 Colorado Christian 13-2 13-2
5 Northern State 11-5 11-5
6 Augustana 9-5 9-5
7 Winona State 10-5 9-5
8 Mesa State 10-6 10-6
9 Concordia-St. Paul 9-8 9-7
10 Colorado St.-Pueblo 10-6 10-5
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 437-198 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).
