GAME NOTES
This week: The regular season comes to a close this weekend as Augustana (18-9, 11-9 NSIC) hosts Minnesota State Moorhead (14-10, 11-9 NSIC) on Friday and Minnesota, Crookston (13-11, 10-10 NSIC) on Saturday. Tip off is at 6 p.m. and 4 p.m, respectively.
Last time out: Augustana hosted travel partner No. 9 Wayne State last Saturday and lost 75-55. WSC had 25 points from Ashley Arlen in the victory.
Megan Doyle (14 points),
Molly Hayes (13 points),
Alex Feeney (11 points) and
Kristi Board (10 points) were all in double-figure scoring for the Vikings.
The series: Augustana is 9-4 in the series against Minnesota State Moorhead. The Vikings have not defeated the Dragons since Dec. 29, 1999, having lost the previous four meetings. Earlier this season, MSU Moorhead topped Augustana by three points. Augustana's only loss to Minnesota Crookston was on Dec. 1, 2004. The Vikings are 9-1 in the series, having defeated the Golden Eagles by a margin of 26 points earlier this season.
Dave Krauth has been the head coach of the Vikings in all of the series meetings for both opponents.
Welcome back: On Saturday, Augustana will welcome back
Dani Arens, the lone senior on last year's squad, for alumni weekend. Arens will be presented with a commemorative player banner during halftime. All other basketball alumni in attendance will also be recognized.
What's left: This weekend's contests against Minnesota State Moorhead and Minnesota, Crookston mark the end of the regular season for the Vikings. Augustana is tied for No. 6 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference standings, but the right combination of Viking wins and opponent losses could get Augustana a first-round home game. The NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament begins on March 2 and only the top four teams in the final conference standings get home games to open. Semifinal and championship games will be played in St. Paul, Minn., on March 5 and 6.
Senior night: Augustana has four seniors that will play the final two regular-season games of their career this weekend.
Kristi Board (Doland, S.D.),
Megan Doyle (Alexandria, S.D.),
Liz Helsper (Brookings, S.D.) and
Tessa Wilka (Sioux Falls, S.D.) each hold a senior status on the Vikings' roster and have had impressive careers at Augustana. Board has started in 52 games for the Vikings and has scored 704 points. She had a single-game high 21points against Concordia on Jan. 29, 2010. Doyle has started in every game (88 of 117) for the Vikings since her sophomore season. As a junior, Doyle passed the 1,000 career-point mark and became the 24th member of Augustana's 1,000-point club. She has currently scored 1,456 career points and is No. 7 on the list of the top scorers at Augustana. Doyle also has 430 career assists to sit at No. 5 on the career list. Helsper has started 29 games for Augustana. When the Vikings played St. Cloud State, she made five 3-point field goals to tie her own single-game highs in 3-point field goals made, field goals made and points scored in a game. Helsper has scored 375 points for Augustana. Wilka has started in all but three games this season for the Vikings. She has scored 419 points and has collected another 279 rebounds during her time as a Viking.
Oh snap: Augustana's 18-game home win streak was snapped by Wayne State on Saturday. Prior to Saturday's loss, the last time the Vikings were defeated on their own court was more than a year ago when Minnesota State Moorhead handed Augustana a 80-75 loss.
Looking back: The Vikings haven't experienced nine conference loses in a season since 2003-04 when Augustana's conference record was 5-9. Since 2000-01, Augustana had the fewest conference losses in 2006-07, finishing North Central Conference action 9-3.
Year Conference Record
2000-01 13-5
2001-02 9-9
2002-03 4-12
2003-04 5-9
2004-05 6-6
2005-06 7-5
2006-07 9-3
2007-08 7-5
2008-09 13-7
2009-10 16-4
2010-11 11-9
Double take: When facing opponents for a second time this season, the Vikings are 3-4. Augustana lost to Concordia, Northern State, U-Mary and Wayne State during the second meeting with each of these teams, but had victories against each of these opponents except Wayne State in the first meeting. Augustana has defeated both Minnesota State and St. Cloud State twice this season, but picked up a victory against Southwest Minnesota State in the second meeting after dropping to the Mustangs to begin the NSIC schedule.
Regionally speaking: Augustana climbed one spot and is ranked No. 6 in the latest Central Region rankings released Feb. 16 by the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Committee. The Vikings have a Division II and in-region record of 12-6.
Rank Team DII Record Region Record
1 Fort Lewis 19-1 20-1
2 Metro State 18-1 19-1
3 Wayne State (Neb.) 19-2 19-2
4 Colorado Christian 14-5 14-5
5 Concordia-St. Paul 13-7 13-8
6 Augustana 12-6 12-6
7 Northern State 14-6 14-6
8 Winona State 12-6 13-6
9 Mesa State 13-7 13-7
10 Colorado St.-Pueblo 12-6 12-7
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 439-201 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.
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).
