GAME NOTES
This week: No. 5 seeded Augustana (20-9, 13-9 NSIC) faces No. 4 seeded Winona State (18-8, 14-8 NSIC) in the first round of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference/Sanford Health Women's Basketball tournament at 7 p.m. on Wednesday in Winona, Minn.
Last time out: Augustana finished its regular season last weekend with wins over Minnesota State Moorhead and Minnesota, Crookston.
Alex Feeney helped Augustana hold off MSMU with two blocks in the last seconds of action for the Vikings to defeat the Dragons 69-63. She then recorded her second double-double of the season, scoring 19 points and grabbing a career-high 13 rebounds to guide Augustana to a 76-63 victory over the Golden Eagles.
The series: Augustana has faced Winona State 19 times since the two teams first met during the 1984-85 season, and the Vikings lead the series 16-3. The Vikings are 4-2 on the road against the Warriors. Augustana has been victorious in the last three meetings against WSU, including topping the Warriors 81-67 earlier this year. Krauth is 15-3 in the series against WSU.
With a win: A Viking win on Wednesday against Winona State would mean a trip to Gangelhoff Center in St. Paul, Minn., where the semifinal and championship rounds of the NSIC Tournament are being held on Saturday and Sunday. Augustana would square off against the winner of No. 1-seeded Wayne State (ranked No. 8 nationally) and No. 8 seeded Minnesota, Crookston.
Don't sweat it: The NSIC tournament champion earns automatic qualification to the 2011 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Central Region Tournament held March 11, 12 and 14. The top eight teams in the region qualify and Augustana is currently ranked seventh.
Rewind: A year ago, Augustana was seeded second behind Wayne State with a conference record of 16-4 in the NSIC tournament. After winning its first game against Northern State 67-55, Augustana fell to No. 3-seeded Wayne State 75-60 in the semifinal.
In comparison: The Vikings finished the season with 20 wins and 13 conference wins. The 20-win campaign is something
Dave Krauth has done 14 times as head coach of Augustana and seven years in a row.
Out with a bang: Senior
Tessa Wilka (Sioux Falls, S.D.) tied her career-high for the third time in the final home game of her career, collecting 15 points against Minnesota, Crookston. She also had 15 points against Valley City State on Dec. 9, 2009, and on Nov. 29, 2010, when the Vikings played Dakota State.
Take a bow: Kristi Board (Doland, S.D.),
Megan Doyle (Alexandria, S.D.),
Liz Helsper (Harrisburg, S.D.) and
Tessa Wilka (Sioux Falls, S.D) are all seniors on the Vikings' squad who played in their final regular-season contests last weekend. Doyle led the group with 29 total points on the weekend, and Wilka added 23. Board and Helsper put up 18 points and 16 points, respectively.
Feeney on fire:?The 19 points and 13 rebounds that
Alex Feeney (Bismark, N.D.) recorded against Minnesota, Crookston earned her a double-double. It was her second this season. She also set a new game high, breaking her previous mark of 12. The only other time this season a Viking has recorded 13 rebounds was against St. Cloud State when
Megan Doyle (Alexandria, S.D) did it.
Movin' up:?On the list of the top scorers at Augustana,
Megan Doyle(Alexandria, S.D.) is No. 6. She has scored 1,485 points in 119 games as a Viking. With 18 more points she will surpass Heidi Morlock at the No. 5 spot.
Top-10 Scorers at Augustana
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. 1485
Megan Doyle (119 games) - 2007-11
7. 1476 Candi Nielsen (110 games) - 1984-88
8. 1389 Tamera Oltmanns (112 games) - 1998-02
9. 1384 Amy Puthoff (123 games) - 2005-09
10. 1382 Lori Anderson (100 games) - 1987-91
Regionally speaking:?Augustana remained No. 7 in the latest Central Region rankings released Feb. 23 by the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Committee. The Vikings have a Division II and in-region record of 12-9.
Rank Team, DII Record, Region Record
1 Fort Lewis, 23-1, 24-1
2 Metro State, 22-1, 23-1
3 Wayne State, (Neb.) 22-2, 22-2
4 Northern State, 17-7, 17-7
5 Colorado Christian, 15-7, 15-7
6 Concordia-St. Paul, 16-8, 16-9
7 Augustana (S.D.), 12-9, 12-9
8 Adams State, 15-8, 16-8
9 Mesa State, 15-8, 15-8
10 Minn. State Moorhead, 11-9, 12-9
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 441-201 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 semifinal. 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 semifinal 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).
