BOX SCORE
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - Augustana picked up a 72-66 win over Southwest Minnesota State and extended its home winning streak to 18 games Saturday afternoon in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference basketball in Sioux Falls, S.D.
The Vikings are now 18-6 (11-6 NSIC). SMSU drops to 7-14 (6-11 NSIC).
Megan Doyle led the Vikings with 19 points, and
Molly Hayes added another 13. Alex Feeney collected 10 points.
Abby Kenealy had 19 points to lead SMSU, while Tori Fink was close behind with 18.
The Mustangs defeated the Vikings in both team's conference openers in December.
SMSU could not stop Augustana in the opening half as the Vikings led 23-10 before the 11-minute mark.
Momentum continued to roll in Augustana's favor with the Vikings shooting 50 percent from the floor and never trailing the Mustangs.
Doyle recorded 10 of the Vikings' 37 points in the half, while Kenealy scored 10 of SMSU's 30 points.
The Mustangs struggled from behind the arc, only making 1 of 6. Augustana was 5 of 12.
Two minutes into the second half the Mustangs had a 7-0 scoring run to knot the score at 37-37.
SMSU never grabbed the lead, however, as Doyle made a layup to begin a 14-0 run for the Vikings to put Augustana ahead 51-37 at 14:20.
Board sank a layup with 3:32 left in the game to put the Vikings up by 11 points.
The Mustangs closed the difference to five points with 42 second left, but Augustana answered with a pair of free throws from Hayes to keep SMSU from shortening the gap.
SMSU collected 22 points off Augustana's 13 turnovers.
Both teams shot just more than 40 percent from the field.
Next weekend the Vikings are back on the road, facing Northern State on Friday followed by U-Mary on Saturday. Both contests are scheduled for 6 p.m.
