BOX SCORE
MARSHALL, Minn. - Double-figure scoring efforts from four Vikings helped No. 25 Augustana to a 71-61 victory over Southwest Minnesota State Saturday night in Northern Intercollegiate Conference women's basketball.
Augustana improves to 17-4 (14-3 NSIC), while SMSU falls to 5-16 (4-13 NSIC).
Alex Feeney led all scorers with 16 points for the Vikings,
Molly Hayes had 14 and
Emily Schulte and
Shaunteva Ashley each scored 11. Feeney also added seven rebounds, while
Lydia Nelson finished with a game-high nine boards.
Abby Kenealy's 13 points led SMSU.
The Vikings finished with nine blocks--getting five from
Emily Bose.
The Mustangs were owners of as large as nine-point lead in the first half. That largest spread came with 3:03 left before the break when Jessie Watts' layup gave SMSU a 30-21 advantage.
The Vikings scored the final 11 points of the first half in response to lead 32-30 at the break.
Cami Koehn drilled two 3-pointers in the run, while
Faith Tinklenberg scored the other five points.
Koehn scored eight first-half points, while Tinklenberg had seven.
Bose made the paint a dangerous area for the Mustangs by blocking all five of her shots in the first half.
Augustana shot 35.3 percent (11 of 31) in the opening frame; SMSU was at a colder 29.6 percent (8 of 27).
The Vikings used a 13-2 run early in the second half to grab an 11-point lead at 36-47 five minutes in.
Augustana got five second-half 3-pointers and used the treys to keep the Mustangs at a relatively comfortable distance, though SMSU was within six points with 4:29 remaining.
But the Vikings scored seven of the contests' final 10 points to secure the road win.
Augustana converted 16 fast-break points and buttoned up its defense, allowing SMSU no points in the same category.
The Vikings will host Northern State and U-Mary next Friday and Saturday.
