BOX SCORE
WAYNE, Neb. - No. 1 Wayne State held No. 20 Augustana to a 20.7 shooting percentage—including 18.8 percent in the second half—to top the Vikings 63-40 and eliminate them from the Central Regional Tournament Saturday evening.
WSC, the top seed in the region tournament, improves to 31-2. The fourth-seeded Vikings end their season at 24-7.
The 40 points Augustana scored is the fewest this decade.
WSC's Ashley Arlen recorded a double-double with game-highs in points (13) and rebounds (11).
Molly Hayes was the only Viking to reach double-figures with 10 points. She had a game-high five steals and tied to lead the game in assists with four.
Lydia Nelson, who scored eight points in the evening, led Augustana with nine rebounds.
The Wildcats made six 3-pointers and shot 50 percent (14 of 28) from the field in the first half, finishing the game 18 for 49 from the floor (36.7 percent). The Vikings connected on 12 of 58 from the field in the game and recorded their three 3-pointers in the second half.
A jumper by Nelson gave Augustana a 4-3 lead at 17:31 and that was the final time the Vikings held the advantage in the game as the Wildcats went on a 19-0 run lasting just over five minutes. Augustana was 0 for 6 from the field in the WSC's string of points.
A pair of free throws by
Shaunteva Ashley put the Vikings in double-figure points at 7:30 and with 4 minutes, 46 seconds left until intermission the Wildcats reached a 22-point lead, their largest of the half.
A WSC layup with two seconds left until the half-time buzzer allowed the Wildcats a 38-18 lead at the break.
The Vikings had 11 turnovers in the half and finished the game with 17. Twelve of WSC's 20 turnovers occurred in the second half.
Both teams shot below 20 percent from the floor in the second half and the Wildcats kept their double-figure lead making 16 free throws.
WSC stretched their lead to 55-30 at 5:49 and Hayes scored eight of the Vikings' final 10 points in the game.
The Wildcats' bench outscored Augustana's 19-6.
