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FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The Augustana women's basketball team kicked off the North Star Invitational with a bang, defeating Colorado Christian 92-67 in the opening game of the three-day invitational on Thursday. The Vikings' record jumped to 5-1, while the Cougars fell to 0-4 on the year with the loss.

Augustana's defense was all feast in the Thanksgiving Day match-up, forcing a season-high 33 turnovers from CCU in the game.

Logan O'Farrell continued to show off her versatility for the Vikings, scoring a season-high 19 points in the win to go along with seven rebounds. O'Farrell also had three steals in the game.

Shaunteva Ashley had a nice bounce-back game for Augustana, pouring in a game-high 23 points – her fourth game already this season with at least 20 points. The Sioux Falls, S.D. native also had four rebounds and four assists in 30 minutes of action.

Sophie Kenney tied her career high with seven assists in the contest for the Vikings. Kenney also chipped in six points in the contest.

Nicole Kerkhoff was a force on the boards, pulling down a career-best 10 rebounds in the victory, her first double-digit rebounding effort in her collegiate career. The Morgan, Minn. native narrowly missed out her double-double, finishing the game with eight points.

Augustana was able to find the magic touch from behind the arc, draining 11 3s in the game, improving its record to 4-0 this year when it makes at least 10 3-pointers in a game.

Claire Paxton led Colorado Christian with 17 points in the loss. Paxton finished the game shooting 8 for 13.

Kate Louthan added 15 points and eight rebounds for the Cougars.

The Vikings played in a tight contest for the first 10 minutes of the game before using a 27-10 run over the final 8:40 to push their lead to 18 at 50-32 going into the break, capped off by Ashley's layup, her seventh point of the half.

Augustana was able to find its shot in the opening 20 minutes of action, going 17 of 36 (47.2 percent) from the field while holding CCU to a 14-of-31 performance in the half.

O'Farrell led all scorers in the first half with nine points, part of her 19 on the day.

Kenney dished out five dimes in the half, already surpassing her previous high on the year of four against Dakota Wesleyan on Nov. 19.

The Vikings took advantage of their ability to get into the paint and get to the free throw line, going 10 of 13 (76.9 percent) while limiting Colorado Christian to just two attempts.

In the second half, Augustana picked up right where it left off, using an early 10-0 run in the opening minutes to put this one out of reach and build its lead to 24 after a made layup by Ashley with 16:41 left.

O'Farrell capped off her big night with a late 3-pointer with five minutes remaining, upping her total to 19 in the game.

The Cougars wouldn't get any closer than 16 the rest of the way, losing 92-67.

Life in the passing lanes
Augustana's ability to get into the passing lane and get steals was the key in this game. The Vikings were all over CCU, forcing them into 33 turnovers in the game, resulting in added possessions and opportunities on the offensive end of the floor.

Offense finds it groove
Augustana was able to shake off a rough outing against Wayne State with nice showing in the first game of the North Star Invitational, scoring 92 points. The Vikings have now scored 90-or-more points three times in their six games this season already, a good sign going forward for a team with several young players playing key minutes.

Up next
Augustana takes on host Alaska Fairbanks on Friday at the Patty Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. central time.