BOX SCORE

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Despite a furious rally late, the Augustana women's basketball team couldn't overcome a 21-point second-half deficit, losing 77-72 to Sioux Falls on Friday at the Stewart Center in a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference meeting between the two teams.

The loss dropped the Vikings to 9-5 (3-4 NSIC) on the year, while the Cougars improved to 10-1 (6-1 NSIC) with the victory.

Nicole Kerkhoff led the Augustana attack with a career night of 24 points and 14 rebounds, both career highs for the junior, giving her three double-doubles on the season now.

Shaunteva Ashley had 17 points, four rebounds, and four assists in the loss. She finished the game shooting 6-of-17 from the field.

Logan O'Farrell added nine points, six rebounds, and a career-best seven steals for the Vikings.

USF's Taylor Varsho finished with 14 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists from the point guard position.

Alison Klostergaard notched her first career double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Sam Knecht picked up her third this season with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Jaicee Ulmer added a team-high 18 points, which included going 4-of-7 from the 3-point line.

The Vikings finished the contest tying a season-low 31.1 percent (23 of 74) shooting in the game.

Sioux Falls was able to get its transition game going, ending up with 20 fast-break points.

Augustana was able to record 14 steals in the loss, dropping its record to 6-3 this year when they have at least 10 steals in a game.

The Vikings' defense played a crucial role early in the game, holding the Cougars to 3-of-10 shooting in the game's first seven minutes. Augustana was able to get its hands on a lot of balls in the passing lanes, getting six steals early that triggered its running game.

The biggest problem the Vikings faced early was a cold shooting touch from the field that caused them to open the contest going 1 of 13 (7.7 percent). The poor shooting allowed for USF to finally settle down and find its rhythm offensively, resulting in a 9-2 run to take a 17-9 lead after a pair of made free throws by Teagan Molden with 10:56 remaining.

A deep three by Ashley ended an eight-minute streak without a field goal and sparked a mini 8-0 run in a 1:20 to tie things up at 17-17 with 8:59 remaining. Ashley had five of the eight points during the run.

An Ulmer three from the left corner pushed Sioux Falls' lead to double digits for the first time at 28-17. For Ulmer, it was her 10th point of the opening 20 minutes of action.

Despite the struggles for most of the first half, Augustana was able to make a big move by knocking down back-to-back-to-back 3s in 49 seconds to make it a three-point game in favor of the Cougars at 30-27 with 4:04 remaining.

USF was able to generate some momentum of the their own late by ending the half with a 6-0 run that was capped off by a layup by Varsho to make it 39-32, and giving the junior guard seven in the game.

The Vikings shot 24.3 percent from the field in the first half, its worst of the year while Sioux Falls finished a solid 46.7.

Ulmer powered the Cougar offense in the opening half with 12 points. Ashley answered for Augustana with 11 of her own.

In the second half, the Vikings continued to attack the rim and get to the foul line. A 10-5 Augustana run made it a three-point game at 47-44 with 14:13 left to go. It was Rust's first two points of the contest.

USF made their move right after with a 19-1 run that made it a 21-point game with 9:20 remaining in the half that was capped off by a Marie Malloy layup.

Kerkhoff refused to let this game get away from the Vikings, ripping off eight points as part of an 18-2 run by the Vikings that began midway through the half that made it a five-point game at 68-63 with 4:48 left in the contest.

Ulmer finally snapped the run with a timely of her own to make it a three-possession game late with 3:46 left.

Augustana got it to a one-point game after Kerkhoff connected on a floater just from in front of the rim for her 24th point with 1:11 left on the clock.

The Vikings wouldn't be able to get any closer than that as Sioux Falls was able to connect of their free throws down the stretch and hold on to a 77-22 victory.

Battle to the end
Augustana never gave up in this one, and worked their way back into this one by showing some serious mental toughness and never letting up on defense and attacking the basket aggressively in the second half. Both should pay dividends down the road for them later this season as the conference tournament approaches.

Up next
The Vikings head to Marhsall, Minn. to face off with Southwest Minnesota State on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. at the R/A Facility.