BOX SCORE

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Needing its best half of the season, the Augustana women's basketball team delivered and then some in the second half as it overcame a 21-point deficit in a 74-71 upset win over Winona State on Friday night at the Sioux Falls Arena. The Vikings' record improved to 12-8 (6-7 NSIC) with the victory, while the Warriors slipped to 13-4 (9-4 NSIC) on the year.

Shaunteva Ashley was the engine that powered the Augustana comeback, ending the night with a game-high 27 points, 20 coming in a dominant second-half performance. The former Roosevelt star, with her high school coach in attendance, also dished six assists and pulled down four rebounds.

Nicole Kerkhoff continued her strong play from the last month, picking up her fifth double-double of the season with a 10-point, 11-rebound effort in a team-high 32 minutes of play.

Paige Peterson added 11 points and seven rebounds in the win.

WSU was led by recently named NSIC South Division Player of the Week Kayla Timmerman, who scored a team-high 24 points. Timmerman also grabbed eight rebounds in the game.

Connor Nagle led the Winona State perimeter attack, knocking down four of the six made 3s in the contest for the Warriors.

The Vikings endured a rough opening 20 minutes, giving up a season-high 43 first-half points to the Warriors. WSU used a 17-5 run about midway through the first half to build its lead to 21, its largest of the game, after a layup by Timmerman made it 35-14 and gave the 6-3 post player her 12th point of the ballgame.

Augustana was able to cut the deficit to 14 by halftime after it used its own 15-8 run over the final 6:03 made it 43-29 going into the break.

Some tough defense by Winona State forced the Vikings into difficult shots, resulting in a 37.5 shooting percentage in the opening half.

Kerkhoff was Augustana's biggest contributor in the first half, ending the period with a team-high eight points and six rebounds.

The second half began with the Vikings coming out with the early momentum -- something that stayed with them over the final 20 minutes -- cutting the Warriors' lead to 11 after the first basket of the night for Sophie Kenney made it an 11-point contest going into the under-15 media timeout.

Continuing to build on its momentum from the strong start, Augustana brought the game to within four points after Ashley drained two free throws, making the score 52-48.

The Vikings' high-energy and relentless effort was finally rewarded late in the half after another made pair of free throws by Ashley gave them their first lead of the evening at 66-65 with 3:12 to go.

Putting the exclamation on the dramatic comeback was Ashley with 22 seconds remaining, who drilled the eventual game-winner to put Augustana up for good in the paint, upping her total to 27 in the game.

WSU came up short in its last-ditch effort to tie the game with a missed 3-pointer from the right wing with two seconds left, securing the win for Vikings.

Statement win
Augustana, who had come up short in a few game close games earlier this year, never gave up on themselves and brought a whole different level of focus and intensity in the second half, which resulted in the big win and confidence-building momentum needed going into the final portion of the regular season schedule.

Up next
The Vikings stay home to close out the homestand with a game against Upper Iowa on Saturday afternoon. Start time is set for 4 p.m. at the Sioux Falls Arena.