BOX SCORE

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Augustana women's basketball team showed what it was made of on Friday, overcoming its worst shooting half of the year on its way to a 76-62 victory over Concordia-St. Paul at the Sioux Falls Arena.

The win improved the Vikings to 10-6 (4-5 NSIC) on the year, while the Golden Bears fell to 8-6 (4-4 NSIC).

Augustana was also able to end a three-game losing streak to CU that dated back to last season.

Nicole Kerkhoff led the Vikings with a game-high 21 points and eight rebounds. The junior forward was especially deadly in the second half, scoring 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Kerkhoff has now notched three 20-point games in her last five.

Shaunteva Ashley made history by becoming the ninth player in program history to score at least 1,500 points for a career with her 14 on the night. Ashley also finished with eight rebounds and six assists in the win.

Concordia-St. Paul was led by Anika Whiting, who poured in 18 points. The Ashland, Wisc. native also grabbed a team-best seven rebounds in the game.

Mishayla Jones chipped in with a team-high 19 points for the Golden Bears, with 13 coming in the second half of play.

Early shooting woes – a recurring issue this season -- continued to plague to Vikings in the opening minutes, resulting in 10-4 CU lead going into the under-15 media timeout. Augustana made two of its first 11 shots in the game, while Concordia-St. Paul started out going 5 of 10.

A 7-0 run by the Vikings got the contest tied at 18 all with 4:55 left in the half. Both teams continued to trade baskets during the final five minutes with the Golden Bears eventually taking a 25-23 lead into the break.

Augustana finished up the first half shooting just 24.3 percent (9 of 37), its lowest total so far this year. CU wasn't much better themselves, knocking down 30.3 percent of their shots in the opening 20 minutes.

Paige Peterson provided the spark for the Vikings in the first half, scoring eight points and snatching six rebounds, both team highs.

Whiting was a factor down low in the post for Concordia-St. Paul in half, ending up with nine points and five rebounds in 17 minutes of action. Kionda Nicks made her defensive presence known with five blocks.

A fast start in the first five minutes saw Augustana able to finally secure its first lead of the evening after a 3-pointer by Ashley from the left wing made it 28-27 with 18:14 as to go in the second half. The senior's basket was part of an 11-4 run to open the half.

The Golden Bears were able to storm back and retake the lead with an 8-0 run of their own in just 1:14 to make it 37-34, forcing the Vikings to take their first timeout of the half.

Augustana rallied and took it to CU over the next six minutes from there and got the separation it needed with a 20-5 run to push its lead to nine at 54-45 after a made layup by Ashley. The layup gave the Sioux Falls, S.D. native over 1,500 points in her career, only the ninth player in the program's history to accomplish the feat.

Some stingy Vikings' defense the rest of the way never allowed Concordia-St. Paul to get any closer than six, giving Augustana the win at 76-62.

Cause you're hot and you're cold

In a case of extremes, Augustana shot a season-worst 24.3 percent from the field in the first half, which was immediately followed by a season-best 58.6 in the second half.

Up next

The Vikings close out the homestand with a meeting against Minnesota State on Saturday at the Sioux Falls Arena. Start time is set for 4 p.m.