BOX SCORE

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – In a game that was played at a breakneck pace, the Augustana women's basketball team picked up a crucial 80-69 victory against rival Sioux Falls on Saturday at the Arena. The Vikings improved to 18-9 (12-8 NSIC) with the win, while the Cougars slipped to 15-9 (11-9 NSIC) on the year.

Augustana turned in its best shooting performance of the year, going 32 for 65 (49.2 percent) against USF.

Shaunteva Ashley narrowly missed out on her third double-double this year on Senior Day, finishing with nine points and 10 assists.

Logan O'Farrell picked up her first collegiate double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. The Summit, S.D. native was all over the floor for the Vikings on the defensive end, adding three blocks and two steals.

Sophie Kenney had a game-high 18 points to go along five assists for Augustana.

Sydney Rome provided a huge spark off the bench, pouring in a season-high 17 points in 24 minutes.

Sioux Falls was led by 16 points from sophomore Sam Knecht.

The Vikings came out fired up and ready to play, exploding out to a 12-4 lead less than four minutes in, forcing the Cougars to take a 30-second timeout to make an adjustment.

The red-hot start continued for Augustana coming out the timeout, capped off by a 3 from Kenney on the left wing to that pushed the lead to 13 – giving it seven makes in their first nine shots – and again made USF take its second timeout in within the first five minutes of the half. 

A made free throw by Kenney gave the Vikings their biggest lead of the half at 30-6 with 11:25 remaining. Augustana just couldn't miss early, shooting a blistering 75 percent (12 of 16) from the field to start the afternoon.

Sioux Falls found its own offensive rhythm coming out of the under-10 media timeout with a 23-7 run of its own to cut the Viking lead to nine with a little less than four minutes remaining.

A strong finish to the closing minutes of the first half gave Augustana a 50-34 lead going into halftime. The 50 points scored were the most in a half since a 53 spot against Concordia-St. Paul back in January.

Rome closed out the best half of the year for her this season with 12 points, with all coming from beyond the arc.

The Vikings' ability to control the glass during the first half helped limit second-chance opportunities for the Cougars, and gave Augustana a 24-16 rebounding edge.

In the second half, the Vikings got back to their high-scoring ways thanks to some stellar play by Kenney early on. The Fargo, N.D. native scored seven points - several that were highlight worthy - within the first five minutes as part of a 12-8 start for Augustana.

Allie Koehn's 3 with 7:59 left gave the Vikings their big lead of the night at 75-50 and gave them their 12th 3-pointer in the game.

Augustana kept in control from there, never letting USF get any closer than 11 points the rest of the way.

There's hot, then there's really hot
The Vikings opening 10 minutes in the first half was truly something to see. They executed perfectly on offense and were able to get the open looks they wanted and just made Sioux Falls pay by knocking down every shot it took.

A point earned
The victory also gave Augustana a point in the First Dakota National Bank Mayor's Cup Challenge between the two schools.

Threat level red
Over the past month, Rome has become a serious threat for opposing teams with her ability to put up points in a hurry off the bench. The sophomore is averaging 11.4 points and shooting 47.5 percent from 3 (19 for 40) in the last six games.

Up next
The Vikings head out on the road to close out the regular season next weekend. First up, a meeting with Upper Iowa on Friday at 6 p.m. Augustana closes out regular with a showdown with Winona State on Saturday at 4 p.m.