FAYETTE, Iowa - After a slow first-quarter hurt the Vikings the night before, Augustana (15-5, 9-5 NSIC) used a strong first-quarter of their own on Saturday to defeat Upper Iowa (5-15, 4-10 NSIC)  on the road 84-61.

Junior Sydney Rome set the tone early for the Vikings knocking down an open three and then on the next possession hit two free-throws to give the Vikings an early 5-0 lead. Seniors Nicole Kerkhoff and Sophie Kenney would also get in the scoring column early, with a triple from Kerkhoff and two free-throws from Kenney.

The Viking defense was also playing at a high level early. Augustana didn't allow Upper Iowa to make a field goal until there was just one minute remaining in the first-quarter. To that point they had only allowed three free-throws. Upper Iowa did put together a run in the second-quarter, opening the quarter with a 14-7 run. Upper Iowa outscored the Vikings 22-20 in the second-quarter but the Vikings still went into the locker room with a 38-30 lead.

The Vikings really opened the game up midway through the third-quarter when Augustana used an 18-3 run to really put the game out of reach with a 24-point lead. During that run the Vikings were a perfect 3-of-3 from behind the arc and 6-of-7 from the field. Augustana would continue their hot shooting in the fourth-quarter and walk away with an 84-61 victory.

AUGUSTANA BY THE NUMBERS
• Augustana moved to 16-0 all-time against Upper Iowa with the victory
• Kenney had a fantastic game with a team-high 18-points. She also added six assists
• The Vikings had five players score in double-digits: Kenney (18), Logan O'Farrell (11), Sydney Rome (10), Lynsey Prosser and Allie Koehn each had 13
• Augustana shot 80 percent from the free-throw line on 16-of-20 shooting
• This was the Vikings seventh game this season that they made at least 10, 3-pointers. They had 12 against Upper Iowa
• Shelby Selland hauled in eight rebounds and for the second straight game she had two blocks
• Augustana got 38-points off their bench

NEXT TIME OUT
Augustana will be at home next weekend as they host U-Mary Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. followed by a match-up with Minot State on Sunday at 1 p.m.