SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The 2016-17 season officially gets underway for the Augustana University women's basketball team this Friday in California at the CCA Tip-Off Classic. The Vikings, who only lost two starters from last year's squad that went 24-8, will have a lot of talent returning to the hardwood for this upcoming season.
 
Head Coach Dave Krauth enters his 28th season at the helm of the Viking program. Under Krauth's direction, Augustana has reached a Final Four, won an NSIC Tournament Championship and posted 18, 20-win seasons, including 11 of the last 12 seasons. Krauth attributes a lot of his, and his team's success, to his love of basketball and continuity within the team.
 
Augustana's talent-laden roster was noticed across the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference during the off-season when the preseason polls were released last week. Augustana was selected to finish third by the coaches earning four, first-place votes. Junior guard Logan O'Farrell was tabbed as the player to watch from Augustana this season. To read more about the 2016-17 NSIC Preseason Polls clock HERE.
 
The Vikings welcome back 14 student-athletes from last year's squad including three starters. The three starters that return are O'Farrell, Syndey Rome, and Shelby Selland. O'Farrell and Rome were two of the top four scorers from last year's team. They both averaged over 10 points per game. Selland, who earned NSIC All-Freshman honors last season, was a force around the basket. She finished the season ranked eighth in the NSIC in blocked shots per game at 1.5.
 
After another successful season, Augustana found themselves at the top of numerous NSIC statistical categories. On the offensive end, Augustana was the best scoring team in the conference at 74.7 PPG while also grabbing rebounds with the second best efficiency in the NSIC at 41.5 per game. The Vikings finished second in assists per game with 15.9 but will have to replace Sophie Kenney who ran the offense for the Vikings and finished with a league-high 148 assists.
 
The Vikings were one of the best defensive teams in the NSIC a season ago. Augustana lead the conference in blocked shots (5.2 BPG), steals (16.0 SPG) and turnover margin (+5.44). O'Farrell led the NSIC in steals with 2.3 per game.
 
Joining Rome and O'Farrell as returners in the backcourt are juniors Allie Koehn, Presley O'Farrell, and sophomore Lynsey Prosser. Last season all three guards average more than 11 minutes per game. Prosser averaged 5.3 PPG while both Koehn and O'Farrell averaged 4.9. Also returning will be Danni Honner and McKenzee Zilverberg who redshirted last season.
 
Returning in the frontcourt along side Selland will be juniors Paige Peterson and Naomi Rust, sophomores Emily Wimmer and Allie Walter and redshirt freshman Hana Metoxen. Peterson was one of the best players off the bench last season in the NSIC averaging 5.3 PPG and 4 rebounds per game. Rust averaged 3.7 PPG in 12 minutes of action while Wimmer and Walter each averaged about three minutes per game.
 
Augustana welcomes three new faces to the team this season in Abby Hora, Izzy Van Veldhuizen, and Hannah Mitby. Hora comes to the Vikings after ending her high school career as the 13th all-time leading scorer in South Dakota with 2,134 career points and Viborg-Hurley High School. She was the Class B Player of the year last season while also earning South Dakota All-State honors three times, including first-team honors as a junior and senior. Van Veldhuizen (pronounced Van Veld-HI-zen), was a standout at Lincoln High School in Sioux Falls. Van Veldhuizen was a three-year starter and is the career record holder for rebounds with 470. She earned South Dakota All-State honors as a senior while participating in the Sanford Pentagon All-Star Game. Hannah Mitby did a little bit of everything for Burnsville High School averaging 14.5 PPG, 6.5 RPG, and 2.1 APG as a senior. She ended her career with 1,281 points while earning South Suburban All-Conference honors three years in a row as well as academic all-state honors.
 
Augustana will be competing in the CCA Tip-Off Classic Nov. 4-6. While in California the Vikings will take on Colorado School of Mines on Nov. 4 at 6 p.m. On Saturday, Nov. 5 at 11 a.m. they will take on Simon Fraser and conclude their opening weekend against No. 3 West Texas A&M at 8:15 p.m. All time listed in this release and on the website are Central Standard Time.
 
To view complete game notes for this weekend's games, click HERE.