WAYNE, Neb. -- The Augustana women's basketball team defeated Wayne State on Saturday night inside Rice Auditorium, 87-73. The Vikings move to 10-4 on the season and 9-3 in NSIC play. The Wildcats fall to 6-9 overall and 5-8 in NSIC play. Augustana is now one victory away from claiming the NSIC South Division Championship.
Augustana shot 53.3 percent from the field for the game including a 9-of-12 from the field in the second quarter as a total of five Vikings hit double-digit scoring.
Although Augustana led the entire game, an 8-0 run ending at the 4:20 mark in the fourth quarter was enough to shut the door on an attempted comeback for the Wildcats.
A late push in the final minutes of the first quarter gave the Vikings a 19-11 lead with just over 1:30 to go in the quarter. However, the Wildcats would hit two 3-pointers to bring the game to 19-17 Augustana going into the second quarter.
At the 8:32 mark of the second quarter, Augustana would go on a 13-0 run before going into the media timeout and lead by 14 points heading into halftime, 43-29.
Despite five 3-point baskets from the Wildcats in the third quarter, and Augustana getting outscored in the quarter, the Vikings held onto a double-digit lead heading into the final frame.
Wayne State mustered all it could in a comeback attempt, cutting the double-digit deficit to just seven points with 8:27 remaining in the game.
After Augustana rebuilt its lead to 10 points, WSC again cut the deficit to 10 points when Autumn Mlinar sank a 3-point basket with 5:47 on the clock.
The Vikings then embarked on the aforementioned 8-0 run to slam the door on the Wildcats as Vishe' Rabb sank a pair of free throws to begin the stretch. It continued on back-to-back 3-point baskets, first from Lauren Sees then from Izzy Van Veldhuizen with 4:20 remaining in the contest.
The lead continued to grow and hit the largest point of the game, 18 points, when Van Veldhuizen hit another 3-point basket for the 84-66 advantage. Augustana closed the game with the 87-73 victory.
The Vikings were led by Van Veldhuizen, a senior, with 16 points and Rabb, a junior, with nine rebounds. A total of five Vikings scored in double digits, senior Hannah Mitby accounted for 15 points, with Sees garnering 13 points.
Augustana found a lot of help from its bench for the second-straight game with 30 points and 11 rebounds, highlighted by junior Janelle Shiffler's 13 points partnered with Rabb's 10 points.
The Wildcats were led by Erin Norling with 17 points and the duo of Autumn Mlinar and Josey Ryan grabbed five rebounds apiece.
The Vikings return to action Saturday for the second contest against Wayne State with a 2:30 p.m. start. A win secures the NSIC South Division Championship in a year where the NSIC is only awarding divisional champions. Along with the championship, Augustana would enter the NSIC Tournament as the No. 1 seed from the south division.
--GoAugie.com--
