SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Augustana women's basketball team welcomes Sioux Falls on Tuesday night to open its home and NSIC schedule. The Vikings then play host to Dakota Wesleyan on Saturday morning. Both games will be played in the Elmen Center on the Augustana campus. Tuesday will be the first home game in the Viking career of Jillian Flores Bennett.
Complete action can be followed on GoAugie.com/Live and the GoAugie app, presented by The Original Pancake House. The app can be downloaded in the App Store or Google Play.
ABOUT THE COUGARS
Sioux Falls is 2-1 on the season following a win over South Dakota Mines and a loss at Black Hills State last weekend. USF enters this season off an 8-20 2022-23 season in which they missed the conference tournament. The Cougars were selected to finish eighth in the NSIC.
Kami Wadsworth leads the Cougars with 12.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Danielle Minsaas is averaging 10.7 points per game on 55.0 percent from the field and 53.8 percent from beyond the arc. Riley Moreland chips in 10.0 points per game.
ABOUT THE TIGERS
Dakota Wesleyan is 3-1 overall on the year after defeating Doane and Hastings last weekend in Mitchell, S.D. DWU went 23-9 last season and advanced to the NAIA National Tournament in 2022-23. The Tigers were selected to finish sixth in the GPAC.
Emma Yost averages 17.0 points per game on 58.1 percent from the arc. Grace Fryda tallies 14.5 points and a steal per game, and Isabel Ihnen adds 11.5 points per game. Morgan Edelman grabs a team-best 7.8 rebounds per game while averaging 7.3 points per game.
LAST TIME OUT
The Vikings opened the season on the road, falling 83-66 to No. 10-ranked Central Missouri. AU battled throughout, including holding a 35-30 lead at the half, and were led by Michaela Jewett's 22 points on five of 11 from beyond the arc. Jennifer Aadland tallied a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds.
EARLY SEASON AMPLIFICATION
The Vikings have had plenty of early-season success in the past, holding a 61-11 record in November since the 2010-11 season. That success has only improved recently, as they are 26-4 in November games since the 2017-18 season.
EARLY SEASON LEADERS
Although we are just one game into the year, the Vikings have a few in the top-10 of the national statistics. Michaela Jewett knocked down five three-pointers on Thursday, putting her first in the country in three-point makes per game. She also scored 22 points, which puts her ninth in points per game. Jennifer Aadland was a force on the glass, and ranks first in the country with 10 defensive rebounds per game and fourth with 13 rebounds per game.
GOING WITH THE FLO
First-year head coach, Jillian Flores Bennett, will coach her first home games at the Elmen Center this week. Coach Flo is 20-12 as a head coach at a four-year institution after spending 2021-22 with Our Lady of the Lake, where she went 20-11. She spent last season with Iowa Western, where she accumulated a 26-5 record and region championship appearance.
SEES THE MOMENT
Entering her fifth season, Lauren Sees looks to make her mark. The fifth year guard from Avon, S.D., averaged 14.9 points and 2.8 assists per game last season, both leading all returners. Sees was at her best in conference play, as her 16.1 points per game in NSIC action ranks first among conference returners. She is a three-time All-NSIC performer, including first team All-NSIC last season.
JEWETT'S JUMP
Michaela Jewett made the most of her expanded role in her sophomore year. Jewett averaged 12.6 points, over double her average from 2021-22. She also grabbed 6.8 rebounds per game in conference play, sixth most among returners in the NSIC. A threat from deep, Jewett knocked down 66 three pointers last season, fourth most in the conference.
I'LL TAKE THAT
Kenzie Rensch returns for her senior year after finishing second in the NSIC and 12th in the country with 2.87 steals per game. Her 178 career steals ranks 16th in program history. She was also steady as a facilitator, ranking fifth in the conference and 34th nationally with a 2.14 assist/turnover ratio.
THE AADLAND EFFECT
Jennifer Aadland blocked 38 shots a season a go, third most in the NSIC. She also ranked third in the conference with 1.23 blocks per game. In three seasons, she has swatted 78 shots, the 15th most in program history. She was also a high-efficiency shooter in her junior season, knocking down 53.4 percent from the field, 48.3 percent from three, and 94.3 percent from the free throw line on the year.
SOPHOMORE STEPS
CJ Adamson started all 31 games as a true freshman, Averaging 5.2 points and 2.1 rebounds per game while dishing 78 assists in 23.6 minutes per game.
GET AHEAD, STAY AHEAD
In 2022-23, Augustana went 21-2 when leading at the half. This, in part, was due to their stability with the ball, as they ranked 27th in the country and third in the NSIC with a 1.10 assist/turnover ratio.
MILESTONE TRACKER
Lauren Sees reached 1,000 career points last season on New Year's Eve at Wayne State. She currently ranks 21st all-time with 1,272 career points, and is just 25 points from cracking the top 20.
CONFERENCE OUTLOOK
The Augustana women's basketball team was selected to finish sixth in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll and senior guard Lauren Sees was selected as the Vikings' Player to Watch.
