ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – In the second day of action at the DII Central Region Showcase, Augustana women's basketball fell to Missouri Western, 96-61, on Saturday night inside the St. Joseph Civic Arena.
 
The Vikings start the season 0-2 following the weekend trip to Missouri, while the Griffons improve to 2-0.  
 
Hannah Burg led with 14 points on the night, shooting 5-9 from the floor, while Uzor Uchidiuno and Olivia Hayenga each added in nine points apiece. Paige Grant led with eight total rebounds and Hayenga tallied two blocks.
 
Augustana collected 18 offensive rebounds alongside nine steals while shooting 46.4% from the free throw line
 
Missouri Western and Augustana each traded shots early until a three-pointer and back-to-back layups put the Griffons up 11-6. Payton Hardy and Uchidiuno each added in their own triples to cut it to a one-point difference, but MWSU pushed it back to 23-14. Burg scored four straight points to close in at 23-19 at the end of the first quarter.
 
Four more points from Burg opened the second quarter, with the Vikings on a combined 9-0 run to tie things up at 23 apiece. The Griffons responded with six straight points and found themselves at the free throw line enough to take an 11-point lead. The shots continued to fall for the host team as they hooked a 43-29 lead heading into the locker room.
 
That momentum carried into the third quarter, with the lead quickly growing to 20 early on. Hayenga got in on the free throw action as Uchidiuno, Grant and Hardy join in on the scoring. But the Griffons hit the gas and never looked back, jumping ahead 74-45 at the quarter break.
 
Hayenga and Brinlee McRae got shots to fall from beyond the arc, the Vikings worked hard to force turnovers and Jordan Munson hit a three-pointer at the buzzer, but the damage had already been done with the Griffons winning it, 96-61.
 
Looking Ahead
Augustana will kick off its home slate next week with a 5:30 p.m. game against Upper Iowa on Thursday, Nov. 14 and a 2 p.m. tip on Saturday, Nov. 16 versus Central Missouri.