SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Augustana women's basketball starts their wrap back around the NSIC, hosting Minnesota Duluth and Concordia-St. Paul this weekend. The Vikings host the Bulldogs at the Sanford Pentagon on Friday at 5:30 p.m., before welcoming the Golden Beats on Saturday at 3:30 p.m., inside the Elmen Center

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 BULLDOGS
Minnesota Duluth is 12-7 overall and 9-6 in NSIC action on the year after falling to Minnesota State on Tuesday night. The Bulldogs knocked off Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State at home last weekend and are 5-6 in their last 11. The Bulldogs were selected to finish second in the NSIC. 

Taytum Rhoades does it all for the Bulldogs, averaging 10.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game. Taya Hakamaki is leading the team with 12.6 points per game while adding 4.1 rebounds per game and shooting 46.9 percent from the field. 

ABOUT THE GOLDEN BEARS
Concordia-St. Paul is 15-5 on the season and 11-4 in the NSIC following a win over Winona State on Tuesday. The Golden Bears enter on a four game winning streak and are 6-2 in 2024. The Golden Bears were selected to finish seventh in the NSIC. 

Ally Gietzel leads the Golden Bears with 17.2 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. Lindsey Becher is averaging 12.5 points per game and is 12th in the country with 2.25 blocks per game. 

SEES THE MOMENT
In her final season, Lauren Sees continues to climb the ranks in Augustana history. The fifth year guard from Avon, S.D., is second on the team with 14.2 points per game and leads the team with 2.7 assists per game. After reaching the 1,000 career point milestone in the middle of last season, Sees has continued to climb up the Augustana rankings. She has now scored 1,523 points in her career, good for eighth in program history and 12 points away from seventh. That number is also good for 22nd among active career leaders in all of DII and is 21st with 560 made field goals. 

POURING IT IN
Michaela Jewett sits at No. 6 in the NSIC with 15.5 points per game while Lauren Sees ranks 10th with 14.2 points per game. The 29.7 combined points per game is the fourth most by a duo in the NSIC. They are also one of two sets of teammates to rank in the top 10 of the NSIC. Jewett has gotten it done from deep, leading the NSIC with a 38.7 3-point percentage while ranking second with 2.39 3-pointers per game. 

CLEANING THE GLASS
The Vikings have earned key contributions from Jennifer Aadland, Michaela Jewett, and Aby Phipps in their efforts on the boards this season. Aadland ranks fourth in the NSIC in total rebounds (138) and is third in rebounds per game (7.7) while ranking fifth in the conference in defensive rebounds per game (6.1). Jewett ranks eighth in defensive rebounds per game (5.6) and 11th in rebounds per game (6.7), and Phipps finds herself fourth among conference challengers in offensive rebounds (2.2). The Vikings are the only team in the NSIC to have a player in the top five for both offensive and defensive rebounds per game. 

BALL SECURITY
A common theme among the 2023-24 Vikings is their protection of offensive possessions. Augustana ranks 26th in the nation and second in the NSIC in fewest turnovers per game, coughing it up just 13.6 times per game. Two major reasons why are CJ Adamson and Kenzie Rensch. Adamson is fifth in the NSIC with a 1.86 assists/turnover ratio, while Rensch is ninth with 1.62 assists/turnover.

BRILLIANCE BEYOND THE ARC
The Vikings have made at least one three pointer in every single game since the 1999-2000 season, totaling 730 consecutive games with a make. In the same time frame, Augustana has made at least 10 three pointers in 176 games, including twice this season.

JEWETT'S JUMP
After seeing a jump in her role last season, Michaela Jewett has cemented herself as one of the NSIC's best. She leads the team with 15.5 points per game and 43 made 3-pointers. She also ranks second on the team with 6.7 rebounds per game. 

THE AADLAND EFFECT
Jennifer Aadland has been one of the most efficient shooters in the NSIC while causing havoc in the paint. She has shot 40.2 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from three, and 87.5 percent from the free throw line. She also leads the team with 7.6 rebounds per game, 1.5 blocks per game, and four double-doubles while scoring 10.8 points per game. 

NSIC LEADERS
In 16 NSIC conference games, Michaela Jewett and Lauren Sees have played at an extremely high level. Jewett is averaging 14.9 points per game, ninth in the conference, while Sees slots in at 10th scoring 14.4 points per game. Jennifer Aadland has grabbed 7.5 rebounds per game, good for sixth, and Michaela Jewett is 11th with 6.4 rebounds per game. Jewett is also second in the NSIC in both 3-point field goals (32) and 3-point field goals per game (2.3)

FUTURE VIKINGS
Augustana head coach Jillian Flores Bennett has added three future Vikings as part of the 2024 signing class. On National Signing Day, Olivia Kesti of Blaine, Minn., and Avery Yosten of Norfolk, Neb., signed their National Letter of Intent. Earlier this month, the class added Isabella Sanneh of Woodbury, Minn.

GOING WITH THE FLO
First-year head coach, Jillian Flores Bennett, earned her first victory in the Elmen Center on Nov. 21 in a 73-56 win over Sioux Falls. Coach Flo is 25-23 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. 

SHINING STARS
Michaela Jewett and Lauren Sees were named to the NSIC Shining Five for games played Dec. 19-Jan 2. Jewett averaged 17.5 points per game in a pair of games, fourth best in the conference, and added an NSIC-best six three pointers and 9.5 rebounds per game. Her performances were highlighted by a 17 point, 13 rebound double-double against Northwestern (Iowa). Sees tied for the NSIC lead with 22.0 points per game while knocking down 12 of 27 from the field, 5 of 9 from three-point range, and 15 of 16 from the free-throw line. Against Northwest Missouri State, she scored 24 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter, on 8 of 13 shooting, 2 of 3 from deep, and 6 of 6 from the free throw line.

--GoAguie.com--