SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Augustana women's basketball opens the 2025-26 season hosting Missouri Southern and Central Missouri for the NSIC/MIAA Crossover.
 
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.

The Lions
Missouri Southern was picked to finish seventh the MIAA in the conference preseason poll after going 19-14 and advancing to the second round of the MIAA Tournament last season. Sophomore Grace Frazier is their leading returner after averaging 8.2 points per game and was second on the team with 78 assists.  

The Jennies 
David Slifer enters his 21st season ranked fourth in the MIAA Preseason Poll after going 17-15 and falling in the MIAA Quarterfinals last season. The Jennies return their top two leading scorers from last season, led by Reese Schaaf, who averaged 18.6 points and 10.0 rebounds per game on her way to WBCA All-America Honorable Mention honors last season. Taylor Weishaar scored 12.7 points and grabbed 7.5 rebounds per game and was named All-MIAA Honorable Mention. 

The Vikings
With two returning letterwinners and 12 newcomers on the Augustana roster, AU will have quite the new look alongside second-year head coach Nate Vogel. Leading the returners is Payton Hardy, who was third on the team with 7.3 points and led the team with 5.5 rebounds per game. 

The NSIC preseason poll deemed Isabella Sanneh as the Vikings' Player to Watch in 2025-26. Sanneh played in all 28 games and made nine starts in 2024-25. She averaged 6.6 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. She shot 34.3 percent from the field and led the Vikings with 96 free throw attempts. 

"Bella is a returner for us who has had a great off-season and has stepped into a leadership position for us. Bella has obviously worked on her game a lot over the summer as she is a more versatile player than when she left last spring. Bella has starting experience and has a full season of NSIC playing experience under her belt. We expect her to take another step forward for us in the '25-26 season."

Three newcomers have played in at least 50 games at the NCAA level. Kristin Edmonds enters the fold following 65 games at Southwest Baptist. Edmonds averaged 5.2 points per game and made seven starts. Marianna Freeman started 32 games for Roberts Wesleyan and played 14 games at Niagara prior to that. Miranda Lomax averaged 9.9 points per game at Alaska Fairbanks a season ago and has played in 51 games, including 15 starts.

Looking Ahead
Augustana continues its home slate next week with a game against Nebraska-Kearney on Thursday, Nov. 20 and a
Saturday, Nov. 22 tip-off versus Upper Iowa.