SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - Augustana women's basketball went toe-to-toe with Missouri Southern on Friday morning inside the Elmen Center, falling 86–84 in an overtime thriller to open the 2025–26 season. 

The Vikings erased multiple second-half deficits and forced the extra period, but the Lions' interior scoring and late free throws proved just enough to escape with the win. 

Payton Hardy powered the Vikings with 20 points, going 7-of-12 from the floor and a perfect 5-of-5 at the free-throw line while adding eight rebounds. Isabella Sanneh delivered a double-double, posting 15 points and 12 rebounds with three assists in a team-high 36 minutes.

Addie Hanna provided efficient scoring with 9 points (2-4 FG, 5-7 FT), while Kristin Edmonds chipped in 8 points, knocking down two triples off the bench. Maliyah Elliott added 6 points and 4 assists, and Clarissa Sauer contributed 7 points and 4 rebounds.

The Vikings brought the offense from tip-off, scoring the first seven points in just under 1:29 of gametime to take a 7-0 lead. They later led 13-7 before a 10-0 Lion run gave them a 17-13 with 2:40 to go in the first quarter. The Vikings chipped back, knocking down a 3-pointer to even the score with 1:29 remaining but a layup off a turnover gave MSSU a 20-18 lead into the second quarter. 

The Vikings competed throughout the second quarter, reclaiming the lead with a pair of Sanneh free throws to make it 29-27 with 5:57 to go in the first half. After a Lion spurt put them in front by three, an Ella Bockenstedt 3-pointer evened the scoring and, after a Sanneh layup, Bockenstedt knocked down another to give AU a 37-32 lead with 3:02 to play in the half. The Vikings continued scoring the rest of the half, inching ahead 46-40 into the locker room. 

The Vikings led throughout most of the third quarter until MSSU retook the lead with an and-one with 1:31 to play and ended up with a 61-58 lead into the fourth quarter. 

After the Lion lead grew to five, four sets of free throws and a jumper from Hardy capitalized a 10-0 surge to put the Vikings in front 68-63 with 6:09 remaining. A 7-0 MSSU countered to put them back in front but a Sanneh 3-pointer put the Vikings back in front at 71-70 with just under four minutes to play. Eight of the next 11 points went to MSSU to put them ahead by four points with 1:26 to play but a Hanna layup and Hardy layup in the late stages pushed the game into overtime. 

A fast start saw both teams convert and-ones in the first 40 seconds of action to keep the game tied but the game stalled from there as the Lions scored the only two points over the next four minutes of action. MSSU would knock down three free throws inside of the last 25 seconds to give them a five point lead and Peyton Hardy knocked down a 3-pointer just before time expired to bring the game to its final score. 

The Vikings close the weekend at 4 p.m., on Saturday, hosting Central Missouri at the Elmen Center.