MINOT, N.D. – In the final game of the 2024-25 season, Augustana women's basketball fought back against Minot State and nearly completed the comeback, but fell at the last second, 70-69, on Thursday night.
 
The Vikings finish with a 6-22 overall record while going 4-18 in the NSIC as the Beavers move to 9-19 and 8-13.
 
With four Vikings reaching double figures, Olivia Hayenga led the scoring for AU with 18 points. Hannah Burg poured in 12 points in her final career game with five assists and four steals as Brinlee McRae scored 11 and Isabella Sanneh dropped in 10 points and eight rebounds. Paige Grant and Uzor Uchidiuno each logged a block, with Uchidiuno also adding in two points in her final game as a Viking.
 
Kelsey Willems struck first with a triple to open up scoring and the Beavers would score 10 of the next 13 points over the next four minutes to go ahead 10-6. Hayenga hit back-to-back buckets to tie up the game and Sanneh hit a jumper with 38 seconds remaining to take the 14-13 lead.
 
Minot State would end the quarter with two free throws, holding the narrow 15-14 lead.
 
The difference grew to five to open the second quarter as Sanneh's and-1 with 7:35 remaining would be the Vikings' first bucket of the quarter. Shooting from beyond the arc helped the Beavers push the lead back to five multiple times, but AU always brought it back down.
 
Hayenga added in a triple of her own to close in a 27-25 with 4:36 remaining and the defensive battle kicked in. Two more Beaver free throws forced a four-point game until a driving layup from Burg made it 33-31 to end the half.
 
Burg struck with a 3-pointer to open the third and take the lead for Augustana but the home team scored five points in response. Payton Hardy tied things up at 38 apiece at the 6:32 mark and opened up hot back-and-forth shooting.
 
Hayenga and Willems teamed up to tie the game at 44-44 but Minot State hit the gas and ended the third quarter on an 11-2 run to go ahead 55-46.
 
The Beavers also scored the first seven points of the fourth, pushing their lead to 62-46. It quickly became a 17-point difference but the Vikings wouldn't go away quietly. Augustana rattled off a 15-1 over the next three and a half minutes to force a 66-63 game.
 
Back-to-back triples gave AU the lead at 69-66 with 1:48 remaining in the game, but the Viking scoring would stop there. It was a battle to the finish and a late foul put the Beavers at the free throw line, ending the game 70-69.