WINONA, Minn. – Behind four double-figure performances, Augustana women's basketball downed Winona State on Wednesday night, 67-61, inside McCown Gymnasium.
 
The win moves the Vikings to 5-18 overall and 3-14 in the NSIC while the Warriors drop to 9-14 and 5-12.
 
Scoring was led by Hannah Burg's 16 points and seven rebounds while Olivia Hayenga and Payton Hardy joined in double figures with 14 points and 12 points, respectively. Paige Grant also dumped in 10 points. Burg and Hardy each totaled three assists as Hayenga and Hardy tallied three steals apiece.
 
Augustana shot 48.0% from the floor and 71.4% from the free throw line—including a 7-of-7 showing from Burg—while forcing 19 Warrior turnovers.
 
The Vikings scored six straight points to open up action, taking the 6-2 advantage with 4:59 on the clock. Grant scored six points herself in the quarter, adding in a layup alongside a jumper from Hayenga to fight off the Warrior shooting and go up 12-7.

WSU hit another 3-pointer to make it a two-point game but Isabella Sanneh's layup with 23 seconds remaining forced a 14-10 Viking lead at the break.
 
Hardy tallied a steal in the first 10 seconds of the second quarter, setting up a layup from Hayenga. The home team scored five straight points to close in at 16-15 and Augustana immediately responded with a 9-1 run of its own. AU's defense turned up in the final three minutes of the quarter—and throughout the first half—forcing a total of 15 turnovers through the first 20 minutes of competition. Burg drew a charge with 2:12 remaining to get the ball back, resulting in back-to-back buckets from Hardy to take the 32-19 lead into the locker room.
 
Augustana continued to push to open the third quarter, quickly exploding with seven straight points to jump ahead 39-21. The home team responded by going on a 7-0 run of its own until Hardy drilled her second triple of the night, ending the run. AU made several trips to the free throw line and continued to stay ahead by double digits. Winona State slowly attempted to creep back but remained behind 45-35 heading into the final quarter.
 
The battle was on in the fourth, with both teams fighting to keep or regain control throughout the entire last 10 minutes. Winona State hit back-to-back triples to immediately cut the game down to 45-41. But Kelsey Willems hit a 3-pointer of her own to push back.

Competition became gritty and the two teams traded buckets and free throws, eventually becoming a 55-53 game with 3:13 remaining. Sanneh grabbed the offensive board off a free throw to secure the and-1 and Burg drilled both free throws to go ahead 60-55. Augustana would go to the line four more times before the end of the game and held off the late rally to take the 67-61 victory.
 
UP NEXT
Augustana will return home to face Minnesota Duluth on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 5:30 p.m. inside the Elmen Center.