SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - The Augustana women's basketball team (9-18, 6-15 NSIC) fought to the finish before falling 74-71 to Southwest Minnesota State (15-11, 13-8) on Thursday night in the R/A Facility.

Isabella Sanneh had 24 points and 11 rebounds, adding another double double to her monster season. Ava Pautz added 12 points while Miranda Lomax had 10 off the bench. 

Maliyah Elliott sandwiched a 6-0 Mustang run with a pair of jumpers before a SMSU 3-pointer at the 7:21 mark put them up five. Sanneh got a layup and Clarissa Sauer knocked down a jumper of her own to bring them within 9-8 at the 5:35 mark of the first quarter. 

The Mustangs went on an 8-0 run from there before two Mia Donald layups brought the Vikings right back. The only points in the final 1:43 of play came at the free throw line from SMSU as they took a 19-12 lead into the second quarter. 

SMSU grew a double-digit lead of the night in the early stages of the second quarter, getting as high as 32-20 at the 5:35 mark. Lomax ended the run with a jumper before four straight Sanneh points brought AU back within 32-26 with 4:08 to play in the first half. 

After a pair of Mustang free throws, Ava Pautz knocked down a jumper and Sanneh made a pair of free throws before getting a layup to fall to bring the deficit to 34-32 with 1:24 to go in the half. AU would work within a point late in the half but a pair of SMSU free throws grew the deficit to 38-35 at the break.

Each team scored two points before Edmonds knocked down the first Viking 3-pointer of the game to even the score at 40-40. The Mustangs scored five of the next seven points to reclaim a lead. The Vikings would trade points for most of the third, keeping their deficit between two and four points until an 8-0 run in the final 2:48 gave the Mustangs a 60-50 lead into the fourth quarter. 

The Viking deficit sat at 11 at the 5:23 mark of the fourth quarter. Pautz started to chip into that with a layup just before the media timeout to get within single digits. Sanneh got a layup to continue the run and after an Edmonds free throw, Lomax knocked down a 3-pointer with 1:17 to go and get within 70-67. 

Pautz followed the next two Mustang layups with layups of her own to keep the deficit at three points. After a timeout advanced the next SMSU possession, the Vikings forced a turnover to give themselves a chance. They would be unable to score, bringing the game to its final score. 

The Vikings will conclude the regular season on Saturday afternoon when they host Sioux Falls at 1:30 p.m., inside the Elmen Center.