SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - The Augustana women's basketball team saw its season conclude on Saturday afternoon, falling 83-73 to Sioux Falls in the Elmen Center.
In her final collegiate game,
Miranda Lomax scored 21 points while knocking down five 3-pointers. Also making her final collegiate appearance,
Kristin Edmonds scored 13 points and grabbed five rebounds.
Isabella Sanneh ended a monster season with 13 points and 10 rebounds while
Maliyah Elliott had 11 points and five assists. Rounding out the seniors was
Marianna Freeman, closing her career on the court.
After the Cougars jumped to a 4-3 advantage, Lomax took over. She ended three consecutive Viking possessions with 3-pointers for her own 9-0 run, giving AU a 12-4 lead and forcing a USF timeout with 5:06 to go in the first quarter.
The Cougars clawed back after holding the Vikings scoreless for more than three minutes while evening the score at 12-12. Lomax would get a layup to go to end the scoreless stretch but the Cougars scored the final bucket of the quarter to make it 14-14 into the second.
Sanneh opened the second quarter with a layup and Lomax hit a 3-pointer to set the Viking lead to five points. USF scored the next five points to tie it but, with 6:57 left in the half, Edmonds knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Vikings a 22-19 lead.
USF would get within a point in the next minute of action before Edmonds made her run. An and-one and 3-pointer later, the Viking lead jumped to 29-22. USF countered with seven straight points to even the game at 29-29. Elliott scored the next three points and the Cougars hit a 3-pointer to make it 32-32 at the half.
USF scored 10 of the first 16 points to open the third quarter, putting them in front 42-38 at the 6:10 mark. The Vikings scored six of the next seven points, including four from Edmonds, to grow a 46-43 advantage.
Six of the next eight points went to the Cougars before a Lomax 3-pointer put them back in front. In the final 1:42, USF scored five of the last seven points to give them a 54-53 lead into the fourth.
The Vikings stayed within a possession until a 10-2 Cougar run put them ahead 71-61 with 4:25 to play. From there, AU closed the gap to seven points as late at the 34 second mark, but it wouldn't be enough before the game came to its final score.
