ABERDEEN, SD -
Augustana used two second half runs giving them a lead they would not relinquish as they held on to defeat Northern State 66-57 on Saturday evening. The Vikings improve their overall record to 17-5 and now hold a 13-5 record in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play. The Wolves fall to 14-8 overall, 10-8 in the NSIC.
Augustana used runs of 10-2 and 12-1 to battle back from a first half come deficit away victorious on the road for their sixth road win of the year. Shaunteva Ashley stuffed the stat sheet by racking up 11 points, seven assists, and five rebounds, all with no turnovers.
Alex Feeney score a team-high 13 points for the Vikings and Alison Kusler hit five three-pointers and eight free throws to score a game-high 27 points for the Wolves.
To open the first half, Emily Schulte hit a pair of two-point buckets to give Augustana a brief four-point lead, 6-2. The Wolves responded with a 12-2 run to take a six-point lead, behind two three-pointers.
The Vikings clawed back within two points after Riley Nordgaard and Andrea Whitney connected on consecutive possessions. Northern State answered with a three-point play by Sadie Stotesbery and owned a 19-14 lead with 9:00 remaining in the first half.
Emily Schulte hit a three and Whitney hit a jump shot to tie the game at 19-19. Augustana took their first lead since the opening minutes after Faith TInlklenberg hit a pair of free throws capping a 7-0 run by Augustana.
The teams traded buckets for the remainder of the half and Cami Koehn’s three-point jump shot cut the Northern State lead to 31-30 entering halftime.
The Vikings opened the second half on a 10-2 run to take a 40-33 lead.
Alex Feeney hit a pair of jumpers supplemented by Ashley and Lydia Nelson’s three-pointers in the first 4:11 of the first half.
NSU fought back with two three-point field goals from Kusler and trimmed the lead to three points. The Vikings then went on a 12-1 run to give them a cushion they needed to close the game out.
Feeney and Koehn connected on three-pointers to pair with Ashley and Whitney’s jumpers to highlight the Vikings’ scoring spurt and give them a 54-40 lead. The Wolves never got closer than nine points until Kusler hit a three with 1:18 remaining to cut the lead to seven at 62-57.
Schulte and Ashley hit all four of their combined free throw attempts and Schulte pulled down the final Northern State miss to seal the game, 66-57.
Whitney finished with 12 points on an efficient 6 for 9 shooting night.
The Viking stay on the road with games against Sioux Falls and Southwest Minnesota State beginning with the Cougars on Feb. 16.
Courtesy: Eric Zahn, Assistant Sports Information Director, Augustana College
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