WBK: Big Second Half Lead Vikings In Win

Alex Feeney and Cami Koehn combined for 22 points in the second half to pace Augustana to a 63-43 win over Minnesota Duluth.  The Vikings remain in second place in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference with an 11-4 conference record and a 15-4 mark overall.  The Bulldogs drop to 10-9 overall with a 7-8 record in the NSIC.

A 14-4 run to open the second half provided the Vikings the cushion they needed to coast to victory. Feeney and Koehn each had 11 second-half points to carry the Vikings on a slow shooting night.  Feeney finished with a team-high 15 points and Koehn poured in 14, including four three-pointers.

Feeney passed Heidi Morlock and Megan Doyle on the Augustana women’s basketball career scoring list and now owns sixth place with 1,506 career points.

Minnesota Duluth was led by Danielle Flood’s 6-6 performance from beyond the arc.  Flood finished with 19 points while Katrina Newman recorded a double-double for the Buldogs, 11 points and 13 rebounds.

Despite an early turnover, the Vikings hit their first two shots, but both teams were cold the opening minutes of the game.  A combined 6-21 start for Augustana and Minnesota Duluth compounded with nine turnovers led to a sloppy start on Friday night.

The Vikings then converted on five of their next seven possessions to and held a 19-7 lead at the media timeout.  Rhianna Gullickson came into the game averaging four minutes of playing time but sparked the Vikings’ surge with a three-point play when thrust into action with Augustana foul troubles.

Gullickson’s and-one followed an Emily Schulte three-pointer and started a 16-4 run, giving the Vikings a 23-11 lead with seven minutes left to play in the first.  A pair of UMD three-point field goals trimmed the Viking lead to eight, 25-17, with three minutes remaining before intermission.

Cami Koehn answered with a triple of her own, but the Bulldogs struck last and cut the lead to 28-19 going into halftime.  Lydia Nelson paced the Vikings by scoring eight points and snagging eight rebounds.

Both teams shot poorly, but Augustana managed a 34.5 percent half from the field while holding UMD to just 29.6 shooting.

Five different Vikings scored in the opening minutes of the second half as Augustana used a 14-4 run to blow open the game.  The Bulldogs answered with eight straight points, but UMD never got closer than those 11 points that separated the two teams, 42-31.

Riley Nordgaard hit a pair of layups then Feeney and Koehn combined to score the next 15 Augustana points.  Nordgaard gave the Vikings their largest lead at 23 points before Haley Guetter banked in a three for UMD with six seconds left and the teams arrived at the final score of 63-43.

Neither team shot well on the night and Augustana was held to one of its lowest shooting percentages of the season at 36.8 from the field.  The Vikings did hold the Bulldogs to 31.5 percent shooting and outscored UMD in the paint 36-14.

Augustana outrebounded Minnesota Duluth 44-39, led by Feeney and Nelson with nine each.  Feeney’s six-game streak of double-digit rebounds was snapped.