This week: Augustana (8-1, 1-1 NSIC) hosts U-Mary (4-2, 1-1 NSIC) on Friday at 6:05 p.m. and Northern State (5- 1, 2-0 NSIC) on Saturday at 4 p.m. to play its first home Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference games of the sea- son.
On the tube: Both games this weekend will be regionally broacast by Midco Sports Network. Midcontinent Com- munications subscribers can find MidcoSN on Channel 26. Tom Neiman will handle the play-by-play, while Al Bahe will provide color commentary.
Last time out: Augustana was on the road last weekend to open NSIC play against Southwest Minnesota State and Minnesota State. SMSU snapped a seven-game winning streak for the Vikings in a 63-56 victory over Augustana. The Vikings then picked up a 69-55 win over MSU.
The series: Augustana first faced U-Mary in 2006, and won 86-55. The Vikings are now 3-2 in the series, having beat the Marauders twice last season. Augustana is 19-13 in the series against Northern State that began during the 1972-73 season. The Vikings have been victorious against the Wolves in the previous four meetings.
Ranked: Augustana fell two spots and is ranked tied for No. 19 in the latest USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll released Tuesday by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association. The Vikings received 162 points in the poll.
Shootin’ buckets: With 22 points against Minnesota State last Saturday, Megan Doyle (Alexandria, S.D.) was Au- gustana’s leading scorer for the fourth time this season. She has scored in double-figures in all nine of the Vikings’ games. Against Puerto Rico-Mayaguez, Doyle scored a season-high 26 points.
From the line: Molly Hayes (Harrisburg, S.D.) was unstoppable at the free-throw line last week, shooting a perfect 9 of 9. Seven of the nine were scored against Southwest Minnesota State.
On the rebound: In both of the Vikings’ games last weekend, Kristi Board (Doland, S.D.) led Augustana in re- bounds.ShehadeightagainstSMSUandanotherfivewhentheVikingstookonMinnesotaState. Boardalsoscored 13 points against SMSU to be Augustana’s leading scorer.
Starting for the Vikings: Tessa Wilka has been a starter for the Vikings in Augustana’s past six games. She is av- eraging 6.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game.
Feeney from the field: Last weekend against Minnesota State, Alex Feeney had a successful game, shooting 5 of 6 from the field and grabbing three rebounds. The evening prior she went 5 for 6 in free-throws against Southwest Minnesota State.
From the bench: Augustana’s bench scored its lowest points of the season last weekend, combining for 12 points in the Vikings’ two games. Against Minnesota State, the Vikings’ bench scored eight points, while the Mavericks’ bench had 20. SMSU’s bench outscored Augustana’s 16-4.
Leading the NSIC: Both Megan Doyle and Molly Hayes are sitting among the top of the NSIC for seals per game and free throw percentage, respectively. Doyle is No. 1 in the conference averging 3.5 seals, while Molly Hayes is tied for No. 1 in free throw percentage, shooting 9 of 9. Augustana has also averaged 13 steals to take the No. 2 spot in the conference.
Conference openers: After last weekend, the Vikings are now 8-3 in conference openers since 2000-01, after their loss last weekend to SMSU. The Vikings' also lost to Nebraska-Omaha during the 2004-05 season and U-Mary in the 2008-09 season to open conference action.
Another great start: Augustana started the season 7-0, a tie for its best start to a season since 2000-01. During the 2004-05 season the Vikings also won seven contests in a row to start the season before Minnesota, Crookston snapped the streak, topping Augustana 81-68 on Dec. 1.
Roster breakdown: The Vikings return all six starters and 11 letterwinners from last year’s NCAA Tournament squad that had 24 wins. Augustana features seven guards, seven forwards and three centers on its 2010-11 roster. There are also four seniors, four juniors, three sophomores, three redshirt freshmen and three freshmen.
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