Box Score
The Augustana women’s basketball team defeated the University of Sioux Falls 85-55 Wednesday night in the Prairie Spirit Charitable Challenge at the Sioux Falls Arena. Augie used a balanced offensive attack in the win with five Vikings scoring in double figures.
Augustana collects its first win of the season while the Cougars drop to 3-3. This marks Augie’s eighth straight victory over the Cougars and their second consecutive win the in the Prairie Spirit Charitable Challenge.
The Vikings outscored USF 19-9 in the first 10 minutes of the game, keeping them to just 16.7 percent (3 of 18) from the field. The defensive effort included eight blocks in the first nine minutes, five of which came from freshman center
Alex Feeney.
The Vikings got into foul trouble early, but the Cougars were only 8 of 14 from the line, making the foul differential a non-factor. Augie ended up with 11 blocks in the first half, which combined with a 38.9 (14 of 36) field goal percentage, helped the Vikings to build a 38-24 lead at half.
Augie started the second half hot as well, outscoring the Cougars 17-7 in the first seven minutes. The Vikings were able to increase their lead to over thirty when a three-pointer by junior guard
Kristi Board moved the score to 76-45 with 6:34 remaining.
The Cougars scored 11 points in the last six minutes of the game, but it wasn’t enough to cut into the Viking lead. USF’s Becky Christofferson scored 14 second-half points in the effort.
Sophomore guard
Megan Doyle led the Vikings with 16 points to go along with nine rebounds and also dished out six assists.
Molly Hayes contributed 14 points and six assists of her own. Six assists sets the record for Augie in the Prairie Spirit Charitable Challenge.
Junior guard
Tessa Wilka recorded her first career double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds and sophomore forward
Faith Tinklenberg added 12 points. Feeney narrowly missed a double-double by scoring 10 points and pulling down nine rebounds. She also had five blocks, which is the Prairie Spirit Charitable Challenge record.
Christofferson scored a game-high 18 points for the Cougars, which is a Charitable Challenge record for USF. She was 5 of 12 (41.6 percent) from the field, also setting the USF Charitable Challenge record for field goals made.
The Vikings will have just three days off as they play Gustavus Adolphus on Saturday at the Elmen Center. Tipoff is at 3 p.m.