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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Augustana women's basketball team took control early and never looked back in a 100-57 win in over Minnesota Duluth on Wednesday in a first round NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament game. The Vikings improved to 21-9, while the Bulldogs season came to a close at 12-15.

The victory pushed Augustana's winning streak to five, tying its longest of the season, and 10 out of its last 11, while also guaranteeing a quarterfinal matchup against Northern State (23-6), the North Division's No. 1 seed, on Saturday at the Sanford Pentagon.

The 100 points marked the first time this year that the Vikings cracked triple digits for points scored in a game.

Shaunteva Ashley led Augustana with 26 points and seven assists in the final home game of her career. Ashley finished the game going 12 for 17 in 30 minutes of action.

Sydney Rome continued her torrid shooting from deep, scoring 14 points off the bench. Rome knocked down four 3s on six attempts, giving her three games out of her last four that the sophomore has made at least four in a game.

Sophie Kenney was the other Viking in double figures, adding 18 points, highlighted by a rare four-point play midway through the second half.

UMD, without its star player Taylor Meyer, finished the night shooting 28.6 percent (18 for 63).

Allyson Harris led Minnesota Duluth with an 11 point, 10-rebound effort.

Jessica Newman chipped in with a team-high 19 points.

Augustana came out set the tone early, using a 7-0 run in under two minutes to force the Bulldogs to take a quick timeout and try to and stop the early momentum that the Vikings generated.

Back-to-back baskets by Ashley pushed Augustana's lead to eight at 15-7 going into the game's first media timeout. Ashley's baskets were part of a hot start for the Vikings, who made seven of their first nine shots in the opening half.

Rome gave Augustana the separation it was looking for about midway through the half with her own personal 9-0 run that came from draining three consecutive 3s in a span of 44 seconds to make it a 15-point contest.

The Vikings' lead grew to 23, its biggest of the half, after a 3-pointer by Allie Koehn at the 2:44 mark, giving them seven made 3s in the half.

Augustana kept its strong play going, ending the half with a 50-28 lead. The 50 points tied the most scored in first half against an NSIC opponent this season.

Ashley and Rome were nearly unstoppable in the first 20 minutes. The duo combined for 29 points on 12-of-15 shooting (80 percent), one point more than what UMD scored in the entire period. The hot shooting by the two was part of a good performance by the team as a whole, which shot 57.6 percent.

Picking up right where they left off in the first half, The Vikings used a 14-0 run in the opening minutes of the second to push their lead to 36 after a 3 from the right corner by Kenney. The long ball from Kenney was the junior's 10 point of the night.

The lead got as high as 44 after Ashley's layup with 8:43 remaining, giving the Sioux Falls, S.D. native 26 points in the game.

Minnesota Duluth never came closer than 36 the rest of the way, giving Augustana a chance to rest its starters late as it picked up the win.

News and notes
- The Vikings' 100 points were a new season high.
- Ashley's 26 points was the 11th time this year that she has scored at least 25 points in a contest.
- Augustana's 57.6 shooting percentage was a new season high and the first time this season it had shot over 50 percent in a game.
- With the 100 points, the Vikings are now 15-1 when scoring at least 80 points in a game this year.

Not your typical four seed
Ever since the 21-point comeback victory against Winona State in late January, Augustana has made the case for it being the hottest team going in the conference right now. The Vikings have gotten some solid shooting nights combined with a relentless press that has teams consistently turning it over and struggling to get into their offenses during their terrific run.

Up next
Augustana meets up with the North Division's No. 1 seed Northern State on Saturday in the NSIC/Sanford Health Women's Basketball Tournament.  Tip-off is set for 12 p.m.