SIOUX FALLS – With a thrilling victory in the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament quarterfinals, University of Sioux Falls Women's Basketball (16-12) is set to take on city rival No. 12 Augustana (25-3) on Monday, Feb. 26 at 8 p.m. at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls. Earning their third straight trip to the conference tournament semifinals, USF erased a double-digit deficit in the first half then scored the final eight points of the game to defeat NSIC regular season co-champions MSU Moorhead, 59-56, in the quarterfinals on Monday night.
 
Don't miss any of the action
All 14 men's and women's NSIC Tournament games will be televised live on Midco Sports Network. The broadcast will be simulcast online through Stretch Internet at portal.stretchinternet.com/nsic. Radio for this weekend's USF Women's Basketball games is available at KWSN AM 1230, KWSN.com, or on the KWSN app, with longtime play-by-play announcer Tom Frederick on the call. Pregame show starts 20 minutes before tip and includes a preview with USF head coach Travis Traphagen. All of USF's home games and NSIC contests are streamed for free through Stretch Internet and can be viewed at usfcougars.com/watch. Keep up with USF Women's Basketball on all of their social media platforms by visiting the USF Social Media Directory. Live stats for all home games are available at usfcougars.com/livestats and links to away games are available on the 2017-18 USF Women's Basketball Schedule.
 
NSIC Tournament history: USF stays perfect in NSIC quarterfinals, advances to third straight semi
Defeating MSU Moorhead for the second straight season on Sunday night, USF Women's Basketball maintained their perfect record in the quarterfinals of the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament. USF is now 4-0 in NSIC Tournament quarterfinals and will play in their third straight semifinal. The 59-56 win over MSU Moorhead improved their NSIC Tournament record to 11-4, which includes the 4-0 mark USF set when they won the tournament title in 2016. Since the NSIC moved the championship sight to the Sanford Pentagon in 2014, USF has played in nine games at the Sioux Falls facility and are 7-2 in those games. In the last three years at the Pentagon, USF is 6-1, losing only in the NSIC Tournament title game to Northern State, 55-52, last season. In NSIC Tournament semifinal games, USF is 2-1. The Cougars dropped a 78-66 decision to eventual Central Region champion Concordia-St. Paul in 2014, then returned to the NSIC semis two years later. En route to their NSIC Tournament title, USF defeated Northern State, 71-63, in the 2016 semifinals. Last season, USF's defense stymied Wayne State in a 58-49 victory for their second consecutive title game appearance.
 
Series History: Augustana leads 7-6 in D2 era
Since USF gained full NCAA Division II membership and joined the NSIC in 2012, the Cougars have played their city rival Augustana to a near draw in the series. After a 3-0 start to the 13-game series, Augustana holds a 7-6 edge. The Cougars and Vikings split this season as Augustana won the first meeting, 76-75, on New Year's Eve. The Cougars responded with a 64-59 overtime victory on Feb. 9, 2018, taking down the Vikings when they were ranked No. 5 in the WBCA Coaches' Poll. This is the second time USF and Augustana have met in the NSIC postseason. In 2016, the two Sioux Falls programs met in the NSIC Tournament title game, and USF earned a 75-57 victory on March, 1, 2016. Over the last 10 games, USF is 6-4 against the Cougars and have won three of their last five.
 
USF has three named to All-NSIC teams for first time in program history
USF sophomore guard Kaely Hummel and Mariah Szymanski earned All-NSIC second team honors and junior forward Jacey Huinker was named to the NSIC All-Defensive team. USF's leading scorer, Hummel averaged 15.9 points in the regular season and was fourth in the NSIC with 16.4 points per game during the 22-game conference schedule. A native of Cherokee, Iowa, Hummel scored in double figures all 26 regular season games, and scored 20 or more seven times. An explosive scorer, Szymanski averaged 13.5 points in the conference season and scored 10 or more points 12 times in the conference season. Hailing from Pulaski, Wis., Szymanski scored a career-high 43 points against Concordia-St. Paul on Jan. 20, which was the season-high for any NSIC player, and she finished the regular season with five 20-point games. A junior from Altoona, Iowa, Huinker collects her first postseason honors as a member of the five-player NSIC All-Defensive team. Huinker led the Cougars with 9.9 rebounds per game in the regular season, which ranked second in the NSIC. She also led the Cougars with 3.4 assists per game during the conference season and her 2.9 assist-to-turnover ratio led the league and ranks in the top 10 nationally.
 
Cougar quick hits

• Mariah Szymanski's 26 points in USF's second round win over MSU Moorhead was her third straight 20-poiont game and seventh of the season and her career
• Szymanski now has seven 20-point games this season, including a USF record 43 points against Concordia-St. Paul on Jan. 20
• She has scored 20 or more points in both games against Augustana this season, 31 points at home on Dec. 31 then 23 points on the road in USF's upset victory
• With her nifty behind-the-back layup in the final minute of the game against MSU Moorhead, Kaely Hummel reached 10 points to extend her streak to all 27 games this season with 10 or more points
• Hummel is tied with Szyamnski with seven 20-point games this season and she is averaging 12.0 points per game against Augustana this season
• Hummel was held without a 3-pointer for just the third time this season and it snapped her 24-game streak with at least one three
• Augusta Thramer set a career-high against MSU Moorhead, scoring 17 points in the victory
• Thramer was 6-for-10 from the field, tying her career-best on field goals made in a game