SIOUX FALLS – The Augustana Vikings (16-9, 12-9 NSIC) had a solid shooting night and earned a split in the season series with a 79-56 victory over No. 16 University of Sioux Falls Women's Basketball (23-5, 16-5 NSIC) at the Stewart Center in a city rivalry match-up on Friday night before 1,524 in attendance.

The Vikings, which had a game-high 19 points from Aislinn Duffy, built a 14-point lead and continued to extend the margin against the Cougars, which had their worst first quarter of the season and had just 23 points by halftime. The 23 points at the half was USF's second lowest total of the season. The Vikings outscored the Cougars, 24-20, in the third quarter and 16-13 in the fourth quarter to earn the win.

The Cougars will close the regular season on Saturday on Senior Day with an NSIC game against South Division foe Wayne State at the Stewart Center with game-time set for 3:30 pm. USF, which has clinched the NSIC South Division title for the first time and were honored in a pre-game ceremony, was unable to get anything started against Augustana.

USF made just 37.7 percent from the field on 20-of-53 shooting and was 4-of-14 from three while just hitting 12-of-20 from the foul line. The Cougars were hurt on the boards in which AU had a 39-27 advantage and had a season-high 20 turnovers which led to a 12-9 advantage for the Vikings. AU also had a 40-24 margin in the paint and a 12-4 edge in second chance points.

AU, which shot nearly 60 percent until late in the second half, finished at 47.4 percent from the field as they made 27-of-57 field goals although they were just 5-of-20 from three-point range. In addition, the Vikings had a 20 (28 attempts) to 12 advantage at the foul strike. Aside from Duffy, Hannah Mitby had 16 points while Mckenzee Zilberberg had 11 points and a game-high eight rebounds. 

Leading the way for USF was senior guard Kaely Hummel, who had 13 points and now has 1,665 in her career. With a three, she now has 264 for her career, which is the all-time mark at USF. Hummel also added three assists, two rebounds and a steal.  Augusta Thramer added nine points and four rebounds. In addition, senior forward Andi Mataloni had seven points in 15 minutes off the bench. 

Scoring Summary –
In the opening half, AU came out on fire while USF struggled through one of its toughest opening periods this season. USF scored just five points in the first quarter which was a season low. USF had just 23 points by halftime as they trailed by 16 (39-23).

The Vikings opened up 7-2 lead at the six-minute mark as the Cougars hit just one of their first five shots from the field. With 4:59 to play, Hummel made a three as USF trailed, 7-5.  The Vikings scored eight straight to take a 15-5 lead over the Cougars. At the break, AU had a 19-5 lead. USF started cold as they made just 2-of-17 shots in the opening quarter for 11.8 percent. In addition, USF had seven turnovers and was 1-of-7 from three-point range.

In the second quarter, the Vikings continued to hit its shots and opened up a 28-12 lead with 7:21 to play. After a Hummel basket, Duffy, who had 11 points in the half, hit another shot for a 30-14 lead as the Vikings opened by hitting 11-of-19 from the field for 57.9 percent.

With 5:54 left, Thramer knocked in a three to cut the lead to 31-17. However, USF continued to struggle from the floor as the Vikings pushed the lead to 39-19 with a minute to play. By halftime, USF trailed 39-23.

In the opening two quarters, USF hit just 9-of-32 field goals for 28.1 percent and were 3-of-12 for 25 percent. USF had 11 turnovers and lost the rebound battle, 18-15. Hummel led USF with nine points. The Vikings had a solid offense in the opening half by hitting 14-of-26 field goals for 53.8 percent and made 8-of-9 free throws along with 3-of-9 from three-point range.

In the third quarter, the Vikings continued to make plays and pushed the lead to 48-28 after a basket from Duffy at the 6:12 mark. In the opening five minutes, USF attempted just one shot and had five more turnovers. At the 4:49 mark, a basket by Hummel reduced the lead to 48-30. At the end of the quarter, USF, which trailed by 21 (60-39) scored a pair of baskets but after Lauren Sees had an offensive board and put back, the Vikings led, 63-43.

In the fourth quarter, USF opened with a basket from Mariah Szymanski to cut the lead to 18 (63-45, 9:37). However, USF was unable to sustain any runs and was outscored, 16-13 by the Vikings, which ended a four-game losing streak to USF.