SIOUX FALLS -- (RV) University of Sioux Falls Women's Basketball Team (7-2, 7-2 NSIC), which leads the NSIC South, will face Augustana (7-4, 6-3 NSIC) in an NSIC South match up Friday and Saturday, Feb. 12-13 at the Sanford Pentagon. Game time is 7 pm on Friday, Feb. 12, and 3 pm on Feb. 13.

USF, which received votes in the WBCA DII National Poll for the second straight week, registered 80-45 and 62-58 victories against Wayne State at the Stewart Center. With a split to Southwest Minnesota State by Augustana last weekend, the Cougars took over first place in the South Division.  Both USF and Augustana have four games left in the regular season. The Cougars stand a half-time ahead of Concordia-St. Paul (8-3, 7-3) in the South Division. Augustana is one game back as they host the Cougars. 

Series Notes - USF-Augie tied 9-9 in DII era
USF and Augustana will meet for the 19th time in the DII era. The series mark in those 18 games is 9-9. The Cougars stand 6-1 at games at Augustana and 2-7 at home with a 1-1 NSIC Tournament record. Overall, Augustana has a 33-12 series record. The Cougars have won three of the past four meetings and five of the past seven contests. A year ago, the two teams split with USF taking a 76-72 win at the Stewart Center and Augustana winning 79-56 at the Pentagon. USF swept the season series in 2018-19.
 

2-21-20 -- AU 79 USF 56 @ Pentagon

1-4-20 -- USF 76 AU 72 @ Stewart Center

2-22-19 -- USF 76 AU 62 @ Elmen Center

1-5-19 -- USF 65 AU 60 @ Stewart Center

2-26-18 -- AU 63 USF 43 @ Pentagon (NSIC Tournament semifinals)

2-9-18 -- USF 64 AU 59 (OT) @ SF Arena

2-10-17 -- AU 74 USF 72 @ Stewart Center

12-31-17 -- AU 76 USF 65 @ Stewart Center

12-31-16 -- USF 71 AU 66 @ SF Arena

3-1-2016 -- USF 75 AU 57 @ Pentagon (NSIC Tournament Finals)

2-13-16 -- AU 64 USF 54 @ Stewart Center

1-2-16 -- USF 67 AU 59 @ SF Arena Center

2-4-15 -- AU 80 USF 69 @ SF Arena

1-2-15 -- USF 77 AU 72 @ Stewart Center

1-24-14 -- USF 84 AU 72  @ Elmen Center

12-7-13 -- AU 76 USF 70 @ Stewart Center

2-15-13 -- AU 83 USF 58 @ Steart Center

12-8-12 -- AU 92 USF 64 @ Elmen Center

At Stake - Breaking down USF-Augustana
As the Cougars and Vikings meet, the two teams are looking for wins to help advanced to the NSIC Tourney with the top four teams in each Division advancing to the tournament Feb. 25-28.

At they stand right now, USF is 7-2 and has won 3-of-4 road games. The Cougars opened the season on the road with two wins over Upper Iowa and home wins against Winona State before splitting two games on the road at Concordia, St. Paul. Then, USF fell at home to Minn. State, 71-67, despite a career-high 23 points and eight boards from junior Krystal Carlson. USF swept Wayne State on Feb. 5-6 with an 80-45 victory as Anna Brecht scored a career-high 25 points. With Brecht, and Lauren Sanders scored 11 points while Dallie Hoskinson had a double-double (10 points and 10 rebounds) in a 62-58 win in the second game.   

Augustana, directed by long-time Head Coach and USF graduate Dave Krauth, comes into the match up after splitting with Southwest Minnesota State. AU took the opener of the series, 83-81 in overtime before falling, 75-62 in  the second game of the series played at  Marshall, Minn.

The Vikings lead the NSIC in scoring at 77.4 points per game, just ahead of USF at 72.7 which is third. Both teams have a solid scoring margin differential with USF at 8.8 (5th, NSIC) and AU at 8.7 (6th, NSIC). While USF is third in rebounding at 43.0 per game, the Vikings stand fourth at 41.3 per game.  USF has a league-best 7.9 three-point field goals per game on 35.1 conversion rate (4th, NSIC). The Vikings are third in the NSIC with 7.5 threes per game on a 32.3 percent conversion rate (8th, NSIC). 

The two teams shoot nearly same field goal percentage with USF at 39.3 (10th, NSIC) and AU at 39.8 percent (7th, NSIC). 

The Vikings are led in scoring by four players in double digits. Izzy Van Veldhuizen at 14.4 points per game and 5.5 rebounds per game leads the Vikings. Lauren Sees averages 14.3 points while Aislynn Duffy adds 14.0 points and 6.5 rebounds for the Vikings. 

Player Notes - USF - Brecht second in NSIC in scoring while Hoskinson leads rebounding
Twice in her career, including on Jan. 18 of 2021, Anna Goodhope has been named  the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) South Player of the Week. Goodhope helped guide the Cougars to a 2-0 weekend against Winona State. Goodhope, who prepped at Sioux Falls Washington, averaged 18 points, hit 56 percent from the field, and grabbing seven rebounds per game in playing 63 combined minutes against WSU this past weekend.  In a 67-61 win over WSU on Saturday, Jan. 16, she had 16 points and six rebounds with three assists. Then she scored 20 points with eight rebounds, assist and a steal in a 73-67 win. Goodhope, who also earned the NSIC Player of the Week honors on Nov. 19, 2019, is averaging 10.4 points and 6.5 rebounds per game for USF. Goodhope is 14-of-28 for 50.0 percent from three-point range. She  owns 91 threes at USF in her career with 111 total (20 at NDSU). She has 28 double-digit games at USF and 31 in her career. In that total, Goodhope has seven 20-point games and three double doubles.

Anna Brecht, a 6-0 transfer from Wisconsin/Green Bay and former Sioux Falls, S.D., native, has opened her career by averaging 18.7  points - 2nd in the NSIC (38th in DII) - and 4.9 rebounds. Brecht has nine straight double-digit games in scoring with 20 points or more five times. She set a career-high with 25 points against Wayne State on Feb. 5. Brecht has 12 double-digit games in her career. 

Freshman Megan Fannin broke out with a big game in the opener. She had 20 points in 26 minutes, adding four rebounds, four assists and a steal in an 86-66 win over Upper Iowa. Fannin, originally of Watertown, S.D., hit 7-of-10 field goals and 4-of-5 from three-point range in that win over UIU. Through five games, including three starts, she is averaging 5.4 points and 1.8 rebounds. She has missed two straight games.

Junior guard Dallie Hoskinson, a 5-6 junior transfer from Johnson City Community College, leads the NSIC in rebounding at 9.1 per game. Hoskinson, who scores 7.3 points per game, has recorded double-digit rebounds in five of nine games (15, 13, 12, 11, 10) with a high of 15 vs Upper Iowa on Jan. 9. She recorded double-double twice this season with 10 points and 10 rebounds against Wayne State on Feb. 6 and had 12 points and 12 rebounds against Concordia St. Paul on Jan. 22.

Senior guard Lauren Sanders, who is averaging 6.1 points per game and has made five starts in nine games, hit her 100th career three against Concordia St. Paul. She has recorded  108 career threes.  She has 414 career points. Sanders has 13 career double-digit games with three of 20 points or more.

In making her first three starts at USF in nine games, senior Amanda Dagostino has averaged 3.8 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. In her first start, she came up big for USF.  She was 4-of-4 from the floor Jan. 9 against Upper Iowa with a career-best eight points, five rebounds and career-highs in blocks with three and assists with three.

Sophomore Ashley Wells also had a  career-best with 14 points in the win over UIU on Jan. 9. Wells, who is averaging 3.0 points and 1.7 rebounds, made 4-of-5 field goals and 2-of-2 from three-point range for 14 points vs UIU. Wells has played in all nine games for USF.

Newcomer Emily Peterson, who is averaging 3.1 points, also had a double-digit points game for USF for the first time. In the win over Winona State, she hit her first two threes with USF and had 10 points in 14 minutes. Against CSP in a 83-68 win, she hit three straight threes and finished with nine points to help the Cougars to a win. She has two starts in nine games.

Kristal Carlson, a junior forward, has made  averaging eight starts in nine games and is averaging 7.3 ppg, 4.2 rebounds and has three double-digit scoring game on the season - 10 in her career. She is coming off a season-high 23 points and eight rebounds in the loss to MSU. 

Junior forward Kiara James is adding 3.3 points, and 2.8 rebounds in providing critical contributions off the bench. In nine games, she has one start. James has a high of seven points against Winona State on Jan. 16 and eight boards against Upper Iowa on Jan. 9. She has one double-digit game in her career.

WBCA DII National Poll - Feb. 9
School - Ranking - Record - Last placing

1. Lubbock Christian (21), 9-0, 572

2. Lander (1), 10-0, 505

3. Charleston, WV, 9-0, 496

4. Drury, 11-1, 477

5. West Texas A&M, 435

6. Minnesota Duluth, 7-0, 419

7. Texas A&M Commerce, 10-1, 410

8 Hawaii Pacific, 5-0, 359

9. Fort Hays State, 13-2, 338

10. Valdosta State, 14-2, 321

11. Grand Valley State, 10-1, 306

12. Carson-Newman, 10-1, 293

13. Nebraska Kearney, 14-2, 277

14. Western Colorado, 9-1, 270

15. Southwestern Oklahoma State, 11-1, 257

16. North Georgia, 10-1, 238

17. Cedarville, 15-2, 235

18. Arkansas Tech, 7-0, 215

19. Daemen, 6-1, 188

20. Central Missouri, 14-2, 160

21. Glenville State, 8-1, 152

22. Gannon, 7-1, 95

23. Michigan Tech, 10-1, 89

24. Benedict, 4-0, 75

25. Emporia State, 41

Others receiving votes: Belmont Abbey (12-2) 40; Union, TN (11-3) 40; Sioux Falls (7-2) 26; Colorado Mines (11-2) 21; Notre Dame, OH (8-2) 20; Truman State (12-3) 16; Tusculum (11-2) 13; American International (3-1) 11. Seven teams mentioned on only one ballot for a total of 27 combined points.