The Southwest Minnesota State University lady Mustangs fell to the Augustana Vikings 79-44 on Friday, December 7.
The Mustangs were plagued by poor shooting, going just 29 percent (19 of 65) from the field and connecting on just 1 of 15 3-pointers. Alison Nagel paced the Mustangs with 16 points and six rebounds. Ellen Degler and Mikayla Saathoff each added six points. Saathoff pulled down a career-high six rebounds.
As a team, the Mustangs committed 27 turnovers. Augustana took advantage of this statistic, scoring 35 points off turnovers alone. In comparison, the Mustangs managed six points from turnovers.
Both teams were close for the first 11 minutes of the game; Augustana held a 17-16 advantage over the Mustangs despite a previous layup by Bree Hollemann.
The Vikings answered with a 19-0 run over approximately the next six minutes. They built up a 39-18 lead before Nagel connected on a field goal to go into the half.
The loss marks the Mustangs’ seventh consecutive loss to the Vikings in Sioux Falls. Their last victory came in the 2001-02 season.
With the loss, the Mustangs fall to an overall record of 1-6 and 0-2 in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, while the Vikings improve to 6-0 overall and 2-0 in the NSIC.