Box Score

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Southwest Minnesota State played a solid first three quarters, but committed 22 turnovers leading to 34 points for Augustana, as the Vikings pulled away in the fourth quarter to earn a 90-71 victory in NSIC women's basketball on Friday night at the Sioux Falls Arena.
 
SMSU (1-10, 1-6 NSIC) finished the game tying a season-high shooting 50 percent (27 of 54) from the field, with nine 3-pointers, but AU held a 34-4 advantage on points off of turnovers. Augustana finished the game shooting 43 percent (32 of 74), but shot 54 percent in the second half.
 
SMSU held a 44-40 halftime lead, but shot just 40 percent in the second half.
 
The game was tied at 58 with 2:15 left in the third quarter, but Augustana (11-3, 6-1 NSIC) reeled off a 24-5 run over the next seven and a half minutes to put the game away.
 
Caleigh Rodning scored a career-high 20 points for the Mustangs, making 7 of 9 field goals, while also grabbing six rebounds. Sarah Buysse scored 10 points, while Taylor Silva added nine points and six assists. Lauren Hedlund scored eight points and grabbed a team-high 13 rebounds, while Laurie Bohler came off the bench to score a season-high six points on a pair of 3-pointers.
 
SMSU played a strong opening half shooting 59 percent (17 of 29) from the field with four 3-pointers.
 
The opening half featured 12 lead changes and was tied nine times. Augustana held a 20-18 lead after one quarter of play and later led 29-25 with 6:57 left in the second, before Rodning scored back-to-back field goals to tie the game at 29.
 
Sarah Buysse connected on a 3-pointer with 5:16 left in the second quarter to give the Mustangs their first lead of the quarter at 32-31. The Vikings would later take a 37-36 lead with two minutes left in the half, but a free throw by Lauren Hedlund, a pair of free throws by Rodning and a 3-pointer by Laurie Bohler gave SMSU its largest lead of the half at 42-37 with 45 second remaining. Rodning would later cap an outstanding first half with a field goal to give SMSU a 44-40 lead into the break.
 
Rodning scored 15 points on 5 of 5 shooting and grabbed six rebounds in the first half.
 
SMSU maintained the lead for much of the third quarter before Augustana regained the lead at 58-55 following a 3-pointer by Lynsey Prosser with 2:55 left in the quarter. Taylor Silva would tie the game with a layup less than a minute later, but the Vikings closed the quarter on a 6-0 run to build a 64-58 advantage after three quarters and never looked back in beating SMSU for the 18^th time in the last 20 meeting since the 2003-04 season.
 
Southwest Minnesota State concludes the weekend tomorrow afternoon taking on Wayne State College (9-3, 4-3 NSIC) with tip-off slated for 4 p.m. in Wayne, Neb.