Box Score
MARSHALL, Minn.- Southwest Minnesota State suffered from 23 turnovers in a 68-57 defeat at the hands of Augustana despite
Caleigh Rodning posting a sixth straight double-double on Saturday night in the R/A Facility.
Rodning had 24 points and 12 rebounds, tying her career high in points scored, which she set last Saturday against U-Mary. Rodning went 9-of-16 from the floor shooting while also adding two assists. SMSU struggled to find offense elsewhere as Rodning was the only SMSU player to score in double-figures on the night.
Augustana came into the weekend ranked second in the conference in rebounding, but it was SMSU who came away with a 46-37 advantage on the glass. Augustana held a 30-26 edge in points in the paint and had an 18-10 advantage in points off of turnovers.
Southwest Minnesota State held the Vikings to just 36 percent shooting in the first half. Augustana entered the weekend as the first ranked scoring offense in the conference but went just 12-of-33 from the floor and just 5-of-17 on three point attempts in the first twenty minutes of action.
SMSU struggled to take care of the ball to start the game for the second night in a row as the Mustangs gave up 13 first half turnovers.
SMSU held a one-point lead after the first quarter and led by as many as four early in the second quarter. The Vikings forced eight total turnovers in the second quarter however and held a 31-27 halftime lead after ending the quarter on a 5-0 run.
Augustana's offense came out strong in the second half as the Vikings shot 52 percent in the third quarter to SMSU's 38 percent field goal percentage in the third. SMSU was able to reach the free throw line nine times during the third quarter, knocking down seven to help keep the Mustangs within six going into the final quarter.
The Mustangs were able to get within four points following a Rodning layup with 6:27 to play but Augustana answered just seconds later with a Logan O'Farrell three pointer. The Mustangs could find only two field goals the remainder of the quarter as Augustana won a fifth straight game over SMSU.
The Mustangs will wrap up their regular season schedule next weekend as they travel to face Minnesota State on Friday at 6 p.m., followed by their regular season finale against Concordia-St. Paul on Saturday at 4 p.m.
