10th-ranked Vikings blow out No. 9 Wayne State

by Nick Lenz, Sports Anchor/Reporter
December 01, 2012 6:42 PM


SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Alex Feeney's double-double and Faith Tinklenberg's smooth shooting led the 10th-ranked Vikings to a 82-56 victory over No. 9 Wayne State on Saturday evening.  The Vikings stay undefeated at 5-0 and win the first Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference match to move to 1-0 in conference. The Wildcats drop their first game of the season falling to 3-1 and 0-1 in the NSIC.
 
The Vikings break a three-game losing streak from last season against WSC and improve to 16-11 all-time against the Wildcats.
 
The Vikings hit eight of their 17 three-point attempts (47.1%) in the game, led by three from Tinklenberg.  Augustana also finished the night shooting 45.5 percent from the floor and 82.4 percent from the free throw line.  
 
Feeney flirted with a triple double by tallying 19 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists; six of her rebounds came on the offensive glass.  Tinklenberg shot an efficient 6-10 with 3-4 from behind the arc and finished with 16 points.
 
The Wildcats started the game on 4-4 shooting, including a pair of three-point buckets, before Tinklenberg swatted away the fifth WSC field goal attempt.  The Vikings also started off hot as well, making four of their first five shots.
 
Wayne State cooled and the Vikings found their stroke hitting four three-point buckets and entered the first-half media timeout with a 26-16 lead.  Augustana continued on its run after the media break eventually completing a 13-0 run.  Andrea Whitney's two easy buckets and rebounding sparked the run.
 
The Vikings stretched their lead to 16 with just over four minutes to play on a Tinklenberg three.  The Wildcats clawed back behind Ellen Hansen's shooting to cut the lead to seven, but Augustana took an eight-point lead into halftime.
 
Tinklenberg's 11 points paced the Vikings in the first half and Andrea Whitney scored six points off the bench.  Augustana shot 51.9 percent from the field and hit five of their nine three-point attempts in the first period.
 
In the second half, the Vikings stretched their lead thanks to six quick points from Tinklenberg and led by 18 just three minutes in.  Feeney made a couple of jumpers to extend the lead and Lydia Nelson banked in a 25-footer to give Augustana a 66-43 lead.
 
Two minutes later, Cami Koehn hit a three from the corner to halt a brief Wayne State run and go ahead 69-47.  Feeney continued to carry the Vikings with 14 points just in the second half.
 
Augustana's lead reached its peak at 29 points with 3:40 left to play in the game and The Vikings coasted to the buzzer.
 
Nelson dropped 14 points and Emily Schulte used her 6-6 from the free throw line to score 11 points.  Schulte also dished out four assists.
 
The Vikings continue conference play hosting Southwest Minnesota State and University of Sioux Falls Dec. 7 and 8.