WINONA, Minn. - After playing eight of their first nine regular season contests on the road to start the 2021-22 campaign, the Winona State University women's basketball team competed on home hardwood in successive contests for the first time this weekend and the Warriors were hoping for a NSIC weekend sweep after defeating Wayne State Friday evening. Unfortunately, Augustana University had different plans and clawed back from a 12-point deficit to deal Winona State a 68-62 setback to close out 2021.
Having dispatched Wayne State 74-69 less than 24 hours earlier, WSU maintained the same offensive form that saw success on Friday night and battled the Vikings on Saturday in a back-and-forth game in McCown Gymnasium, home of WNB Financial Court. Winona State held a 12-point lead at one point in the third quarter, but the Vikings battled back and used a 25-point fourth quarter to down Winona State.
The first two periods saw a spirited contest, as the Warriors and Vikings exchanged the lead six times over the opening 20 minutes.
Mattie Schimenz had the hot hand early on, leading all scorers in the first half with 10 points.
Caitlin Riley came off the bench to drain three 3-pointers, notching nine points and a steal.
In the second half, the fans got their money's worth in a pair of periods that featured eight lead changes and a tied score on seven occasions in the last 14 minutes of play.
Riley continued to rain down the 3-pointers, going 6-for-15 from behind the arc, en route to 20 total points in the game. Augustana closed the 12-point gap to take a three point lead with under two minutes to play. Two long-range 3-pointers from Schimenz and Riley that would have tied the teams at 60 apiece both rimmed in and out with 80 and 75 seconds to go, respectively.
Down four points with 36 seconds left, Winona State found themselves in the forced foul part of point deficit. The Vikings missed one of two free-throws and the Warriors quickly countered, with Schimenz driving and scoring to close the score to 62-59 Vikings. After the ensuing timeout, Augustana's Ashlyn Duffy hit two foul shots to put the Warriors down by five with 16 seconds to go, but WSU answered when Riley hit an off-balance 3-pointer from NBA distance to draw WSU to within a possession at 64-62.
AU knocked down two more foul shots to extend their lead to 66-62 with 11 seconds left on the clock and added two more points in the waning moments to set the final score at 68-62.
As a team, Winona State was 21-for-58 from the floor, 10-for-34 from behind the arc. The Warriors were 10-of-15 at the free throw line. In the lane, Winona State out-rebounded Augustana 35-30, while WSU scored 23 points off the bench in the game.
Augustana was led by Lauren Sees with 17 points, while Vishe' Rabb had 16
for the Vikings as well. Augustana moves to 5-5 overall, 2-5 in NSIC action.
Winona State concludes the 2021 portion of their schedule and head into the holiday break with a 5-6 overall record and 2-5 NSIC mark. The Warriors will return to play on Sunday, Jan. 2, 2022, when they host Upper Iowa University. Start time is set for 3:30pm between the Peacocks and the Warriors in their second matchup of the 2021-22 season. The Warriors beat UIU 73-69 on Nov. 23 in Fayette.
For the most up-to-date news in Warrior Athletics, please visit: www.WINONASTATEWARRIORS.com and @WinonaStateATH.
About Winona State University Athletics:
The Winona State University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, as an integral part of the educational mission of the institution, is committed to offering opportunities to experience academic and athletic excellence for our student-athletes through two simple words: Graduate Champions.
Fourteen Warrior programs compete at the NCAA Division II level within the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). Winona State University competes as an affiliate member of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) in the sport of women's gymnastics
