ROCK ISLAND, Ill – The Augustana women's basketball team will open their season tomorrow night with a home contest against the Knox Prairie Fire.
Head coach
Mark Beinborn and his squad bring elevated expectations into the 2021-22 campaign. In last year's shortened season, the Vikings posted a 4-6 overall record a 4-5 mark in conference play. Augustana's 2021-22 season ended in the CCIW Tournament with a loss at Carroll.
The Vikings return several key contributors including their top five scorers. Among those players are leading scorer
Macy Beinborn,
Gabriela Loiz, and
Hannah Simmer who all averaged at least nine points.
Lauren Hall figures to be a significant force in the paint. Hall was virtually unstoppable on the glass last season with 112 total rebounds and an average of 11.2 boards per game. Hall also averaged the most assists per game in 2021 with 2.8.
Augustana and Knox have one previous match-up on record. The Vikings beat Knox 75-73 in 2010.
The Prairie Fire played just three games in the 2020-21 season with their lone win coming over Lake Forest and both losses at the hands of Illinois College. In the last full season, Knox went 16-10 overall and 11-7.
Knox also returns several of their main contributors including three double-digit scorers from a season ago. Sarina Dacio, Kristin Herndon, and Juliana Vinluan averaged 15.7 ppg, 10.5 ppg, and 10 ppg, respectively. Despite the shortened schedule, Dacio made roughly three triples per game.
Herndon and Catessa Duran were also the top rebounders last year. Herndon averaged eight boards per game and Duran snagged seven rebounds per game. Vinluan led Knox in distribution with nine total assists and an average of three per game.
Game Coverage (time listed in CST)
Follow us on social media for in-game score updates at @augieathletics.
