ROCK ISLAND. -- Augustana women's basketball team will play host in this weekend's Hyatt Place Tournament to take place November 18-19. The Vikings will open the tournament on Friday against the Dubuque Spartans at 5:00 p.m in the Roy J. Carver Center.
Augustana enters the matchup with a 2-0 record after taking home victories over Simpson and Loras at last weekend's Tip-Off Classic in Dubuque. In their 74-62 win over Simpson, Augie put together a strong performance over a Storm team that finished last season with a 26-2 record. Macy Beinborn was electric from beyond the arc, draining seven of her 14 attempts on the way to a 25-point night. The Vikings boasted two other scorers with double-digit point totals and were efficient on the glass in game one.
The Vikings had to earn game two against Loras, reaching into their bench depth. Carly Stone stepped up in the three-point shooting department, going 5-6 against the Duhawks. Emma Berg was a big part of Augie's bench success, leading the Vikings with 22 points of her own. The Duhawks led for most of the second half but left the door open just enough for the Vikings to secure a lead change with 1:15 left in the fourth period. Emily Brenneisen then iced the game for Augie, draining three of her four attempts from the line and securing a 72-69 win for the Vikings.
The Spartans enter Friday with a 2-1 mark early in the season, having captured wins over Marian and Eureka, but falling in their most recent matchup to Washington University. Dubuque was dominant in the paint against the Bears, tallying 50 points in that area, but could not get anything going from the rest of the floor.
Augustana currently leads the all-time series against the Spartans with a 16-2 record. The Vikings have secured four of the last five matchups, last facing the Spartans in 2019, where they won by a 75-56 score at home.
The winner of this contest will advance to the championship match of the Hyatt Place Tournament, facing off against the victor of the UW-Oshkosh/Depauw game on Saturday evening.
The Vikings are 0-3 all-time against DePauw and 1-3 versus UW-Oshkosh in program history.
Start time is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. on Friday. Live stream coverage is available here.
