ROCK ISLAND – The Augustana Vikings women's basketball team starts the 2023-24 season with the Hyatt Place Tournament on Friday, November 10, where they will host the Aurora Spartans, Simpson Storm, and Hanover Panthers.

The Vikings return from a rewarding conference tournament runner-up season, ending with an 11-5 CCIW record and a 19-9 overall record. Mark Beinborn's team boasts depth and several key returners including 2023 All-Conference recipient Macy Beinborn and Corey Whitlock.

Beinborn started 27 games and averaged 11.6 points, while shooting 31 percent from deep and 85 percent from the free throw line. Whitlock started 28 games and averaged 7.0 points and 5.6 rebounds, while shooting 80 percent from the free throw line.

On Friday Augie will faceoff against the Aurora Spartans, the Vikings lead the all-time record 18-7, with the last meeting being in 2013 and resulting in a win for Augustana 70-63.

The Spartans had an overall record of 21-5 and were 15-3 in conference play in the 2022-23 season. Aurora ended their season at the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament, falling to Edgewood 56-54. 

Pending the outcomes of Friday's games, Augustana will either play the Simpson Storm or the Hanover Panthers on Saturday. The winners of both contests on Friday will play in the championship on Saturday at 4 p.m., while the losers will play in the consolation affair at 2 p.m.

The Vikings have never faced off against the Hanover Panthers in regular or postseason play. Hanover resides in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference and is coached by John Jones, who is entering his 22nd season with the Panthers. The Panthers had a 17-8 record in 2022-23.

Last season, the Vikings and Storm faced off in the season opener at the Loras Tip-Off Classic. Augie defeated Simpson 74-62, fueled by seven threes and 25 points from Beinborn. Cali Papex also added 10 points off the bench. The Vikings are 8-6 all-time against the Storm.

The Storm concluded their 2022-23 season with an overall record of 16-11 and boasted a 10-6 in the American Rivers Conference. Simpson won the first-round game in the A-R-C Tournament against Dubuque, but fell to Loras in the semi-finals by a score of 88-54. The Storm are coached by Brian Niemuth who's headed into his 37th season with Simpson.  

Augie's first game is slated to start at 7 p.m. on Friday. The live stats link can be found here. The stream can be found here.