Women’s basketball defeats alumni in first-ever scrimmage

The 2024-25 Augustana women’s basketball team faced Augustana alumni in a scrimmage at the Elmen Center on Oct. 17. The current Vikings defeated their predecessors 54-22 in the first half and 50-22 in the second half. 

Ten former basketball alumni, their graduation years ranging from 2010 to 2024, returned to their alma mater and suited up to take on the current team. 

“I wanted to get a good connection with our women’s basketball alumni,” first-year head coach Nate Vogel said. 

Vogel was announced as the team’s eighth women’s basketball head coach back in April 2024. The Sioux Falls native returns to his roots after coaching at Texas A&M International University since April 2019. 

Vogel began connecting with numerous alumni during the summer over coffee and offering tours to their families. Not only did Vogel see it as a good way to give the team practice time against someone other than their own teammates, but he also saw it as a way to invite fans and alumni to reconnect. 

Senior guard Hannah Burg transferred from Missouri Southern State University because she was drawn to Augustana’s athletics’ strong community support and the women’s basketball program’s success. 

“The alumni scrimmage was a fun experience,” Burg said. “I’ve never been a part of one of them, so it was cool to see how happy they all are to be still involved 

and how willing they are to help. All of the alumni made a huge difference in their time playing at Augustana, so being able to play against them was a great time.”

The initial plan was to play five quarters, so each current player would get court action. Vogel said that through the regulatory four quarters, all of the women got ample playtime, so he did not see a need to play on. 

Former guard Lauren Sees returned to the Elmen for the first time since graduating in the spring of 2024. 

“It felt odd putting on the jersey again after thinking I would never get the opportunity to do so after last year,” Sees said. “It felt like old times, being able to wear the jersey and also be back in the Elmen playing basketball.”

While teams are not allowed to stats during a scrimmage, the current Vikings took to the court with an aggressive play style as if competing during the regular season. 

After the game concluded and the two teams formed a handshake line, the old and new players gathered at half court for a photo before personally thanking the crowd with fist bumps and high fives. 

Vogel asked the alumni to join the team in the locker room and  offer words of encouragement. 

“They had a lot of good things to say, but some things that really stuck out to me is that out of everything you’ll remember is the times you spent with your teammates and not really the amount of points or any mistakes anyone made,” Burg said. 

Sees and the other alumni were overjoyed to receive the invitation to speak with the current women’s basketball team. 

“They were able to ask us some great questions about life after athletics, what it takes to be a great teammate, how to navigate being a student-athlete at Augustana and just about our lives,” Sees said. “It was an awesome environment, and hopefully the girls took something positive away from it.”

Vogel expressed interest in making the alumni scrimmage a yearly tradition, and Sees is eager to take part in the game every year.

“It’s a chance for us oldies to come back and meet up with old teammates and coaches as well as meet the new faces of the Augustana women’s basketball team,” Sees said. 

The Augustana women’s basketball team will face off in two more scrimmages before the season begins on Nov. 8 at the second annual NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Region Showcase in St. Joseph, Missouri, against Fort Hays State. Their first home game will be held against Upper Iowa on Nov. 14.