Photo by Samantha Davis. Southwest Minnesota State University’s Kenzie Jones sets up the offense in the first half against Augustana University Thursday night at the R/A Facility. Jones finished with 5 points and four rebounds in the Mustangs’ 88-65 win.

MARSHALL — The No. 22 Southwest Minnesota State University womens basketball team had a good shooting night with three players finishing in double digits to prevail to its 11th consecutive win Thursday evening over Augustana University. Audrey Swanson had a 20-point, 11-rebound double-double in the Mustangs’ 88-65 win.

The Mustangs have not lost a game in over a month when it last fell to Minnesota State 101-83 on Dec. 13.

SMSU set the tone early on, outshooting the Vikings 24-15 in the first quarter, and went into halftime with a 41-25 advantage. The momentum was never lost, as the Mustangs continued on with a dominant 25-11 third quarter to help put the victory away and limit the chances at a Vikings’ comeback.

The Mustangs performed well on all areas of the court and controlled the game in several aspects.

Along with Swanson, Bri Stoltzman had game-high 21 points, four assists with a team-high four steals. She also shot a perfect 3 for 3 from the perimeter.

Natalie Nielsen followed with 19 points, and went 7 for 7 from the free throw line, to her eight rebounds.

Peyton Blandin also tallied 8 points and shared a team-high four assists.

Overall, SMSU shot 49% from the field, 30% from the 3-point line going 8 of 27, and outrebounded the Vikings 42-35.

AU however did collect 17 steals on the night to the Mustangs’ nine, but wasn’t allowed to find its offensive rhythm to stay within reach.

SMSU started the game on a 9-3 run behind a Blandin 3-pointer, a layup each from Swanson and Nielsen and another pair of free throws from Nielsen.

Blandin drilled in another 3-pointer to keep building some Mustang momentum, yet Augustana cut its deficit to 16-15 with the first quarter winding down.

But, SMSU went on a 8-0 run to end the quarter with a Stoltzman 3-pointer and jump shot, and Nielsen’s layup and free throw.

A Kenzie Jones 3-pointer a few minutes into the second quarter gave the Mustangs’ their first double-digit lead, 30-20, to which Swanson on the next play found the ball from Blandin to go up for an open layup.

SMSU never lost sight of its cushioned lead once obtained, and never let up off the gas.

AU was limited to just a 41% field goal shooting mark, one of the biggest game differences. SMSU scored 50 points in the paint to the Vikings’ 30.

The Mustangs improve to 19-2 overall and 13-2 in conference play. They have two regular season home games left, but will next hit the road to take on Sioux Falls (13-9, 9-6 NSIC) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

SMSU is currently in a three-way tie for first place in the NSIC now with Concordia-St. Paul and Minnesota State, all tallying a 13-2 conference record.