Box Score
ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Augustana held Central to .348 shooting from the floor Saturday afternoon and came away a 56-53 winner at Carver Center. Coach Mark Beinborn's team improves to 4-5 on the year while the Dutch suffered just their second loss in nine games.
 
After trailing for the entire first half with the exception of a 2-2 tie, the Vikings finally deadlocked things again with 19:13 left in the game. An old fashioned three-point play by senior Amy Hicks (Rockford Christian HS, Rockford, Ill.) got the hosts even at 24-all. The teams alternated the next four baskets before another Hicks bucket gave Augustana its first lead at 30-28.
 
A Marissa Pezzopane (Addison Trail HS, Wood Dale, Ill.) hoop at 14:07 put the Vikings up 34-30, but Central went on a 14-4 run to take a six-point lead with 8:21 remaining. Augustana responded with seven straight points, including five by senior Molly Etheridge (Normal Community HS, Bloomington, Ill.), to retake the lead at 45-44.
 
The advantage see-sawed back and forth with the Vikings going ahead 51-50 on a pair of Jessica Baids (West Chicago HS, Carol Stream, Ill.) free throws with 1:22 left. A Hicks steal led to a Baids layup and the hosts led 53-50. Freshman Olivia Mayer (Libertyville HS, Green Oaks, Ill.) hit one of two free throws with 24 seconds left and after Augustana got its third straight defensive stop, Etheridge converted a pair of freebies with seven seconds left for a 56-50 lead. Central's Kaitlin Stump hit a three-pointer just before the buzzer to account for the final.
 
Both teams struggled to find offense in the early going. As the clock went under seven minutes until halftime, Central held a 14-7 lead. However, the pace picked up after that and behind six points from Pezzopane, the Vikings were able to cut the halftime deficit to one point at 22-21. Pezzopane finished the half with eight points and Hicks added six. Despite the flurry of points late in the half, Central shot just .286 from the floor in the opening 20 minutes and Augustana just .333.
                         
Pezzopane led the Vikings with 12 points and five rebounds, hitting six of nine shots from the field. Hicks added 11 on four-of-seven shooting. Mayer had a game-high five assists. Augustana bounced back from a rough-shooting first half to hit .550 from the field in the second and finish 20 of 47 (.426) for the game. Stump led Central with 14 points off the bench.
 
The Vikings will try to win their third straight and get to the .500 mark on Thursday, December 19. Monmouth will be the opponent at Carver Center with tipoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m.