Box Score DECATUR, Ill. – After overcoming a 12 point deficit in the first five minutes of the second half, Augustana couldn't hold onto the momentum and wound up losing to Millikin 76-66 in College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin action on Wednesday, January 22 in Decatur, Illinois. The Vikings trailed 31-24 at halftime and when the Big Blue scored the first five points of the second half, the margin was 12 points (36-24) with 19:07 left in the game.
 
Augustana went on a 14-2 run and when Chaney Tambling (Dwight HS, Dwight, Ill.) scored at 14:57, the game was tied 38-38. The run started with a basket by freshman Katie Villa (Janesville Craig HS, Janesville, Wis.) at 18:15. She scored again at 17:42 to cut it to eight points. After senior Molly Etheridge (Normal Community HS, Bloomington, Ill.) tallied at 17:12 the margin was six (36-30). Millikin's Alyssa Saklak scored at 16:30 to make it 38-30 but Villa nailed a pair of free throws at 16:09 to cut it back to six (38-32). A layup by senior Amy Hicks (Rockford Christian HS, Rockford, Ill.) at 15:46 put the gap at four (38-34) and a basket by freshman Olivia Mayer (Libertyville HS, Green Oaks, Ill.) dropped the lead to two (38-36) with 15:38 remaining.
 
The Vikings then tied the contest at 38-38 on Tambling's bucket at 14:57 but Millikin ran off the next nine points to take a 47-38 lead with 12:58 left to play. Augustana did manage to cut it to five with 9:16 left on a basket by sophomore Marissa Pezzopane (Addison Trail HS, Wood Dale, Ill.) but that was the closest the visitors would come.
 
Tambling led the Vikings in scoring with 15 points and she grabbed eight rebounds. Etheridge added 13 points as she closes in on the 1,000 point mark for her career. Villa provided a much needed spark off the bench with 11 points and a tie for the team lead in rebounding with nine. Pezzopane was also in double figures with 10 points and nine rebounds.
 
Augustana won the rebounding battle by a margin of 49-42 but the Vikings shot just .333 (24-72), including just .237 (9-38) in the first half.
 
Millikin got 18 points from Jasmine Johnson and had 16 from Ypya Yip with Brittany Czaplicki tossing in 13. The Big Blue went to the free throw line 38 times and made 27.
 
Augustana is 5-12 overall and 1-5 in the CCIW while Millikin is 7-10 and 1-5. The Vikings will play at Elmhurst on Saturday, January 25 at 2:00 p.m.