Box Score

ELMHURST, Ill. – Fueled by hot shooting, especially in the first half, Augustana picked up a 91-84 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin victory over Elmhurst on Wednesday, December 7 at Faganel Hall in Elmhurst, Illinois. The win pushes the Vikings to 7-0 overall and 2-0 in the CCIW.
 
Head coach Mark Beinborn's charges shot .523 (34-65) from the floor for the game, including a .568 (21-37) performance in the first half when his team sprinted to a 50-40 lead at intermission.
 
Trailing 21-20 after one quarter, the Vikings went on a 30-19 run in the second stanza with seven different players scoring points. A layup by senior Jennifer VanWatermeulen (United Township HS, Silvis, Ill.) put the lead into double digits at 46-34 with 2:27 to play.
 
In the fourth quarter the lead shrank to three points when Mikaela Eppard of the Bluejays hit a layup early (9:25) to make the score 69-66 in favor of the Vikings. Augustana senior Olivia Mayer (Libertyville HS, Green Oaks, Ill.) scored two of her team-leading 21 points to make it 71-66 but Elmhurst got a basket from Hannah Henderson at 8:48 to make it 71-68.
 
At that point the Vikings went on a 15-5 run to build the advantage to 13 points (86-73) with just 3:06 left after sophomore Corrie Reiley (Prophetstown HS, Prophetstown, Ill.) scored off an assist by Mayer. Mayer scored six points in the spurt.
 
In the final minute of the game Augustana made just enough free throws (three of six) to keep the Bluejays at bay.
 
Mayer's 21 points came on eight of 13 from the field and five of six from the free throw line and she added two assists. Reiley scored 19 points on six of eight from the floor, including three of four from three point range and four of four from the free throw line. Reiley had three rebounds, two assists and a steal.
 
Senior Kaycee Kallenberger (Pleasant Valley HS, Bettendorf, Iowa) was a force in the paint as she scored 12 points on a perfect six of six performance from the floor and she also pulled down 11 rebounds with three blocked shots, one steal and one assist.
 
Elmhurst enjoyed a 41-34 advantage in rebounding but the Vikings did force the Bluejays to turn it over 23 times.
 
Elmhurst, now 6-2 overall and 0-2 in the CCIW, was led in scoring by Mikaela Eppard with 22 points.
 
The win over Elmhurst was the first for Augustana since a 68-57 victory in the second game of the 2011-12 series. It snapped an eight game losing streak to the Bluejays by the Vikings. Augustana's next game will be Saturday, December 10 at home against Carthage with tip-off set for 5:00 p.m.