Box Score

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Augustana shook off a sluggish start Saturday, using withering defensive pressure to pull away in the second half and post a 92-62 win over Central at Carver Center. Coach Mark Beinborn's club improved to 8-3 on the season, while the visiting Dutch fell to 6-5.
 
The first quarter belonged to Central, as the Vikings struggled to make shots in the lane and the Dutch converted eight of 11 attempts from the field, including all five of their tries from inside the arc. After a Sadie Roberts (United Township HS, East Moline, Ill.) three-pointer gave the hosts a 7-4 lead three minutes in, Central closed the period on an 18-6 run to take a 22-13 lead. Alison Malaby finished the quarter with seven points for the Dutch.
 
Augustana began to whittle away at the deficit in the second period. Juniors Izzy Anderson (Alleman HS, Rock island, Ill.) and Clare Kramer (Prophetstown HS, Lyndon, Ill.) each scored six points in a 12-4 run that pulled Beinborn's squad to within 31-29. Three-pointers by Malaby and Kaitlyn Johnson stretched the Central advantage back to 37-31, but sophomore Mia Lambert (Macomb HS, Macomb , Ill.) and juniors Scooter Lopez (Mountain Vista HS, Highlands Ranch, Colo.) and Meghan Stovall (Broomfield HS, Broomfield, Colo.) hit consecutive treys to give Augustana a 40-37 lead. Tina Lane's layup pulled the Dutch to within 40-39 at the break.
 
Central's Emily Dine opened the second half with a three-pointer to give her team one final lead, but Anderson answered with one of her own at 7:11 of the third for a 44-42 Augustana lead and the Vikings wouldn't trail again. Two Malaby free throws tied the contest at 46-all at the five-minute mark, but over the next two and a half minutes, the hosts went on a 16-0 run. Kramer scored the first five points and Anderson the last seven. An Anderson layup with six seconds on the clock put Augustana up 68-53 after three.
 
The Vikings continued to pull away in the fourth, outscoring Central 14-2 over the first four minutes of the period. When sophomore Alexis Jones (Marist HS, Chicago, Ill.) scored with 6:01 to play, it gave Augustana an 82-55 lead and completed a nine-minute stretch that saw the Vikings outscore their guests 36-9. Beinborn cleared his bench with three minutes left.
 
The Vikings hit 33 of 81 (.407) shots from the floor, including nine of 26 (.346) from three-point range. They were 17 of 20 (.850) from the free throw line, won the rebounding battle 47-36 and forced 30 Dutch turnovers while committing just 13 themselves. Central shot .392 (20-51) from the field for the game, hitting 10 of 24 (.417) from long range. The Dutch were 12 of 17 (.706) from the foul line.
 
Individually, Anderson finished with a game-high 20 points and shared team rebounding honors with senior Victoria Allen (Eureka HS, Wildwood, Mo.). Each grabbed seven. Stovall chipped in with 18 points, five rebounds and four assists while not committing a single turnover. Kramer came off the bench to score 15 points on six-of-eight shooting from the field. Jones had four of the Vikings' 18 steals on the night.
 
Augustana gets back into College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin play on Wednesday, January 3. The Vikings, 1-1 in the league, host 25th-ranked Illinois Wesleyan at Carver Center with tipoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m.