Box Score

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – There might not have been anything overtly pretty about Augustana's 85-82 double overtime victory over Elmhurst on Wednesday, February 1 in the Carver Center but it was a thing of beauty as far as the Vikings were concerned. Head coach Mark Beinborn's team had lost three games in a row and desperately needed a win to stay in the hunt for a top four spot in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin and a place in the league tournament at the end of the year.
 
At the end of regulation the two teams were tied 66-66 and after the first overtime the game was knotted 75-75. It was the second overtime that finally determined the winner and the Vikings made their mark at the free throw line. Ironically, Augustana struggled at the charity stripe during the game, hitting just .644 (29 of 45) but in the second overtime the Vikings nailed seven of eight and that proved to be the difference.
 
Elmhurst led 77-75 after Mikaela Eppard hit two free throws with 3:35 left in the second overtime. Eppard, who led all scorers with 35 points and also grabbed 11 rebounds, got Augustana's Kaycee Kallenberger (Pleasant Valley HS, Bettendorf, Iowa) to foul out on the play. Kallenberger exited the game with 16 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots.
 
As the clock ticked under the three-minute mark Augustana sophomore Izzy Anderson (Alleman Catholic HS, Rock Island, Ill.) drew the all-important fifth foul on Eppard to put her on the bench for the remainder of the game. Anderson then drilled both free throws to tie the game at 77-77 with 2:50 left. Her charity tosses tied the game for the 15^th and final time of the night.
 
After a missed Bluejay shot the Vikings went in front on a three point field goal from sophomore Corrie Reiley (Prophetstown HS, Prophetstown, Ill.) with 2:11 left to make it 80-77. Two free throws from Elmhurst's Hannah Henderson with 1:48 left tightened the margin to 80-79 but Anderson clicked on two freebies at 1:13 to make it 82-79 in favor of the home team.
 
With just :11 left senior Jennifer VanWatermeulen (United Township HS, Silvis, Ill.) put in a pair of free throws to make it 84-79. Elmhurst's Kalia Summerlin hit a three point field goal with just :02 left to make it 84-82 but junior Victoria Allen (Eureka HS, Wildwood, Mo.) made one of two free throws to put the lead at 85-82 with just :01.5 . A three point field goal attempt by Summerlin rimmed out as the horn sounded to give the Vikings the hard-fought win.
 
This game was close throughout as it was tied 21-21 after one quarter with Reiley making a layup that just beat the buzzer to tie things up. Augustana took a 42-40 lead at halftime as Kallenberger scored as the buzzer sounded thanks to an assist from Anderson. The Vikings led 54-51 after three quarters  but the Bluejays outscored them 15-12 in the fourth to force the first overtime.
 
At the end of regulation Augustana senior Olivia Mayer (Libertyville HS, Green Oaks, Ill.) scored with :26 left to tie things at 66-66. Summerlin missed a shot as the buzzer went off to force the overtime.  The first overtime ended with Kallenberger making one of two free throws to tie things at 75-75 with just two seconds remaining. She scored a pair of baskets in the paint in the final 1:34 to bring her team back from a three point deficit.
 
Kallenberger and Anderson led Augustana in scoring with 16 points each while Reiley had 13 and sophomore Sadie Roberts (United Township HS, East Moline, Ill.) tallied 11. Kallenberger led the team in rebounding with 11 and had five blocked shots while Anderson had six rebounds, two assists, two blocked shots and a steal. She was also eight of eight from the free throw line. Senior Mikayla Fallon (United Township HS, East Moline, Ill.) had eight rebounds. Mayer scored nine points and had four assists, four rebounds and a steal.
 
Elmhurst got 35 points and 11 rebounds from Eppard while Summerlin scored 21.
 
Augustana moved to 14-6 overall and 7-4 in the CCIW with the win while Elmhurst fell to 16-4 and 8-3. The Vikings will host Millikin on Saturday, February 4 at 5:00 p.m. in the Carver Center for Senior Day.