Box Score

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – There may have been some anxious moments but six free throws by junior Victoria Allen (Eureka HS, Wildwood, Mo.) in the final 1:32 helped cement Augustana's 83-76 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin victory over Millikin on Saturday, February 4 in the Carver Center. Allen was rock solid at the line as the Vikings came away with a Senior Night victory that kept them in the hunt for one of the four spots in the season-ending CCIW Tournament.
 
Head coach Mark Beinborn's team is currently in a third place tie with Elmhurst as both teams have 8-4 league marks while Illinois Wesleyan and Wheaton are tied for the conference lead at 9-2. For the Vikings this win was sweet because it exacted a measure of revenge after they lost to Millikin 91-76 on January 21 in Decatur, Illinois.
 
A lights-out second period proved to be the key for Augustana as the hosts outscored their guests 28-7 in the second 10-minute session. Millikin led 18-12 after the first period but the Vikings went on a 15-3 run over the first five minutes of the second and led 27-21 with 5:30 left thanks to a basket by senior Olivia Mayer (Libertyville HS, Green Oaks, Ill.). By intermission Augustana led 40-25.
 
The lead would reach as high as 19 points (44-25) when Allen grabbed an offensive rebound and scored with 8:42 left in the third quarter. Millikin cut the lead to nine on a three point field goal by Rachael Weber with :26 left to make it 55-46 but Viking sophomore Izzy Anderson (Alleman Catholic HS, Rock Island, Ill.) hit a bucket at the buzzer to make it 57-46 at the end of the three.
 
With 3:03 left in the game the margin appeared to be a comfortable 11 points (73-62) after Allen made one free throw. Millikin would eventually trim the deficit to three (76-73) with :52 left on a pair of free throws by Lauren Moses. However, Allen was six for six from the charity stripe in the final 1:32 to keep the Big Blue at bay.
 
When Moses' two charity tosses made it 76-73, Anderson scored a basket just in front of the shot clock to make it 78-73 with :22 to play.  Allen then hauled in a defensive rebound off a missed three-pointer by Devin Curry and with :12 left she hit two free throws to make it 80-73. With just one second on the clock she nailed two more freebies to account for the final score of 83-76.
 
Allen had 15 points and 10 rebounds and also added three steals and an assist. The leading scorer for Augustana was Anderson with 18 points while Mayer had 13 and senior Jennifer VanWatermeulen (United Township HS, Silvis, Ill.) was also in double digits with 10. Senior Kaycee Kallenberger (Pleasant Valley HS, Bettendorf, Iowa) scored seven points but hauled in a game-high 14 rebounds and had five blocked shots. Sophomore Carly McCameron (Mundelein HS, Mundelein, Ill.) scored eight points with 10 rebounds and four blocked shots.
 
Millikin got 20 points from Curry and 11 rebounds out of Moses.
 
Augustana shot a crisp .515 (17-33) from the floor in the first half but in the second half cooled to .289 (11-38) and ended the game at .394 (28-71). Millikin was the opposite, shooting just .290 (9-31) from the field in the first half and .463 (19-41) in the second. The Vikings enjoyed a huge 55-41 advantage in rebounding.
 
With the win Augustana moves to 15-6 overall and 8-4 in the league while Millikin falls to 9-12 and 3-9. The Vikings will head to Wheaton, Illinois on Wednesday, February 8 to take on league-leading Wheaton at 7:00 p.m.