ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – A first quarter run gave Illinois Wesleyan a 14-point cushion at the end of the first stanza and the Titans made that hold up in an 83-76 victory over Augustana in College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin women's basketball action on Saturday, December 8 in the Carver Center. Head Coach Mark Beinborn's team had the game tied at 6-6 in the game's first three minutes before the Titans went on an 18-4 run the rest of the stanza to carve out a 24-10 lead after the first 10 minutes of play.
 
Trailing by 17 points (36-19) with 4:44 before halftime after Wesleyan's Raven Hughes scored on a layup, the Vikings started to claw back into the contest. They closed out the second quarter on a 15-4 run to trim the margin to 40-34 at intermission.
 
In the second half Augustana was never able to get any closer than six points as the Titans were a perfect eight of eight from the free throw line in the fourth quarter.
 
Senior Izzy Anderson (Alleman Catholic HS, Rock Island, Ill.) led Augustana in scoring with 21 points and she pulled down five rebounds with three assists. Junior Alexis Jones (Marist HS, Chicago, Ill.) dropped in 16 points and hauled in a team-high eight rebounds while dishing off four assists and picking up five steals.
 
Also in double figures was sophomore Justice Edell (Rock Island HS, Rock Island, Ill.) with 10 points. She also had two rebounds and two assists. Mia Lambert (Macomb HS, Macomb, Ill.) and Clare Kramer (Prophetstown HS, Lyndon, Ill.) each had eight points.
 
Illinois Wesleyan got 28 pints from Maddie Merritt and 15 from Nina Anderson while Brooke Lansford (13) and Hughes (11) were also in double figures. The Titans won the rebounding battle by a margin of 37-31. Both teams had trouble hanging onto the basketball as Augustana had 22 turnovers and Illinois Wesleyan 21.
 
The Vikings, now 4-5 overall and 1-2 in the CCIW, will travel to Dubuque on Wednesday, December 12 to take on the University of Dubuque at 6:00 p.m.