ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Less than 48 hours after looking extremely crisp in a 77-55 win over Elmhurst, the tables turned on Augustana and the result was a 59-47 loss at home to North Park on Saturday, February 2 in the Carver Center. The Vikings were unable to sustain any momentum from Thursday night's win over the Bluejays and one factor would have to be a poor shooting night.
 
Head coach Mark Beinborn's unit connected on just 17 of 62 shots from the floor for a frigid .274 field goal percentage. The Vikings were also just three of 17 from the three point line (.176).
 
North Park jumped out to a 9-0 lead before the game was three minutes old and Augustana was forced to battle back the whole night. The Vikings missed their first nine shots from the floor before senior Sadie Roberts (United Township HS, East Moline, Ill.) connected on a basket with 5:38 left in the first stanza to make it 9-2.
 
That sparked a 13-2 run that saw Augustana take a 13-11 lead late in the first half (1:44) when senior Izzy Anderson (Alleman Catholic HS, Rock Island, Ill.) scored on a layup. However, North Park scored the final five points of the quarter and took a 16-13 lead at the end of the initial 10 minutes of action.
 
North Park led 29-23 at halftime and the lead went to eight (31-23) during the early going but the Vikings battled back and eventually took a 33-32 lead with 1:52 left in the third period on a basket in the paint by junior Maddy Murillo (Antioch HS, Antioch, Ill.).
 
In the final 50 seconds of the third quarter Jacki Rapp made her mark for North Park and turned the tide in the visitor's favor. She had not scored a single point up until that point in the game and she tallied 10 in the last :50 of the period to put her team up 42-35 heading into the fourth.
 
She scored a layup with :50 left to put North Park ahead 34-33 and was fouled. She missed the free throw but North Park grabbed the rebound and Rapp nailed a three point field goal to make it 37-33 at :48. With 10 seconds left she was fouled and hit both free throws to put the lead at 39-33. After the Vikings got a basket from senior Scooter Lopez (Mountain Vista HS, Highlands Ranch, Colo.) with just four seconds left to trim the margin to 39-35, Rapp launched a shot from just inside half court as the buzzer sounds and the ball ripped through the net to give North Park a 42-35 advantage. Rapp would end the game with those 10 points.
 
Augustana was unable to mount any sustainable run in the fourth period and the loss put the Vikings at 12-10 overall and 6-7 in the CCIW. North Park is now 8-14 and 4-9.
 
Anderson led the team in scoring with 11 points while freshman Lauren Hall (Rock Island HS, Rock Island, Ill.) dropped in 10 and led the team in rebounding with nine. The Vikings held a 48-39 advantage in rebounding.
 
North Park got 20 points from Jayla Johnson and she also pulled down eight rebounds.
 
Augustana will travel to Wheaton on Wednesday, February 6 for a battle with the Thunder at 7:00 p.m.