BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan used a balanced attack Saturday to hand Augustana an 83-57 defeat at the Shirk Center. The Vikings fell to 11-11 on the season and 6-7 in the CCIW, while the Titans improved to 15-6 overall and 9-3 in the conference.
 
The middle two quarters were the downfall of Coach Mark Beinborn's club, as Augustana trailed just 16-13 after one period. A Riley Brovelli bucket put the hosts up 16-10 with 13 seconds left, but Mia Lambert (Macomb HS, Macomb, Ill.) beat the first-quarter buzzer with a three pointer to pull her team within three.
 
Sydney Shanks had four points and Brovelli three, as IWU scored the first 11 points of the second quarter. The Vikings got as close as 10 (27-17) on pair of Alexis Jones (Marist HS, Chicago, Ill.) free throws, but the Titans pushed the margin to 18 over a 4½ minute stretch. Kendall Sosa's bucket just before the halftime horn gave the Titans a 44-26 advantage at the break, matching their largest of the half.
 
IWU steadily built on its lead in the third quarter. Jones hit the second of two free throws at the 6:54 mark to cut Augustana's deficit to 51-34, but the Titans answered with eight straight points. They also scored the final six points of the period to lead 71-42 going to the fourth.
 
The Vikings outscored IWU 15-12 in the final period to account for the final.
 
Jones led Augustana with a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds, along with four assists and three steals. Freshman Gabriela Loiz (Alleman HS, Davenport, Iowa) and Lambert added 12 and 11 points, respectively.
 
Sosa and Brooke Lansford each led Wesleyan with a game-high 15 points. Samantha Munroe added 14, Brovelli 11, Catie Eck nine and  Shanks eight. Brovelli led her team with eight rebounds and five assists.
 
The Vikings shot .356 (21-59) from the field, .269 (7-26) from three-point range and .667 (8-12) at the foul line. The Titans hit 34 of 68 (.500) from the floor, nine of 20 (.450) from beyond the arc and six of nine (.667) from the free throw line. They outrebounded their guests by a 40-35 margin and committed 12 turnovers to 16 for Augustana.
 
Beinborn's outfit is back on the road on Wednesday, February 12, visiting North Central, with tipoff at Gregory Arena scheduled for 7:00 p.m.