ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – The Augustana women's basketball (5-4, 0-2) team suffered a 62-49 loss to Carthage (6-3, 3-1) this evening. A slow start and second-half offensive struggles proved fatal for the Viking women.
 
Despite equally sloppy play from both teams in the first quarter, the Vikings battled through the difficult start and doubled up Carthage after the first ten minutes, 10-5. The Firebirds responded, though, and tripled their first period scoring total in the second quarter to knot the tally at 25 apiece at halftime.
 
Carthage outscored Augustana in both the third and fourth quarters as the Vikings could not find a groove down the stretch and came up short in their second CCIW game of the season.
 
Hannah Simmer led the Vikings in scoring with 14 points and added five rebounds. Lauren Hall was tops in the latter category with nine boards. Gabriela Loiz, Augustana's leading scorer for the season, chipped in nine points in her lowest-scoring effort of the year.
 
Carthage benefitted from a balanced offensive attack with three women in double-digits. Lauren Hermann poured in a game-high 17 points while Lauren Knight added 16, and Destiny Antoine scored 11.
 
The Viking loss was their fourth overall this season and second in league play. Augustana will return to action this Tuesday, Dec. 14, when they travel to UW-Platteville for a non-conference battle with the Pioneers.