DECATUR, Ill. – The Augustana women's basketball team will continue their postseason journey at the Griswold Center on Friday, February 24, when they face the No. 2 seeded Carroll Pioneers. 

Augie, the No. 3 seed, opened the CCIW Tournament on Tuesday with a convincing 68-50 victory over the No. 6 seeded Carthage Firebirds. The Vikings began hot from beyond the arc, hitting four triples to take a commanding 17-7 lead midway through the opening frame. By the end of the first period, Carthage had reduced the deficit to five but struggled offensively in the second as Augie limited them to only seven points. Augustana continued to play stout defense out of the locker room, holding the Firebirds to 10 points and cushioning their lead to 21 by the conclusion of the third period. The Firebirds notched 18 points in the fourth quarter, their best total of the game, but could not catch the home team as Augustana advanced to their first conference semifinal since the 2019–20 season.

The Vikings had four scorers reach double-figures, led by Macy Beinborn, who cashed four triples on her way to a 19-point performance. Gabriela Loiz totaled 14, while Carly Stone and Matayia Tellis had 11. Loiz led the team on the glass, grabbing nine of Augie's 44 boards. The Vikings held the Firebirds to just 28 percent from the field and 25 percent from behind the three-point line.

The Pioneers enter Friday's semifinal with a season record of 17-8, 12-4 in the conference. The Pioneers' most recent contest came on February 18 against top-seeded Millikin, snapping a three-game win streak in a low-scoring 58-49 defeat on their home floor. 

Augustana leads the all-time series against Carroll by a 19-9 record, splitting both of their meetings this season and separated by just a game in the CCIW standings. The Vikings escaped by a slim margin in their own building on January 8, downing the Pioneers 67-64 after holding them to 0-12 from deep. Emma Berg led Augie with 16 points, her second-best outing of the season. Matayia Tellis gave the Carroll offense fits, generating seven steals, the highest output from a Viking in a single game since 2018-19. Carroll evened the score in their second meeting on February 11 in Waukesha, Wis., defeating the Vikings 78-73 in a game that saw Beinborn tie the Augustana single-game scoring record with 37 points. She also shattered the single-game three-point record with 10 triples, besting the previous mark of eight held by herself against Carroll on February 27, 2021, and Lauren Hall against Carthage on February 15, 2020. 

The CCIW Tournament semifinal tips off at 5:00 p.m. The stream link for the postseason action can be found here.