DECATUR, Ill. — The No. 3 seeded Augustana Vikings women's basketball team defeated the No. 2 seeded Carroll Pioneers 69-64 on Friday night to advance to the CCIW Tournament Championship, making their first appearance in program history.
The Vikings opened the tournament semifinal with an explosive 7-0 burst, seeing Corey Whitlock score four of her seven first-half points with back-to-back layups. Augustana maintained a plus-seven advantage through the remainder of the frame. The team extended their differential to as many as eight midway through the period but endured a 10-point swing to see Carroll take their first lead. Augie held a one-point edge into the locker room.
Augustana was tested defensively by the Pioneers in the third period, exiting the frame minus-four after shooting 4-15 from the field. Neither team shot outstandingly in the frame from deep, with the two teams going a combined 0-12 from beyond the arc. Carroll owned a 48-44 lead heading into the final quarter.
Carroll pressed their advantage to eight with 6:47 remaining in the fourth. Macy Beinborn cut the Pioneer lead to five with a three-point make before both teams converted successful trips to the line to keep the margin at five. Augustana's backcourt was instrumental in swinging the lead back in their favor. Matayia Tellis laced her lone three-point make of the contest to trim the deficit to four before Presley Case made a layup to cut the lead in half. Carroll made a singular shot from the line and convert an inside layup attempt before Augie secured the upper hand for good with a Tellis jumper, going up by one. Following successful trips to the line from Beinborn and Kadence Tatum, the Vikings punched their ticket to Saturday's championship bout by a 69-64 final. Augie outscored Carroll 25-16 in the final period, allowing the Pioneers to shoot just 33 percent from the field.
Gabriela Loiz led all Vikings scorers with 14 points, followed closely by Beinborn and Tellis, who also reached double figures with 13 and 10 points, respectively. Whitlock was the top rebounder with seven boards, followed by Loiz and Case with six apiece. Case also had six dishes in the semifinal that converted to points. Augie shot 10-11 from the charity stripe.
Augustana advances in the CCIW Tournament, set to face the winner of Illinois Wesleyan and Millikin in the championship. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. from the Griswold Center.
