CHICAGO, Ill. -- The Augustana Vikings women's basketball team conquered North Park on Saturday by a final score of 61-52.

The Vikings were first on the board with a set of made shots by Corey Whitlock at the charity line. Augie maintained a lead until North Park closed the gap with a free throw to tie the battle at 9-9 with just under three minutes remaining. After finding themselves tied again at 11, Emma Berg executed a driving layup with 11 seconds left to give the Vikings a 13-11 advantage after 10 minutes of play.

In the second, the Vikings started to pull away, seeing a steal and layup from Kadence Tatum bring the score to 19-15 around the halfway point. Augie held on to the upper hand throughout the rest of the quarter, out-scoring North Park 17-11 to take a 30-22 lead into the half. The Vikings hit a game-high eight shots in the quarter while holding the home team to just five. 

Returning to the court, Augie had its best shooting quarter of the game at 43 percent and held North Park to just four made shots. The Vikings grabbed a 16-point advantage at one point, but. North Park was able to narrow down the gap to 11 heading into the final quarter.

Augustana moved its lead back out to 13 on two different occasions in the fourth, but the home team Vikings made it a close game down the stretch after cutting it to six at the 3:26 mark. A layup from Cali Papez stopped the scoring run and the team converted 7-8 from the free throw line in the final 90 seconds to keep North Park from getting the differential under five. 

Three Vikings grabbed double-digits in the win, led by Tatum with 17 points, four rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Papez followed with 13 points and seven rebounds, while Macy Beinborn grabbed 10 points, seven rebounds, and a block.

With the win, Augie moves to 11-7 overall and 6-3 in conference play. The Vikings will stay on the road and head to Wheaton, Ill. for a second conference showdown against the Wheaton Thunder on Wednesday, January 24.