ROCK ISLAND -- The Augustana Vikings women's basketball dropped its first game of the Hyatt Place Tournament on Friday, falling to the Saint Mary's (Ind.) Belles by a score of 54-41.

After a scoring drought both ways, Saint Mary's scored first at 5:37 before Audrey Erickson evened the game over two minutes later to make it a 3-3 game. The Belles grabbed the final four points of a low-scoring opening frame to make it a 7-3 game after 10 minutes of action.  

Emma Berg kicked off the second quarter with a three-pointer to decrease the gap to one before a 9-0 run extended the visitor's lead to double digits at 16-6. The Vikings concluded the half with a six-point run of their own, ending the second quarter trailing 19-14. Augie had seven steals in the first half with three players collecting two apiece.  

The Vikings were even with the Belles in the third quarter with a 14-14 score. Dolly Smith closed the advantage to as little as five with under two minutes remaining and Tatum closed out the quarter with two good free throws to keep the gap at five. Saint Mary's led 33-28 entering the fourth.

In the final 10 minutes of action, Augie got within four points on two different occasions, with the latest coming at 43-39. The Belles closed out the win scoring 11 of the game's final 13 points to take the 54-41 victory.

Berg led the team with 12 points, four rebounds and two steals, while Erickson had seven points, six rebounds, five assists, four steals and two blocks on the night. 

With the loss, Augie moves to 0-2 on the season and will battle against the Edgewood Eagles tomorrow in the consolation game of the Hyatt Place Tournament at 2 p.m.