NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- The Augustana Vikings women's basketball team started their postseason journey on Tuesday as they defeated the North Central Cardinals in the quarterfinals by a score of 66-63.
Corey Whitlock started the first quarter with a layup after 15 seconds of play to obtain an early lead, but North Central followed with 10 points of their own before pushing its cushion out to 12 points. Augie scored six of the final seven points in the frame to make it a 19-12 score in favor of the Cardinals.
The Vikings outscored the Cardinals 17-7 in the second quarter, with eight made shots while holding North Central to just two field goals. With the Vikings trailing by nine with five minutes left in the half, a layup from Linnea Johansen started an 12-point run for Augie. With 17 seconds left in the quarter, Johansen made a jump shot and the Cardinals followed with a turnover. A rebound buzzer-beater by Johansen increased the gap to three, with the Vikings heading into the halftime break leading 29-26. Augustana held North Central scoreless for the final 7:28 of the quarter.
Macy Beinborn started the Vikings high-scoring third quarter with a three-pointer to inch further from the Cardinals before moving the margin out to nine. The Vikings maintained their lead throughout the third quarter, with eight made shots to the Cardinals' four, and took a 50-41 lead into the fourth.
Augie grabbed four points in the first two minutes of action to stretch the gap to 13, its largest of the game. The Cardinals stormed back with a 13-1 run to even the score at 62-62 and grabbed an extra point at the charity line to take the lead with 1:13 remaining. With 11 seconds left, Mariola Tesoro grabbed a rebound off her own shot and sent it out to Emma Berg, who knocked down a go-ahead three. A pair of defensive stops sealed the game to send the Vikings on to the next round.
Johansen led the Vikings with a double-double with a career-high 22 points to go with 14 rebounds. Whitlock followed with 13 points, eight rebounds and two assists.
With the win, Augie moves to 13-13 on the season and will travel to No. 12 Illinois Wesleyan on Thursday for the CCIW semifinals. Start time is scheduled for 7:15 p.m.
