BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- The Augustana Vikings women's basketball team will compete in the semifinal round of the CCIW tournament on Thursday, February 22 against the No. 12 ranked and top-seeded Illinois Wesleyan Titans. 

The Vikings sit at 13-13 on the season and advanced to the semifinals after conquering the North Central Cardinals on Tuesday by a final score of 66-63. Augie got on the board first, but North Central followed with 10 points of their own and pushed their lead to 12. The Vikings scored six of the final seven points in the frame making it a 19-12 score in favor of the Cardinals. 

The Vikings trailed by nine in the first half of the second quarter until a 12-point run by Augie narrowed the gap. With 17 seconds left in the quarter, Linnea Johansen made a jump shot and after a Cardinals turnover, Johansen secured a rebound and buzzer-beater to take the lead 29-26. The third quarter was Augie's highest-scoring quarter, with 21 points to inch further from North Central as they moved the margin to nine. The Vikings went into the last 10 minutes of action leading 50-41.

In the fourth, the Cardinals stormed back with a 13-1 run to even the score at 62-62 and grabbed the lead with an extra point at the charity line with 1:13 remaining. With 11 seconds left, Mariola Tesoro grabbed the rebound off her own shot and sent it to Emma Berg, who knocked down a go-ahead three. A pair of defensive stops sealed the game for the Vikings to move them to the next round.

Johansen led the Vikings in the win with a double-double with a career-high of 22 points to go with 14 rebounds. Corey Whitlock followed with 13 points, eight rebounds, and two assists.

The Titans enter the contest in the No. 1 position in the CCIW tournament with an overall record of 21-4 and 14-2 in conference play. Illinois Wesleyan returns to action after defeating North Central on Saturday by a score of 94-77 to lock up the one seed. As a team, the Titans shot 45.7 percent, while North Central obtained 39 percent for the game. Illinois Wesleyan boasts five players averaging double figures in scoring, led by Lauren Huber with 15.8 points per game. The Titans hold a 7-2 home record, with their last matchup being the victory against North Central. 

Illinois Wesleyan holds a 53-35 all-time record over Augie, with their last meeting on January 27 concluding in an 85-59 loss for the Vikings in Bloomington. Berg led the Vikings with 19 points, while Paige Melton tallied eight points, four rebounds, three assists, and a steal.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. Live stream can be viewed here and more information about the tournament can be found here.