ROCK ISLAND -- The Augustana Vikings women's basketball team fell to the No. 4 Illinois Wesleyan Titans on Saturday by a score of 65-54.
Emma Berg kicked off the first quarter with a three-pointer after 49 seconds of play to obtain the early advantage. Illinois Wesleyan followed with the next six points to snatch the lead before a layup by Cali Papez got Augie within one with a 6-5 score. The Titans followed with five of their own points before a jumper from Berg and a three-point shot by Kadence Tatum moved the score to 11-10. With 2:18 left in the first, both teams went back and forth with made shots, but Illinois Wesleyan notched the final basket to lead 14-12 after 10 minutes of play.
In the second, Berg evened the score at 14 after a jumper, but the Titans followed with a six-point run to make a 20-14 score. At 5:02, Paige Melton notched a layup in the paint and Dolly Smith hit a three-point shot to shrink the gap to one with a 22-21 score. The Titans pulled away with a small scoring run and hit two shots from the charity line to bring a 32-25 score heading into halftime.
Returning to the court, the Titans stretched the margin to as many as 12 until a three-pointer from Berg got the Vikings within 37-28. Illinois Wesleyan followed with the next five points until Tatum made a layup with three minutes remaining. The Titans strung together another small scoring outburst, but Augie secured the final five points of the quarter to make a 47-35 score heading into the final quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Smith moved the differential to nine with a three-pointer and the team saw this gap after another three-point shot from Berg later on. At 7:36, another three-pointer from Berg got the Vikings within eight before Audrey Erickson got the team even closer with a three-point shot. Illinois Wesleyan moved their lead back to double-digits, but Augie followed with four of their own to make a 59-51 score. Illinois Wesleyan remained ahead and stopped the comeback threat to hang on for the 11-point win.
Berg led the team with 19 points, while Smith followed with 11. Melton grabbed six shots off the glass and Tatum totaled five assists.
With the loss, Augie concludes the season with a 10-15 record and 6-10 in conference play.
