Box Score

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. - The Elmhurst College women's basketball team crushed Augustana College 71-46 to up its record to 14-5 overall and 7-1 in the CCIW.

The Bluejays moved into a first-place tie in the league standings after top-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University was upended by Carthage College.

Lyndsie Long scored 20 of her game-high 24 points in the first half while the Bluejays built an 11-point advantage. Augustana (6-13, 1-7 CCIW) scored the opening bucket of the game, but never led again. Elmhurst led 31-23 at halftime. 

Elmhurst opened the second half on a 19-6 run to take a 50-29 lead on a Meghan Merklein 3-pointer. The Bluejays built a 27-point lead with four minutes to play and cruised to the 71-46 victory.

Elmhurst shot 49.1 percent (28-of-57) from the floor, including 25.0 percent (3-of-12) from beyond the arc. 

Augustana struggled with its shooting, hitting just 28.6 percent (16-of-56) of its shots. The Vikings shot just 10.0 percent (1-of-10) from 3-point range. Augustana also struggled from the foul line, shooting just 13-of-24 (54.2 percent). 

Eleven different Elmhurst players totaled points in the Bluejays' win. Long led all scorers with 24 points while shooting 10-of-18. She added six rebounds in the win. Megan Ney added 11 points and six boards for the Bluejays while Merklein totaled nine points. Rashida Joiner finished with seven points and three assists for Elmhurst.

Natalie Runge was the only Viking player to reach double figures in scoring, totaling 10 points. Kristen Fox added nine points for the Vikings.

Elmhurst returns home to battle Millikin University on Tuesday, February 2.