ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – The Elmhurst women's basketball team held off a second-half surge to score a 58-56 win over Augustana College.
 

It was a tale of two halves as Elmhurst (11-8, 4-4 CCIW) dominated the first half while Augustana (7-12, 1-7 CCIW) controlled the second half.  Elmhurst led from wire-to-wire but struggled in the second half as the Bluejays' saw an 18-point halftime lead evaporate down to a one-point lead with just seconds left to play before hanging on for the win.
 
Fiona McMahon scored the game's opening bucket and the Bluejays never looked back in the opening half, outscoring Augustana 21-6 over the game's first 10:30. Elmhurst led by as many as 22 points after a Chelsea Samuels putback with 2:19 remaining and the Bluejays carried a 34-16 lead into the locker room at the half. Elmhurst shot an even 50.0 percent (13-of-26) in the opening half and was on fire from downtown, splashing home 6-of-10 three-pointers. Claire Monroe led the three-point barrage with three treys in the opening half.
 
Augustana slowly began chipping away at the Bluejays' lead in the second half as missed buckets and turnovers began to mount for Elmhurst. The Vikings sliced Elmhurst's 18-point halftime lead in half with 10 minutes left to play. Augustana continued the pressure closing to within four points on three occasions over the next five minutes. A Mikaela Epparrd bucket with four minutes left gave the Bluejays a 57-51 advantage.
 
Augustana cut the lead down to five on an Olivia Mayer free throws but both teams went cold for the next 2:30. Marissa Pezzopane's jumper with 1:34 pulled Augustana to within three points at 57-54. Elmhurst used three offensive rebounds to extend its next possession before turning the ball over to the Vikings. Pezzopane capitalized on the Elmhurst mistake, knocking down another jumper to pull Augustana to within one at 57-56 with 29 seconds left to play.
 
Monroe spilt a pair of free throws with 10 seconds left to give Elmhurst a two-point cushion and an Augustana turnover helped the Bluejays seal the contest and escape with the win.
 
Elmhurst finished the contest shooting 42.6 percent (23-of-54) from the floor, including 43.8 percent (7-of-16) from three-point range.
 
Monroe led Elmhurst in the win with 15 points, shooting 5-of-10 from the field, including 4-of-5 from downtown. McMahon narrowly missed a double-double, totaling 11 points and nine rebounds. Eppard chipped in with nine points and five boards while Hannah Lipman scored 10 for Elmhurst.
 
Augustana finished the contest shooting 41.2 percent (21-of-51) from the field and 36.4 percent (4-of-11) from downtown. After a poor start in the opening half (7-of-26 from the floor and 0-for-5 from three-point range), the Vikings surged in the second half, shooting 56.0 percent (14-of-25), including 66.7 percent (4-of-6) from long distance.
 
Pezzopane posted a game-high 18 points and seven rebounds while Victoria Allen and Katie Villa scored 10 points apiece for the Vikings.
 
Elmhurst continues CCIW play on Saturday, January 31, by hosting Millikin University at 2:00 p.m.