ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – The Illinois Wesleyan women's basketball team watched a game-high 14 point third quarter lead disappear before hanging on for a 73-70 victory over Augustana at the Carver Center in Rock Island on Wednesday, Jan. 20.
 
Illinois Wesleyan improves to 10-7 overall and 5-1 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin while the Vikings are 7-10 and 2-4 in the CCIW.
 
IWU jumped out to an early 7-2 lead and led 16-8 with 1:57 remaining in the first quarter, taking a 20-14 lead after 10 minutes of action. In the second quarter, Ill. Wesleyan would extend their lead to 37-29 as the Titans would never trail in the first half while scoring 12 points off of 16 Viking turnovers.
 
Illinois Wesleyan would take their largest lead of the game at 47-33 with 7:32 remaining in the third period before shooting woes would send Augustana on a 17-4 run to close out the frame with IWU leading 51-50. The Titans would trail for the only time at the 9:48 mark in the fourth quarter at 52-51 and would build a 65-59 lead with just over three minutes remaining. Augustana would make one final push down the stretch, but free throw shooting would seal the Titan victory.
 
Sophomore Molly McGraw led all scorers with 23 points while also adding five rebounds and three steals. Junior Gabrielle Holness would pitch in 12 points off the bench in 17 minutes of play while Rebekah Ehresman and Amanda Kelly each had nine points.
 
The Vikings were led by Marissa Pezzopane who had 18 points and eight rebounds.
 
The Titans held a 38-36 rebounding advantage and forced 26 Augustana turnovers while committing only 13 turnovers of their own. IWU also held a 27-19 advantage in second chance points and had 20 steals on the night.
 
What's Next?
A pivotal road game next faces the Titans at North Park on Saturday, Jan. 23 at 5 p.m. The Vikings were 61-55 losers at home to Elmhurst on Wednesday night, leaving Illinois Wesleyan atop the CCIW with a  5-1 conference record.