CHICAGO, Ill. -- The Vikings women's basketball team lost their matchup with Augustana on Saturday afternoon, finishing with a final score of 57-66. With the loss, NPU now holds a 1-2 record in CCIW play with a 4-5 record overall.

North Park opened the game in an offensive rut, needing more than six minutes to score their first field goal—a three-point jump shot from Felicia Sunden. While the struggles from the field continued for the remainder of the half, NPU maintained an elite 17-18 mark from the free throw line to earn a 28-24 lead going into halftime. Victoria Perry led the way in this regard with an 8-8 showing while four other Vikings went 2-2 from the stripe. Amongst that group was Sunden who added a 2-3 performance from deep on her way to 8 points, tying Perry for the team lead through twenty minutes. 

The 2^nd half marked improvement for North Park's shooting, but Augustana made likewise strides of their own. Through twenty minutes, North Park held Augustana to 29% from the field. Augie improved that number to 54% in the 2^nd half. They also managed to flip the script from the FT line, going 12-14 from the charity stripe, while North Park was unable to replicate their volume and efficiency from the 1^st half. While the final 9-point margin does not represent how close of a game this was down to the wire, that has no bearing on the ultimate result of a North Park loss. 

Perry went on to lead all scorers with 20, with Augustana's Gabriela Loiz leading her side with 19. Chantel Hairston finished with 11 as the only other North Park scorer in double digits, adding a team-high 2 steals. Esther Miller matched that mark while also recording 4 blocks in what was a valiant defensive effort.

The Vikings' focus shifts to Trine University, who they'll take on as part of the St. Pete Beach Classic down in St. Petersburg, Florida. North Park is slated for two contests on December 19^th and 20^th that are both scheduled to tip-off at 5:00 P.M. EST.