ELMHURST, Ill. - The Elmhurst women's basketball team outscored Augustana College 49-36 in the second half en route to an 88-78 victory over the Vikings at R.A. Faganel Hall.

Trailing by three points at the half, Elmhurst (11-7, 3-4 CCIW) opened the second half on an 8-0 run to take a 45-42 lead. Leading 49-47 with 15:44 left, the Bluejays used a 14-5 run over the next five minutes to open up an 11-point advantage.

Augustana (5-13, 1-6 CCIW) answered back, scoring the game's next 10 points to pull to within a point on a three-point play from Molly Etheridge with just less than eight minutes remaining. Whitney Shaffer drilled a pair of three-pointers over the next three Elmhurst possessions to put the Bluejays on top 73-68 with 5:42 left on the clock.

The Vikings clawed to within three points with 4:34 left, but a three-point play from Devin Vaughn extended Elmhurst's lead to seven points. Augustana cut the deficit back to four points with 1:34 left after a three-point play from Olivia Mayer, but a lean-in jumper from Karen Senette gave the Bluejays a six-point cushion with just over a minute remaining.

Elmhurst hit all four of its free throws in the game's final minute to finish with the 88-78 win.

The first half was a back-and-forth affair that featured nine lead changes and six ties as neither team led by more than six points. A three-pointer from Senette tied the score with just under eight seconds to play, but Augustana grabbed a 42-39 halftime lead as Etheridge banked home a three-pointer from mid-court, eclipsing the 1,000-point mark in the process.

Fiona McMahon and Devin Vaughn exploded for a combined 25 points in the second half. Limited to only two points due to foul trouble in the game's opening 20 minutes, McMahon pumped in 13 points in the second half to finish with 15. Vaughn finished with a season-high 16 points, scoring 12 in the second half. Three other Bluejays reached double figures with Senette scoring 15 to go along with a team-leading five assists. Melanie Schwerdtmann and Hannah Lipman added 10 points apiece for the Bluejays.

Elmhurst shot 54.4 percent (31-of-57) from the floor, including 63.0 percent (17-of-27) in the second half.

Etheridge led the Vikings in the loss with a game-high 17 points and a team-best six boards. Amy Hicks and Marissa Pezzopane scored 10 points apiece for the Vikings.

Elmhurst travels to Wheaton College on Wednesday, January 29.