ROCK ISLAND, Iowa - The University of Dubuque women's basketball lost their opener in the 2022 Augustana College Hyatt Place Tournament on Friday afternoon by a 61-64 margin. The Spartans will face the losing team of the DePauw/UW-Oshkosh on Saturday evening.

UD led after the first period 16-14, but trailed by a bucket at halftime 26-18. UD outscored the Vikings 18-13 to start the second half, but the hosts Vikings rallied back in the final quarter to capture the contest by three points. The game was tied at 59-59 with 1:33 left after a made free throw by UD's Isabella Tierney. Augie grabbed the lead on a three pointer and Ud would turn over the ball in the next possession with :53 to go. A missed three point attempt by the Vikings left the Spartans hope with less than :20 seconds to go. UD committed another turnover and were forced to foul to stop the clock. A pair of free throws by Augustana extended the lead to five points 64-59, before the Spartans scored a lay-up as time expired by Morgan Hawkins.

Augustana advances into the tournament championship game on Saturday after earning 33 points from their bench. The lead was tied eight times and was swapped nine times in the tight road battle.

Tabria Thomas led all scorers with 19 points, six points, two steals and a pair of assists. UD made 18-56 shot attempts (32.1%), 6-21 from beyond the three point arc, and sank 19-22 free throw attempts. Thomas was 8-8 from the free throw line.