DUBUQUE, Iowa (Duhawks.com) – An early season matchup with No. 5 UW-Oshkosh (4-0) provided Loras (2-2) with an early season look at where they currently stand as well as where they would like to be later in the season. Senior Victoria May paced the Duhawks to a halftime lead however the Duhawks ultimately fell 76-64 in their home opener. The tough matchup served as a learning experience for the team despite coming up short.
A won tipoff followed by a missed shot for the Titans resulted in a well-executed high-low pass from sophomore Lori Obendorf to senior
Victoria May, setting the tone early on. However, the Duhawks struggled early on to combat the Titans' high pressure defense resulting in a 10-0 run
from the Titans, turning the tables leaving Loras behind by six points.
The Duhawks charged back thanks to energy brought from senior transfer Carly Goede who shot 100 percent from the line. A pair of free throws from Goede cut the deficit to four as the Duhawks trailed 17-13.
As Loras kicked it into third gear, sophomore Kat Cabrera combined with May to tie the score at 18.
Loras found their
groove soon after when Obendorf feed May on a cut through the paint. May's basket put the Duhawks up 24-22. After denying the Titans a basket,
junior Kaitlin Phillips found May in the lane to increase the Duhawk lead to 26-22.
The teams remained close for the remainder of the first half as both teams shot well from the field. On the Duhawks final drive to the basket, May returned the favor to Obendorf and her basket put the Duhawks up by one going into the break with a score of 36-35.
After halftime, Loras came out energized but were unable to maintain that energy past the first ten minutes of the second half. A ten point run by the Titans put them up 63-50 with six minutes to play.
Despite switching up defenses, the Duhawks couldn't find an offensive presence as the game wound down. The Titans had an answer for every basket put home by the Duhawks making it difficult to chip away at the deficit.
Ultimately, the strength of the Oshkosh bench outshined the Duhawks as they fell 76-64 in their home-opener.
Game Changer
With under ten minutes to go in the second half, the Titans began the ten-point run that would wear down the Duhawks. Their strong offensive presence combined with their defensive stops spun the momentum their way one last time.
Key Stat
The Titans' defensive presence proved to be a problem for the Duhawks early on resulting in a number of turnovers. The Duhawks committed 21 turnovers to just 12 from the Titans.
Notables
- Victoria May recorded a career-high 27 points breaking her career high of 22 which was set last year against the Titans.
- Lori Obendorf recorded her third double-double of the season and recorded a career-high six blocks.
- The Duhawks recorded 16 assists, a season-high. Seven different players recorded assists with Goede and Phillips leading the way with four each.
Quotable
Justin Heinzen, head coach
"It's good to get big games like these in the beginning of the season because it puts us in national tournament environments. I thought the first half of the game was definitely national tournament environment and then we just hit a wall. But, there's not going to be a bigger stage, especially for our freshmen as we try to get them ready to play by conference, hopefully it's a little bit easier once we start playing league games. When we passed the ball, we did well. That's when we were staying tight with them or had a couple point lead so we just want to build on that."
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