DUBUQUE, Iowa (Duhawks.com) – Stout defense led the Duhawks to their first home victory of the season on Tuesday night as Loras topped Carthage 62-54. Timely plays on the defensive end by the Duhawks combined with strong performances on the offensive end by seniors
Victoria May (20 points) and
Carly Goede (13 points) sealed the victory.
The Duhawks (3-2) forced the Lady Reds into turnovers on their first four possessions, allowing Loras to take an early 4-0 lead. After a quick timeout, Carthage erased the Duhawks' lead to level the score at four. The early tie proved to be the only one of the game as Loras responded with 5-0 run capped by a May three-pointer.
Once again the Lady Reds (2-2) stormed back, pulling within one midway through the first half, but Loras plowed ahead behind a 13-2 run. Five different Duhawks scored over the eight minute span to extend Loras' lead to 12.
A late push by Carthage to end the half cut the Duhawks lead to 29-21 at the break.
In the second half, a three-pointer by sophomore
Naomi Phillips pushed the Duhawks lead to 13, their largest of the game. In the next few possessions, Carthage forced the Duhawks into turnovers and off-balance shots to open the door for a comeback.
As expected, the Lady Reds battled back to cut Loras' lead to one after Erin Quinn made her way to the basket for the layup with 59 seconds to play. The turnaround brought about a Loras timeout in hopes of breaking Carthage's momentum. Following the pause in play excellent ball movement by the Duhawks opened up May for the layup inside.
On the ensuing Carthage in-bounds pass, junior
Kaitlin Phillips stepped in front and picked the pass and took it to the hoop, putting Loras ahead by five.
With Loras' lead now up to five, Carthage was forced to test their fate and send the Duhawks to the free-throw line. Despite only sinking three of their next six free throws, it was enough to keep Carthage from mounting a comeback.
Game ChangerComing into Tuesday night's game, Carthage's strength had been their play in the post. Sophomore
Lori Obendorf fueled the Duhawks strong defensive effort, using a career-high seven blocks to disrupt the Carthage shooters. Loras held the Lady Reds to 35.5 percent shooting (22-of-62).
Key StatThe Duhawks controlled the glass from the start, finishing the game with a 44-31 edge in rebounding. Obendorf tallied a game-high 15 rebounds while sophomore
Terese McMahon added six.
Notables- Tuesday's win marked the Duhawks first win of the season in the Athletic & Wellness Center.
- Lori Obendorf's 15 rebounds is the most by a Duhawk since Melissa Herrmann recorded 15 against the University of Dubuque on January 23, 2013.
- Obendorf's seven blocks were the most recorded in a game since January 28, 2012 when Melissa Herrmann tallied seven in the Duhawks 58-44 win over Cornell. As a freshman, Obendorf finished with 24 blocks for the season. In Loras' first five games she has tallied 20 blocks.
Quotable
Victoria May, senior forward"We're a young team, we're learning a lot and have put in a lot of new stuff this year. I think as long as we keep working at it, it's going to keep getting better. Hopefully by conference season we have it completely together where we're competing every single day at practice and on the court during the games."
Next UpFollowing a short break for the Thanksgiving holiday, the Duhawks travel to Davenport, Iowa to take on St. Ambrose. Tip-off is set for 2:30 p.m.
