DUBUQUE, Iowa (Duhawks.com) – The Loras College Women's Basketball team returned from their holiday break to take on Augustana College in the Athletic & Wellness Center on Monday night. An early lead, fueled by the play of junior
Kaitlin Phillips and sophomore guard
Kathleen Cabrera's first career double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds), propelled the Duhawks to a 70-61 win.
Augustana (5-5) won the opening tip but failed to break through the Duhawks (6-4) tenacious zone defensive pressure. Phillips forced a turnover on the Vikings first possession and quickly pushed the ball up the court to senior
Carly Goede for a fast-break layup.
Phillips' play set the tone for the opening half, as the Duhawks forced Augustana into six first half turnovers while holding them to a meager 25 percent shooting percentage and 15.4 percent from 3-point range. Meanwhile, Loras shot 45.5 percent from the field and 40 percent from deep, allowing them to carry an 11 point lead into the break, 33-22.
The Vikings turned the tables on the Duhawks in the second half, using a 17-6 run to level the score at 39 with 11:59 to play.
Loras mounted a run of their own, matching Augustana's 17-6 run from the beginning of the second half. Leading by one with 8:55 to go in the second half, the Duhawks stretch their lead to 12 with only 2:11 left on the clock. During the run, freshman
Miranda Chapman drained back-to-back 3-pointers to swing momentum in Loras' favor.
Down the stretch, the Duhawks went a perfect 10-for-10 from the charity stripe to seal the win, 70-61.
Game ChangerCabrera notched the first double-double of her Duhawk career, scoring 13 points and grabbing 10 rebounds … The Gilbert, Arizona native also tallied four assists, two steals, and one block to round out the stat sheet
Key StatLoras held a 93.3 to 85.7 percent advantage from the charity stripe, while outshooting the Vikings 40.0 percent to 34.6 percent from deep.
Notables- Junior Kaitlin Phillips turned in a well-rounded performance, tallying 11 points. She added a season-high eight rebounds, nine assists, and one steal.
- Loras shot a season-best 93.3 percent (14-15) from the free throw line
- The Duhawks moved to 6-0 when their bench outscores the opponents as Loras' bench held a 13-2 advantage
- Strong defensive performance by senior Victoria May, and sophomores Terese McMahon and Lori Obendorf helped Loras contain the Vikings post play and helped them to a 28-18 edge in the paint
Quotable
Justin Heinzen, head coach"When she's aggressive, she's really good and when she's aggressive, we're really good. It takes a lot of pressure off Carly and Kaitlin especially with those starting five, so to add that third guard is huge for us."
Next UpThe Duhawks close out the 2014 calendar year with a New Year's Eve match up with No. 14 Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.
