DUBUQUE, Iowa (Duhawks.com) - The Loras College Women's Basketball season came to a close on Tuesday night as the Duhawks were eliminated from the Iowa Conference tournament following a 65-58 loss to the Knights of Wartburg College.

Playing in front of their home crowd, senior Carly Goede propelled the Duhawks to halftime lead. A stagnant shooting performance in the second half allowed the Knights to take the lead, and ultimately the game.

Trading leads in the opening minutes, the Knights pushed their lead to three with 14:18 to play before junior Kaitlin Phillips hurled a pass up the court to senior Carly Goede for a fast break layup, pulling the Duhawks within one, 12-11. 

With Loras trying to retake the lead, the Knights stood tall, answering every basket by the Duhawks. 

Trailing by four, sophomore Kathleen Cabrera stepped in front of a Wartburg pass and walked the tight rope down the sideline. Cutting back to the middle of the court, Cabrera dished the ball to Kaitlin Phillips who connected with Goede in transition. 

Forcing the Knights into an off balance shot on the ensuing possession, Kaitlin Phillips fed the hot hand, leaving Goede to knock down the jumper, evening the score at 24 with 3:24 to play. 

Holding Wartburg scoreless for the remainder of the half, a basket by sophomores Erin Weaver and a free throw by sophomore Lori Obenforf, gave the Duhawks a 27-24 lead at halftime.

In the second half, the teams played to a 40-40 deadlock with 11:09 to play. 

Over the course of the next seven minutes, the Duhawks only points came from the charity stripe thanks to Obendorf as the Knights pushed their leads to double-digits. 

With 4:03 left on the clock, Goede hit Kaitlin Phillips on the perimeter for a 3-pointer, pulling the Duhawks within six.

Loras pulled within four points late as freshman Megan Jones came through with  back-to-back layups but it was too little too late. Wartburg hit 12-of-15 free throws down the stretch, ending the Duhawks season, 65-58.

Game Changer

The Knights held the Duhawks scoreless for more than five minutes midway through the second half, pushing their lead to double-digits. From that point on the Duhawks never regained the lead.

Key Stat

Known for their ability to put the ball in the basket, the Duhawks were held to 31.3 percent shooting from the field … The mark is the lowest the Duhawks have shot from the floor since shooting 20.4 percent against Wheaton on December 31, 2014 ... Loras finishes the season 1-5 when their opponent outshoots them. 

Notables

• Senior Victoria May finishes her career ranked second in career field goal percentage (57.4). May tallied seven points and six rebounds in her final game as a Duhawk
• Senior Carly Goede wrapped up her career with career-high's in points per game (10.2), assists (60), and rebounds (45)
• The Duhawks finish the season 16-10, their fifth straight season with a winning record

Quotable
Justin Heinzen, head coach

"They took advantage of every mistake we made. Credit to Wartburg, they're a talented team. Ultimately, we just made too many mistakes and missed too many shots that we usually make."