WAVERLY, Iowa (Duhawks.com) – The Duhawk Women's Basketball team (13-8, 7-3) extended their win streak to two on Saturday following their 71-70 victory over the Wartburg Knights (13-8, 4-6). Loras came out of the gates firing on all cylinders, resulting in a 75.7 field-goal percentage from the field and 63.6 percent from distance for the game. Junior Kaitlin Phillips recorded her fifth consecutive double-digit scoring performance with 20 points and added seven assists and four rebounds.
 
It took nearly three minutes for the Duhawks to register their first basket of the game as both teams came out hot on the defensive side of the ball. When Loras finally got on the scoreboard, Wartburg had only registered a single basket themselves. Each side traded baskets for the entirety of the first half, before Loras was able to break free and take a 30-26 lead at halftime.
 
Loras held an 11-point lead in the first half before a slew of turnovers and fouls allowed the Knights to make a comeback. In total, the Duhawks finished with 25 turnovers and allowed Wartburg to score 28 points off of those turnovers.
 
To begin the second half, Loras started off a bit slow due to the aforementioned string of turnovers, but hot shooting from long-range allowed for them to counteract those mistakes. After allowing six points to Wartburg in the opening minutes of the half, the Duhawks went on a 12-3 run to extend their lead to double-digits once again. 3-point buckets from senior Carly Goede and Kaitlin Phillips were key moments of the run that electrified the Duhawk fans in attendance.
 
Loras' double-digit lead wouldn't last for long as the Knights came storming back to the tune of an 8-0 run. Included in the Knights run was an extremely rare four-point play. The Duhawks didn't let this run ruffle their feathers as Goede and freshman Miranda Chapman drained back-to-back shots from beyond the arc to swing the momentum back in the Duhawks' favor.
 
It was at this point in the game that sophomore Lori Obendorf began to make her presence felt. With just over seven minutes remaining and the score knotted up at 53, Obendorf went on a 6-0 run of her own. Obendorf used the glass on a hook shot to cap her outburst.
 
Following the breakout from Obendorf, Loras started driving into the lane in order to draw contact. This strategy worked on several occasions for the Duhawks as both Kaitlin Phillips and sophomore Erin Weaver went to the line with just over two minutes to play in order to preserve a single-digit lead.
 
With 1:16 left on the clock, the Duhawks conceded the lead for the first time since taking over with 17 minutes to play in the first half. With their lead lost, head coach Justin Heinzen knew he had to go to the drawing board if he wanted to secure the victory.
 
In the closing seconds of the ball game, Kaitlin Phillips and sophomore Kat Cabrera took turns wowing the crowd with acrobatic layups, taking the lead back from Wartburg in the process. Each layup they made took the breath out of Levick Arena due to the sheer difficulty of the baskets.
 
Finally, with just 4 ticks left on the clock, Kaitlin Phillips did what she does best and drove into the lane. Although her basket was no good, she drew the decisive foul that would vault the Duhawks to victory. Despite hitting just one of her two ensuing free-throws, the one point lead would be just enough to defeat Wartburg, who's last ditch effort was unsuccessful.