ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST ST. THOMAS
St. Thomas won the only meeting between the two sides. In 2014, the Tommies hosted Loras in the first round of the tournament in St. Paul, winning 52-49.

LAST MEETING AGAINST ST. THOMAS
The last time Loras and St. Thomas met in the NCAA tournament the game was evenly matched as it came down to a three-point difference with the Tommies securing a 52-49 victory. The Duhawks shot 35.6 percent from the floor compared to 39.6 percent from St. Thomas. Loras grabbed 37 rebounds while St. Thomas hauled in 31. An issue for the Duhawks came from the charity stripe, as they 15-of-26 of their chances. Katie Wheeler led Loras off the bench with 10 points and added nine rebounds. Four current players in Phillips, Obendorf, McMahon and Cabrera saw time, combing for nine points.

SCOUTING THE TOMMIES
St. Thomas finished their season with a 24-3 record after clinching their fifth consecutive Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title. The Tommies return three players from their NCAA Tournament roster in 2014 in Paige Gernes, Katie Stone and Kaitlin Langer. Each of these returners have made their mark this season. Langer leads the team in scoring with 17 points per game while Gernes leads in assists with 2.7 per game. Stone is consistent across the stat sheet with 1.9 assists and 12.9 points per game. As a team, the Tommies average 71.3 points per game compared. In contrast to Loras, a team that mainly dominates the paint, St. Thomas relies heavily on their play from long range. The team attemped 566 3-pointers this season and averages 7.78 made per game.
 
HEINZEN MAKES RETURN TRIP TO NCAA TOURNAMENT
Friday will mark the third appearance in the NCAA Tournament for the Loras women's basketball team and second under head coach Justin Heinzen. Two seasons ago, the Duhawks ended an 11-year drought, after making their first appearance in 2002-03. Now, with Heinzen, Loras has been a poised team in the Iowa Conference and battled its way through, only to defeat the regular season champion on their home court.

CAPTAIN CLUTCH
Senior Megan Jones has been a key player for the Duhawks down the stretch and into the postseason. Jones has been playing some of her best basketball in a Loras uniform and put on a show for the Duhawk faithful on Saturday, scoring 11 points and contributing to a team defense that forced Luther into 12 turnovers. It was Jones' 3-pointer early that helped Loras race out to a 5-0 lead, giving the Duhawks a huge swing of momentum in enemy territory.

DOUBLE-DOUBLES A PLENTY
Junior Lori Obendorf has enjoyed a breakout campaign as Loras' go-to center. With an average of 11.0 points and 11.5 rebounds per game, Obendorf proved in the regular season that the paint belongs to her. To date, Obendorf has recorded 14 double-doubles this season and 20 in her career. Her 88 blocks on the season rank 13th in Division III and led the Iowa Conference. Entering Friday's NCAA Tournament game, Obendorf is second all-time in Loras history for rebounds in a season with 298 and is 19 away from the all-time record set by Alicia Davis in the 2001-02 season with 317.

NCAA FIRST/SECOND ROUND SCHEDULE
Loras and No. 8 St. Thomas will kick off the weekend schedule with a first round game scheduled for 5 p.m. on Friday, March 4. No. 13 UW-River Falls and No. 17 Wheaton will meet in the second game, with a tip-off scheduled for 7:30 p.m. The winners of both games will advance to Saturday's Regional Final, which is scheduled for a 5 p.m. tip-off. Tickets for the weekend games will be available at the door and must be paid for with cash or check, no credit cards will be accepted. Ticket prices are as follows: $8 for adults, $4 for students/seniors/children, Children ages 2 & under are free.

DUHAWK DEFENSE FEEDING THE OFFENSE
The Duhawks finished the conference season by claiming the coveted Iowa Conference Tournament Championship with a win over top-seeded Luther. The Duhawks are on a five-game win-streak and while they're offense may take the initial credit, it's the defense that serves as a large reason for their success. Loras ranks fifth in the Iowa Conference for both scoring offense and scoring defense, but Lori Obendorf and her fellow posts lead the conference in rebounds earned (1,187) and rebounds conceded (867). The Duhawks also lead the Iowa Conference with 116 blocked shots. Loras' +12.2 rebounding margin ranks sixth in Division III.

EFFICIENT OFFENSE MAKING ALL THE DIFFERENCE
The Duhawks currently lead the IIAC in field goal percentage, shooting .435 from the floor. For Loras, it's a true team effort as nine members of the team are shooting over 40 percent individually. The dynamic forward combination of juniors Lori Obendorf and Terese McMahon check in shooting a combined .535 percent.

OFFENSE CLICKING ON ALL CYLINDERS
Throughout most of the 2015-16 season, Loras' offense has operated through the low post. As the playoffs approached, opponents began to adjust their schemes to double-team the Duhawk forwards, which has opened the shooting lanes for the guards from beyond the arc. In the last five games, Loras is shooting at a 36.4 percentage from distance, compared to its opponents at 32.4 percent. Senior Megan Jones and sophomore Miranda Chapman have combined to go 18-of-40 from beyond the arc, equivalent to a .450 clip. Heading into the NCAA Tournament, having 3-point shooting in their arsenal will aid the Duhawks in their quest for the program's first NCAA victory.

CLEANING UP THE GLASS
The Duhawks can attribute much of their success in the 2015-16 campaign to their rebounding and defensive prowess. Headed into NCAA tournament play, Loras has outscored its opponents 311-182 in second chance points. Additionally, in 15 games this season, the Duhawks have reached double-digits in second chance points.

HALFTIME ADUSTMENTS FUEL SECOND HALF CHARGE
Throughout the 2015-16 season, the Duhawks have found continued success in the latter half of their games. The third quarter has been statistically the strongest frame this season, which features the Duhawks outscoring their opponents 440-396. Head coach Justin Heinzen's halftime adjustments have repeatedly worked, resulting in a higher tempo and better efficiency from his team.

DUHAWKS THRIVE IN ONE-POSESSION GAMES
This season, Loras has participated in five games that have been decided by three points or less, holding a 4-1 record in those games. The Duhawks' only loss came to Wheaton, who is a team that Loras could face in this weekend's second round. The most recent of these victories came in last week's Iowa Conference Tournament Semifinal against Coe. It was senior Katilin Phillips' jumper with 21 seconds left that gave the Duhawks their final lead of the night and pushed them to the tournament championship game.    

FAMILIAL TIES IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
The 2016 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament brings with it an interesting set of connections between Loras and Wisconsin Lutheran, the automatic bid representative of the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference. The Warriors, who are making their sixth consecutive apperance in the NCAA Tournament, are the home to freshman Lexi Reinke, the younger sister of Loras senior, Abby Reinke. In addition to the Reinke family, the Heinzen family also has connections between the two schools. Head coach Justin Heinzen is a 2004 graduate of Wisconsin Lutheran, where he played baseball and basketball. The final connection includes Justin's brother, Adam, who is the Sports Information Director for the Warriors.

PHILLIPS THE LEADER OF THE PACK
As one of the four returning players from Loras' last appearance in the NCAA Tournament, senior Kaitlin Phillips has an opportunity to add to what has already been an elite career in the purple and gold. This season, Phillips became the ninth member of the 1,000 point club and has led the Duhawks to their second NCAA Tournament appearance in the last three years and third in program history. In games this season that Phillips has scored 10 or more points, Loras holds a record of 18-2. There's no surprise to the Duhawk faithful that a big game from Phillips on Friday will go a long way in earning Loras its first win in the NCAA Tournament.

BENCH SCORING CRUCIAL IN THE POSTSEASON
As the Duhawks travel to the first round of the NCAA tournament, the scoring of their bench may become a factor. Loras' starters currently average 53.1 points per game with their bench scoring 14.5 points. In the first round, they will be facing the University of St. Thomas, whose starters average less than the Duhawks' with only 46.9 points per game, however their bench scores on average more than the Duhawks at 21 points per game. The other two teams in the weekend pod have a similar comparison. UW-River Falls' starters average 56.7 points per game, with their bench averaging 13.4 points per game. They face Wheaton on Friday night, whose starters and bench average 48.4 and 21.4 points per game, respectively.

RANKED OPPONENTS AWAIT DUHAWKS
At this weekend's regional site, hosted by UW-River Falls, Loras will be the the underdog in all possible scenarios. St. Thomas enters with a No. 5 ranking by HeroSports, a No. 8 ranking by D3hoops.com and a No. 10 ranking by USA Today. In the final public regional rankings, the Tommies were No. 2 in the West Region. Wheaton, who won the CCIW, are ranked No. 11 by HeroSports, No. 17 by D3hoops.com and No. 19 by USA Today. The Thunder were ranked No. 6 in the final public regional rankings. The hosts, UW-River Falls, come in ranked No. 13 in the D3hoops.com poll, No. 14 in the HeroSports poll and No. 15 in the USA Today poll. In the central region, the Falcons were slotted at No. 2. The Duhawks, despite their 19-8 record and wins over NCAA Tournament teams in Wash.-St. Louis and Wartburg, are not ranked in the top-25 in either the D3hoops.com poll or the USA Today poll. In the HeroSports rankings, Loras checks in at No. 38.