Contact: Emily Zadny, Director of Athletic Communications, 563-588-7970

Nov. 26, 2019 – The No.17/24 Loras College women's basketball team saw six players post double-digit points to help the Duhawks claim an 88-72 win against the Central College Dutch (5-2, 0-1 A-R-C) on Tuesday, maintaining its perfect record to open American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) action.

Loras (5-0, 1-0 A-R-C) went on a three minute, 15-2 run sparked by a three-pointer from Riley Eckhart midway through the first quarter. Kari Fitzpatrick scored on back-to-back possessions of the offensive rebounds and the and-one for Courtney Schnoor added three more points to put Loras ahead 15-7. Madison Fleckenstein subbed in with 3:12 to play in the first quarter and hit a three-pointer one minute later to give Loras a 20-9 lead with 2:24 to play.

In the second quarter, Central scored seven points in the first two minutes to cut Loras' lead to two, but a layup from Fleckenstein put Loras back on track with 8:10 to play before halftime. Fitzpatrick got the rebound off her own missed layup to put it in with 7:36 to play and capitalized off a steal to add another layup and extend the Duhawks' lead 28-20 with just under five minutes in the half. Two free throws from Echkart in the final minute put Loras ahead by 15-points and the Duhawks went to the locker room with a 40-29 advantage.

It took nearly two minutes for either team to score in the second half, but Eckhart got it started for Loras with a layup and the Duhawks continued the momentum through the third quarter, eventually taking a 52-36 lead off a three-pointer from Fleckenstein with 5:01 remaining. Kraemer closed out the third quarter for the Duhawks with a layup but Central's Carson Fisk had the last word in the quarter, sinking her jumper as time expired.

Loras entered the final ten-minutes with a 55-43 lead and scored 11 points in the first two minutes, including seven points from Marissa Schroeder. The senior guard carried the team throughout the fourth quarter, scoring all 15 of her team-high points in the final eight minutes. Loras tacked on eight points in the final minute to seal the win and remain undefeated in the early slate of the season.

All five starters for the Duhawks posted double-digit points with Schroeder's 15, Kraemer's 14, Schnoor and Eckhart's 13 and eleven from Fitzpatrick. Fleckenstein had ten points off the bench for the Duhawks and Jessica Coulthard had three blocks to go with six rebounds.

Loras returns to Lillis Court following the Thanksgiving break to host Milwaukee School of Engineering on Saturday, Nov. 30. Tipoff is set for 2 P.M.