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

DECORAH, Iowa (Dec. 4, 2019) – The No. 18-ranked Loras College women's basketball team fell victim to a second-half surge and down-to-the-buzzer three-pointer by American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) foe Luther College (1-5, 1-0 A-R-C) on Wednesday, surrendering its first contest of the season, 80-77.

Jessica Coulthard put the first points on the board for the Duhawks following the tip-off and two layups by Riley Eckhart and one from Madison Fleckenstein gave Loras a 6-2 lead early in the quarter. The Norse tried to get back into the game after Kaci Jo Ames made a layup and drew a foul to shoot and cut the score 13-11, but Maesyn Benjamin responded with a layup to stop Luther's momentum and Kari Fitzpatrick hit a three pointer to regain control and give Loras a 23-17 lead after the first quarter.

Fitzpatrick extended the lead 25-17 with a layup in the opening minute of the second quarter but the Norse rallied back to tie the game 27-27 off an 8-0 run with 6:32 to play in the half. Marissa Schroeder and Lydia Bruenig went to work on offense, going on a 5-0 run. A three-pointer from Ashley Funk and layups from Macenzie Kraemer and Fitzpatrick closed out the half with Loras up 43-35.

Kraemer and Coulthard gave Loras a 13-point advantage to open the second half but the Norse diligently chipped away at the Duhawks' lead, soon tying the game 55-55 after Coranda Vickerman drained a three and drew a foul for one shot at the line. The Norse used the momentum to take its first lead of the game, 59-55, but Kraemer responded with a three-pointer to cut the lead to one with just over a minute to play in the quarter. Luther hit a three ten seconds later and held on for a 62-60 advantage going into the final quarter.

The fourth quarter started as a back-and-forth affair with Schroeder making a layup off a pass from Kraemer to tie the game 62-62 and responding seconds later to a jump shot by the Norse with another layup to own four points in the first two minutes. The Norse grabbed their largest lead of the contest with 2:15 left in regulation, leading 77-71 after two layups from Madi Spence. A layup and jump shot from Fitzpatrick got the Duhawks within two of Luther with one minute to play before Schroeder hit the tying shot with 20 seconds on the clock.

Luther called a timeout and subbed in Vickerman who wasted no time and hit a three-pointer to give the Norse the 80-77 edge with seven seconds left in the game. Loras called a timeout and was able to get three shots off in the final five seconds, but came up just short as the Norse claimed their first A-R-C win of the season and the Duhawks' six-game undefeated run came to an end.

Kraemer and Fitzpatrick both tallied 14 points, highlighted by Fitzpatrick shooting 6-11 from the field, while Schroeder recorded her second double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Eckhart also scored in the double digits with ten points and Kraemer had a team-high six assists. Luther's Laura Hamilton led all players with 16 points.

The Duhawks (6-1, 1-1 A-R-C) play a second conference road game on Saturday, Dec. 7, traveling to Indianola to face the Simpson College Storm. Tip-off is set for 2 P.M.