Contact: Mark Johnson, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications, 563-588-7970

PELLA, Iowa (Jan. 29, 2020)- The No. 12 Loras College women's basketball team (17-2, 8-2 A-R-C) defeated American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) opponent Central College (11-8, 3-7 A-R-C) by a final score of 69-46 as Kari Fitzpatrick and Courtney Schnoor both post double-doubles. 
 
The Dutch scored the first points of the game but the Duhawks quickly answered with two points of their own with a layup by Fitzpatrick. In the beginning, the two teams were evenly matched going back and forth for most of the quarter. Loras tied the game up 9-9 at the 3:45 mark before taking a two-point lead after a pair of free throws from Riley Eckhart. The Dutch clawed back and tied the game 11-11 until Schnoor scored a layup in the paint and Fitzpatrick added one free throw of her own to put the Duhawks ahead 14-11 at the end of the quarter.

The Duhawks started the second quarter off hot going on a 5-0 run before the Dutch called a timeout at the 8:06 mark to try and kill Loras's momentum. Loras did not cool off thanks to Lydia Breunig's layup which extend the lead to ten points. The Dutch finally slowed down the Duhawks with a layup of their own but Jaime Ryan quickly stole the momentum back for the Duhawks with a clutch three-point basket to extend Loras's lead to 12 points. The second quarter was big for the Duhawks outscoring the Dutch 14-8 to head into the locker room ahead, 28-19.
 
The Duhawks struck first in the second half with a layup from Fitzpatrick after Schnoor came up with a massive bock on the other end of the floor. Eckhart scored a second-chance layup after a Fitzpatrick steal to keep the Duhawks up by 11 points with 6:56 left to play in the third quarter. A quick three-point basket from Cierra Bachmann gave the Duhawks what appeared to be runaway momentum until the Dutch went on a five-point run cutting the Duhawks lead to just 10 points. Eckhart once again came up huge with another second chance layup followed by another three-point basket from Ryan, her second of the game. The Dutch quietly kept cutting at the Duhawks lead until Eckhart drained a three-point basket extending the Duhawks lead to 19 points. Loras headed into the final quarter of play ahead 49-32.
 
Schnoor got things started for the Duhawks with a quick layup to put the Duhawks back up by 19 points after the Dutch cut their lead to 17 points at the end of the third quarter. Loras kept the pressure on the Dutch as Ryan made a jump shot to give the Duhawks their largest lead of the game ahead 29 points. Loras took advantage of their full-court press generating 25 turnovers while scoring 23 points off those turnovers which has been a key contributor to the Duhawks success all season. The second half push by the Duhawks was too much for the Dutch to handle giving Loras their eighth conference victory by a score of 69-46 
 
The Duhawks finished the game with two players posting double-doubles. Schnoor led in scoring with 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds while Fitzpatrick added 10 points of her own with a team-high 15 rebounds. Ryan tallied 10 points while Eckhart and Ashley Funk both finished with seven points. 
 
Loras returns home for another A-R-C matchup against Simpson College as the Duhawks host the Storm on Saturday, Feb. 1. Tip-off inside the Athletic & Wellness Center is set for 2 P.M.