Contact: Mark Johnson, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications, 563-588-7243

Feb. 27, 2020 – Macenzie Kraemer tied her career-high 30 points leading the No. 11 Loras College women's basketball team (23-3, 13-3 A-R-C) to the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) Tournament Championship game after defeating Luther College (15-10, 12-4 A-R-C) in the Semifinal matchup 74-61.

Marissa Schroeder scored the first points of the game off with a layup off a pass from Kraemer. Much like the prior two meetings the back and forth competitive nature of the game was there from the start as they traded baskets rapidly. The Duhawks took a 15-14 lead with 2:30 remaining in the quarter after Kraemer made a trip to the free-throw line knocking down both shots. Courtney Schnoor helped Loras extend their lead to a four-point advantage after back-to-back baskets from the junior. The Duhawks ended the quarter on top by a score of 21-17.

Luther got on the board first in the second quarter but the Duhawks answered by scoring five points thanks to Kraemer. The Norse kept the pressure on the Duhawks after capitalizing on a Loras turnover with a fastbreak layup. However, Riley Eckhart followed it up with a made layup of her own before Kramer knocked down a three-point shot to give Loras a nine-point advantage. Luther eventually cut the Duhawks' lead to just five points as both teams headed into the locker room with a score of 37-32.

The Duhawks rallied off their momentum they built just before half as they came out and scored the first four points of the third quarter. Luther went on a six-point run to cut Loras' lead to just three points with 7:15 remaining. The Duhawks went 7-11 from the field in the third quarter extending their lead to as much as nine points multiple times and ended the quarter ahead 58-49.

The fourth quarter is when the Duhawks took off as they Kari Fitzpatrick and Kraemer made back-to-back buckets from beyond the arc to give Loras their largest lead of the game at 11 points. In the following minutes, Kraemer would make another three-point basket giving Loras a 14-point advantage. Luther went down the court on their following possession and answered with a three-point basket of their own to cut the Duhawks' lead to just 11 points. Eckhart scored a layup which gave Loras their largest lead of the game at 16 points. The Duhawks shot 75 percent from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter as the game to a close with Loras on top by a final score of 71-64.

Kraemer tied her career-high with 30 points shooting 5-7 from beyond the arc while Schnoor added 12 points. Schroeder finished with a team-high eight rebounds and nine points. Eckhart also finished with nine points and grabbed seven rebounds.

The Duhawks will travel to Waverly, Iowa for the A-R-C Tournament Championship game to face off against conference rival No. 8 Wartburg College. Tip-off is set for 4 P.M.