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

Jan. 16, 2021 – Dominating from the start, the Loras College women's basketball team (2-1) cruised to a 97-71 win against cross-town rival, the University of Dubuque (1-2) at Lillis Court on Saturday, bolstered by an unrelenting barrage from three-point range and full-court defensive pressure.

The Spartans held their only lead of the game in the opening three minutes until back-to-back three-pointers from Cierra Bachmann put Loras ahead 8-4. A layup by Madison Haslow and another three-pointer by Lydia Breunig off a pass from Bachmann helped the Duhawks score 11 unanswered points and lead 13-4 with 3:26 left in the first quarter. Dubuque ended the streak with a layup but Haslow responded with three three-pointers to help the Duhawks hold a 22-13 after ten minutes of play.

Loras continued to remain hot in the second period with Allie Brownson, Ashley Funk and Haslow getting the scoring going. Funk drew the foul and made her layup to extend Loras' lead 32-17 with 8:04 left in the half and sparked a ten-point run to put the Duhawks up 42-20 two minutes later. A three-pointer by Sydney Schuler put Loras ahead 31 points with 3:11 left in the half, but the Spartans shifted the momentum to close out the half with an 11-point run, cutting Loras' lead 53-33 at the half.

The Duhawks did not let the Spartans hold that momentum coming out of the locker room as Brownson once again opened the scoring with a three-pointer off a pass from Bachmann in the first minute. Bachmann then found Sami Martin a minute later, setting Martin up for the layup to give Loras the 58-37 lead with just over seven minutes left to play. Dubuque worked to come within striking distance of the Duhawks, but Martin put up six points in the final minute of the third quarter to give Loras a 72-52 lead with one quarter remaining.

Martin kept her streak going into the fourth quarter and Schuler followed up with a three-pointer to help Loras add five points in the opening minute. Haslow did what she had been doing well all night and hit a three-pointer to grow the lead 80-52 with 8:44 on the clock. The Spartans found another burst of momentum with a seven-point streak with six minutes left in the game, but Bruenig, Bachmann and Jaime Ryan combined for 11 points in a one-minute span to give Loras a 94-59 lead. Dubuque stopped the run for a moment but two free-throws by Maesyn Benjamin gave Loras the largest lead of the game, up 36 points, with four minutes to play. Dubuque erased six points from their deficit on free-throws, but the Duhawks had the insurmountable lead and secured their second home court win of the season and 62nd win in the Dubuque-Loras series.

Haslow had a career game with 25 points and shot 7-8 beyond the arc. She also led the team with five rebounds. Bachmann had 15 points and nine assists and Martin had a career-high 14 points while both Breunig and Coulthard nabbed four steals each. The Duhawks drained 19 three-pointers and had a strong second-quarter performance, putting up 31 points, fueled by 5-8 three-point shooting.

Loras begins American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) play on Saturday, Jan. 23, hosting Buena Vista University at 2 P.M. Links to live in-game coverage can be found HERE.