Contact:
Emily Adlfinger, Director of Athletic Communications, 563-588-7970
MEQUON, Wis. (Jan. 9, 2021) – Debuting a new starting five and offensive system from last season, the Loras College women's basketball team (0-1) saw multiple players post career-high performances on Saturday afternoon in the season opener at Concordia University Wisconsin (1-0) despite falling to the Falcons, 64-58.
The Duhawks came out ready to play in the first half, forcing the Falcons to turn the ball over in the first 30 seconds.
Jessica Coulthard grabbed the offensive rebound off a three-point attempt by
Ashley Funk and put it back up for the layup to put the Duhawks on the board. Funk drew the foul on the next possession and made her layup to give Loras a 5-0 lead and
Cierra Bachmann extended it with a three-pointer with 5:27 left in the first quarter. The Falcons fought to stay within striking distance but a seven-point run led by Bradley University transfer
Sami Martin and capped with a three-pointer by
Jaime Ryan put Loras ahead 20-8 with just over three minutes to play in the first quarter and Loras went into the second quarter with a 23-14 lead.
A free throw by Funk and three-pointer from Bachmann added to Loras' lead in the second quarter, but Concordia Wisconsin responded with a three of their own and layup to cut the score, 27-19 with just under seven minutes in the half. A forced turnover by Ryan helped set
Lydia Breunig up to stop the Falcons' run with a layup and put Loras back up by ten. Concordia Wisconsin fought back and went on a 13-4 run to cut Loras' lead to three with less than 30 seconds remaining in the half, but Bachmann stopped Concordia Wisconsin from adding any more points with a three-pointer with seven seconds remaining to give Loras a 35-30 lead at the half.
The Falcons scored first in the second half in what started a back and forth affair for the first five minutes of the period but soon tool control after tying the game 38-38 with 5:24 in the third quarter. Concordia Wisconsin held Loras scoreless for the remainder of the period and held a four-point lead going into the final ten minutes of play. The momentum continued into the fourth quarter until the 6:17 mark when a layup by
Madison Haslow put a stop to the Falcons' eight-point streak. Haslow's bucket sparked a much-needed shift in the Duhawks' offense with Breunig, Ryan and Martin each scoring a layup and cut Concordia Wisconsin's lead, 47-46, with 4:46 remaining. The Falcons started to pull away again until a layup from Bachmann brought Loras back within one point with 2:36 left to play, but picked up the pace again with a ten-point run over the next two minutes, putting the home team ahead 61-50 with 29 seconds to play.
The Duhawks called a timeout which sparked a three-pointer from Bachmann and layup from Funk to pull within six points with 16 seconds on the clock until three free throws by the Falcons extended the lead 64-55 with 11 seconds left. Haslow took her shot and drained a three-pointer with three seconds left, but the six-point deficit would be too much to erase and the Falcons came away with the win on their home court.
Bachmann was the lone Duhawk in double figures for the game and shot 3-5 beyond the arc and making a career-best four free throws while Bruenig added eight points and five steals, tying her career-best performance. Ryan had seven points and Funk led the team in rebounds with seven, a career-high, while Haslow added a career-best six. Loras forced Concordia Wisconsin to cause 37 turnovers and capitalized with 32 points off the turnovers. Coulthard and Breunig tallied a career-high five steals and
Maesyn Benjamin tied her career-best of three.
The Duhawks have a rematch against the Falcons in Dubuque on Wednesday, Jan. 13 for the 2020-21 home opener. Tip-off inside the Athletic & Wellness Center is set for 6 P.M. The spectator policy for winter indoor home events for the 2020-21 season can be found HERE.
