Contact: Emily Adlfinger, Director of Athletic Communications, 563-588-7870

Nov. 23, 2021 – The RV Loras College women's basketball team (3-1, 0-1 A-R-C) opened American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) action against its first nationally ranked opponent this season in the Simpson College Storm (3-0, 1-0 A-R-C) on Tuesday and despite limiting Simpson to single-digit scoring in the second quarter, the Storm rebounded with a big third-quarter to come away with an 85-79 win.

The Duhawks kept it a close game in the opening quarter, trading points with the Storm in the opening four minutes. A three-pointer from Cierra Bachmann tied the game 10-10 with 6:29 left in the first quarter and another by Madison Fleckenstein put Loras ahead 15-14 shortly after. The Storm went on a brief run to pull ahead 23-15 with 2:39 on the clock. Sami Martin drew on the next possession and hit a pair of free-throws to cut the momentum and closed out the quarter with two more, but Simpson had built a lead after the first ten minutes, leading 31-19.

The next ten minutes were all about the Duhawks with Martin leading off the scoring with a jump shot before Madison Haslow drained a three and Fleckenstein found a lane in the paint to bring Loras within five in the first two minutes. Emerson Whittenbaugh joined in on the scoring with a jumper and a three-pointer by Jaime Ryan gave Loras the one-point edge with one minute left in the half. With seconds remaining, Bachmann grabbed her own rebound off a missed three and kicked it out to Ryan who hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to put Loras up 39-37 at the half. The Duhawks limited Simpson to only six points in the second quarter and 27 percent shooting from the field.

Simpson rerouted itself in the third quarter, regaining a 52-45 lead with 5:29 on the clock. Megan Murray hit a three-pointer to stop the Storm's momentum and Martin added two more points to pull within two. Simpson responded with a three-pointer to keep the distance and went on a late 15-4 run to close out the third with a 67-54 lead.

The Storm took an 18-point lead with just under seven minutes to go, opening the fourth quarter with momentum, but the Duhawks went on their own run, sparked by a layup by Fleckenstein with Allie Brownson and Martin following suit to cut Simpson's lead, 75-63 with 4:15 remaining. An 11-0 run in the final two minutes brought the Duhawks within two points of Simpson but as both teams forced the other to free throws, Simpson held on to keep a six-point distance for the first conference win of the season.

Martin's 21 points led all scorers and she added six rebounds while Fleckenstein tallied 15 points, Ryan had 11 and Bachmann scored ten with a team-high five steals and eight assists. Brownson led the Duhawks with eight rebounds, including six offensive boards to help Loras to more possessions. The Duhawks once again won the rebounding game, grabbing 37 to Simpson's 24 but the Storm held the edge with 60 percent shooting from the field and 42 percent from three-point range.

Loras returns to Lillis Court to close out the November schedule on Saturday, Nov. 27, hosting the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Tip-off is set for 6 P.M.