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

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (Dec. 19, 2021) – After a steal and buzzer-beater layup by Sami Martin to close out the third quarter and trail by one point, the Loras College women's basketball team (6-3, 2-1 A-R-C) held the momentum for a massive 28-point fourth quarter, led by a career-best performance by Madison Fleckenstein, to mount a comeback victory against Washington and Lee University (5-3) on Sunday in the first of two games at the Eckerd College Holiday Classic.

Allie Brownson put the Duhawks on the board in the opening seconds off the tip-off and a three-pointer by Jaime Ryan gave them a 5-3 lead at the six minute mark. The Generals kept it close and tied it up with two minutes to play in the first quarter but Emerson Whittenbaugh gave Loras a three-point edge with a jumper from downtown off the pass by Sydney Schuler. Washington and Lee added a pair of free throws in the final seconds but the Duhawks held the advantage after the first ten minutes.

The Generals had the momentum shift their way to start the second quarter with five points in the first minute but back-to-back layups by Martin and Cierra Bachmann tied the game at 15-15 with 7:42 left in the half. Both teams traded points and it was soon a tie game, 19-19 with just under five left on the clock but the Generals closed out the half with an 11-2 run to lead the Duhawks 30-22 heading into the locker room.

Martin and Fleckenstein chipped away at the deficit to start the third quarter and brought Loras within four of Washington and Lee with eight minutes to go but the Generals added six unanswered in the heart of the quarter to maintain a nine-point, 36-27 lead. Fleckenstein went on a roll to come back with seven-straight points in the next two minutes and Martin followed suit with six of her own, including the buzzer-beater layup that ignited the Duhawks' offense heading into the final ten minutes.

The end of the third quarter was the last time Loras would trail for the remainder of the game as Whittenbaugh hit the go-ahead jumper and Bachmann drained back-to-back three-pointers for an electric start. Washington and Lee tacked on five points but still had catch up to do but Hannah Thiele stopped their run with a three-pointer of her own. Fleckenstein remained hot and scored 12 in the final ten minutes to help the Duhawks run away with the victory.

Fleckenstein showed her versatility all over the court on Sunday as she posted 21 points with 8-15 shooting from the field, two blocked shots, five rebounds and added a team-high four steals. Martin added a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds and Bachmann scored 11 points with eight rebounds. As a team, the Duhawks shot 66 percent from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter and 61 percent from the field. Loras also out-rebounded the Generals 45-38.

The Duhawks will play RV York College on Monday, Dec. 20 at 3 P.M. (ET) for the second game of the tournament. A live stats link is available HERE.