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

STORM LAKE, Iowa (Dec. 4, 2021) – The Loras College women's basketball team (5-2, 2-1 A-R-C) put up 24 points in the first quarter to set the tone early in Storm Lake on Saturday and continued the trend through the remainder of the game as the Duhawks rolled to a 74-56 win against the Buena Vista University Beavers (3-4, 1-1 A-R-C) for its second American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) win on the week.

Sami Martin and Cierra Bachmann helped put Loras up 7-0 to start the game and a three-pointer by Madison Fleckenstein and a jumper by Emerson Whittenbaugh gave the Duhawks an early double-digit lead, 14-4 at the 6:02 mark. The Beavers tried to cut into the lead, scoring on two back-to-back possessions but a steal by Fleckenstein resulting in a layup off the fast break sparked a 7-0 run to take a 24-10 lead with 1:27 left in the first quarter. Buena Vista knocked down a three-pointer heading into the final minute and scored on their first possession of the second quarter but Sydney Schuler answered back with a three-pointer to keep Loras ahead 27-17 to start the second quarter.

A brief run for the Beavers early in the second quarter brought them within seven points with 6:55 left in the half until Martin made a layup and Fleckenstein added five more points with just under five to play to give back a 36-22 cushion. The Beavers added four unanswered points to respond to Loras' run but the Duhawks closed out the half with a pair of free throws by Allie Brownson and a layup by Bachmann off the steal and pass from Jaime Ryan as time expired to take a 41-26 lead into halftime.

Buena Vista opened the second half with a four-point flurry until Schuler cut it short with a three-pointer at the 7:30 mark. A mid-quarter run led by four points by Alli Udelhofen, a layup by Brownson and three-pointer for Megan Murray helped Loras to its first 20-point lead of the game, 53-33 with 4:58 left in the third. The Beavers had their highest-scoring quarter of the game with 17 points but a layup by Brownson helped Loras to 23 points in the ten-minute span and a 64-43 lead going into the final quarter.

Martin gave the Duhawks their largest lead of the game to start the fourth quarter, pulling ahead by 23 points but the Beavers found a surge to cut the lead to 15 points with 3:23 remaining, going on an 8-0 run over the course of six minutes. A pair of free throws for Martin helped the Duhawks get back on track before she grabbed a steal and found Bachmann in the paint for a layup to put Loras up 70-51 and hold on to take the win as time expired.

Martin led the Duhawks offense with 16 points followed by Fleckenstein with 12 points and Schuler and Bachmann posting ten each. Martin also had eight rebounds while Fleckenstein added seven and had a team-high five assists. Ryan came away with a career-high five of the Duhawks' 19 steals, helping Loras cause 27 turnovers on the Beavers. Loras capitalized on those possessions, scoring 23 points off turnovers while Buena Vista mustered only seven off turnovers.

The Duhawks will take a break from A-R-C action until the new year and continue their road stretch with a non-conference, top-25 matchup at the No. 11-ranked University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Tip-off is set for 5:00 P.M.