Contact: Emily Adlfinger, Director of Athletic Communications, 563-588-7970
 
Feb. 22, 2021 – Despite outscoring the opponent in the fourth quarter and holding the edge in shooting beyond the arc and at the line, the Loras College women's basketball (3-5, 1-4 A-R-C) team faced a tough competitor in the Coe College Kohawks (5-3, 4-2 A-R-C) on Monday, falling to the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) foe 86-68.
 
Madison Fleckenstein put the points on the board early for the Duhawks, taking the assist off the opening tip to the rim, but the Kohawks shifted the momentum to take a 16-0 run to command the board for the next five minutes. A jump shot by Sami Martin stopped the run and she later found Abby Ragusa for a three-pointer and Madison Haslow made a layup to bring Loras within seven, 16-9, with 3:42 left in the first quarter. Martin kept it rolling with two free throws and Sydney Schuler followed suit with a three-pointer to come within two points, but Coe closed out the first ten minutes of play with back-to-back layups to lead 20-14.
 
Both teams battled to start the second quarter back and forth until another three-pointer from Schuler and a layup from Allie Brownson brought the Duhawks back within striking distance, 21-25 with 5:56 left in the half. The Kohawks answered back with a three-pointer but Lydia Breunig capitalized on the next possession, scoring a layup to keep it close, 23-28, with 4:24 left. Both teams struggled with keeping possession for the next three minutes but the Kohawks found the rhythm to close out the half with an 8-3 run to lead 38-26.
 
Haslow brought the energy for the Duhawks coming out of the break with a jump shot before Fleckenstein hit a three off the pass from Martin but the Kohawks yet again found the spark and pulled away with a 45-31 lead off a three-ball with 7:33 on the clock. Alli Udelhofen found an open Haslow shortly after for a three-pointer, erasing the Kohawks' double-digit advantage with 6:03 to play in the quarter but Coe took control right back, heading into the final quarter with a 68-44 lead. 
 
Loras looked to make up ground in the final ten minutes with Martin scoring five points in the first minute looking to get something going for the Duhawks. Coe continued to add to the score until a layup from Udelhofen and back-to-back three-pointers from Ragusa and Schuler gave the Duhawks a burst of energy with a minute to play. The Kohawks closed out the game with two layups, but the Duhawks outscored the opponent 24-18, playing through to the buzzer.
 
Martin led the team with 18 points and seven rebounds while Ryan came away with three steals and three assists. Schuler scored 14 points, shooting 5-7 from the field and drained four three-pointers. The Duhawks held the advantage from three-point range, shooting 40 percent beyond the arc.
 
Loras will travel to Luther College on Wednesday, Feb. 24 to play the Norse with tip-off set for 6 P.M. in Decorah.