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

DECORAH, Iowa (Feb. 24 2021) – Taking the lead early and setting the tone for the remainder of the game, the Loras College women's basketball team (4-5, 2-4 A-R-C) defeated the Luther College Norse (0-8, 0-7 A-R-C) on Wednesday evening by a score of 60-52.

Ashley Funk and Madison Haslow put the Duhawks on the board first to start the game and kept Luther from gaining momentum on offense. The Duhawks kept the Norse off the board for nearly four minutes in the opening quarter and after back-to-back three pointers by Sami Martin and Haslow, Loras doubled up the Norse, 16-8 heading into the second quarter. It took nearly three minutes for either team to get rolling in the second quarter before Luther struck first on a pair of free throws but a layup by Jessica Coulthard and two three-pointers from Madison Fleckenstein and Sydney Schuler gave the Duhawks a 25-10 lead with 5:16 left in the half. The Norse cut Loras' lead 27-18 with just over two minutes remaining but Cierra Bachmann capitalized on a defensive rebound from Martin to take it to the rim and send the Duhawks in to the break with a 32-20 lead.

The Norse put up the first points of the second half but the momentum was short lived as the Duhawks took control on offense and fired back three-pointers by Haslow and Schuler. Funk kept it going and hit a layup to give Loras a 20-point advantage, up 46-26 with 3:35 left in the third. Luther tried to get on a bit of a run, finishing the third-quarter with a 9-2 run in the final minute and a half, but it was still Loras on top, 50-35.

The Norse came out looking to make a comeback in the fourth, scoring seven unanswered in the first five minutes and forcing the Duhawks to get something going on offense. Bachmann did just that, finding space in the lane on the next possession and Martin added a pair of free-throws to hold a 54-42 lead with just under four minutes remaining. Luther hit two three pointers and both free throws in the final three minutes to come within striking distance, 55-50, but free-throws by Bachmann and Martin and two critical defensive rebounds in the final 30 seconds by Martin helped the Duhawks keep possession and come away with the win, 60-52.

Martin led the team with her third double-double of the season, scoring 15 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. Bachmann and Fleckenstein both had a team-high three assists and Funk had three steals. Funk and Haslow posted double-digit points on the evening, scoring 13 and ten points, respectively. 

The Duhawks return home to host Buena Vista University in the final home game of the season on Saturday, Feb. 27 at 4 P.M.