Dec. 30, 2022 – It's proving to be very hard to hold the Loras College women's basketball team down when the Duhawks are making shots, evidenced yet again in an 85-58 win over the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point on Friday afternoon.

The Duhawks (10-2) took down the Pointers (9-4) for their fifth straight victory to claim the championship of the Loras Holiday Tournament. UW-Stevens Point defeated Wheaton College while Loras beat No. 23 Calvin University on Thursday to advance to Friday's winner's game.

As a team, the Duhawks shot 50.9 percent from the field and 42.3 percent from three-point range on Friday, setting new season-highs for a team that has now won each of its last four games by 19 points or more.

Loras couldn't have asked for a much better start as it outscored the Pointers 20-4 in the opening quarter, thanks partly to made three-pointers from three different Duhawks.
The lead ultimately rose to as high as 34-points as the Duhawks again left no doubts in a route. Sophomore forward Emerson Whittenbaugh helped lead the sharp-shooting charge with 12 points off the bench as she finished 4-for-5 from deep. It marks the second time this season Whittenbaugh has made four three-pointers in a game, with the first coming in Loras' win over then-No. 9 University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire on Dec. 10.

Whittenbaugh was joined in double figures by graduate guard Hannah Thiele, who came off the bench to score 11 points on a 3-for-6 performance from three-point range. It's the second time this season that Thiele has knocked down three or more three-pointers and the third time that she has scored in double figures.

Three starters finished in double figures, led by junior guard Sami Martin with 17 points. Martin was followed by sophomore Silvana Scarsella and senior Madison Fleckenstein, who each finished with 10 points.

Fleckenstein led all players with nine rebounds in the game while senior Cierra Bachmann stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, seven assists, five rebounds, and two steals. Bachmann finished 2-for-4 from the field with all four of her shots coming from three-point range after tallying a season-high 15 points against Calvin the day before.

Loras' Holiday Tournament win ends their nonconference slate for the 2022-23 season, finishing with a 9-2 record with three of its wins coming against ranked opponents. The Duhawks are 3-0 in American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) play and will get back to conference action on Wednesday, Jan. 4 with a 5:30 P.M. game at Luther College.