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

Feb. 12, 2022 – Behind a career-high 27 points for sophomore forward Sami Martin, the Loras College women's basketball team (16-6, 10-3 A-R-C) won its fourth-straight American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) game on Saturday with a commanding 82-49 victory against Nebraska Wesleyan University (4-18, 2-12 A-R-C).

The Prairie Wolves took an early 4-0 lead to start the game but it did not las long as Martin and Madison Fleckenstein quickly erased the deficit two minutes into the game and went on a 9-0 run to take the lead. Nebraska Wesleyan pulled within one point with just under five minutes to play in the opening quarter but Emerson Whittenbaugh put an end to any momentum for the visitors with a jumper and sparked a 17-2 run to close out the first ten minutes with a 26-10 lead.

Nebraska Wesleyan tried to chip away at the Duhawks' lead in the second quarter with a jump shot on the opening possession but three-pointers from Madison Haslow and Cierra Bachmann kept Loras in control, pulling ahead 36-16 with 7:28 left in the half. Loras continued to hold its lead through the remainder of the quarter and back-to-back buckets for Martin gave Loras the 51-27 edge heading into halftime.

It took nearly two minutes for either team to score coming out of the break but it was Bachmann who struck first for the Duhawks with a three-pointer off a steal by Fleckenstein and the junior guard added a layup on the next possession to extend Loras' lead. Though the Prairie Wolves held the Duhawks to their lowest scoring quarter of the game with only ten points, the Duhawks still had the 61-37 advantage heading into the final ten minutes. The Duhawks had done the scoring early and often in the first half and 21 more points in the fourth quarter helped seal the win with the help of a three-pointer by Haslow and final two free throws by Martin as time expired.

Martin went 10-14 from the field and 7-8 at the line in her career night along with grabbing seven rebounds. Bachmann scored 15 points and had four steals while Haslow had a team-high four three-pointers and 12 points on the afternoon. Fleckenstein led the team with five assists and came up with six boards. The Duhawks' offense shot 46 percent from the field for the game with a game-high 57 percent in the first quarter and had a game-best 42 percent three-point shooting clip in the opening ten minutes.

The Duhawks have a quick turnaround and host Luther College on Monday, Feb. 14 at 7 P.M. before hosting crosstown rival the University of Dubuque on Wednesday, Feb. 16 for the final home game of the season.