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

DECORAH, Iowa (Feb. 9, 2022) – Dominating tip-off to the final buzzer, the Loras College women's basketball team (15-6, 9-3 A-R-C) defeated Luther College (7-14, 4-8 A-R-C) on the road on Wednesday as the Duhawks put on a show on offense to take command early and bolstered the performance with the defense to match.

The Duhawks were off and running early thanks to a three-point barrage by Hannah Thiele, knocking down three-straight buckets to put Loras up 16-4 at the four-minute mark. The Norse added one more layup on the next possession but it was all Luther would muster in the first quarter as the Duhawks turned up the heat and closed out the quarter with a 9-0 run to take a 19-point lead. The Duhawks shot an impressive 60 percent from the field and nearly matched it from three-point range with 57 percent shooting.

Loras kept the run going with a 6-0 start to the second quarter with layups by Sami Martin, Cierra Bachmann and Madison Fleckenstein. Loras continued the momentum on offense and pulled ahead with a 54-18 lead at the half with Madison Haslow tacking on a final three-pointer in the waning seconds. The Duhawks had another impressive ten minutes of offense with 63 percent field goal shooting and 50 percent from beyond the arc.
Fleckenstein had a strong start to the second half with a layup and three-pointer as the Duhawks kept it going in the third quarter, leading 72-32 going into the final ten minutes. Just as had been the tale for the first three quarters, the Duhawks continued to put up an unrelenting offense to shut down the Norse in a 91-43 victory.

Martin led all players with 20 points, shooting 8-10 from the field and a perfect 4-4 from the line, and led the team with seven rebounds. Fleckenstein added 15 points while Haslow scored 13 and added six boards with a team-high three three-pointers alongside Thiele with three of her own for nine points on the night. Jaime Ryan and Daniella Jarrell both led the team with three assists and Haslow and Alli Udelhofen both added two of Loras' six blocked shots on the night.

As a team, the Duhawks came away with 14 steals and forced 21 turnovers by the Norse while commanding the floor with 52 percent shooting through the game and 40 percent from three-point range. The Norse led in offensive rebounds with 13 to Loras' nine but 12 three-pointers for the Duhawks to Luther's two in the game proved significant in the victory.

The Duhawks return to the Lillis Athletic & Wellness Center on Saturday, Feb. 12 to take on Nebraska Wesleyan University. Tip-off is set for 2 P.M.