DECORAH, Iowa (Jan. 4, 2023) – Having a target on your back is never easy, and the 19^th-ranked Loras College women's basketball team found that out the hard way on Wednesday night as the Duhawks suffered their first conference loss of the season in a 68-62 defeat at Luther College.

The Duhawks (10-3, 3-1 A-R-C) entered Wednesday night's game on a five-game winning streak and with a 3-0 record in the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) but were unable to fend off a Norse (9-5, 4-1 A-R-C) squad that had lost three of its last five games. Wednesday's game marked the first game the Duhawks played as a ranked team after slotting in at No. 19 in the D3hoops.com poll earlier in the day.

Loras had shot the ball at an exceptional clip during its recent string of success, but finished just 31.7 percent from the field against Luther, marking the second-lowest output of the season. The only lower total, a 31.1 percent tally, came in a 45-41 win at Simpson College on Nov. 22.

Those low shooting totals were hindered by missed shots from inside the arc, as the team was just 11-for-35 on two-point field goal attempts. As a result, Luther outscored Loras in the paint 34-20 despite the Duhawks holding a 34-9 advantage in points off turnovers.

Loras found itself in unfamiliar territory as it trailed for almost the entire first half. Starting with a layup from senior guard Cierra Bachmann with 3:45 left, the Duhawks tallied an 11-0 scoring run to take a 39-38 lead with just over a minute left to play. After trading buckets, a driving layup from Bachmann beat the halftime buzzer to knot things up at 41-41.

After totaling a mere eight points in the third quarter, the Duhawks found themselves down 60-51 early in the fourth quarter. Late three-pointers from senior guard Madison Haslow and sophomore forward Emerson Whittenbaugh brought the Duhawks to within two with just around two minutes to play, but Whittenbaugh's three proved to be the last points for the Duhawks as the comeback came up just a couple possessions short.

Junior guard Sami Martin, the reigning A-R-C Player of the Week, led all scorers with 20 points and paced the Duhawks with seven rebounds. As a team, Loras was outrebounded 48-27 by the Norse, who saw both Kailey Jones and Lizzie Kauls snag double-digit boards.

Whittenbaugh connected on three of her seven three-point attempts en route to finishing with 14 points while Bachmann added 10 points and four steals to her final line.

Loras hits the road again this Saturday, Jan. 7, for a 2 P.M. game at Central College in Pella, Iowa.