PELLA, Iowa (Jan. 7, 2023) – Bouncing back after its first conference loss of the season, 19^th-ranked Loras College women's basketball took care of business and got back in the win column with a 69-55 victory at Central College on Saturday afternoon.

The Duhawks (11-3, 4-1 A-R-C) jumped ahead early and never trailed as they dispatched the Dutch (3-11, 0-5 A-R-C), who will still be searching for their first American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) win of the year despite hanging with the Duhawks for much of the afternoon.

Loras couldn't have asked for a much better start as it began the game on a 10-0 run to create some separation right from the jump. Despite the quick start, the Duhawks finished the opening quarter with just a 16-8 lead as neither team scored in close to two full minutes to close the period.

The Duhawks led by as many as 12 in the second quarter but couldn't quite pull away as a fastbreak layup from sophomore guard Daniella Jarrell with 15 seconds to play sent Loras into halftime with an 11-point lead at 32-21.

The Dutch controlled the pace in the early going of the third quarter as the lead shrunk to as little as four with six minutes to play in the period. The Dutch connected on eight field goals and scored 25 points in the third quarter, the most of either team in a single quarter all game.

Despite that offensive outburst from the home team, Loras was not far behind with 22 points in the frame as it headed to the fourth with an eight-point advantage.

After allowing 25 points in the third, Loras held Central to just nine points in the fourth quarter. Four of those points came on back-to-back lay ins by Central's Allison Van Gorp with just over three minutes to play as the Dutch again cut the lead down to just five points.

Junior guard Sami Martin scored on the next possession before the Duhawks called a timeout. That reset started a 12-0 run for the Duhawks that boosted the lead up to 16 points with under 30 seconds to play as they finally managed to pull away from the Dutch in a 14-point victory.

Martin tallied an 18-point, 12-rebound double-double to help lead the Duhawks on Saturday. Senior guard Madison Fleckenstein led all scorers with 21 points on a 10-for-17 shooting performance from the field. She added eight rebounds and three steals to her final line.

Jarrell made the first start of her career and finished with 12 points, matching the career-high that she set in her season debut on Dec. 10. The sophomore was 5-for-7 from the field with one three-pointer, the first of her career.

Loras was just 3-for-20 from three-point range in the game with two of the makes coming in the early 10-0 run. Despite those numbers from deep, the Duhawks shot 42.5 percent (31-for-73) from the field as they outscored the Dutch 52-16 in the paint and 18-5 in the fast break.

The Duhawks return home on Wednesday, Jan. 11 for a crosstown rivalry with the University of Dubuque. Game time at Lillis Court is set for 5:30 P.M.