DUBUQUE, Iowa – The Loras College women's basketball team started off its 2023-24 campaign with a 79-64 victory over Edgewood College in their first game of the Mike Molstead Motors Tip Off Classic on Lillis Court on Friday night.
 
The Duhawks only trailed by one point during the first two minutes of the contest but maintained a lead the rest of the game en route to head coach Justin Busch's first career win.
 
Loras (1-0 overall) led by as many as 11 in the opening quarter, but the Eagles cut the deficit to just three points, closing out the first period with a 9-1 run.
 
The Purple and Gold held a six-point lead at the half and went on to outscore Edgewood (0-1) 41-32 in the second half to earn their spot in the championship game tomorrow afternoon.

The Eagles were led by Vivian Guerrero who posted a double-double, which featured 23 points and 15 rebounds. Kenzie Senffner and Kallie Norby followed closely behind, adding 11 and 10 points, respectively. As a team, Edgewood shot 43.6 percent (24-of-55) from the field and 50 percent (5-of-10) from behind the arc.
 
Madison Fleckenstein paced the Loras offense with 19 points. Emerson Whittenbaugh contributed 14 points, 12 of which came from three-pointers, while Madison Haslow rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 points. Sami Martin finished one point shy of a double-double, ending the night with nine points and 10 rebounds. The Duhawks shot 43.9 percent (29-of-66) from the field and 39.3 percent (11-of-28) from downtown.
 
Up Next: Loras takes on the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Eagles at 2:30 p.m. inside the Lillis Athletic and Wellness Center.