DUBUQUE, Iowa – The Loras College women's basketball team scored an 85-67 victory in the Holiday Classic opener against Saint Mary's College (Ind.) on Lillis Court Friday afternoon.

After some back-and-forth play in the first seven minutes of the contest, the Duhawks broke a 14-14 tie with a 9-5 run to close out the first quarter and hold a four-point lead over the Belles. The narrative remained the same in the second period with the score being tied up again at 28 apiece, before Loras (9-2 overall, 2-1 A-R-C) went on a 15-3 run to increase their lead to 12 heading to the half.

The Purple and Gold outscored Saint Mary's (3-8 overall, 0-3 MIAA) 42-36 in the second half to secure their ninth win so far this season and their fourth in front of a home crowd.

Sami Martin led the way for the Duhawks with 19 points and six rebounds. The Platteville, Wis. native shot 6-of-12 from the floor and 7-of-8 from the charity stripe in route to her seventh double-digit scoring game of her senior campaign. Claire Wagner finished with a career-high 14 points, shooting 7-of-9 from the field, while also grabbing eight rebounds. Lexi Beier added in 11 points in 21 minutes of action, while Madison Haslow contributed eight points and pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds in the win. As a team, Loras shot 42.3 percent (33-of-78) from the floor and 29.7 percent (11-of-37) from downtown.

The Belles were led by Elle Deardorff who totaled 14 points. Julia Schutz followed closely behind with 11 points and eight rebounds, while Nicole Connolly chipped in 10 points in the loss.

Up Next: The Duhawks take on the Vikings of Bethany Lutheran College tomorrow afternoon inside the Lillis Athletic and Wellness Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.