DUBUQUE, Iowa (Feb. 15, 2023) – No. 24 Loras College women's basketball will admit that it didn't play up to its standards in Wednesday night's rivalry game at the University of Dubuque, but the Duhawks did enough down the stretch to overpower and run away from the Spartans in a 62-45 win.

The Duhawks (20-4, 13-2 A-R-C) won their seventh consecutive game and completed the season sweep of the Spartans (13-11, 7-8 A-R-C) Wednesday, which officially locked them in as the No. 2 seed in the upcoming American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) Tournament after Wartburg College secured the league title with a win of its own on Wednesday.

Loras was not on its game in the early going and struggled with the Dubuque defense on multiple occasions throughout the game. The score was tied 12-12 at the end of the first quarter after the Duhawks coughed up eight turnovers in the opening frame.

After scoring the first Loras field goal, junior guard Sami Martin went scoreless for the remainder of the first quarter, but that only slowed her down a little bit as she went on to lead all scorers and notched her first career 30-point game.

Martin scored 20 of her 30 points in the second half, using her signature turnaround jumper in the post to shoot 12-for-17 from the field. She also grabbed nine rebounds with four of those coming on the offensive glass.

The Duhawks outscored the Spartans 19-8 in the second quarter to create some separation. Loras' lead even grew to as many as 16 in the third quarter, but a few too many miscues allowed the Spartans to hang around as they entered the fourth. An 11-2 run to start the final frame gave the Duhawks a 21-point lead and the breathing room they needed to finish off the Spartans.

After the eight early turnovers, the Duhawks cleaned it up and committed just eight more total for the rest of the game.

Senior guard Cierra Bachmann was the only other Duhawk in double figures as finished with 11 points. She also led the Duhawks with three steals and grabbed six rebounds.

Only six Loras players out of the 12 that entered the game tallied points as sophomore guard Silvana Scarsella came off the bench to score seven points. She was one of three Duhawks to make exactly one three-pointer, along with Bachmann and sophomore guard Daniella Jarrell.

Loras concludes the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 18, when it hosts No. 20 Wartburg at 2 P.M. The matchup comes exactly one month after a 63-51 win for the Knights in Waverly, Iowa, which marks the last time the Duhawks have lost this season.