DUBUQUE, Iowa – The Loras College women's basketball team extended its win streak to eight with a 78-62 win over Central College on Saturday afternoon inside the Lillis Athletic and Wellness Center.

The Duhawks broke a 4-4 tie with 4:45 left in the opening quarter with a 14-3 run to lead 18-7 at the conclusion of the first period.

A three-pointer by Madison Haslow gave the Purple and Gold their largest advantage of the first half (43-23), however back-to-back threes from the Dutch cut the Duhawk lead to 14 with 38 seconds remaining in the second period.

Loras (12-2 overall, 4-1 American Rivers Conference) headed into the locker room at the half up 44-29.

The Duhawks only outscored Central (7-7, 1-4) by one-point (34-33) in the second half, but the Dutch were unable to make up for the sharp shooting (58.0 percent, 18-of-31) Loras had in the first two quarters of play.

Abby Johnson and Allison Van Gorp led a balanced attack for the Dutch, each finishing with 14 points. Emily Naughton added in 11 points and pulled down four boards to go along with a team-high three steals. As a team, Central shot 33.9 percent (20-of-59) from the floor, including 33.3 percent (7-of-21) from downtown.

Loras was led by Silvana Scarsella who totaled 21 points, six rebounds, three assists and four steals in 31 minutes of action. Sami Martin contributed 17 points, four steals and grabbed four rebounds, while Claire Wagner shot 6-of-10 from the floor to finish with 12 points. The final double-digit scorer for the Duhawks was Haslow who continued to be a threat from behind the arc. The Crystal Lake, Ill. native was perfect from deep, converting 3-of-3 attempts, while also pulling down a game-high nine rebounds. As a team, the Purple and Gold shot 50.0 percent (31-of-62) from the field, which featured 33.3 percent (6-of-18) from three.

Up Next: The Duhawks take on the Luther College Norse on Wednesday, Jan. 10 at 5:30 p.m. on Lillis Court.