Duhawks wear down Beloit

Loras 76 Beloit 50

The Loras College women’s basketball team moved their record up to 2-2 with a convincing road win over the Beloit Buccaneers, 76-50.

Sarah Pillon led Loras with 13 points, shooting 3-of-5 from behind the arc, and also added four rebounds and three assists for the Duhawks. Alex Hudson and Lindsey LaBadie joined Pillon in double figures for the visitors. Nine players played at least 15 minutes in the win, including LaBadie, Katie Wheeler, Niki Rivera, and Brit Kent off the bench.

The Duhawks made six three-pointers in the first half to help them to their 38-25 halftime lead. The second half score was identical, but included five fewer field goals and all 14 of Loras’ made free throws. Beloit committed more than twice as many turnovers on the night, 32, than Loras did (15). Ten different players recorded steals for Loras. The Duhawks added 37 points off turnovers and received contributions from their bench in the form of 35 additional points.

The win has Loras back at .500 heading into Thanksgiving. The Duhawks will take the court again on Saturday in Chicago when they take on North Park University at 2:00 pm. They follow with Iowa Conference action on December 2 at the University of Dubuque.

First Four Minutes Hurt Chances of Upset

Loras 75, Whitewater 89

The Loras College women’s basketball team dropped the 2009-10 season opener to the UW-Whitewater Warhawks on Tuesday night in the AWC, 89-75. The Duhawks shot a respectable 46.2% from the field, but the visitors countered with a midseason-looking 51.5% of their own – and it certainly didn’t help that the Warhawks opened the game on a 20-2 run.

Once the Duhawks settled into their offensive sets and rebounded the ball better, they were able to cut into the Whitewater lead in spurts. The halftime lead was 16 points and, in then end, the final difference was 14 in favor of the visitors from Wisconsin.

The Duhawks were led in the scoring column by junior Sarah Pillon who scored 15 points on 4-of-9 shooting (including 3-of-5 from behind the arc). Pillon added five rebounds and two assists in her 19 minutes. Senior guard Lindsay Bava added 12 points on 4-of-10 shooting.

Among the newcomers to pitch in for Loras was Katie Wheeler, who tallied 14 points, three rebounds, and three assists in her Duhawks debut off the bench. Other first year players chipping in included starter Melissa Herrmann, Niki Rivera, Brittney Cato, Brit Kent, and Lindsey LaBadie. The fresh faces combined to score 27 points, grab 12 rebounds, and hand out seven assists.

D3hoops.com #8-ranked UW-Whitewater used the 1-2 punch of Nicole Bundy and Dana Thompson to score 54 of their 89 points. Bundy shot an impressive 6-for-8 from behind the arc and Thompson was 10-of-14 from the free throw line to help boost her total. No other Warhawk was in double figures.

Whitewater also pressured the Duhawks into 13 first half (and 27 total) turnovers, often extending their defense into a full court press after made baskets. The Duhawks countered with a press of their own as they tried to get back in the game on the scoreboard and did benefit from 21 turnovers by the visitors.
Loras heads to Lake Forest College north of Chicago for this weekend’s Tip Off Tournament hosted by the Foresters. The Duhawks will play Concordia-Wisconsin at 6:00 PM on Friday night. The Duhawks return home to the AWC on December 5 for a 2:00 PM tip with the Buena Vista Beavers.

IIAC Preseason Coaches Poll Released

Duhawks Picked 2nd in League behind defending champion Simpson

IIAC Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Poll follows.
Rank School (1st place votes) Points 2008-09 Record
1 Simpson (6) 68 (24-4, 14-2 IIAC)
2 Loras (1) 58 (16-11, 10-6 IIAC)
3 Buena Vista (1) 55 (18-9, 10-6 IIAC)
Wartburg (1) 55 (16-11, 10-6 IIAC)
5 Luther 45 (10-15, 9-7 IIAC)
Coe 45 (14-12, 8-8 IIAC)
7 Dubuque 29 (9-16, 5-11 IIAC)
8 Central 21 (8-17, 4-12 IIAC)
9 Cornell 19 (7-17, 2-14 IIAC)

Loras returns four starters and eight letterwinners from last season’s 16-11 team that finished tied for 2nd in the conference with a 10-6 record. The Duhawks return four of their top five scorers from last season, including senior shooting guard Lindsay Bava, a two-time First Team All-Conference honoree. Bava ranked second in the
league in scoring with an 18.9 point per game average while also contributing 4.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. One of the league’s more accurate shooters, she ranked second in the IIAC in free-throw percentage (88.6 percent) and ranked eighth in 3-point field-goal percentage (39.9 percent). Senior point guard
Lisa Morrissey averaged 8.2 points, 6.1 assists, and 2.96 steals, leading the IIAC in the latter two categories. Junior small forward Sarah Pillon ranked second on the team in scoring (13.5 ppg) while also contributing 3.3 rebounds per game. She also ranked second on the team with 55 assists.