Duhawks Complete Season Sweep of Rams

Balance, depth lead Loras in IIAC win
Loras 70
Cornell 51

Much of the same story…different tune as the Duhawks turned up the defense a bit in a win at Cornell on Saturday. After surrendering a season low in terms of field goal percentage in the first half (27%), Loras got out of the gates quickly to a 17 point halftime lead and never looked back. Sarah Pillon led the very efficient Duhawk attack with a 13 point 11 rebound performance. Lindsay Bava and Alex Hudson followed Pillon with 12 and 10 respectively. In all, 12 Duhawks entered the scoring column as Loras saw its 2nd half lead grow to 24 with just under five minutes to play.

Loras controlled the glass for the most the evening including a 23-12 margin in the second half. The one-two punch of Melissa Herrman and Brit Kent worked the paint adding a combined 15 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 blocks to the mix. Loras led all 80 minutes of the two games this year against Cornell and will have a week to prepare for a showdown against Simpson on Saturday in the AWC.

Morrissey turns in career night in blowout of Dutch

Loras 98
Central 72

The Loras College women’s basketball team returned to the win column on Thursday with a convincing 98-72 win over the Central College Dutch in the AWC. The total was a season high for the Duhawks, and marked the third time they’ve been in the 90+ points range.

The senior back court of Lisa Morrissey and Lindsay Bava combined to score 44 of the 98 points. Morrissey scored a career high 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including 4-of-6 from long distance and 2-of-2 from the free throw line. The Urbandale, Iowa native also added five assists and three rebounds, and four steals. Bava was 7-of-9 from the field, 3-of-4 from long range, and 3-of-3 from the free throw line.

The points poured in by Bava and Morrissey overshadowed other stellar nights by three Duhawks who reached double figures. Brit Kent scored 15 off the bench, Katie Wheeler added 10, and Sarah Pillon finished with 13. Melissa Herrmann also pulled down a career high 11 rebounds in the win and blocked three shots.

Loras made 46% of their field goals on the night and 11-of-26 three point field goals. A school record six different players made threes for the Duhawks and Loras never trailed after the 8:30 mark of the first half and used a 20-4 run midway through the second frame to put the game out of reach. Loras was credited for a season high 21 assists and tallied 33 points off the bench in the “w”.

The win by the Duhawks pushed them back above .500 at 9-8 and even at 4-4 in the Iowa Conference. On Saturday, Loras will play the now rare night game against the Cornell Rams in Mount Vernon. Tipoff is at 6:00 pm and can be heard on the Duhawk Broadcast Network.

Duhawks control tempo, Rams in 73-58 win

Duhawks hand out 20 assists in IIAC battle
Loras 73
Cornell 58

The Loras College women’s basketball team returned to the Athletic and Wellness Center on Saturday afternoon and won their third IIAC game of the season by downing the Cornell Rams 73-58. Loras was led by Lindsay Bava and Lisa Morrissey, who tied for the team high with 15 points. On Saturday, Morrissey was the senior who proved most dangerous from behind the arc, nailing each of the three three point field goals she took. She was 5-of-6 from the floor on the day. Bava made six field goals and three free throws, on her way to 15 points.

Cornell benefited from 23 points by freshmen Camille Marie-Lidd, but no other Rams scored more than eight points in the loss. The Duhawks controlled the rebounding battle and overcame 23 turnovers to claim the win. The were able to capitalize on Cornell miscues to the tune of 26 points and doubled the Rams in points in the paint. Melissa Herrmann posted five blocked shots for the second time this season, and added seven points, six rebounds, and two assists to her stat line.

Loras executed on the offensive end all night, shooting 50% from the field and 42% from long distance.

The Duhawks will play 10-6, 5-2 Coe on Monday night in Cedar Rapids.

Duhawks Among Nation’s Best

Out of 424 eligible Division III institutions, the Duhawks enter the new year in the top 50 in a number of categories. Enjoy!!!!

Free Throw Percentage–ranked 20th in the nation–75.4%
3 point field goals per game–25th in the nation–7.1
Scoring Offense–ranked 27th in the nation–73.9 ppg
Field Goal Percentage–ranked 28th in the nation–44.1%
3 point %–ranked 36th in the nation–36.3%

Interesting to note, a glimpse at these five categories a year ago to the day.

Free Throw Percentage–ranked 4th in the nation–78.0%
3 point %–ranked 11th in the nation–38.4%
3 point field goals per game–23rd in the nation–6.9
Field Goal Percentage–ranked 29th in the nation–44.2%
Scoring Offense–ranked 59th in the nation–71.6 ppg

Duhawk Rally Falls Short

Loras 67 Elmhurst 69

The Loras women’s basketball team experienced nearly the full range of emotions Saturday before finally falling, 69-67 against Elmhurst College, in Elmhurst, Ill.
The Duhawks (6-6) found themselves down by as much as 21 points in the first half before digging themselves out of the hole.

Down, 36-15, with 2:07 left before halftime, Loras clawed back and managed to tie the game at 58-all with 6:20 left in the game. A layup from Sarah Pillon less than 3 minutes later gave the Duhawks their first lead of the game. Loras led, 67-63, with 3:13 left in the game, but Elmhurst (7-4) scored the game’s final six points, taking the lead for good on a free throw by Megan Ney.

The Duhawks shot 41.8% (23-of-55) from the floor, including 38.9% (7-of-18) from downtown. Loras outrebounded Elmhurst 34-33. Lindsay Bava and Pillon both scored 15 points for the Duhawks. Brit Kent came off the bench to add 10.

Loras returns to IIAC action at Luther College on Wednesday, tipoff is set for 6PM in Decorah, IA