DECORAH, Iowa – The Luther College women's basketball team suffered its first loss in American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) play. While the Norse had an upset on their minds Wednesday evening, (RV) Wartburg College proved to be too much to handle offensively, as Luther fell by a final score of 73-52. With the loss, the Norse record now stands at 5-2 and they are 1-1 in A-R-C play.
BY THE NUMBERS
It took almost two full minutes for either team to score in the opening quarter, but once the Knights got going, they were hard to start. Wartburg outscored Luther 22-11 in the first 10 minutes of play and held a 22-8 lead in the dwindling seconds. Lizzie Kauls (North Oaks, Minn. / Mounds View) seemingly brought the Norse back into the game, draining a near half court shot to cut the deficit to 22-11. However, Luther struggled to gain traction in the second, as the Knights stingy defense allowed just seven Norse points in the second quarter, allowing the visitors to hold a 41-18 lead at the half.
The third quarter proved to be Luther's best of the night, as the Norse shot .500 from the floor, including a 4-8 clip from three-point range. In fact, Luther scored 23 points on Wartburg's defense in the third, but for as good as the Norse were, the Knights were better, as the visitors extended their lead to 64-41 after three quarters of play. While Luther fought to make up the 31 point deficit in the fourth, it was simply too much to overcome, as the Norse fell in a hard fought battle 73-52.
TOP NORSE
- Jordan Rubie (Winona, Minn. / Cotter) led the team in scoring Wednesday evening, scoring 17 points on 6-11 shooting, including a 3-4 clip from beyond the arc.
- Lizzie Kauls (North Oaks, Minn. / Mounds View) added nine points and a team-leading 10 rebounds in the loss.
UP NEXT
Luther will return to action this weekend, as the Norse embark on their longest A-R-C road trip of the 2022-23 season. Luther will square off with Nebraska-Wesleyan at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 2.
