The women's basketball team secured a spot in the American Rivers Conference six-team tournament tonight after defeating the Central College Dutch 68-50 in Pella. The victory was the second over the Dutch in the past five days due to rescheduling to COVID protocol earlier in the season.

The Norse never trailed and jumped out to a 12-0 lead four minutes into the first quarter. Central battled back and pulled to within three (35-33) with a little over four minutes left in the third, but it was as close as they would get to the Norse the rest of the game.

Luther did the majority of its damage from distance, connecting on 10 of 22 attempts from behind the arch. The Norse also dominated the boards 49-33.

Lizzie Kauls, who finished the night with nine points, led all rebounders with a career high 16. Kailey Jones had a double-double thanks to 10 points and 12 rebounds. Megan Miller led the Norse attack with 15 points, connecting on 3-of-4 treys. Kristen Elliott and Amelia Solum also had double digits scoring 12 and 11 points respectively.

The win gives Luther an A-R-C record of 6-9, 9-15 overall. Central fell to 4-10, 6-14.

Luther will enter its final game of the regular season at the University of Dubuque on Saturday in fifth place in the league standings. The Spartans sit alone in fourth place (8-7, 14-10). Win or lose for either team, Saturday's game will probably be a preview of the first round of the A-R-C Tournament that begins on Tuesday, Feb. 22. The first round is scheduled for the No. 4 seed hosting the No. 5 seed, and the No. 3 seed hosting the No. 6 seed.