DECORAH, Iowa – The Luther College women's basketball team is back to its winning ways. The Norse earned their tenth win of the season in dramatic fashion, prevailing for a 94-89 double overtime win over Central College Saturday afternoon. With the win, Luther's overall record improves to 10-6 and the team is 5-2 in American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) play.
BY THE NUMBERS
It was the Kailey Jones (Avoca, Iowa / AHSTW) show in the first half of Saturday's game, as the sophomore forward was basically unstoppable in the first 20 minutes of play. Jones scored 18 of Luther's 38 first half points, shooting 6-10 from the floor including a 4-4 clip from three point range. She was also a rebound shy of a double-double in the first half alone, tallying a team-leading nine rebounds, six on defense, in the first half.
Even with Jones, the Norse had their work cut out of them in the first half, as the Dutch jumped out to a 17-13 lead after the first quarter. Central shot .412 from the floor in the first quarter, making only seven shots thanks to Luther's stingy defense. However, the Norse struggled offensively in the opening 10 minutes of play, making just four shots total, including three from beyond the arc.
Still, Luther kept it close, as the team trailed 17-13 before outsourcing Central 25-18 in the second quarter to hold a 38-35 lead over the Dutch. The second half was where things got truly wild. Though the Norse jumped out to a five point lead in the first possession of the half, they were never totally comfortable on the floor, as Central continued to hang around deep into the third quarter. Though the Dutch never led, they did tie the game twice in the final seconds of the third quarter, knotting things up at 51-51 before tying it at 53-53 entering the final quarter.
The third quarter was a sign of things to come in the fourth, though this time it was Luther that needed to mount the dramatic comeback. A 6-2 scoring run by Central gave the visitors at 63-59 lead with 4:15 remaining in regulation. Jordan Rubie (Winona, Minn. / Winona) cut the lead to 63-62 on the very next possession before Jones made it 64-63 Norse with 3:23 to go. One minute later, Luther extended its lead to 66-63, courtesy of two free throws from Kate Hosking (Slinger, Wis. / Slinger).
It looked like Luther's lead would hold, but with one minute remaining in regulation, Central's Kelsea Hurley drained a deep three, tying the game at 66-66 and sending it to overtime. One overtime period simply wasn't enough for the Norse and Dutch, though, as Hurley again played hero in the waning seconds, as her last second shot tied the game at 82-82, sending the game into a second overtime period. This one proved to be the last, as Luther outscored Central 12-7 in the final period of play. Baskets from Jones, Lizzie Kauls (North Oaks, Minn. / Mounds View) and Rubie secured victory for the Norse, as they prevailed for a 94-89 victory over the Dutch.
TOP NORSE
- Kailey Jones (Avoca, Iowa / AHSTW) lead the team in every statistical category, scoring a career-high 32 points in the victory to go along with 21 rebounds, two assists, one block and five steals.
- Jordan Rubie (Winona, Minn. / Winona) added 19 points in the victory, while Kate Hosking (Slinger, Wis. / Slinger) scored 17.
- Lizzie Kauls (North Oaks, Minn. / Mounds View) was one rebound shy of a double-double thanks to her 12 points and nine rebounds.
UP NEXT
Luther will return to action on Wednesday, as the team travels to Dubuque, Iowa for another American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) contest. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at the University of Dubuque.
