DUBUQUE, Iowa – The University of Dubuque women's basketball team came up just short in their American Rivers Conference opener, falling to the Central Dutch, 72-71.

The Spartans got off to a hot start on Saturday afternoon, racing out to an 8-3 lead through the opening four minutes of action and a Tabria Thomas lay-up and one at the end of the first quarter gave the Spartans a 14-11 advantage through one quarter of play.

Both offenses picked up steam in the second quarter with both teams shooting over 60% from the field. Despite the Spartans shooting 52% in the first half compared to the Dutch's 44%, it was Central's shooting from behind the three-point line that sent the Dutch into halftime up 34-31, as they hit seven first half three pointers, while UD did not hit one.

The Dutch quickly built up a seven-point lead in the first 90 seconds of the third quarter but a Morgan Meerstein three pointer began a 9-0 run over a two-minute span for the Spartans to take a two-point lead. From that point on, there were nine lead changes and three ties over the final six minutes of the third quarter. Vanessa Eniola provided a spark off the bench for the Spartans, scoring nine points in the quarter after not playing in the first half.

The back and forth battle continued into the fourth quarter, as the first five baskets of the quarter resulted in lead changes. With 1:49 remaining the game was all square at 66, Central's Payton Rogers sank one of two free throws to put the Dutch ahead by one point. The Spartans had their chances over the final minute to tie or take the lead as the Dutch split on their free throw attempts, but the Spartans could not get a shot to drop until it was a four-point game at the buzzer when Morgan Meerstein drained a three, making it a 72-71 final in favor of the Dutch.
The Spartans would outshoot the Dutch on Saturday afternoon from the field (50% to 44.6%) and forced Central into 30 turnovers, however the Dutch 10 three-pointers to UD's five proved to be the difference.  

UD had five players reach double figures in the scoring column, led by Tabria Thomas with 16. Three other starters in Ali Bailey, Morgan Meerstein and Miah Smith scored 14, 12 and 11 points, respectively, while Vanessa Eniola came off the bench for 11 second half points.

To go along with forcing Central into 30 turnovers, the Spartans also controlled the paint, outscoring the Dutch 44-28 in the paint.

Up next, the Spartans will travel to Coe College on Wednesday, Jan. 27^th for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off.