CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - The University of Dubuque women's basketball opened 2022 with a tough conference road win after hanging on to a 60-59 victory at Coe College. A balanced game with six lead changes and 11 ties on Wednesday night, showcased a Spartans squad missing their leading scorer and securing a slim one point win for coach Justin Smith.

The Spartans were led in scoring by starter Kathleen Mathias with 11 points and Maddie Monge who came off the bench to score 11 points. Starters Miah Smith and Karsen Kershner added 10 points each. Kershner led in rebounding with nine boards and four blocks and Mathias finished the night with seven steals.

The Spartans held the edge in rebounding 33-30 and sank 22-49 shot attempts from the field (44.9%). Defensively the Spartans forced the host Kohawks into 15 turnovers and converted those mistakes into 20 points. UD scored 30 points in the paint, 14 second chance points, and 16 points in fast break transitions.

UD will travel to Eureka, Ill. on Friday Jan. 7 in a re-secheduled contest with tip-off planned for 6 p.m. The Spartans return home for a battle with across town rival the Loras College Duhawks on Jan. 12 at 5:30 p.m.