CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – After an eventful snowstorm yesterday, the University of Dubuque women's basketball team traveled to Coe College to take on the Kohawks. The Spartans trailed by two points at the half, but a late fourth quarter run by the Kohawks was the difference as the Spartans lost a close battle 72-78.

The Spartans and Kohawks went back and forth in the opening quarter as neither team was able to build their lead by more than three points. After a Megan Teal jumper with 24 seconds left in the first quarter the Spartans held a 17-16 lead. With 6:04 remaining in the second quarter the Spartans and Kohawks were knotted at 26 with 6:04 remaining before halftime. The Kohawks would them go on an 8-0 run over the next two minutes to take a 26-34 lead. The Spartans were able to hold the Kohawks to only two points in the final four minutes of the quarter and got to within 32-36 at the break.

The Spartans came out in the second half on a mission going on a 12-2 run to open the third quarter building their lead to six at 44-38 with 5:50 left in the third quarter. The Kohawks would battle back and score in the final seconds to head to the fourth all tied up at 54-54. The Kohawks would score 22 points in the fourth quarter as they finished the game on a 22-14. The Spartans had a brief 62-61 lead in the fourth, but after a Kohawk three pointer shortly after the Kohawks never relinquished the lead.

Tabria Thomas and Teal led the Spartans in scoring tonight with 17 points each. Teal was 7-10 from the floor including two three pointers to lead the team. Morgan Hawkins finished in double-figures with 13 including a team-high six rebounds.

The Spartans shot 47.4% from the field, but Coe was able to shoot just over 50% from the field. The Spartans were 13-16 (81.3% from the charity stripe. A key factor in tonight's game was points off turnovers as the Spartans lost the battle 11-27. The Spartans did give themselves extra chances tonight getting 16 second chance points compared to only eight for the Kohawks.

The Spartans move to 9-6 overall and 3-3 in conference play.

Up Next
The Spartans will travel to Pella, Iowa on Saturday to face the Dutch of Central College at 2:00 p.m.