LINCOLN, Neb. - The University of Dubuque women's basketball team traveled west for a mid-week conference clash against the Prairie Wolves of Nebraska Wesleyan. The Spartans only led by four at the half but a strong second half surge outscored the Prairie Wolves by 17 leading to a 57-36 victory.
The Spartans got off to a sluggish start as they missed their first five field goals, trailing 8-0 halfway through the opening quarter.
Tabria Thomas broke the six-minute scoring drought as she drained a three. At the end of the one, the Spartans trailed 13-8 while shooting at a poor clip of 27% (3-11).
Offensively, the Spartans flipped the script in the second quarter as they shot 46% (6-13) from the field.
Madi Petersen's jumper helped generate a 14-0 run as the Spartans grabbed their first lead of the game, racing out to a 24-17 advantage.
Morgan Hawkins,
Samantha McDonald,
Felicity Figlinski and
Karsen Kershner all contributed points during the run. Through two quarters of play the Spartans led 25-21.
In the opening two minutes of the third quarter the Prairie Wolves scored four straight points tying the game at 25-25. Soon after the Spartans responded with another 10-0 run extending the lead to double digits (38-27). Thomas led the charge with eight of her 14 points in the third as the Spartans led 43-31 entering the fourth quarter.
Freshman,
Samantha McDonald gave the Spartans a boost scoring six of the team's 14 points in the final quater of play. On defense, the Spartans harassed the Prairie Wolves limiting them to just five points shooting 2-15 from the field. Down the stretch Spartans were a perfect 8-8 from the free throw as they closed the game out with a 57-36 win.
Thomas led all scorers with 14 points followed by McDonald with 12, and Figlinski with nine. The Spartans were balanced on the glass as
Megan Teal, Kershner, Petersen, and Thomas all had six rebounds. The Spartans forced 24 turnovers which resulted in 20 points. From the charity stripe the Spartans shot 75% (18-24).
The Spartans are now 12-7 overall and 6-4 in conference play.
Up Next
The Spartans will have the weekend off before returning to conference play as they host Luther next Wednesday night on January 31st. The game is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m.
