DECORAH, Iowa - The No. 5 seed University of Dubuque women's basketball team had their season end on Tuesday night in the first round of the A-R-C Tournament to the No. 4 seed Luther College Norse by a final score of 69-53. 

The Spartans started off the game with their biggest lead of the night at 7-2. The Norse would quickly erase that lead with an 11-1 run, holding the Spartans without a made field goal for a 5:36 stretch. Even without scoring a basket for more than half the quarter, the Spartans only trailed by a point late into the first before the Norse went up by three to end the first quarter. The Norse would lead by as many as eight points in the second quarter, but three made free throws in the final minute by the Spartans cut the deficit to 29-24 at the half. 

Opening up the second half the Spartans were able to cut the deficit to four points on numerous occasions, but could not get any closer before the Norse scored twice in the final 30 seconds to increase their lead to 43-34 through three quarters. The Norse would open the fourth on a 16-8 run through the first six minutes and notch their biggest lead of the night at 59-42 before defeating the Spartans by a final of 69-53, ending the Spartans season.

Samantha McDonald had her third highest scoring game of the season tonight, finishing with 19 points on 7-11 shooting from the field and 5-8 at the free throw line. McDonald was also active on the defensive end, recording two steals and two blocked shots. 

Finishing their careers with the Spartans, Madi Petersen scored nine points and grabbed four rebounds, while Isabella Tierney had eight points and seven rebounds. Morgan Hawkins and Abigail Bailey both scored in their final games. 

The Spartans end the 2024-25 campaign with a 10-16 overall record.