WAVERLY, Iowa-- The No. 2/2 Wartburg women's basketball team (27-0 overall) won the Iowa Conference Tournament Championship, 86-74, over Luther (19-10) Saturday to clinch the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament next week. This was the third time in four years the two programs had met in the title game.

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With the victory, the Knights set the program record in wins and senior Katie Sommer (Cedar Rapids) broke her own single season record in assists with 163 to date. The old mark was 156, which she set last season.



Sommer led all scorers with 23 points as she tied her career mark with six three-point field goals. She also had a double-double with a career-high 10 assists.

Classmate Morgan Neuendorf (Plainfield) joined her in double digits with 22, which set a new career-best.

Sophomore Emma Gerdes (Cedar Falls) rounded out the leading scorers with 11 points, 10 of which were in the second-half alone.

Senior Miranda Murphy (Alleman) led the team with seven rebounds.

The Norse led 23-19 after the first quarter. The Orange and Black used a 5-2 run at the end of the second to knot it at 41 all heading into halftime.

The lead changed hands six times in the first five minutes of the third quarter. Wartburg then compiled a 13-0 run over the next three minutes to regain the lead for good at 67-53. Luther made it an eight-point game with 3:41 remaining, but the Knights quickly answered with a 5-0 run to seal the win.

The Orange and Black will learn their opponent and game location during the NCAA selection show Monday afternoon. This is the third-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament for the program.