WAVERLY, Iowa - The fourth ranked Wartburg women's basketball team will compete in its final regular season contest on Wednesday, March 3 when they host Loras College inside Levick Arena at 5:30 p.m. The Knights have come away victorious in 11 of the past 12 games against the Duhawks dating back to 2016. 

Wednesday, March 3 - 5:30 p.m. - Waverly, Iowa - Levick Arena
Wartburg Knights (12-2, 5-2 A-R-C) vs. Loras College (5-5, 3-4 A-R-C)

Series Record: Wartburg leads 56-26
Last Five Meetings: 
Feb. 29, 2020 -- W, 67-54 (Waverly)
Feb. 19, 2020 -- W(OT), 79-76 (Dubuque) 
Jan. 11, 2020 -- L, 78-82 (Waverly)
Jan. 23, 2019 -- W, 68-49 (Waverly)
Dec. 5, 2018 -- W, 76-64 (Dubuque)

Attendance Policy
Two people per each participant (student-athlete/coach/staff member) will be permitted to attend basketball, volleyball, and wrestling home events inside Levick Arena. Seating for spectators will take place in the west bleachers across from the team benches. 
 
SPECTATORS WILL BE REQUIRED TO FOLLOW CAMPUS MASKING AND SOCIAL DISTANCING GUIDELINES. LEARN MORE HERE.

Season Notes
The fourth ranked Knights had their five-game winning streak snapped on Monday, March 1 when they lost in double overtime to Simpson College. Wartburg currently sits in two-way tie for second place in the A-R-C with Coe College while No. 10 Simpson is alone in first. The Orange & Black are 8-1 inside Levick Arena and 4-1 on the road. 

Wartburg is the second-ranked offense in the conference as they average 77.1 points per game and have a conference best 26 scoring margin. The Knights are shooting 42.2% from the floor, 29.3% from long range and 69.3% from the charity stripe. They are also out rebounding their opponents by 11.9 boards and have an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.13, which ranks first in the A-R-C. 

The defense for the Orange & Black is the best in the conference, allowing just 51.1 points per contest. Opponents are shooting 32.7% from the field, 26.9% from beyond the arc and 71.5% from the free-throw line. 

Senior forward Payton Draper leads the program in scoring with 13.5 points while fellow senior forward Kaitlyn Volesky paces the team in rebounds with 6.2. Freshman forward Jaedon Murphy is also averaging double figures in scoring with 11.7. Freshman Britney Young and senior guard Ally Conrad both have posted a team-high 2.9 assists per contest. Conrad also paces the team on the defensive side of the court with 2.4 steals and senior forward Bailey Naig ranks tied for sixth in the conference in blocks with .9 per game. 

Last Time Out
No. 4 Wartburg were upended for the first time in Levick Arena when No. 10 Simpson College came away with an 81-80 victory in double overtime to remain perfect on the season. Freshman forward Murphy led all scorers with 23 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field and 5-of-11 from long range.

The Knights were down as much as 19 points in the first period but battled their way back and held a three-point advantage at halftime. Much of the second half was back-and-forth and the Orange & Black had an opportunity to win the game at the free-throw line but failed to convert. Simpson went down on the other end and knocked down a pair of foul shots to send the game to overtime. 

The contest continued to sway back-and-forth during the first overtime when both teams shot above 55% from the field. The Waverly native Draper hit one of two free-throws to tie the game with two seconds remaining and Simpson's Cameron Kincaid missed her buzzer-beater attempt to win the game. 

The second overtime was neck-and-neck as each team battled for the number one seed in the upcoming American Rivers Conference tournament. The Knights saw themselves up by two with around seven seconds left. However, Regan Freeland found herself open beyond the arc and drained a three-pointer to put the Storm up one with just seconds remaining. The Knights were unable to hit the buzzer beater and suffered their second loss of the campaign. 

Loras College
The Duhawks come into the contest with an overall record of 5-5 and a conference ledger of 3-4, which is good for sixth place in the A-R-C.  

Loras is averaging 72.7 points per game, which ranks fourth in the conference and have a scoring margin of 2.7. They are shooting 39.7% from the field, 33.8% from 3-point land and 67.8% from the foul line. The Duhawks are being out rebounded their opponents by .7 boards per game and have an assist-to-turnover ratio of .6. 

Freshman forward Sami Martin has tallied a team-best 14.7 points per contest, which ranks sixth in the A-R-C. Sophomore guard Cierra Bachmann is also averaging double figures in scoring with 14, which is good for seventh in the conference. The Platteville, Wis. native Martin paces Loras in rebounding with 6.7 and ranks tied for seventh in the conference. Bachmann places fifth in the A-R-C with 3.3 assists per game. 

Defensively, freshman Megan Murray has recorded a team-high 2.8 steals. Opponents are scoring an average of 70 points against the Duhawks and are shooting 47.3% from the field and 27.3% from long range.