DECORAH, Iowa— Holding the Norse of Luther to six first quarter points, the No. 19/23 Wartburg Knights women's basketball program rolled to a 73-45 victory on the road.
 
Hannah Anderson hit a pair of three-pointers in the opening two minutes of the game as the Knights jumped out to a 10-2 lead. Maggie Wilkins, Brea Dillavou, and Macy Harris all found the bottom of the basket as the Knights defense held the Norse scoreless for six minutes.
 
Sara Faber had the first basket of the second quarter, extending the Knights lead to 18 at 24-6 as the offense was clicking early. Jaedon Murphy answered the Norse three-pointer late in the first half as Harris answered with back-to-back layups for a 22-point lead. Holding the Norse to a single free throw in the final minute of the half, the Knights took a 38-17 lead at the break.
 
Quick fouls on the Norse in the third quarter saw Murphy drain a set of free throws (2-of-4 from FT). The Norse hit back-to-back three-pointers before Britney Young caught a pass from Faber for a three-pointer of her own. Young answered with a three-pointer moments later, starting the Knights on an 11-0 run to end the third quarter.
 
With cruise control on, the Knights saw their lead grow to 29 on a pair of made free throws from Harris. Over three minutes late in the fourth quarter, the Knights went on an 11-4 run with Natalie Bearbower making six free throws for a 32-point lead.

With the win, the Knights improve to 15-4 on the season and 8-3 in American Rivers Conference play. The Norse fall to 7-12 on the season and 4-6 in American Rivers play.  
 
Checking out the Numbers
 
From the field, the Knights shot at 46 percent, making eight three-pointers in the contest. The Knights went 17-of-23 from the free throw line (74 percent), including making all eight attempts in the fourth and final quarter.
 
The Knights recorded 32 rebounds, 13 assists, and ten steals in the contest.
 
Murphy and Harris led the way in scoring, recording 12 points each. Wilkins joined in on the double-digit scoring action, recording 11 points (4-of-7 FG). Dillavou led the Knights in the rebounding category, tallying seven boards.
 
Knights in the Poll
 
After dropping back-to-back overtime games, the Knights fell to the No. 19 spot in the D3hoops.com poll.
 
The Knights remained inside the top-25 in the Women's Basketball Coaches Associations (WBCA) poll, falling to No. 23.
 
Next Time on the Court
 
The Knights continue their road swing, traveling to Nebraska Wesleyan on February 5. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. in Lincoln, Nebraska.


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