WAVERLY, Iowa – No. 8/14 women's basketball opened American Rivers Conference play with a gritty 71-59 win at home over Luther College on Tuesday, Nov. 21. The Knights move to 4-0 overall and are now 1-0 in A-R-C play.
Game Summary
- First Half
- First Quarter
- After two scoreless minutes, Sara Faber broke the tie with a layup and the foul and then added a three pointer to make the score 5-0 early
- A Grace Hennessy three ball put the lead at 9-2 for Wartburg with just under six minutes remaining
- The lead grew to 17-5 after four straight points from Britney Young
- Wartburg closed the quarter with a three pointer from Faber to make the score 25-14
- Second Quarter
- Jaedon Murphy scored the first four Wartburg points of the second quarter before Faber added another layup to make the score 31-16
- Luther strung together an 11-0 run to put the Norse within four points with 3:30 left in the half
- Lauren Golinghorst found Lauren Woeste for a layup to stop the run and then neither team scored until free throws from Murphy with under a minute in the half that made the score 35-27
- Knights took a 35-27 lead into halftime
- Second Half
- Third Quarter
- Luther cut the lead to five after a three pointer to begin the half, but a free throw from Murphy and a layup from Macy Harris put the lead back to eight
- Another Murphy layup stretched the lead to nine, but Luther kept clawing back to make it 44-39 with 3:19 remaining in the third
- Three pointers from Faber and Murphy kept the Knights in front 53-45 after three quarters
- Fourth Quarter
- Ameila Solum scored eight straight points for Luther to begin the fourth quarter and bring the Norse within one possession
- Harris made two free throws to stop the run and a Faber coast to coast layup after a steal put Wartburg back ahead by seven with 4:43 to play
- Lauren Donlea and Lauren Woeste scored layups for the Knights and Wartburg never looked back, finishing on an 11-6 run to hold on for a 71-59 win
Top Performers
- Faber
- 18 points
- Three rebounds
- Three steals
- Murphy
- 14 points
- Five steals
- Three rebounds
- Two blocks
- Young
- Seven points
- Five rebounds
- Four assists
Notes/Streaks
- Wartburg is now 55-40 all-time against Luther
- Have won last 11 matchups
- With the win, Bob Amsberry has become the all-time winningest head coach in Wartburg women's basketball history
- Season-high 18 points for Faber
- Woeste led the Knights in rebounding with seven
- Five steals marks a career-best for Murphy
Next Time Out
The Knights are back in action on Saturday, Nov. 25 at home against the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire at 5 p.m.
