WAVERLY, Iowa – No. 24 Wartburg women's basketball defeated Luther 75-55 on Thursday, Feb. 23 in the American Rivers Conference Tournament semifinals. The Knights move to 21-5 overall this season and advance to Saturday's home A-R-C Tournament final at 4 p.m.
Game Summary
- First Quarter
- Sara Faber scored the first two points of the game and then points became hard to come by over the next few minutes
- Luther led 7-2 after five minutes of play
- Luther's first quarter lead grew to 13-5 with 2:13 left in the first
- A three from Jaedon Murphy as well as a jumper from Faber cut the lead to 16-10
- The Knights closed the quarter with free throws from Murphy and then Britney Young beat the first quarter buzzer with a tip-in layup to make the score 16-14, Luther in front after one
- Second Quarter
- Lauren Woeste tied the game after the Knights first possesion and Wartburg would take a 22-21 lead the next possession after a Young three ball
- Luther retook the lead, but the Knights went on another run led by a three pointer from Natalie Bearbower and a three-point play from Macy Harris to put Wartburg back in front 31-27 with 3:04 left in the second
- The Knights stretched the lead to 10 in the closing minutes of the half after a basket from Murphy and Woeste
- Wartburg closed the half on a 12-0 run to take a 37-27 lead into halftime
- Third Quarter
- Murphy came out of halftime with back-to-back three pointers for Wartburg to make the score 43-31 less then two minutes into the half
- A Luther three cut the lead to seven, but the Knights answered with a three from Young and a Bearbower driving layup
- Another Murphy three pushed the Knights' lead to 56-41 with 2:07 left in the third
- Woeste scored the only points in the final two minutes and Wartburg led 58-41 after three quarters
- Fourth Quarter
- Wartburg took its largest lead early in the fourth after a Maggie Wilkins jumper and Faber three pointer put the Knights up 21
- Luther answered with a 10-2 run to cut the lead to 13 points with 4:39 left to play
- Murphy hit her fifth three of the night and the Harris followed with a steal and layup to put Wartburg back up 70-52
- Wilkins and Woeste combined to score the final five points and give the Knights a 75-55 win
Top Performers
- Murphy
- 21 points
- Five rebounds
- Three assists
- Woeste
- Harris
- 10 points
- Five rebounds
- Four assists
- Four steals
Notes/Streaks
- Knights advance to A-R-C Tournament Final for second straight season
- Fifth championship game appearance in last six seasons
- Wartburg finishes 3-0 against Luther this season
- Woeste:
- Career high in points (15)
- Career high in rebounds (8)
- Harris and Young combined for 7/8 of Wartburg's steals
- Knights shooting percentages:
- Wartburg's bench outscored Luther's 25-10
Next Time Out
The Knights will host the A-R-C Tournament Final on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 4 p.m. against Loras inside Levick Arena.