===WAVERLY, Iowa – Women's basketball advanced past Luther College 61-45 in the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) tournament semifinals with a strong defensive performance inside Levick Arena on Thursday, Feb. 26.

32 of the 61 points from the Knights came from the bench, highlighted by a career-high 12 points from Katelyn Aden along with 10 points from Laynee Hogan. 
 
Wartburg has now won 16-straight games to move to 20-6 overall and will advance to its fifth-straight A-R-C title game. The Knights will host Saturday's A-R-C tournament championship game against Coe College at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 28.
 
Game Summary

• First Half
  • First Quarter
    • After Luther opened the game with the first four points, Grace Hennessy found an open Lauren Golinghorst for the first Wartburg score and then Hogan made a driving layup to tie the game at 4-4 after just over three minutes of play
    • Luther took a 6-4 lead, but three-straight points from Golinghorst put the Knights in front 7-6 for their first lead of the game halfway through the first quarter
    • Hennessy knocked down a midrange jumper to add to the Wartburg lead before Luther tied the game at 9-9
      • Wartburg closed the quarter on a 8-0 run after scores from Corrie Harrison, Aden and Hennessy to retake the lead 17-9 after one quarter
  • Second Quarter
    • After two free throws from the Norse in the opening minute, neither team scored until back-to-back Emma Townsley steals led to two fastbreak scores from Aden to put Wartburg ahead 21-11 with 5:52 left in the half
      • The Knights forced four Luther turnovers over that span (three steals from Townsley)
    • Aden scored at the free throw line and Lauren Donlea found an open Ally Poegel for a score to put the Knights ahead by 13 before a Luther three pointer made the score 24-14 with just over three minutes remaining in the first half
    • Hogan added another driving score before Townsley closed the half on a coast-to-coast layup that ended in a three-point play for the Knights in the final seconds of the first half
      • Wartburg led 29-16 headed into halftime
• Second Half
  • Third Quarter
    • Both Harrison and Golinghorst each made one free throw for Wartburg's first points of the second half as the Knights held a 31-20 lead after three and a half minutes of play
    • Katie Boulanger knocked down a jumper for the Knights, but five-straight Luther points made it an eight-point game with just over five minutes left in the third
    • Aden hit one free throw and then made a driving layup the next possession to put the Knights back in front 36-26 with 3:09 left in the quarter
    • Harrison and Hogan each scored tough baskets in the paint before Boulanger connected on Wartburg's first made three of the game to close the third with a 44-31 lead
  • Fourth Quarter
    • Poegel and Harrison each scored in the paint in the opening minute of the fourth quarter to push the Wartburg lead to 15 points
    • Five-straight points from Luther made it a 10-point game with 7:25 left to play, but Hogan answered for the Knights with a three-point play
    • Boulanger scored five of Wartburg's next six points to give the Knights a 57-42 lead with 4:43 left to play
    • Both Aden and Boulanger each scored as the Knights held Luther to just three points in the final 4:43 of play to close out a 61-45 win over the Norse

 
Top Performers

• Katelyn Aden
  • 12 points
  • Four rebounds
  • Three steals
  • Two assists
  • One block
• Katie Boulanger
  • 13 points
  • Nine rebounds
• Laynee Hogan
  • 10 points
  • Five rebounds
  • One steal
  • One block
• Corrie Harrison
  • Nine points
  • Four rebounds
  • One steal

 
Notes/Streaks

• Series Update
  • The Knights are now 7-2 against Luther in A-R-C Tournament play
    • Have won six-straight tournament matchups
  • Wartburg has now won 18-straight matchups over the Norse
  • The Knights lead the all-time series 62-40
  • Wartburg is 39-12 at home in the series
• 10^th 20-win season in a row under head coach Bob Amsberry (not including shortened 2020-21 season)
  • 11^th total 20-win season under Amsberry
• Fifth-straight A-R-C Tournament championship game appearance
  • 14^th overall appearance
• Career-high 12 points for Aden
• Tied season high for team offensive rebounds with 18
• Townsley tied career high with five steals
  • Fourth game this season with five steals
  • Has recorded nine steals over her last two games
• Boulanger tied her career high with nine rebounds
  • Third time with nine rebounds in the last four games (fourth overall time this season)
• Fifth game this season with five or more assists for Donlea
• Hogan has scored 10+ points off the bench in three of the last four contests
• Wartburg held Luther under 10 points in the opening two quarters each
• The Knights had a 32-8 advantage in points off the bench and a 21-8 edge in points off turnovers
• 16^th-striaght win for Wartburg
  • During that span, Wartburg has held its opponent under 50 points in 13 of those games and has forced 20+ turnovers in 10 of those games

 
Next Time Out
The Knights move on to Saturday's A-R-C Tournament championship game where they will host Coe College at 4 p.m. inside Levick Arena.