DUBUQUE, Iowa – Loras College jumped out to a 27-4 lead and cruised to a 83-50 win over Nebraska Wesleyan in the IIAC women's basketball regular season finale on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 18) in Dubuque, Iowa.
 
With the loss, the Prairie Wolves finish the regular season at 13-12 overall and 6-10 in IIAC play.  NWU is the No. 6 seed in the IIAC Postseason Tournament and will return to Loras on Tuesday night to face the No. 3 seed Duhawks in the quarterfinals of the IIAC Tournament.
 
NWU and Loras were tied at 2-2 to start the game, then the Duhawks scored 22 straight points to take a 24-2 lead.  The Prairie Wolves trailed 27-4 at the end of the quarter going 2-9 from the field.  The Prairie Wolves would trail 47-16 at halftime, thanks in part to 20.8 percent shooting and double digit turnovers.
 
The Duhawks didn't let up in the 2^nd half, extending the lead to 38 points after three quarters.  NWU did outscore Loras by five in the 4^th quarter but it was way too late.
 
Nebraska Wesleyan finished the game shooting only 29.8 percent from the field on 17-57 attempts.  They were only 5-26 on 3-pointers.  The Prairie Wolves also finished with 22 turnovers.
 
Loras cooled off in the second half, finishing the game at only 47.8 percent.  They were well over 60 percent in the first half.  In the paint, the Duhawks dominated outscoring NWU 42-16.
 
No NWU player scored in double figures as Caitlin Navratil led the way with nine points, but did have seven turnovers.   Klaire Phillips and Grace Green each had seven.
 
The Prairie Wolves now need to regroup prior to postseason play when they will face the Duhawks again, a team that has already defeated NWU twice.