DUBUQUE, Iowa – Caitlin Navratil set a new career-high scoring 40 points but it was far too little as 23^rd-ranked Loras College rolled past Nebraska Wesleyan 102-74 in American Rivers Conference women's basketball action on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 4) at Lillis Court in Dubuque, Iowa.
 
Navratil becomes the second NWU women's player to score over 40 points in a game in program history.  She was 16-23 from the floor, 4-8 on 3-pointers and a perfect 4-4 at the free throw line.  She also added four steals and four assists in the contest.
 
Loras used a full court press defense to get the NWU offense out of rhythm early and often.  The Duhawks forced the Prairie Wolves into 35 turnovers in the game, scoring 38 points off the turnovers.  NWU and Loras combined for 60 total turnovers in the game.
 
A much bigger Duhawks front line also proved to be a problem for the Prairie Wolves.  Loras dominated on the glass with a 42-14 advantage scoring 56 points in the paint.  They also scored 22 second chance points.
 
NWU fell behind 23-12 after one quarter and trailed 55-40 at halftime.  The second quarter was an offensive shootout between the two teams.  Both squads shot 66.7 percent from the field (10-15).  NWU was an amazing 6-6 from 3-point range as they made eight of their final nine 3-point attempts to end the first half.  The big difference was at the free throw line where Loras was 10-11 and NWU went only 2-2.
 
Loras jumped out quick in the 3^rd quarter and got up big to roll in the second half getting up by as many as 30 points the majority of the half.
 
Navratil remained the bright spot offensively, scoring 21 of her 40 points in the second half.  She ended with over half of the team's entire point total, but did have one flaw in her stat line with 10 turnovers against the press.
 
Two other NWU players reached double figures in scoring with Mikenzie Delgado and Mackenzie Teten each getting 10 points.  As a team, the Prairie Wolves shot 55.0 percent from 3-point range (11-20) and were 49.1 percent overall.  They made 7-8 at the free throw line, while Loras was 27-31 outscoring NWU by 20 points at the charity stripe.
 
Marissa Schroeder led four Duhawks players in double figures with 24 points.
 
NWU finally returns home to Snyder Arena after a month away when they host Simpson on Jan. 8.