March 1, 2003
(Release courtesy of Tom Galbraith, SID, Loras College)

DUBUQUE, IOWA . . . Loras rushed to a 27-11 lead in the first 10 minutes of the Iowa Conference Tournament championship game against visiting Simpson and never looked back, earning its first league tournament title and a trip to the NCAA III National Championship Tournament. The Duhawks defeated the Storm 77-62.

Katie Rasmusson came off the bench to lead the Duhawks with 18 points on 4-6 shooting from behind the three-point arc. Erin Boxleiter also hit four treys and finished with 12 points for the hosts. Amy Jones scored 16 and Alicia Davis had 10.

Simpson was led by Amanda Pilcher's 13 points and seven rebounds. Christy Pierick hit 4-8 from behind the arc to finish with 12 points.

Loras' defense smothered the Storm early and built a 41-29 halftime lead. Simpson would make a run in the first eight minutes of the second half. Simpson cut the lead to 51-45 at the 12:13 mark on a layup by Jessica Capper. The Duhawks responded with a three-point play by Jones and quickly put the game away, building a 20-point lead (70-50) with just under five minutes to play.

For the game, Loras outrebounded the Storm 36-31 and hit 22-25 from the freethrow line, including their first 20 from the charity stripe. Loras hit 56 percent from the three-point line (9-16) and held Simpson to 41 percent from the field (22-54).

Loras advances with the win to the NCAA III tournament. The pairing for the 50-team NCAA III Tournament will be announced Sunday, March 2 at 8:30 p.m. The Duhawks will play in the first-round on Wednesday, March 5 at a site yet to be determined.

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