Spartans Improve to 8-1 with Road Victory
Dec 13, 2012 | J.Crane
MANKATO, MINNESOTA – The University of Dubuque Women’s Basketball team improved to 8-1 on the season with an 85-54 road victory over Bethany Lutheran (1-7). The Spartans 8-1 record equals the best start to a season in school history; the 1996-97 team also started 8-1. The Spartans current seven game winning streak also ties the 1996-97 team for the most consecutive wins in school history. UD is now 4-0 on the road this season.
The Spartans were led offensively by Mollie Whiting (Woodstock, Ill./Woodstock) and Jessica Goetz (Sussex, Wis./Arrowhead) with 17 points each. Whiting also finished with a team high four rebounds and four assists. Whiting and Goetz accounted for 20 of the Spartans 40 first half points as UD led 40-21 at the break. Dubuque outscored Bethany Lutheran 15-4 over the final 5:47 of the first half to take control of an otherwise close game.
UD opened the second half with a 10-0 run in which the Spartans scored six fast break points and forced an early timeout from Bethany Lutheran. The Spartans would lead by at least 20 points the entire second half with their largest lead being 32 points.
The Dubuque bench accounted for 27 of the teams 45 second half points. Meggie Schmidt (Edgerton, Wis./Edgerton) led the reserves with 10 points. Freshman Alexis Lozano-Dobbs (Keokuk, Iowa/Keokuk) had a nice all-around game with six points, four steals, three rebounds, and two assists in 14 minutes of action. The UD bench outscored the Bethany Lutheran bench 41-21 for the game.
On the defensive end of the court, UD forced 31 turnovers which led to 19 steals. Nine differnet Spartans recorded steals in the game with Kayla Springer (Altoona, Wis./Altoona) leading with a team high six steals.
UD showed great improvement from the free throw line in the game by making 18-22 free throw attempts. After shooting just 52.0% from the line against Blackburn, the Spartans shot 81.8% on Thursday night. Goetz and Jessie Kirkwood (Hudson, Wis./Hudson) each finished 6-6 from the line on the night to pace UD.
The Spartans have outscored their last four opponents 298-183, a 115 point differential.
UP NEXT: The Spartans will host the UD Holiday Tournament on Friday, December 28th and Saturday December 29th. UD will open the tournament against Aurora University at 6:00 pm. St. Mary’s College (IN) and UW-River Falls will then play at 8:00 pm. The winners of each game will square off at 3:00 pm with the two losing teams playing before hand at 1:00 pm.
