Spartans Crowned Holiday Classic Champions
Dec 29, 2012 | J.Crane
DUBUQUE, IOWA - The University of Dubuque Women's Basketball team outscored its two opponents by a combined 47 points on their way to the 2012 UD Holiday Classic Championship. The Spartans 77-57 victory over UW-River Falls pushed their winning streak to a school record nine games. UD is now 10-1 on the season and off to the best start in school history.
Quality, consistency and speed has given head coach Mark Noll a bench depth not seen in a Spartan team in many years. The starting five has been able to set the pace, the second five have been able to keep or stretch the lead, and the third group of substitutions has been showing they deserve playing time as well. The Spartans have not lost, since a two point defeat on Nov. 17 62-64 to UW-Platteville, since then they have reeled off nine consecutive victories. Seven of those nine victories have been by more than 20 points over their opponents.
After a rough opening three minutes that put UD in a 12-4 hole, the Spartans respondedlike true champions. After slowly chipping away at the deficit, Dubuque took its first lead of the game at 18-16 on a Krystal Pritchett (Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township) three-pointer nine minutes into the game to cap an 8-0 run. Pritchett finished with 13 points, four assists, and three steals as the Spartan bench made a huge impact on the game. The UD bench outscored UWRF 43-16.
The turning point in the game came with 6:50 left in the half when Alexis Lozano-Dobbs (Keokuk, Iowa/Keokuk) hit a jumper to get the Spartans within one at 25-24. From there, Pritchett hit a three , Meggie Schmidt (Edgerton, Wis./Edgerton) made two three pointers and a converted a three point play with a layup and free throw, and Lozano-Dobbs made three throws to give UD a 39-29 lead. The Spartans would go into halftime with a 46-33 advantage with Mollie Whiting (Woodstock, Ill./Woodstock) leading all scorers with 14 points. Whiting would finish with a game high 20 points on 9-15 shooting from the field and 2-2 from the free throw line.
The UD second unit finished the game with 43 points on 15-30 shooting from the floor, 18 rebounds, 13 assists, and eight steals. Schmidt scored a season high 15 points while also contributing three assists, two blocks, and two steals.
Dubuque's largest lead of the game came when Jena Darwin (Menomonie, Wis./Menomonie) made a layup to give UD a 23 point advantage at 73-50.Leading the Spartans with six rebounds each were Jessica Goetz (Sussex, Wis./Arrowhead), Stephany Remakel (Dubuque, Iowa/Hempstead), andKayla Springer (Altoona, Wis./Altoona).
UP NEXT: The Spartans return to action and begin Iowa Conference play on January 5th on the road at Wartburg. The conference doesn't get any easier as they travel to face Coe College on January 9th before returning to the friendly confines of Stoltz Sports Center and Jon Davison Court on January 12th. Buena Vista will be the IIAC home tip-off for UD. The Spartans have been receiving votes in the D3hoops.com Top-25 and will be looking to prove they deserve to be ranked when play resumes in 2013.
