Spartans Strong on Defense in Road Victory
Feb 5, 2014 | J.Crane
WAVERLY, IOWA - The University of Dubuque Women's Basketball team played its best defensive game of the year on Wednesday night. The Spartans held Wartburg College (8-12, 2-7) to a season low 40 points in the 60-40 victory. UD held the Knights to 26.1% shooting from the field. Dubuque improves to 13-7 overall and is tied for third in the Iowa Conference at 6-3.
The Spartans were led offensively by Jenna Kotas (Tinley Park, Ill./Andrew) with 18 points on 6-10 shooting including three three-pointers. Kotas also pulled down six rebounds (two-offensive/four-defensive) in the game. She has scored in double digit points in eight straight games and leads UD at 15.7 points per game.
Dubuque and Wartburg played an even first nine minutes of the first half with eight lead changes and three tied game situations. Wartburg took a 15-12 lead at the 10:57 mark before UD responded with a 13-0 run over the next six minutes to take a 25-15 lead late in the half. Kotas made two three-pointers during the run while Heather Chapman (Ingleside, Ill./Grant) scored the final four points of the run. The Spartans led 27-20 at halftime.
| Conference Standings | ||
| School | IIAC | ALL |
| Loras | 9-0 | 14-6 |
| Simpson | 7-2 | 12-8 |
| Dubuque | 6-3 | 13-7 |
| Coe | 6-3 | 11-9 |
| Buena Vista | 3-6 | 9-11 |
| Luther | 2-7 | 11-9 |
| Wartburg | 2-7 | 8-12 |
| Central | 1-8 | 9-11 |
While the defense was stout throughout the game, UD took over the game from the free throw line in the second half making 8-9 attempts as the Spartans put together a 20-5 run during an 11 minute stretch beginning with 16:00 left in the second half. By the time the run was over, UD opened up a 54-31 advantage. A pair of free throws by Meggie Schmidt (Edgerton, Wis./Edgerton) gave Dubuque its largest lead of the game at 54-31. Six Spartans scored during the stretch that all but wrapped up the game.
UD forced 21 turnovers in the game with 14 coming in the second half. Schmidt led the UD defense with steals. Brittany Collier (Oswego, Ill./Oswego) pulled down six defensive rebounds and recorded two steals while also picking up a team high five assists off the bench.
Stephany Remakel (Dubuque, Iowa/Hempstead) led UD with eight rebounds (three-offensive/five-defensive) in 20 minutes of action. Jennifer Fischer (Deerfield, Wis./Deerfield) provided a spark off the bench with seven points. The Spartans have won six of the last seven games against Wartburg.
UP NEXT: The Spartans will play at Simpson College (12-8, 7-2) on Saturday, February 8th at 2:00 pm. Simpson won the first meeting between the squads on a last second jumper.
LIVE Video and Stats available at: UD-Women's Basketball Online
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