Box Score ELMHURST, Ill. - The Elmhurst women's basketball team closed out the non-conference portion of its schedule with a 76-74 loss to Loras College at R.A. Faganel Hall.

Elmhurst (8-3) played from behind for the majority of the contest but made several runs to keep the contest close.

Loras (5-4) opened up a quick 17-7 lead in the opening half, but Elmhurst answered back with an 11-0 run to take an 18-17 lead with just under 11 minutes remaining in the half. Loras quickly recaptured the lead and built a 42-33 lead with less than three minutes remaining. Buckets from Karen Senette and Fiona McMahon pulled the Bluejays to within five points (42-37) at the half.

Elmhurst fell behind by eight points early in the second, but the Bluejays evened the score at 49-all with a 12-4 run. Loras answered back by building a nine-point cushion with less than three minutes to play after Kaitlin Phillips knocked down a three-pointer.

The Bluejays trailed by seven with a minute to play, but a bucket from McMahon pulled Elmhurst to within five points. After a free throw from Loras, another McMahon layup made the score 74-70 with 30 seconds left. The Bluejays stole the inbounds pass and Senette hit a pair of free throws to bring Elmhurst to within two points at 74-72. After Loras split a pair of free throws, Hannah Lipman hit a lay-up with nine seconds left to pull the Bluejays to within a point. Loras was able to run seconds off the clock before an Elmhurst foul and Phillips split a pair of free throws with 1.8 seconds remaining to seal the win for the Duhawks.

Elmhurst shot 41.1 percent (23-of-56) from the floor, including 6-of-15 (40.0 percent) from three-point range. The Bluejays were solid from the free throw line, htting 22-of-27 attempts (81.5 percent).

Loras finished the contest shooting 43.3 percent (29-of-67), including 46.2 percent (6-of-13) from beyond the arc. The Duhawks dominated the game inside, outrebounding Elmhurst 41-36 and converting 14 offensive rebounds into 16 second-chance points. The Duhawks also outscored Elmhurst 42-16 in the paint.

McMahon led the Bluejays with a double-double in the loss, totaling 19 points and 10 rebounds, both team highs. Senette added 14 points, six rebounds and four assists while Melanie Schwerdtmann scored 11. Lipman came off the bench to score 10 for the Bluejays.

Phillips sparked Loras' offensse with 19 points off the bench, shooting 6-of-8 from the floor and 3-of-4 from long distance. Victoria May added 14 points while Kaitie Langmeier totaled 13 points and 10 rebounds. Katie Wheeler pulled down 10 rebounds for the Duhawks while Kathleen Cabrera added 10 points.

Elmhurst opens CCIW play on Saturday, January 4, by hosting Illinois Wesleyan University at 2:00 p.m.