DUBUQUE, Iowa – The Elmhurst women's basketball team's second half rally came up short in a 71-60 loss at Loras College.
 
Elmhurst (5-7) trailed by as many as 12 points in the third quarter before rallying to make it a two-point contest late in the fourth quarter. Loras (9-3) scored the final nine points of the contest to preserve the victory.
 
Loras started quickly, building a 22-15 lead after the opening quarter. Elmhurst trimmed the deficit down to four midway through the second, but the Bluejays still trailed by nine (41-32) at the half. Loras extended its lead to 12 in the third quarter and led 60-49 after 30 minutes of play.
 
Trailing 62-51 with eight minutes to play, Elmhurst rattled off a 9-0 run behind three-pointers from Elena Cabrera, Kellee Clay and Marissa Urso. The Bluejays trailed by just two with four minutes to play, but Loras scored the final nine to pull away for the win.
 
Elmhurst shot 39.6 percent (19-of-48) from the floor, including 55.0 percent (11-of-20) from three-point distance. Elmhurst struggled to match Loras inside as the Duhawks outrebounded Elmhurst 41-25 and outscored the Bluejays 46-14 in the paint. Loras also turned 18 offensive rebounds into 20 second-chance points.
 
Courtney O'Donnell led Elmhurst in the loss with 19 points and six rebounds. Clay finished with 13 points and four assists while Lauren Goff scored 10. Kelly Weyhrich totaled three points and five assists for the Bluejays.
 
Loras shot 46.2 percent (30-of-65) from the floor in the victory. Riley Eckhart led the Duhawks with 17 points and eight rebounds. Hanna stokes totaled 16 points and five rebounds while Kari Fitzpatrick totaled 13 points and seven rebounds.
 
Elmhurst hosts Augustana College on Wednesday, January 2.