CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The 2024 American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) Women’s Basketball Tournament Championship will see top-seeded Wartburg College Knights (24-2 overall, 16-0 A-R-C) and second-seeded Loras College Duhawks (23-3 overall, 14-2 A-R-C) collide for the title. The Knights are making their seventh appearance in eight years and Loras is making their second-straight appearance.

Wartburg, ranked No. 6/6 (D3hoops.com/Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA)) advanced to the title game after defeating fourth-seeded University of Dubuque Spartans (16-11 overall, 9-7 A-R-C) by a score of 46-42 in the semifinal game this evening. No. 20/17 Loras punched their ticket to the championship game by defeating third-seeded Coe College Kohawks (21-6 overall, 11-5 A-R-C) by a score of 61-60. Both Wartburg and Loras received first-round byes as the tournament’s top two seeds.
 
No. 6/6 Wartburg 46, No. 4 Dubuque 42 – BOX SCORE
In a close battle up in Waverly, Iowa, the Wartburg Knights came out ahead 46-42 to earn a spot in the A-R-C Tournament Championship game on Saturday. The Knights were led by Lauren Woeste with 15 points followed by Jaedon Murphy with 10 points. Woeste was the leading rebounder for the Knights as she pulled down seven boards. Sara Faber led the Wartburg defense as she recorded six steals.
 
The leading scorer for the Dubuque Spartans was Morgan Hawkins with 10 points. She also recorded 11 rebounds to earn a double-double.
 
No. 20/17 Loras 61, No. 3 Coe 60 – BOX SCORE
After being down 29-40 at halftime, the Loras Duhawks stormed back and earned a 61-60 victory over the visiting Coe Kohawks tonight. With the game tied at 60 apiece, Loras’ Daniella Jarrell got fouled with 0.4 seconds left on the clock where she made her first free throw. That was all the Duhawks needed as the time wound down. Sami Martin was the leading scorer for Loras as she recorded a game-high 27 points. Jarrell also scored in double figures as she finished with 11 points. Jarrell nearly had a double-double as she pulled down nine rebounds.
 
The Kohawks were led in scoring by Kelly Knight with 16 points. Ellie Wisner finished with 11 points and Taylor Brunson with 10 points. Caydee Kirkham had a team-best five assists.
 
The 2024 A-R-C Tournament Championship game will be held at Levick Arena on the campus of Wartburg College on Saturday, February 24 with a tip time to be confirmed later. Wartburg is making their 12^th overall and fifth-consecutive appearance in the conference tournament title game. Loras has earned a spot in the championship for the eighth time in program history with the most recent coming last year. The Knights will fight for their eighth conference tournament crown in program history while the Duhawks look to earn back-to-back titles.
The winner of Saturday’s A-R-C Tournament Championship game will receive the league’s automatic qualifying bid to the 2024 NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Tournament. The 64-team NCAA Tournament field will be announced Monday, February 26^th at 1:30 p.m. (CST) on NCAA.com. Wartburg is currently ranked No. 3 and Loras is ranked No. 7 in the most recent NCAA Division III Region IX Rankings (Feb. 20).