To say the least, it was a roller-coaster ride for the women’s basketball team this past week.

After storming onto archrival University of Dubuque’s gym and notched a dominating 93-72 win during their first Iowa Conference game of the season, the Duhawks rallied from a 20-point deficit only to suffer a heart-wrenching 69-68 home loss to Buena Vista on Saturday.

After Loras tied the game at 68 with 30 seconds to go, Buena Vista’s Brittany Gunn made the second of two free throws with 3 seconds to go to catapult Buena Vista, now 2-0 in the conference and 6-2 overall, to a first-place tie in the league. Meanwhile, Loras fell to 1-1 in the conference and 4-3 overall.

“We don’t focus on one loss,” said Coach Justin Heinzen. “The conference is too good and each game is too important to dwell on ‘what was.’”

A week ago, the determined Duhawks jumped all over UD. Heinzen called it a “statement game,” as Loras scored a whopping 59 points en route to a 21-point lead at halftime.

“Intercity rival, yes; away game, yes; but, more importantly, a 1-0 start in conference, and I think it showed a few important things this team is capable of,” Heinzen said.

Despite 29 points from UD’s Jennifer Nichols, everything seemed be going the Duhawks way against the Spartans. First, the Loras bench scored an impressive 40 points. In addition, the Duhawks also cleaned the glass, outrebounding UD 50-37 on the strength of 18 offensive rebounds.

“I thought we did a pretty good job of controlling tempo the entire game and playing at a speed where we were effective and under control,” Heinzen said.

Five Loras players scored in double figures. Senior Lindsay Bava led the attack with 18 points, and she also chipped in seven rebounds. Junior Sarah Pillon scored 16 points, while first-year contributed 13 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore Lindsey LaBadie and first-year Brit Kent also added 10 points apiece.

“It takes a team to win, and I think we showed great balance and unselfishness in distributing the ball,” Heinzen said.

In a topsy-turvy game against Buena Vista, the Duhawks jumped out to an 11-2 lead. However, as a result of a rash of turnovers, Buena Vista outscored Loras 39-10 over the next 12 minutes, and they entered halftime with a 46-32 lead.

“If we control the ball, it’s a different game,” Heinzen said. “We know that we can take lessons away from it, like ball control and poise.”

But Loras quickly turned the tables in the second half. During the first 12 minutes of the second half, Loras outscored Buena Vista 26-10 and regained the lead. However, Buena Vista responded by battling back to take a 68-62 lead with three minutes to go.

Back came Loras, and the Duhawks tied the game, 68-68, with 30 seconds to go before Loras was whistled for a two-shot foul with 3 seconds, essentially handing Buena Vista the victory.

Both teams shot 43 percent from the field for the game. Pilllon led the Duhawks with 15 points, while Hudson added nine points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Five other Loras players scored at least seven points.

The home game against Wartburg, which was scheduled for Wednesday night, was moved back to tonight as a result of inclement weather.