DECORAH, Iowa - The Kohawk bench scored 61 points Wednesday night, as Coe cruised to an 82-67 win over Luther. It was the ninth-straight win for Coe College over the Norse, while it was the sixth-straight at the Regents Center.
After the two teams exchanged baskets in the first five minutes, Coe went on an 8-0 run with 14:59 to play in the half, taking a 14-8 lead with 13:31 to play. The Norse took a 30-28 lead with 4:06 left in the first half on a basket by Nellie Nelson, but Coe responded with an 11-0 run in the next 1:24.
Leading 42-34 at halftime, Coe opened the second half on a 9-0 run to take a 51-34 lead with 15:45 to play. Luther cut the lead to 14 on another jumper by Nelson, but it was all Kohawks for the next 2:37, as they went on a 16-3 run, including 10-straight points to start the run. Junior Lindsey Buckles (Davenport, Iowa/West) hit back-to-back treys on the backside of the 10-0 run.
After scoring 31 points in the first 9:59 of the second half, Coe went cold over the next 4:23, letting the Norse back into the game with a 17-2 run. Baskets by senior Kayla Waskow (Dunkerton, Iowa/Dunkerton) and another trey from Buckles with 4:21 to play put Coe's lead back to 17.
Waskow led three Kohawks in double figures with 18, hitting 8-of-11 baskets. With eight makes on the night, she became the eighth player in school history to record 400 field goals. Freshman Megan Hayes (Bettendorf, Iowa/Bettendorf) added 15 while senior Leslie Ware (Des Moines, Iowa/Johnston) had 12. Senior Kelsey Jipp (Bettendorf, Iowa/Pleasant Valley) and Buckles had nine points apiece, a career-high for Buckles. Taylor Johnson and Rachel Stenhaug led the Norse with 15 points apiece.
Sophomore Mary Halvorson (Waterville, Iowa/Waukon) and Ware had seven rebounds, tying a career-high for Ware. Jipp and Waskow had five assists apiece, a career-high for Jipp. Halvorson added two blocked shots while Jipp and Ware had three steals apiece, a career-high for Ware.
The Kohawk bench outscored the Norse bench 61-19, while the Kohawks scored 29 points off 23 Norse turnovers. Coe's 82 points were the second most they have scored this season.
Coe improved to 11-4 overall and 5-1 in the Iowa Conference. Coe will return to action on Saturday, hosting Buena Vista on Alumni Day at 4 p.m.