LINCOLN, Ne. - The Coe College women's basketball team secured its spot in the American Rivers Conference tournament on Saturday afternoon with a 69-54 victory over Nebraska Wesleyan. The Kohawks jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter, outscoring the Prairie Wolves 17-10 in the opener. Coe and NWU battled back and forth for the second and third quarters but the visitors took control of the contest with a 21-13 margin in the fourth quarter. The victory puts Coe in sixth place in the final regular-season standings of the A-R-C, ending the year with a 8-17 overall and 5-11 in the league. 
 
Freshman guard Ellie Wisner led the Kohawks with 20 points, shooting 5-of-13 from the floor and 4-of-8 from downtown. Wisner was joined by Molly Buck and Kaalyn Petersen in double-figures as the pair scored 15 and 10 points respectively. Buck was 5-of-11 from the floor, hitting three of her six long-distance attempts. Petersen led the team with nine rebounds, adding two blocks and two steals on the defensive end. 
 
COE 69 - NEBRASKA WESLEYAN 54
Game Facts

• The Kohawks opened the game well, using an early 12-5 to take the lead late in the first quarter. Wisner led the team during the early portion, scoring five points while hitting one early 3. The squads traded buckets to end the first period, but a jumper from Meagan Harvey gave Coe a 17-10 lead after one. 
• Nebraska Wesleyan had a solid start to the second quarter, ripping off a 15-10 run in the first six-plus minutes of action to pull within two points. Wisner scored the final five points of the half, hitting 3 and two free throws to stretch the visitors lead back to seven points at the half. 
• Coe got an early run in the third quarter, ripping off an 11-6 bust to start the period. The Koahwks shot 4-of-7 from the floor and 3-of-5 from downtown during the run. Wisner opened the quarter with a long ball while Buck hit back-to-back triples to propel Coe. The Prairie Wolves responded before the end of the third, outscoring Coe 10-5 in the final four minutes to slice the lead back to seven with ten minutes left. 
• The Kohawks got some immediate cushion early in the fourth quarter, ripping off a 10-4 spurt in the first six minutes of the period. Buck hit another 3 during the run while Wisner, Emily Sly and Elle Walker added buckets too. Nebraska Wesleyan got a pair of buckets over the next minutes plus but Coe ended the game with nine of the final 14 points to secure the victory and postseason bid.  

 
Up next: The Kohawks will kick-off A-R-C tournament action on Tuesday, February 22 with a road contest at Loras College. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 PM. 
 
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