Cougars Shoot Down Kalamazoo for Win at Hope Classic
Dec. 18, 2010 - The Concordia Cougar women's team traveled to Holland, Michigan for two games this weekend in the Hope College Classic. The weekend was a decent one for the Cougars as they posted a solid victory over Kalamazoo College and saw all-time leading scorer Marche Smith (Oak Park, IL/Trinity) become the first Cougar women's player to hit the 1,500 point level in Friday night's game against Hope College.
A combined 27-2 run at the end of the first half and start of the second put Concordia in control of Saturday's game en route to a 79-62 victory over Kalamazoo. The Cougars were plagued by turnovers in the early going against the Hornets and fell behind 19-9. Kalamazoo hit five of its first eight shots from three-point range. Cristina Calabrese (Schiller Park, IL/East Leyden) kept the Cougars in striking range as she hit back-to-back threes from the left corner. Katie Leitermann (Milwaukee, WI/Martin Luther) followed with a putback to pull Concordia back within two.
Trailing 24-21, the Cougars then went from warm to red-hot over the final six minutes of the half. Concordia took its first lead 25-24 on April Broska's (New Boston, MI/Lutheran South) short baseline jumper at the 4:20 mark. Broska followed with a long three from the right wing, and Kellie Murphy (Johnsburg, IL/Marian Central Catholic) added a two from the baseline. Smith then followed her own miss with a layup and was fouled; her free throw added another point, and Murphy's steal and layup made it 16 points in a row before a Hornets' basket in the final seconds made the halftime score Concordia 35, Kalamazoo 26.
Underlining the turnaround in the Cougars' fortunes during the first half, Concordia hit 11 of thir final 20 shots after going just 3-10 in the early minutes. The Cougars also improved their turnover situation, committing just five over the last 14 minutes after making six in the first six minutes.
The Cougars kept their momentum going to start the second half. Maja Despot (Glen Ellyn, IL/Glenbard South) and Leitermann teamed up to score the first nine points, and Smith added a pair of free throws for 11 straight points for a 46-26 lead before the Hornets finally broke the ice with 14:45 remaining.
Concordia maintained its lead around 20 despite Kalamazoo going to a full-court press. The Cougars shot near 50 percent and earned more frequent trips to the foul line, thus averting any sustained runs by the Hornets to get back into the game.
Smith finished with 20 points and was named to the All-Tournament team. Calabrese shot 5-6 from three-point range and recorded her career-high of 15 points. Also finishing in double figures were Despot with 11 and Murphy with 10 (5-8 shooting). Leitermann collected a team-high eight rebounds as Concordia won the battle of the boards 38-28. Kalamazoo (1-9) was led by Holly Kramer's 19 points.
In Friday's first game of the Hope Classic, the Cougars fell 73-38 to the host Flying Dutch. Hope entered the game with a 7-0 record, a 65-game homecourt winning streak and the number two ranking nationally in Division III. Concordia hung with the hosts for a while as a three by Calabrese triggered a 9-0 first-half run that pulled the Cougars to within 18-16. However, with Hope's lead at six, the Flying Dutch assembled their own 9-0 run to close the half and take a 33-18 lead. The Cougars got as close as 14 points in the second half as Smith's jumper at the 11:33 mark made the score 45-31. However, Hope's ability and depth allowed the hosts to pull away down the stretch.
Concordia (3-5) will break for Christmas before returning for conference home games on Dec. 28 versus Lakeland College and Dec. 30 versus Concordia University Wisconsin.
