Jan. 19, 2011 - The Concordia Cougar women's basketball team nearly pulled off a comeback of herculean proportions this evening at Geiseman Gymnasium. In the end, the Cougars were unable to get over the hump as they watched the Milwaukee School of Engineering take away a 55-47 victory and move past Concordia into fourth place in the Northern Athletics Conference South Division standings.
A nightmarish first half in which the Cougars could not find any offensive spark put them in a huge hole. Concordia shot just 5-25 from the field and 3-8 at the foul line. The Cougars' defense did well in holding the Raiders to 9-25 shooting and forcing 11 turnovers, but MSOE's rebounding became another problem for Concordia. The visitors owned a 25-15 edge in the half, punctuated by nine offensive boards. Carol Cayo led all players with 10 rebounds in the half while Heather Miller scored 11 points on 5-7 shooting to lead MSOE to a 26-14 advantage on the scoreboard.
Concordia fell behind 31-17 early in the second half before flicking on the switch and making a charge. Marche Smith (Oak Park, IL/Trinity) connected on a three, and Krystyna Rickett (Sandusky, MI/H.S.) and Smith followed with baskets for a 7-0 run and a 31-24 score. Later in the half, trailing 37-26, Rickett's three triggered an 11-0 run. Smith, Rickett and Katie Leitermann (Milwaukee, WI/Martin Luther) followed with twos, and Smith's steal and breakaway layup knotted the game with nine minutes to play.
Shannon Larson's short jumper moments later gave MSOE the lead once again. After the Cougars missed a couple of chances to tie, Marguerite Wellstein hit a long three from the key - one of only two treys for the Raiders in the game - to put MSOE in front by five and reestablish enough momentum for the visitors. While the Cougars stayed close, coming within 47-45 on Maja Despot's (Glen Ellyn, IL/Glenbard South) basket with 2:47 left, they were never able to tie or gain the lead. The Raiders closed out the game on solid free throw shooting down the stretch, and the Cougars saw their three-game winning streak snapped.
Smith led all scorers with 20 points while adding nine rebounds and four steals. Rickett shot 5-9 for 12 points, but the Cougars overall remained cold from the field with 17-55 (31 percent) and from the charity stripe with 9-15 (60 percent).
Cayo led the Raiders (7-9, 4-5 NAC) with 16 points and 13 rebounds while Miller finished with 13 points. MSOE shot 41 percent from the field (18-44) and 63 percent from the line (17-27) while outrebounding Concordia by a final margin of 39-34.
The Cougars (7-8, 4-6 NAC) return to action on Saturday with a game at Marian University in Fond du Lac.
