Jan. 4, 2011 - The Concordia women's team squared off against archrival Benedictine University this evening in Lisle, the first of two meetings this season. The Cougars gave a good defensive effort but it was not enough to offset an ice-cold shooting performance as the Eagles pulled away to a 60-44 win.
The two old foes played on even terms for the first part of the half. Marche Smith (Oak Park, IL/Trinity) scored twice on run-outs, and Bobbie May (Sandusky, MI/H.S.) and Katie Leitermann (Milwaukee, WI/Martin Luther) connected from long distance. However, after Leitermann's three at the 11:29 mark tied the game at 13-13, the Cougars ' offense dried up for nearly eight minutes. The Eagles got hot from three-point range as Courtney Pishkur, Karyn Conerty and Brittany Armato all buried threes in a three-minute span to put the hosts up 24-15.
The Eagles upped their lead to 12 before Maja Despot (Glen Ellyn, IL/Glenbard South) scored off a rebound at the 1:52 mark to end the draught. May followed with a layup off a steal and a three-pointer to bring the Cougars back within five, but Benedictine scored the final two points of the half to take a 29-22 lead into the break.
Benedictine shot 39 percent (10-26) to Concordia's 31 percent (9-29), but the Eagles' 5-11 shooting from outside added to their advantage. The Cougars had a slight advantage on the boards (22-19) helped by Despot's seven, and turnovers were even at eight apiece.
The Cougars overcame an 0-7 shooting start to the second half and made their move at the midway point. May's steal and layup, followed by Despot making one of two free throws made the score Eagles 37, Cougars 32. However, the rally was short-lived as a string of Cougar turnovers led to Benedictine scoring the next nine points. Despot's short jumper eventually broke the cold spell, but the damage was done as Benedictine kept its lead in double figures for the remainder of the game.
Concordia shot just 26 percent for the night on 15 of 58, and that figure was not helped by a 44 percent night at the foul line (8-18). May finished with a season-high 11 points while Smith was held to eight points on 3-14 from the field.
Benedictine shot 39 percent on 21 of 54, but that was partially offset by 8-19 in three-point shooting. Karyn Conerty popped in five treys in eight attempts, and she led all scorers with 19 points. Lidia Arias and Tracey Walsh each added 10 points.
The Cougars (4-7, 1-5 NAC) will travel to Milwaukee on Saturday night to play at Alverno College.
