Dec. 10, 2011 - The Concordia-Chicago women's basketball team came from behind to post its second Northern Athletics Conference victory of the week, defeating host Lakeland College 63-59 on Saturday afternoon. The Cougars scored the final seven points of the game over the final 1:45 to improve to 3-5 overall, 2-3 in NAC play.
Lakeland took a 3-0 lead before Concordia countered with a 13-2 blitz sparked by the long ball. Freshman
Kassy Koehler (Belvidere, IL/Rockford Lutheran) hit from outside the arc, and
Krystyna Rickett (Sandusky, MI/H.S.) connected on a pair of threes to give the Cougars the early momentum.
The Muskies came back to tie and later take a brief lead, but some late three-point shooting powered up Concordia's attack again. Koehler and
April Broska (New Boston, MI/Lutheran South) knocked down threes, and
Bobbie May (Sandusky, MI/H.S.) added a layup in the final seconds to give the Cougars a 36-32 lead at the break.
Concordia scored the first six points of the second half, taking its biggest lead at 10 points. However, a run of 12 straight missed shots midway through the half enabled Lakeland to run off 14 unanswered points and take a 51-45 lead.
The Cougars came back behind some clutch baskets by Rickett. Then, after Lakeland took its final lead of the day at 59-56 with 2:37 remaining, it would be the Muskies' turn to go cold. Lakeland missed four clutch free throws, and Concordia stormed through the wide-open door. Koehler and Rockett snuck inside for layups, putting Concordia up 60-59 with 1:01 remaining. Rickett then iced the game with three free throws over the final 30 seconds.
The final stat sheet showed Rickett and May leading the Cougars with 23 and 13 points respectively. Interestingly enough, the guard tandem led the Cougars to a 53-44 advantage on the boards; Rickett pulled down a season-high 10 rebounds while May added eight on the defensive end.
Becky Mayo led Lakeland (3-4, 2-3 NAC) with 19 points and 11 rebounde while Becca Tilleman chipped in with 16 points.
The Cougars (3-5, 2-3 NAC) will break for final exams before returning to action Dec. 19 with a game at Concordia Wisconsin.
