Dec. 1, 2012 - Today's Northern Athletics Conference women's basketball contest between the Concordia Wisconsin Falcons and the Concordia Chicago Cougars proved once again how often free throws spell the difference between winning and losing. Unfortunately for the Cougars, they received a hard reminder in a 66-59 loss to the Falcons at Geiseman Gymnasium.
The first half featured some typically competitive play between the two longtime rivals. The Cougars attacked the Falcons' interior with
Jessica Genke (Kiel, WI/H.S.) posting up against CUW's forwards. Genke scored 10 first-half points and also collected seven rebounds.
April Broska (New Boston, MI/Lutheran South) was also successful penetrating the lane and drawing fouls on CUW's defenders. Broska shot 5-7 at the line as part of a 12-point half.
Concordia Wisconsin shot only 40 percent (12-30) in the half to the Cougars 42 percent (10-24). However, the Falcons received a big spark from their bench. The Falcons' reserves outscored the Cougars' 16-4, led by Jasmine Williams' eight points on 4-7 shooting. The visitors also won the turnover battle over the first 20 minutes, forcing the Cougars into 12 while committing just seven themselves. But it took Megan Coenen's basket with 44 seconds left to break the seventh tie of the half and give CUW a 31-30 lead headed into the break.
Genke's jumper at the start of the second half gave the Cougars their final lead of the game at 32-31. However, Katie Luethe scored the next four points to put CUW back on top. The Cougars stayed close over the next several minutes and were still within a point at 41-40 as Broska scored in the lane.
Two three-pointers by Allison Paluchniak (eight points) highlighted a 14-3 run by the Falcons. Missed free throws by the Cougars also began to impact the game at this time while the Falcons made good on their oportunities at the line. Luethe knocked down all six of her attempts, the final two giving the Falcons a 59-49 lead with 4:18 left.
Ashley DiCristofano's (Elmwood Park, IL/H.S.) driving layup trimmed the Cougars' deficit to eight. The Cougars missed an opportunity to draw closer as Genke missed two free throws, but Genke came back with a layup at the 1:31 mark to make it a six-point game. Following a Falcons' miss, Broska converted a three-point play to bring the Cougars within three with 66 seconds left.
The Falcons stemmed the tide as Brittany Zietlow hit a pair of free throws. Then, the Cougars got what appeared to be a huge break as Luethe committed her fifth foul on a three-point attempt by DiCristofano. But all three free throws were missed, and Tiffany Hendrickson captured the rebound. She was fouled and connected on her attempts to bump the lead back up to seven. Rickett's three gave the Cougars one last gasp, but Zietlow made three of four charoty tosses in the final 30 seconds to wrap up the Falcons' victory.
Concordia Wisconsin hit 13 of 15 free throws in the second half (Luethe 6-6, Hendrickson 5-6) and finished the game 18-23 (78 percent). By contrast, Concordia-Chicago made just four of 13 in the second half and finished 12-26 for 46 percent. The Cougars shot 44 percent from the field to the Falcons' 39 percent, but the Falcons won the turnover battle with 14 to the Cougars' 21.
The Cougars (1-5, 1-1 NAC) will conclude the three-game homestand when they host Rockford College on Tuesday night.
