Feb. 15, 2012 - The Concordia Cougars came out with another clutch performance this evening in defeating the Aurora Spartans 67-62 at AU's Thornton Gymnasium. The win, coupled with Benedictine University's 71-52 loss to Dominican University, allowed the Cougars to claim third place in the Northern Athletics Conference South Division.
Three early turnovers led to Aurora grabbing a quick 9-2 lead. However, Krystyna Rickett (Sandusky, MI/H.S.) came out smoking from three-point range. Rickett hit her first three tries, one from each corner and one from the left wing to give Concordia its first lead at 12-10. The Spartans tied the game, but Dana Topp (Kalispell, MT/Stillwater Christian) added two from downtown on consecutive trips to push the visitors back into the lead at 18-12.
Aurora picked up the tempo and got back into the game, but a three by April Broska (New Boston, MI/Lutheran South) and layup by Cristina Calabrese (Schiller Park, IL/East Leyden) kept Concordia in the lead. Steady free-throw shooting, an important factor in Concordia's win over MSOE Saturday, also carried over into this game: Concordia took advantage of foul trouble by the hosts and made good on 12 of 15, led by Calabrese's 5-6 and Bobbie May's (Sandusky, MI/H.S.) 4-4. All of this added up to a 36-31 lead at the break for the Cougars.
The Spartans returned to the running game in the first few minutes of the second half and pulled to within two points. The Cougars stemmed the tide briefly as Calabrese hit a three from the right side, but the Spartans kept coming and eventually tied the game 44-44 on a steal and layup by Jaquitta Walker. Concordia took the lead back immediately as May drove the lane for a layup. Calabrese followed with a right corner three on the next possession for a five-point edge.
The home team refused to go away however, and Angela Smith's three at the eight-minute mark gave Aurora its first lead since the early minutes at 50-49. But two free throws by Claire Mackey (Shelton, NE/Heartland Lutheran) following an offensive rebound enabled the Cougars to retake the lead. Two free throws by May and Rickett's three from the left side of the key extended the lead, and another offensive rebound and putback by Mackey completed the 9-0 run and gave Concordia a 58-50 lead with under five minutes remaining.
Aurora made a final push on baskets by Megan Kohrt and Neely Marks to close within 60-57 with 1:10 to go. But Calabrese was fouled driving to the hole and converted her free throws to maintain a cushion. Calabrese hit six free throws in the final 50 seconds and finished the evening 12-14 as part of a career-high 22 points.
Rickett added 16 and May 12 to the winning effort. Mackey scored six points but pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds. The Cougars shot just 28 percent from the field (16-58) but hit 26 of 32 free throws for 81 percent.
Aurora was led by Marks' 18 points and 10 rebounds and Joree Green's 16 points. The Spartans shot 39 percent from the field on 22-56 and 12-16 (75 percent) at the foul line but were hurt by 19 turnovers.
Concordia-Chicago (9-15, 7-10 NAC) will host Concordia Wisconsin in the NAC Challenge Game on Saturday at 2:00.
