Feb. 7, 2012 - The Concordia Cougars and Benedictine Eagles hooked up in Lisle this evening for a key Northern Athletics Conference battle. The Cougars entered play in third place in the NAC South Division, one game ahead of the Eagles. A win would have clinched an NAC tournament berth for Concordia, but a late charge by Benedictine gave this game to the Eagles by a final score of 69-57.
Both teams came out running, but the Eagles found the tempo more to their liking in the early minutes. Benedictine got a three by Megan Novak along with a pair of baskets by Michelle Gaede en route to a 9-2 lead.
The Benedictine lead became 13-2 before
April Broska's (New Boston, MI/Lutheran South) three ended the dry spell.
Bobbie May (Sandusky, MI/H.S.), Kellie Murphy (Johnsburg, IL/Marian Central Catholic) and
Dana Topp (Kalispell, MT/Stillwater Christian) also found the range from outside as the Cougars tried to chip away at the large deficit. Topp's free throw later brought Concordia within 20-15.
Gaede kept Benedictine in the lead with a three and a three-point play over the final minutes of the half, but Broska and May also connected from outside, May's beating the buzzer to send Concordia to the locker room trailing by just six points at 30-24.
Seven of CUC's eight field goals and 15 of their 24 shots came from behind the arc. Broska had three of the Cougars' treys for nine points while May was next in line with six points. Gaede led the Eagles with 14 points including 6-9 shooting from the field.
Concordia came out aggressively in the second half, looking to take it to the hosts
. Krystyna Rickett (Sandusky, MI/H.S.) scored her first points of the game to open the half. The Cougars then missed a few golden opportunities while the Eagles came back with two inside baskets. But May hit a three from the top of the key to make it a five-point game. A steal led to a basket by
Kassy Koehler (Belvidere, IL/Rockford Lutheran) cut the defict to three.
The Cougars kept up the attack and finally took the lead on Topp's three at the 11:31 mark. Gaede came back with a three, and Walsh snuck inside for a layup, but Rickett came through with a rare four-point play to tie the game 41-41 with just under eight minutes to go.
Just as it looked like momentum was on the Cougars' side, Benedictine hit Concordia with a 10-point run over the next three minutes. Kam Haifleigh's layup gave Benedictine the leadm and Gaede's three-point play marked a key play in the run.
Rickett's three helped the Cougars get back within six over the next few minutes, but a three-point play by Vincenza Ranallo and a three by Gaede gave Benedictine its biggest lead of the night at 12 points with 2:23 left. That run would be one too many for the Cougars to overcome as they got no closer than eight down the stretch.
May led the Cougars with 17 points, followed by Rickett with 14 points, all in the second half. Topp added a career-high 10 points in 16 minutes of play. Concordia hit a season-high 12 three-point baskets although they shot just 33 percent (18-55) from the field.
Gaede led all scorers with 29 points on 9-13 from the field (3-3 threes) and 8-8 from the line while adding 12 rebounds and five assists. Walsh recorded 16 points on 6-11 from the field and 4-4 at the line.
The Cougars (7-15, 5-10 NAC) will host the Milwaukee School of Engineering Saturday at 2:00. The Cougars five seniors will be honored as part of the day's festivities.
