Dec. 7, 2013 - A slow start was fatal to the Concordia-Chicago women's chances of bouncing back from a tough triple-overtime loss on Wednesday. Edgewood College scored the first 11 points of today's game at Geiseman Gymnasium and held off Concordia's comeback attempts in taking a 64-51 victory.
The Cougars missed their first seven shots from the field and turned the ball over five times in the early stages of the game. The Eagles did not shoot particularly well, but several offensive rebounds would keep the ball in CUC's defensive zone for long stretches. Finally, with 11:49 left in the half, Morgan Jahnke's (Fox Lake, IL/Grant Community) free throw put Concordia on the board. Jahnke also recorded the first field goal moments later on a steal and breakaway layup. The Cougars made it an 8-0 run as Hannah Rummel (Fenton, MI/Lake Fenton) scored inside and Miranda Rogers (Cypress, TX/Houston Christian) nailed a three from the right side.
Concordia kept coming in the hopes of overcoming Edgewood's early advantage. They came within one point as Jahnke's layup made it a 21-20 game. However, Brooke McBain scored twice underneath to stretch the lead back to five. Later, just before the half, Mariah Hill's three made the score Edgewood 30, CUC 22.
The Cougars stayed close in the early minutes of the second half as Angelik Young (Crete, IL/Crete-Monee) connected for a pair of baskets. But the Cougars would be unable to heat up from the field and particularly from three-point range. The Eagles boosted their lead back up to double digits to stay at the 10:26 mark. They led by as much as 19 before the Cougars made a brief run near the end and closed within 10 with 2:30 remaining. Edgewood then closed out the game with solid free throw shooting.
Jessica Genke (Kiel, WI/H.S.) led Concordia with 13 points, six rebounds and three steals. Hill led Edgewood with 18 points and nine rebounds. The Eagles' play on the boards was a deciding factor as they collected 58 rebounds to Concordia's 34.
The Cougars (0-5, 0-4 NACC) will travel to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin next Saturday to take on Marian University.
