Nov. 15, 2014 – The Concordia University Chicago women's basketball team hosted Lawrence University on Saturday afternoon, the first of a season-opening five-game homestand. The Cougars dominated the action with a full-court press that forced several Vikings' turnovers and helped the Cougars build a lead of 44-16 at the half. CUC cruised to a 95-57  victory as 12 Cougars saw action.

"I couldn't have scripted it any better. The pace of the game, the excitement and involvement of the bench, and the execution were all good," said Rusty Rogers, making his debut as Cougars' head coach. "The stats that really stand out are the 25 assists on just 36 baskets. That is a ratio we want to achieve every game. We also want to maintain our 2-1 turnover advantage and get at least 20 steals in each game through the press."

The Concordia-Chicago women's basketball team started the season with an exclamation point as they forced the visitors from Appleton, WI into 19 first-half turnovers. Kassy Koehler (Belvidere, IL/Rockford Lutheran) and Jaela DeJean (Houston, TX/Houston Christian) had three steals apiece, while Divinity Stephens (Flossmoor, IL/Homewood-Flossmoor) and Courtney Lofink (Orange, CA/Orange Lutheran) each had four. With 16:59 remaining in the first half Lawrence scored to draw within 5-4. Over the next 12 minutes the CUC pressure forced turnover after turnover and at the 7:01 mark the score stood at 26-8. However, the press tired out the Vikings and, in the final seven minutes, the Cougars continued to pour on the pressure and the lead was extended to 44-16 at the half.

The Cougars also pushed the pace on offense trying to score before the taller Vikings had a chance to set their defense. The Cougars only had three turnovers in the first half as their exquisite passing opened up easy opportunities. Morgan Jahnke (Fox Lake, IL/Grant Community) led the way with six assists, and DeJean had four helpers. The only downside to the press was the number of fouls accrued by the team. "It is a good thing we are a deep team, because we are still learning how to read the opposing offense with our press," said Rogers. "We are late recognizing when to step and it is leading to fouls."

The second half was marked by runs from each team as Lawrence fought back. The defense of the Cougars allowed 41 points in the second. "One of my fears," said Rogers, "is getting up early and then getting complacent. The Vikings made some runs at us, but we responded eventually." Part of that response in scoring 51 second half points was the three point shooting of the Cougars with Lauren Orr (O'Fallon, MO/Lutheran St Charles) going 4-4 behind the arc as part of a game-high 20-point performance, Miranda Rogers (Cypress, TX/Houston Christian) scoring 16 points on 5-11 gunning from 3 point range, and Stephens hitting 3-3 from downtown. Additional help was provided by Shania Kiser (Fremont, OH/Fremont Ross) inside as she had 11 points on 5-7 shooting and forced Lawrence into the paint to deal with her aggressive post play. Concordia-Chicago was able to close out the game comfortably with a 95-57 win to start the season off 1-0.

The Cougars' next challenge in their opening homestand comes against a Division II squad, the University of Illinois-Springfield. The Prairie Stars visit Geiseman Gymnasium on Wednesday at 7 p.m.