Dec. 6, 2014 - This afternoon's women's basketball game in Madison, WI brought with it a couple of significant challenges for the Concordia-Chicago Cougars. The game was the Cougars' first after five straight at Geiseman Gymnasium to start the season. Concordia-Chicago was also looking to notch its fourth straight win out of the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference's starting gates. The Cougars got off to a fast start, but things unravelled over the latter part of the first half and continued into the second half as the Eagles took this game by a final score of 81-58.
The Cougars came out running and quickly got down to business. Angelik Young (Crete, IL/Crete-Monee) broke the ice with a layup, and Courtney Lofink (Orange, CA/Orange Lutheran) followed with CUC's first three of the day. The Cougars' defensive pressure and transition game then took hold as a pair of steals led to two buckets on the run by Jaela DeJean (Houston, TX/Houston Christian). The Eagles were forced to burn a timeout just 2:24 into the game with the visitors holding a 9-0 lead. DeJean continued to power the Cougars' engine as she hit four of her first five shots. Miranda Rogers (Houston, TX/Houston Christian) then entered the game and added more fuel as she hit her first two shots from the outside, the second giving CUC a 19-6 lead. Edgewood eventually found their offensive rhythm and began to chip away at CUC's lead. The Eagles attacked the interior and were able to score on short jumpers and layups while also forcing the Cougars into foul trouble. Edgewood took its first lead 38-36 at the 2:55 mark as part of a half-closing 12-1 run. Concordia-Chicago went without a field goal over the final 5:55 and shot 6-27 from the field after starting out the game 7-9. As a result, the Cougars found themselves looking up at a 44-37 deficit at halftime.
Early in the second half, the Cougars' uphill climb became steeper as the Eagles, who hit just one three-pointer in the first half, connected on a pair. Edgewood extended their lead to 20 with just under eight minutes left, and CUC was unable to climb back into the fight. The Cougars shot just 3-15 from three-point range in the half and scored just 11 of their 21 second-half points from the field.
DeJean led the Cougars with 18 points. No other CUC players scored in double figures, but Lofink handed out five assists. Young and Kassy Koehler (Belvidere, IL/Rockford Lutheran) combined for 17 of the Cougars' 37 rebounds. Edgewood (2-5, 2-2 NACC) was led by Rachel Pope with 20 points, followed by Courtney Spangler with 13. Spangler also pulled down nine rebounds among the Eagles' 55.
The Cougars will return to action next Saturday when they play at Marian University.
