Jan. 30, 2015 - Friday afternoon provided the opportunity for several of the Concordia-Chicago women's basketball players and head coach Rusty Rogers to have their first taste of the annual Concordia Invitational Tournament (CIT). Fifty years ago, CUC and Concordia University Nebraska played the first women's contest in the 64-year-old tournament, and those two teams came together in Ann Arbor, MI to open this year's edition. However, the Cougars found themselves up against a formidable opponent as CUNE entered the weekend 21-1 and ranked third in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The maroon and gold hung with the Lady Bulldogs for a time, but the Nebraskans eventually pulled away to a 102-66 victory.
Both teams have used pressure defense as a calling card this season, and the early minutes of the game showed that in abundance. The Cougars finally got their first field goal at the 17:15 mark as Morgan Jahnke (Fox Lake, IL/Grant Community) banked in a three-pointer from the right wing. Lauren Orr (O'Fallon, MO/Lutheran St. Charles) entered the game early and made a quick splash as she scored the next two CUC baskets, putting the Cougars within 9-8 six minutes into the game.
The Lady Bulldogs began to extend their lead as they hit the Cougars with a 12-3 lead over the next few minutes.The Cougars clawed back to within 23-17 before they hit a dry spell of nearly five minutes. CUNE capitalized with eight consecutive points, four from 5'11" forward Tracy Peitz, as the Lady Bulldogs stretched their lead to 38-23. Peitz enjoyed the big half with 12 points on 6-9 shooting.
While the uphill climb grew larger in the second half, the Cougars continued to battle. They got as close as 12 points five minutes into the half on Jaela DeJean's (Houston, TX/Houston Christian) putback. But the size and the relentless pressure from CUNE eventually wore down the Cougars. Jahnke posted 22 points to lead the Cougars, just two points shy of her career-high mark. The junior guard shot 6-10 from the field (1-2 on threes) and a sparkling 9-10 from the free throw line to go with five rebounds and four steals. Angelik Young (Crete, IL/Crete-Monee) made her season-high of 15 points (6-9 FG, 3-4 FT) and seven rebounds.
"I was disappointed in the final score because I don't think it's indicative of the way we played," said Rogers. "All credit to Concordia Nebraska, that's the best defense we've seen this year. But I love our team, we'll keep this loss in perspective and bounce back."
The Cougars (11-8) will come back on Saturday afternoon for the consolation game against host Concordia Ann Arbor who lost to Concordia Wisconsin 74-52 in Friday's other first-round women's game.
