Dec. 15, 2015 - Pressure has been a key to victory since Rusty Rogers took over the Concordia-Chicago basketball program. Tonight, the strong fourth quarter pressure made up for a tough shooting night, as CUC battled foul trouble all night long but gutted out a 68-57 win in Appleton, Wisconsin.

Concordia-Chicago has been plagued with slow starts for the last few weeks, but they would come out and battle despite having a tough shooting night. Morgan Jahnke (Fox Lake, IL/Grant Community) opened up the scoring with a layup, starting a back-and-forth contest in the first quarter. With Lawrence leading 8-6 with just over a minute remaining, the Cougars made their run. Courtney Lofink (Orange, CA/Orange Lutheran) turned a Lawrence turnover into a layup. Moments later, Lofink gave the Cougars the lead converting an Erin Jacobsen (Aurora, IL/West Aurora) steal. The Cougars completed the 7-0 run to close the quarter when Lauren Orr (O'Fallon, MO/Lutheran St. Charles) nailed a three-pointer with nine seconds left, giving CUC the 13-8 lead after 10 miniutes of play.

The Cougars came out strong to start the second quarter. Teaira Miller (Maywood, IL/Glenbard East) would get the scoring started, continuing the run from the first quarter. Angelik Young (Crete, IL/Crete-Monee) and Jahnke converted layups to cap off the 13-0 run, giving CUC the lead 19-8 with 7:46 remaining in the half. Lawrence hung tough, trading baskets with CUC. Lawrence closed within five with 3:22 left, but Lofink and Jahnke combined to extend the lead back out to nine. A pair of free throws and a Andrea Wilkinson jumper got Lawrence back within five, but Hannah Rummel (Fenton, MI/Lake Fenton) split two free throws at the end of the quarter, giving the Cougars the 26-20 lead at halftime.

Despite having the lead, the Cougars shot just .297 from the field in the half, 1-14 on three-pointers, and just 3-10 from the free throw line. The defense though was able to force 16 Lawrence turnovers in the half. Lofink and Jahnke would lead the Cougar scoring with six points apiece.

Quarter number three would be the toughest for the Cougars. The two teams exchanged the lead five times in the quarter.  It took just over three minutes for Lawrence to evaporate the CUC lead, and take their own lead at 28-27. The teams traded the lead over the next few possessions. Magen Lloyd (Sandy, UT/Hillcrest) and Young gave the Cougars the lead back, and Orr extended the lead out to three. However, Lawrence reclaimed the lead at 35-33 off an Aubrey Scott three-pointer with 2:48 remaining in the period. Lawrence then take advantage of a Cougar turnover and missed layup to go up by six. Taylor Jacobsen (Aurora, IL/West Aurora) would pull the Cougars closer, but a pair of free throws would keep CUC chasing. Again, it was Orr who hit a jumper with just three seconds on the clock that would put the Cougars within 43-40 heading to the fourth quarter.

CUC turned up the pressure in their full-court press to start the final quarter. The Cougars pulled closer immediately when Jahnke turned her steal into a layup.  Moments later, Orr gave CUC the lead back. Lawrence answered with another short run stretching their lead out to four with 7:35 remaining but, from that point on, CUC's pressure began to wear down Lawrence. Lofink got the comeback underway with a layup and a free throw. Miller then gave CUC the lead with 7:03 remaining. The Cougars kept up the pressure, forcing seven turnovers in the last seven minutes. The Vikings grabbed one final lead at 52-51, but CUC would be up to the task down the stretch. T. Jacobson gave the Cougars the lead for good with a three-pointer. Sheyla Kahalehoe (Kaliho, HI/Iolani) doubled the Cougars' lead with a layup. CUC finally pulled away down the stretch with Orr, E. Jacobson, Miller and Lofink hitting key shots down the stretch, adding up to the final 11-point margin

"We really gutted out the win tonight," said Rogers. "We got after it in our full-court pressure, especially in the fourth quarter. We had some great open looks at the basket, but we just couldn't get the shots to fall. Our defense is what got us this win tonight."

Orr led all scorers with 18 points and five steals. Lofink was the only other Cougar in double figures, finishing with 12 points, five assists and five steals. As a team, CUC shot just .333 from the field and .148 from three. The key was the Cougars forcing 35 Lawrence turnovers for the game.

The Cougars (3-3) will look to take the lid off of the basket in the Division Street rivalry game against Dominican University, the last game before the Christmas break. Tip is scheduled from the west side of River Forest at Dominican's Igini Sprots Forum at 2:00 on Saturday afternoon.