Feb. 11, 2015 - After missing out on the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference tournament last season, the Concordia-Chicago women's basketball team punched their return trip ticket this evening by defeating Aurora University 78-66 at Geiseman Gymnasium. The feat added to the overall festive feeling as the Cougars held their Senior Night ceremony that honored graduating four-year player and team captain Kassy Koehler (Belvidere, IL/Rockford Lutheran). "We're very happy to have taken this step tonight, and especially on a night when we had a vrey supportive crowd that also came out to honor Kassy," said CUC head coach Rusty Rogers. "We'll look to finish up strong in our final two games and then wait to see who we will play."
Tonight's game was the first and only meeting this season between the Cougars and the Spartans, and CUC introduced their pressure defense to Aurora from the opening tip. A turnover led to a three-point play by Courtney Lofink (Orange, CA/Orange Lutheran), one of three for the freshman in the opening half, that gave CUC a 5-2 lead. Lofink then set up Koehler for the first two of her seven points on the night as Concordia grabbed an early five-point lead. Leading 20-18 midway through the half, the Cougars began to open things up with a 7-0 run. Miranda Rogers (Cypress, TX/Houston Christian) knocked down the Cougars' first three of the night and followed with a pair of free throws. Lofink then scored on the fast break following a steal by Morgan Jahnke (Fox Lake, IL/Grant Community), and Aurora burned a timeout with the CUC lead standing at 27-18. An 8-0 run later in the half, capped by Lofink's steal and feed to Jaela DeJean (Houston, TX/Houston Christian) for the easy basket, gave Concordia-Chicago a 40-23 lead. Two free throws by Taylor Jacobsen (Aurora, IL/West Aurora) and a short jumper by Lofink closed the half with the Cougars seemingly in control with a 44-26 lead. The Spartans battled back in the second half to cause a few anxious moments for Cougar fans. Aurora's first five baskets of the half came via long distance as Bethany Dorrington knocked down three and Shannon Koski two. Koski's second three brought the visitors back to within 11 at 52-41.
Aurora continued its charge as Neely Marks contributed a few inside baskets. Koski then knocked down another three and followed with a three-point play underneath. Suddenly, the Cougars' lead was a mere four points, 58-54 with 10:57 still to play.
The Cougars retaliated with a quick six points. Jahnke hit two free throws, and DeJean alertly followed up a Cougar miss with a putback. Jahnke then hit a 10-foot jumper in the lane, and CUC's lead was back up to 10 points.
The Spartans made one final push with 3:40 left when Dorrington canned her sixth three of the game to make the score CUC 70, AU 64. However, Lauren Orr (O'Fallon, MO/Lutheran St. Charles) hit the Cougars' fourth three-pointer of the game and perhaps the biggest to slow the visitors' momentum. Free throws by Lofink and DeJean kept the Spartans at a distance, and the final horn soon sounded to herald the Cougars' tenth win in conference play and an RSVP to the tournament field. Lofink scored 21 points, just one short of her season-high (Jan. 31 at Concordia Ann Arbor), and added five assists and three steals. Jahnke recorded 14 points, a team-leading six rebounds, four assists and four steals, and DeJean had 13 points, two assists and two steals. Koehler scored seven points (3-5 shooting, 1-2 threes) to go with three rebounds and two assists while contributing her usual strong defensive effort.
Koehler's Senior Night was marked by several gifts from the team and remarks from Coach Rogers and Jahnke, both acknowledging the high respect she has earned from her teammates. With tonight's seven points, Koehler is now at 595 points for her career. Her 121 threes have her third all-time for CUC women behind current assistant coach Melissa (Schwab) Taylor and all-time scoring leader Marche Smith.
The Cougars (13-10, 10-8 NACC) will look to solidify their playoff position on Saturday when they host Marian University. The regular season will conclude next Tuesday with a game at Dominican University.
