Jan. 27, 2016 - In one of the most exciting weeks of the year for the Concordia University Chicago women's basketball team, they headed to Rockford tonight to try and get things started with a bang. The bang would be loud for the Cougars who would use a 37-point third quarter en route to a 99-75 win while in turn setting the school record for most points scored in a game.

The game got off to a blazing start for both teams. The lead would exchange hands between the two teams seven times in the first 3:20 of the game. From there, the Cougars went on a roll. Lauren Orr (O'Fallon, MO/Lutheran St. Charles) knocked down a pair of free throws and quickly converted a steal into a layup to give CUC a 13-8 advantage. Morgan Jahnke (Fox Lake, IL/Grant Community) hit a short jumper to extend the lead to six. Rockford cut the lead to three, but a rare two-point jumper from the free throw line by Miranda Rogers (Cypress, TX/Houston Christian) and a jumper in the paint by Angelik Young (Crete, IL/Crete-Monee) extended the lead back to seven.  Jahnke turned her own steal into a fast-break layup with 29 seconds remaining to get the lead to nine.  Rockford hit a free throw at the end of the quarter, and CUC would lead 25-17 after one.

The second quarter began quickly when Sarah Smith (St. Ignace, MI/LaSalle) blocked the opening shot of the quarter, and then get rewarded on the offensive end with a layup. CUC continued to build their lead with great passing and strong pressure throughout the quarter. Rogers perfectly slipped a pass inside to Young with 7:27 remaining in the quarter that would grow the lead to 18. In one of the highlight plays of the year, Taylor Jacobsen (Aurora, IL/West Aurora) looked like she was going to take a three-pointer from the right wing, but instead saw a perfect passing lane and threw a dart inside to Smith who would finish the play. Rockford climbed back to within 10, but the strong defensive play by Jasmine Cawley (St. Louis, MO/Lutheran South), forcing the turnover with five seconds left, put the finishing touches on an impressive layup while getting fouled. The two teams headed to the locker room with the visiting Cougars leading 50-38.

CUC would be led by Jahnke in the half with 11 points (5-9). Orr would have 10 points (3-4) while knocking down 3-4 free throws as well. CUC would enjoy their best shooting half of the season shooting just over 51 percent.

The key heading to the second half would be coming out strong, and the Cougars did just that. Rockford tried to fight back in the opening seconds of the quarter, cutting the Cougar advantage back to single digits. Young would then read a pass perfectly and jump to the ball in the Cougars' full-court pressure to extend the lead back to double digits. From there, the Cougars poured it on in the highest-scoring quarter in recent memory. Threes by Rogers and Orr would sandwich a Jahnke layup to build the lead back to 18. Courtney Lofink (Orange, CA/Orange Lutheran) extended the Cougar advantage to 20 with a pair of free throws. Back-to-back baskets by the Jacobsen twins would give CUC a 72-47 lead with 5:01 remaining. Teaira Miller (Maywood, IL/Glenbard East) got in on the scoring action with a layup, then back-to-back threes by Lofink and Rogers extended the lead further. Hannah Rummel (Fenton, MI/Lake Fenton) would finish off the impressive quarter for the Cougars with a short jumper, giving CUC the 87-57 advantage after three.

The fourth quarter would be the most relaxed all season for the Cougars. Working with a 34 point lead, it gave Head Coach Rusty Rogers the opportunity to use his full complement of players off the bench. In all, the Cougars would struggle in the quarter as the Regents cut into the lead. However, Concordia would get scoring in the quarter from Kristen Shimko (Plainfield, IL/Plainfield North) with a pair of free throws. They would also enjoy a three by Ashley Fischer (Oswego, IL/H.S.) and would get the cherry on top when Magen Lloyd (Sandy, UT/Hillcrest) converted a layup at the end of the game to set the school record with 99 points.

The Cougars (7-10 5-8 NACC) would finish with five in double figures on the night (Young, Rogers, Jahnke, Orr, T. Jacobsen). CUC was led by Young and Jahnke who finished with 15 points apiece.  Reigning Cougar Athlete of the Week Rogers would continue her hot streak, canning 4-7 three pointers. The Cougars shot a season high 49 percent from the field, 45 percent from three and force 32 Rockford (2-16 0-13 NACC) turnovers in the game.

"It's nice to get back in the win column tonight," said Rogers, "especially when everyone is able to get into the game and contribute like we were able to tonight. Now we get to look ahead to CIT and try and carry this confidence and momentum into what could be a historic weekend for our program."

The Cougars will look to ride tonight's record setting success into arguably the biggest game of the year Friday night when they will take on archrival Concordia University Wisconsin in the first round of the 65^th annual Concordia Invitational Tournament hosted in Geiseman Gymnasium. The Cougars and Falcons are set to tip off at 6 p.m. on Friday night. Full tournament coverage can be found at cucougars.com/cit.