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Jan 9. 2015 - Heading to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin today, the Concordia University Chicago Cougars were looking to put a full game together from start to finish and, secondly, to avenge a lopsided loss to the Marian University Sabres last year in MU's Sadoff Gymnasium. In the end, the Cougars accomplished both goals today, building a lead out to as many as 20 points and ultimately defeating the Sabres by a final score of 75-63.

The Cougars would have quite the battle on their hands for the first quarter, but they got on the board quickly with Sarah Smith finishing on the fast break. However, the Sabres' excruciatingly hot shooting from the outside kept CUC chasing for most of the quarter. A Nicole Paulus three extended the Sabres' lead to the largest of the day at 15-8 with 4:08 remaining in the quarter. With perfect timing as she seems to have had all year, Lauren Orr (O'Fallon, MO/Lutheran St. Charles) rattled off four straight points to cut into the home team's lead. Miranda Rogers (Cypress, TX/Houston Christian) added a deep three from the left wing with three minutes left in the quarter to tie the game at 15. Angelik Young (Crete, IL/Crete-Monee) then gave CUC the lead for good with 1:17 remaining in the quarter when she converted an Erin Jacobsen (Aurora, IL/West Aurora) steal. Morgan Jahnke (Fox Lake, IL/Grant Community) continued to build the Cougars' momentum at the end of the quarter when she hit two free throws. The highlight of the quarter came at the end as Jasmine Cawley (St. Louis, MO/Lutheran South) stole the Sabres' inbound pass with three seconds to go, raced toward the basket and fed Teaira Miller (Maywood, IL/Glenbard East) perfectly in stride for the layup to beat the buzzer and give CUC the 22-17 lead.

The second quarter started off as a defensive struggle as neither team would be able to score the first two minutes. Marian struck first, but Courtney Lofink (Orange, CA/Orange Lutheran) kept them at bay with a layup. CUC's ability to force turnovers in their full-court defense was key. Lofink turned a steal into a layup. On the following possession, Orr came up with another steal that resulted in a Taylor Jacobsen (Aurora, IL/West Aurora) three, giving CUC the 30-20 lead. The three began a stretch of nine straight points for T. Jacobsen. The Cougars later extended the lead out to 16, but two late Sabre free throws sent the two teams to the locker room with the visiting Cougars leading 38-24.

T. Jacobsen led the Cougars at the half with nine points (3-4). Orr played a very good half in finishing with seven points and five steals. The Cougars shot .414 from the field for the half, and their ability to force 18 Marian turnovers and only allowing seven points in the second quarter was key to one of the strongest efforts from the Cougars so far this year.

Looking to step on the gas in the third quarter, CUC did just that. Orr opened up the third with a short jumper. Moments later, Lofink and Jahnke combined to extend the lead to 18. It was Jahnke again with a short jumper and two free throws that gave CUC the 50-31 lead with 5:22 remaining in the quarter. Magen Lloyd (Sandy, UT/Hillcrest) gave the Cougars their largest lead of the day with a layup just over a minute later. Marian attempted to come back, but CUC continued to apply pressure with Smith converting a layup for a 58-40 lead after three.

The Cougars would have to battle tough in the fourth quarter as they fought off the demons of long dry spells at crucial times. Young stretched the Cougars' lead to 20. Marian would cut the lead to 15 quickly, but Lofink knocked down a pair of free throws and a three pointer to answer back. Over the next five minutes, CUC was able to make shots, but Marian was the hotter shooting team. The 20-point lead was cut to nine with 2:09 left. Young would convert a much needed layup to kill the Marian momentum. Orr and Miller then cashed in on late free throws to extend the lead back to a comfortable 12 points when the final buzzer would sounded.

Concordia-Chicago (6-6, 4-4 NACC) would have four players finish in double figures, led by Orr with her 14 points and five steals. Lofink finished with 11 points, six steals, and four assists. Young completed her third double-double over the last four games with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Jahnke went 4-5 from the free throw line on her way to a 10-point game, and Smith continued her string of strong play with seven points and eight rebounds. The Cougars' defense forced 28 Marian turnovers was crucial in neutralizing the Sabres' nine three-point baskets in the contest.

"We are starting to play our best basketball," said CUC head coach Rusty Rogers. "We are getting really good play from Sarah and Angelik down low, and we are starting to be able to knock down shots when we need to. We came in here and got blown out last year, so a win like this is a big step in the right direction for us, heading into Wednesday."

The Cougars will get ready for a short stretch of home cooking, when they return to Geisman Gymnasium on Wednesday evening to take on Benedictine University. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.