Feb. 10, 2016 - In a season where the happy endings have not been as numerous as expected, tonight's women's basketball game at Benedictine University provided one of the most dramatic and dynamic in recent memory for the Concordia-Chicago Cougars. The Cougars scored the final nine points of the evening, including a three-point basket by junior Lauren Orr (O'Fallon, MO/Lutheran St. Charles) at the buzzer that lifted CUC past the Eagles by a final score of 61-59.

The teams traded baskets in the early going. Venita Parsons hit a three for the first points of the game, and the Cougars were unable to wrest the lead from the Eagles in the quarter, although a three by Orr and a jumper by Erin Jacobsen (Aurora, IL/West Aurora) had CUC within 16-15 after 10 minutes. 

The game remained close through the second quarter with Taylor Jacobsen (Aurora, IL/West Aurora) hitting a three and scoring on a second-chance layup. Finally, the Cougars took their first lead with 2:27 remaining when Hannah Rummel (Fenton, MI/Lake Fenton) cashed in two free throws. The teams traded baskets for the next couple of minutes until Morgan Jahnke's (Fox Lake, IL/Grant Community) layup with 37 seconds left gave Concordia-Chicago the halftime lead at 33-32.

Concordia-Chicago started out strong in the third quarter and held the lead for the first part of the quarter. Taylor Jacobsen was fouled on a three-point shot and cashed in all three free throws for a four-point lead. Moments later, Young hit a 12-foot jumper from the right side to give CUC its biggest lead at 43-38. However, the Cougars went dry after Young's basket, and the Eagles capitalized by scoring the next eight points to take back the lead. Jahnke's free throw ended the drought, but the Eagles' Jasma Williams scored the last basket of the quarter as Benedictine took a 48-44 lead into the fourth.

Both teams upped the intensity as the game entered the final 10 minutes. The Eagles appeared to have the upper hand as Payton Sims knocked down a three. Williams added a couple of baskets, including one with 3:37 remaining that gave the home team a 59-52 lead.

The comeback began innocently enough as Orr was fouled going to the basket. She sank both free throws to make it a 59-54 game. Moments later, Jahnke stole the ball at midcourt and led Courtney Lofink (Orange, CA/Orange Lutheran) with a perfect pass  for a layup that made it a three-point game.

As the game reached the final minute, the CUC defense held off Benedictine on two shots. Young rebounded the second miss, and she would score on the ensuing trip down the floor, finishing off a sweet pass from Lofink. With Benedictine working most of the shot clock, the CUC defense forced a long shot that went out of bounds untouched, and the Cougars had possession with 30.2 seconds remaining.

Two timeouts later, the Cougars had an inbounds in the frontcourt with five seconds on the clock. The pass came into a crowd directly behind the free-throw line. The ball was loose for a few seconds before Orr picked it up. With no other options remaining, Orr let it fly from just behind the arc. As the buzzer sounded, the ball swished through the net, and a joyous celebration erupted in front of the Cougars' bench.

Orr's game-winner gave her 10 points on the night. Young led the Cougars with 16 points, followed by Jahnke with 11 and Taylor Jacobsen also with 10 points. The Cougars' defense played a stingy game, limiting the Eagles to 37 percent from the field and putting them at the line for only six free throws the entire night. Benedictine (14-8, 11-6 NACC) was led by Alanna Ferry's 19 points.

The Cougars (9-13, 7-10 NACC) will look to extend their winning streak to three when they host Wisconsin Lutheran College on Saturday, following the men's game at approximately 4:15 p.m.


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