Feb. 6,2016 - As far as special occasions go, today was up as one of the highlights of the year for the Concordia University Chicago women's basketball team. The pre-game started out special when the team came out wearing special "pink out" warmup shirts. The special name on the back was of senior captain Morgan Jahnke's (Fox Lake, IL/Grant Community) grandmother Sue. The team would play inspired basketball, taking control from the beginning for the wire-to-wire 64-51 victory over the Marian Sabres. In all, four Cougars finished the game in double figures.

The game tipped off appropriately with the Cougars taking the opening tip. Courtney Lofink (Orange, CA/Orange Lutheran)quickly fed the ball forward to Jahnke to open the scoring for CUC. The Cougars opened on a 10-1 run over the first 4:48 before Marian got their first field goal, a three from Nicole Paulus. However, the Cougars answered back with a three-point basket from the top of the key by Lauren Orr (O'Fallon, MO/Lutheran St. Charles). Orr extended the Cougar lead with another basket, and Angelik Young (Crete, IL/Crete-Monee)finished the quarter with a layup to give CUC the 17-6 lead after one.

The Cougars came out strong again in the second quarter. They opened the quarter forcing three straight Sabres' turnovers and converted those into six straight fastbreak points with two layups by Lofink and one by Jahnke. CUC continued their strong pressure midway through the quarter with a jumper from Young, followed by another fastbreak layup by Orr, giving CUC the 27-9 lead. Marian battled back over the next few minutes to get back within nine. CUC closed the quarter strong, though, with a layup by Young, a three-point play by Orr and a Teaira Miller (Maywood, IL/Glenbard East)jumper. Marian knocked down a jumper at the buzzer to send the teams to the locker room with the Cougars leading 36-22.

CUC enjoyed a strong shooting half, led by Orr with 10 points (4-5), Young and Jahnke would have eight points apiece. Lofink was involved on the offensive end with six points and six assists. As a team, the Cougars shot 59 percent from the floor. The defense was just as strong for the Cougars, holding the Sabres to 20 percent shooting from the floor in the half.

Marian tried to fight back after the halftime break. They cut the home team's lead back to single digits. It was the range of Miranda Rogers (Cypress, TX/Houston Christian) that eventually extended the lead back to 12. CUC continued to build with five straight points from Orr to stretch the lead to 19 with 3:17 remaining in the quarter, but Marian knocked down consecutive pairs of free throws to narrow the gap to 15 after three.

Closing games is always tough, and CUC was up to the challenge today. Marian attempted to come back early, but a Rogers' three and a Jahnke jumper kept the Sabres chasing. Rogers again ended the short Sabres' run with a three, and Young did the same with a long jumper and a pair of free throws in crunch time. Fittingly, at the end of the game, it was Jahnke at the line again who knocked down a pair of free throws to close the scoring for CUC.

Following the game, the team donned their special warmups again to take a team photo with Sue Jahnke andto wish the Jahnke family strength though the battle with cancer.When asked about the game, Morgan Jahnke replied, "It was a really special game to see my grandma's face when we came out. She is our biggest fan, and to give her the win tonight means the world to me."

The Cougars were led by Orr with 15 points on 6-9 shooting. Young finished with a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds. Jahnke ended with 12 points and four assists on the special night and Lofink with 10 points and seven assists. CUC shot 45 percent from the field and a season high 81 percent from the free throw line. They also set a season-best in limiting Marian to just a 23 percent shooting percentage for the game.

"It felt great to get the win tonight," said CUC head coach Rusty Rogers following the game. "We got a great all-around team performance tonight. It was even more special to do it for Morgan's family tonight."

The Cougars will look to get on a hot streak to close the year when they rematch with Benedictine University on Wednesday night from Lisle. Opening tip is scheduled for 7 p.m.