Jan. 27, 2017 – The Concordia University Chicago women's basketball team was assigned the opening game of the 66^th annual Concordia Invitational Tournament this afternoon. Their opponent was Concordia University Ann Arbor, an NAIA team who entered the game at 15-7 on the year. The Cougars came in at 11-6 and on a two-game winning streak, but CUC fell behind early and never recovered as the Cardinals ran away to an 84-48 victory at Walz Arena on the campus of Concordia University Nebraska.

Ann Arbor came out with the initial surge, getting a layup off the opening tip. The Cardinals forced some Cougar turnovers in the early minutes and drove to the basket for three buckets en route to an 8-2 lead. The Cardinals then got hot from outside as they scored three straight from behind the arc for a 17-9 edge. However, the Cougars kept working and began to draw some fouls on the Cardinals.  CUC went on to hit all eight of their free throws in the quarter. Crystal Corr's pair in the final minute kept the Cougars within five points, 28-23 after 10 minutes.

The Cardinals extended the lead again in the early minutes of the second, once again using the long ball to take a 13-point advantage. But Taylor Jacobsen found her scoring touch and went to work, scoring the next four baskets and keeping the Cougars within striking distance. Miranda Rogers then canned a three with 20 seconds remaining, and CUC went to the locker room at the half, trailing by only 44-36.

Turnovers were a decisive factor in the first half, as the Cardinals forced the Cougars into 18 while committing just eight themselves. The three-point shooting also was kinder to the Cardinals as they hit 6-19 while the Cougars made just two of 11 from long range.

While the Cougars had drawn hope from just a single-digit deficit, the first few minutes of the third quarter put a damper on the excitement. The Cardinals scored the first 14 points of the third as the Cougars went cold, and it wasn't until the 4:51 mark that T. Jacobsen's layup got CUC on the board. CUC shot just 4-17 for the quarter and trailed 71-46 after three. The fourth quarter was no better as the Cougars managed just two points on Corr's free throws, and both teams finished the game by giving their younger players some CIT experience.

T. Jacobsen was the only CUC player to score in double figures, shooting 7-18 for 14 points. Erin Jacobsen scored nine points to go with five rebounds. Corr led the Cougars on the board with eight, followed by Sarah Smith with seven.

The Cougars will play for third place tomorrow at 12 noon against either Concordia Wisconsin or Concordia Nebraska.