Feb. 21, 2017 – A 15-10 regular season behind them, the Concordia-Chicago women's basketball team opened the proverbial second season this evening as they traveled to Milwaukee, WI for first-round action in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference tournament. The fifth-seeded Cougars squared off against the fourth-seeded Wisconsin Lutheran Warriors for the right to face top-seeded Concordia Wisconsin on Thursday night. The Cougars were in excellent position to win after three quarters, but an unbelievable fourth quarter that saw the Warriors outscore the Cougars 27-0 brought CUC's season to a stunning close by a score of 66-45.

The Cougars fell behind 6-2 as Caitlin Knueppel nailed her first two shots from three-point range. However, Courtney Lofink made her first steal of the night for an easy layup and then followed up another CUC swipe with a three-pointer for a 7-6 lead. The Cougars eventually stretched their lead to 11-6, but Wynonah Filla scored 11 straight points (three triples) to grab a 17-11 lead. But CUC responded with a vengeance, scoring nine straight with Crystal Corr running the floor and getting a couple of layups. Sarah Smith finished the run with a layup as CUC led 20-17 after one.

CUC's offense cooled off dramatically in the second quarter. After the Warriors scored the first three points to tie the game, Taylor Jacobsen's off-balance jumper put the Cougars back into the lead. But Knueppel hit her third three moments later to propel the hosts back into a 23-22 lead.

The Cougars would endure a dry spell, but the defense kept them in the game. They continued to force turnovers, the hosts finishing the half with 14. Smith finally ended the dry spell with a layup, but the Warriors tacked on a free throw in the final seconds of the half to take a 29-24 lead at the break.

Shooting percentages and shots attempted were virtually identical for the half, but the Warriors made seven of their nine field goals from downtown while the Cougars were just 1-8 from the outside. Filla hit all four of her shots, 3-3 from afar, and made both of her free throws to lead all scorers at the half with 13 points. Lofink's early eight-point blitz put her atop the scoring column for the Cougars.

Renewed energy on the defensive front helped CUC start the third quarter. Lofink's free throw and Corr's layup pulled CUC back within two. A few minutes later, Orr connected on a three, just the Cougars' second of the night, as they retook the lead at 30-29. Jen Dowden's jumper pushed the hosts back in front briefly, but T. Jacobsen answered with a jumper from the right side. The junior struck twice more over the next few minutes, Smith added a putback and Corr scored on a fast break. Free throws by Miranda Rogers and Jasmine Cawley ended the 12-0 run before Jen Dowden hit a three from up top. Lisa Lubben got that back with her own three, but Knueppel's three just before the buzzer cut CUC's lead to 45-39 as the teams headed to the fourth quarter.

Turnovers were the beginning of the Cougars' demise over the final 10 minutes. CUC was guilty of three over the first two minutes as WLC got a three by Knueppel and two free throws by Dowden to close to within a point. The Cougars did not even attempt their first shot until the 7:32 mark, which the Warriors rebounded and turned into a go-ahead three by Knueppel. A two by Knueppel a minute later made it a 10-0 run for the quarter and 13-0 overall, forcing a CUC timeout. However, matters did not improve for the maroon and gold from there; they would go on to miss all 10 of their shots in the quarter along with both free throws, and the Warriors' torrid 6-19 shooting from long range in the quarter soon brought this game to a very unsettling end to the game and the Cougars' season.

Lofink led the Cougars in their final game with nine points, eight rebounds and four steals. Corr added eight points and six rebounds. For WLC, Knueppel scored 26 points and Dowden 10. The Warriors hit 15 of 37 threes for the game while the Cougars were just three of 15.

Tonight was the final game for four seniors – Rogers, Orr, Cawley and Megan Lloyd.