Jan. 26, 2019 – Today's women's consolation game in the 68
th annual Concordia Invitational Tournament was an unusual pairing – the third matchup this season between the Concordia-Chicago Cougars and the Concordia Wisconsin Falcons. Although the game had no bearing on the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference standings, the two traditional rivals played as if it was. The game was up for grabs until a big third-quarter run by Concordia Wisconsin put this one in the Falcons' pocket, CUW beating CUC by a final score of 86-54.
The Cougars had the better energy in the early minutes, and they got a boost when
Michaela Thornton banked in a three with the shot clock expiring for a 5-2 lead. The Falcons tied the game, but
Jada Dixon's three, followed by a
Crystal Corr layup off a steal shot CUC back in the lead 11-6. Once again, CUW caught up and took a one-point lead. The game settled into a see-saw affair over the next few minutes before
Maddie Vojacek gave CUC a late boost. Vojacek drained a three from the right wing, before her steal and breakaway layup in the final seconds made it CUC 20, CUW 16 after 10 minutes.
Consecutive threes at the start of the second quarter got the Falcons back in the game. Corr's putback gave CUC the lead back at 24-22, but two inside scores by Camryn Szolyga and a three by Emily Hafemann did some damage in a 9-0 CUW run. Corr's layup ended the run, and
Deja Southall added a late score, but the Cougars found themselves looking up at a 34-28 halftime deficit.
The Cougars forced 13 Falcons' turnovers in the half and recorded seven steals, two each by Thornton and
Kayla Horlacher. However, the Falcons (11-28, 39 percent) outshot the Cougars (12-34, 35 percent) and held a 17-12 advantage on the boards.
To start the third, CUW's Arianna Liddicoat looked to extend her team's lead, as an opening three and a layup pushed the edge to 41-32. But Bloom led the Cougars back with a 9-0 run on the strength of a three and a lane jumper. It was then the Falcons' turn with eight straight points, triggered by a pair of three-point plays. Corr interrupted the run momentarily with a free throw, but the Falcons continued with eight more points for a composite 16-1 run and a 57-42 lead. The shooting percentages for the quarter told the story, with CUC going 4-19 and CUW 10-16, as the game went to the fourth with the Cougars trailing 61-45.
The fourth quarter saw the shooting trends continue as the Falcons found the spots inside and the Cougars could not. The most telling stat for the second half showed CUW scoring 34 points inside the lane.
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INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
·      The Cougars scored 26 points off 20 Falcons' turnovers while committing just 11 turnovers themselves.
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Crystal Corr posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
·      The Cougars rejected six CUW shots, with Corr and
Jada Dixon each recording a pair.
·      Emily Hafemann
led five Falcons' players in double figures with 15 points; she also recorded a double-double with 13 rebounds.
The Cougars will now come home and resume their conference schedule with a home date against Wisconsin Lutheran College next Saturday, Feb. 2 at 2 p.m.
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