RIVER FOREST, Ill. – Looking to start the 2019-2020 season off strong, the Concordia University Chicago Women's basketball team opens the season Tuesday night with a NACC matchup at Rockford University.
 
Opening Up: Under the direction of second year head coach Lauren Martin, the Cougars look to take a step forward this season. The Cougars have won five straight season openers, including the last two being on the road. CUC has also won their last five NACC openers. Last season CUC downed Marian 68-42 in Fond du Lac, Wis. This will be the second season in a row the Cougars have opened with a conference contest.
 
Series History: The Cougars have had a lot of recent success against the Regents. CUC has won ten in a row dating back to January of 2014. CUC swept the season series last year by scores of 99-73 in River Forest and 79-60 in Rockford. Then junior Crystal Corr had a season high 22 points in the road win. Corr also had a career day in the matchup in River Forest, when she brought down a career high 17 rebounds.
 
New Faces: The Cougars welcome 11 new faces to the roster this season, Coach Martin has high expectations of the group, with a large group of them expected to be instant contributors this season. "I am super pumped about the entire class," remarked Coach Martin. "(I) Love the cohesiveness of them so far and how they are fitting in with the returners. All of our newbies have shown to be strong in the classroom, on the court and look to live their lives of service and significance. Some local, some from out of state; all are diverse amongst themselves, their backgrounds and their areas of study. We are extremely excited for what this class brings to the court and to our institution in several entities."
 
The Returners: CUC returns nine players from the 2018-19 season. That includes 61 percent of the scoring from last season. They also return key contributors defensively that helped to lead the NACC in steals per game (10.2) and turnovers forced per game (20.4). Corr also returns to the Cougars after a NACC Honorable Mention honor last season. Corr averaged 8.0 rebounds per game which ranked fifth in the NACC. Michaela Thornton, Annika Rae and Jada Dixon all were important contributors a season ago. Thornton averaged 7.5 points per game for CUC, while Dixon was second on the team in blocks with 25.
 
Up Next: The Cougars continue their five game road stretch to open the 2019-20 season on Friday and Saturday when they head to the UW-Whitewater Tip-Off Classic. They will take on the host UW-Whitewater on Friday afternoon before taking on UW-Stevens Point on Saturday.