Women's Basketball 1/23/2020 5:45:00 PM Jim Egan, Sports Information Director

CIT Basketball: Women's Preview

Jan. 23, 2020 - This is the weekend when memories are made for those connected with the Concordias of Chicago, Ann Arbor, Nebraska or Wisconsin. The 69th Concordia Invitational Tournament (CIT) is here, and this year is the return of this long-running basketball tournament (second to only the NIT) to River Forest - or, as the CUC crowd is putting it, "Our House."

On the women's side, the host Cougars will feel pretty good going into the weekend. After a 2-10 start, CUC is currently on a three-game winning streak, having knocked off Lakeland, Illinois Tech and Alverno. Wednesday night's win in Milwaukee (putting them at 4-7 in conference) saw the Cougars put up their best offense of the season with 49 percent shooting in an 84-55 victory. Twelve players got into the scoring column for the Cougars, led by Tara Hastings with 20 and Charisma Robinson with 12.

Hastings continues an excellent freshman year with a team-leading 15.3 scoring average. Robinson, also a freshman, has made noise this season with her defense, currently second in the conference with 38 steals. Among the seniors, Annika Rae's last home game was something special. Rae scored 13 points, all in the second half, as the Cougars upended Lakeland. The entire CUC team is hoping for some more "specialness" at home, as CIT begins a five-game home stand.

Concordia Wisconsin (9-6, 8-3 NACC) handed CUC its last loss, and the Falcons look to sweep the season series with a first-round win. On Jan. 14, the Cougars hung with the Falcons for a half, but CUW caught fire in the second half to roll to an 81-47 win behind 20 points by Camryn Szolyga and 16 from Clara Chambers. The Falcons are 6-0 for the month of January, having walloped Illinois Tech 97-43 on Wednesday night.

CUW is led in scoring by Emily Hafemann with 13.3 points per game, followed by Chambers (12.5) and Szolyga(10.1). However, the Falcons get it done with defense and rebounding; they capture nine more rebounds per game than their opponents and hold their opponents to 56.5 points per game.

The Concordias of Ann Arbor and Nebraska will open the tournament at 1:00 on Friday afternoon. On the strength of a seven-game winning streak (6-0 in December), the Cardinals come in with a 12-7 record, 7-5 in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletics Conference.

Tris'Styn Williams and J'May Simmons are CUAA's leading scorers with 13.6 and 11.9 scoring averages respectively. However, the player to watch on the Cardinals just might be 5' 9" guard Katie Snow. She averages 10.6 points and 6.1 rebounds, but Snow is equally if not more dangerous on the other end of the floor. She is averaging over three steals per game, and ranked in the NAIA II top ten last year in steals and steals per game.

The Lady Bulldogs of Concordia Nebraska come in with an 18-2 record, 13-1 in the Great Plains Athletics Conference, and the favorite to win their seventh consecutive CIT women's crown and 30th overall. Head coach Drew Olson has led the team to 10 of their CIT titles.

The list of Nebraska's many weapons begins with 5' 11" senior Philly Lammers, the MVP of last year's CIT. She is averaging 13.2 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, 2019 GPAC Player of the Year and currently among CUNE's top ten career scoring leaders. Grace Barry, a 5' 9" guard, is averaging 13.0 points but, like CUAA's Snow, is a top defensive players with 3.5 steals per game. The Lady Bulldogs are a strong three-point shooting team, averaging over 11 per game, and put up 94 points per game.

Fans that cannot make it to the CIT games in person are encouraged to go to www.cucougars.com/coverage for links to live stats and video of every game. Information is also on the official tournament page at www.cucougars.com/cit.

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Players Mentioned

#3 Annika Rae: F/G; 5' 10"; Senior

#1 Charisma Robinson: G; 5' 9"; Freshman

#2 Tara Hastings: G; 5' 3"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#3 Annika Rae
: 5' 10"; Senior
: F/G

#1 Charisma Robinson
: 5' 9"; Freshman
: G

#2 Tara Hastings
: 5' 3"; Freshman
: G

Players Mentioned

#3 Annika Rae

#1 Charisma Robinson

#2 Tara Hastings

Players Mentioned

#3 Annika Rae

#1 Charisma Robinson

#2 Tara Hastings