River Forest, Ill. — Concordia Chicago women's basketball (0-3) dropped a hard-fought game on Saturday at home against Lakeland University (2-1) by a final score of 66-54. 

The Cougars led for just under five minutes of action, but never let Lakeland get too comfortable with their lead. CUC was able to keep the pressure on with their highest scoring output of the season, thanks in large part to the return of primary ball handler, Bailey Steinkamp (Cary, Ill.).

The sophomore guard took the floor for the Cougars for the first time in the young season. She made an immediate impact, shooting 6-13 from the floor on her way to a team-high 14 points. Steinkamp also dished out three assists and crashed the boards for four rebounds. 

Fellow sophomore guard Tara Hastings (New Lenox, Ill.) was a workhorse for the Cougars, clocking 40 minutes of action on the floor. Hastings scored 12 points to go along with three assists and led the team with 11 rebounds, including three on the offensive end. As a team, the Cougars grabbed nine offensive boards, allowing them to edge out Lakeland in second chance points 8-4. 

Freshman center Lauren Saleh (River Forest, Ill.) made her CUC debut clocking 11 minutes of action off the bench. In her time on the floor, Saleh shot 2-2 from the field, including a 3-pointer. She also grabbed a rebound on the defensive end. 

Other key contributions off the bench included senior guard Marie Baumgartner (Addison, Ill.) and sophomore guard Mikalah Ellis (Chicago, Ill.). Baumgartner shot 2-3 from the field and got after it on the glass on both ends, grabbing a pair of offensive and defensive rebounds. Ellis was a spark plug for the Cougars, scoring nine points in 12 and a half minutes of action on 4-9 shooting. 

The Cougars will be back in action at home against Benedictine on Feb. 9. The game can be streamed on the CUC Athletic's Youtube channel.