RIVER FOREST, Ill. --- The Concordia University Chicago Cougars women's basketball team (0-1,0-0) opened their 2021-22 season at home inside Geiseman Gymnasium Saturday afternoon. CUC welcomed the University of Wisconsin La-Crosse (1-0,0-0) to River Forest for non-conference action.. The Eagles jumped out to a 15 point lead in the first quarter and never looked back, spoiling the season opener 71-36.
The Eagles jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead before the Cougars called a timeout. After the timeout, the Eagles built their lead to 15-0 before the Cougars scored their first points off a jumper from freshman Josey Kahl (Forest Lake, Minn.).
The Eagles took care of the Cougars in the paint, outscoring CUC 44-14 inside. The Cougars tried to beat the Eagles from the outside, taking 18 three-pointers; the Cougars only connected on two of these shots, both of which came from junior Jaylene Wade (Lansing, Ill.). CUC was outshot by La-Crosse with the Eagles besting the Cougars 45.8% to 27.7% from the field.
The Cougars went on a 9-3 run early in the fourth, looking to build momentum. CUC was unable to build off of that momentum, ultimately falling 71-36.
Notable Stats
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Wade led CUC in several stats, including points (12), 3-pointers (2), and minutes (33).
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Freshman Ava Gardner (Park Ridge, Ill.) scored 10 points in her Cougar debut. This is a career high for Gardner, whose previous high was 6 points, which she scored against Kenyon College in 2019 while playing for Wittenberg University.
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Freshman Alisyn MacGregor (Loves Park, Ill.) tied Wade in the team lead for rebounds with 5.
CUC will look to rebound next Saturday when they take on Blackburn College at home. That game will have a 4pm start-time.
Coverage for that contest, as well as all games this season, can be found at cucougars.com/coverage
