River Forest, Ill. — The Concordia Chicago women's basketball team (2-5) heads to Lisle, Ill. on Tuesday for a conference contest with the Benedictine Eagles (0-0). 
 
The Cougars enter their final week of the regular season coming off back-to-back losses at the hands of Aurora. As the season progresses, the team continues to see growing contributions from across the board, even in losses. Five Cougars scored in double-figures in Saturday's loss, including a career-high 12 points from freshman forward Mackenzie Straulin (Johnsburg, Ill.). 
 
"With every new day, new opportunities appear, especially on game days," Head Coach Lauren Martin said. "We are elated to get back on the court this Tuesday as we know the opportunity to be able to play this game has been lingering over us for a while now."
 
Sophomore guard Jaylene Wade (Lansing, Ill.) found her rhythm after missing the team's first four games of the season, scoring a career-high 23 on Friday and following that up with 18 more on Saturday. Senior guard Marie Baumgartner also notched a career-high over the weekend with a 16-point performance during Saturday's game. It has truly been a team effort as of late for the Cougars.
 
"The girls have been working on and off the court for some time now and we are ready to put the game plan in motion," Martin said. 
 
It's the season-opener for Benedictine, who finished a perfect 20-0 in conference play during the 2019-2020 regular season. The team won a school-record 17 consecutive games before failing in the conference championship to No. 2 Edgewood.
 
The Eagles return all five of their starters from last year, including First Team All-NACC forwards Allison Michalski and Alex Fanning. Fanning, who averaged a double-double as a sophomore, was also named the NACC Player of the Year. Michalski finished her junior year as the team's leading scorer, averaging 16.8 PPG. 

Tuesday night's game is set to tip-off at 5 p.m., and a stream to the game will be available on Benedictine's website.