River Forest, Ill. — Saturday was Senior Day in Geiseman Gymnasium as the Concordia University Chicago women's basketball team hosted St. Norbert College for their final home contest of the season. Offense was hard to come by in the game, and the Cougars fell to the Green Knights by a final of 54-38.

The team honored its three seniors prior to the game. Ava Gardner (Park Ridge, Ill.), Marie Baumgartner (Addison, Ill.), and Sarah Ludwig (Roselle, Ill.) were each celebrated by teammates, coaches, and family members for their contributions to the program and school during their time here. 

Inside the Box Score

• Junior Jaylene Wade (Lansing, Ill.) led the way with nine points. She also had a team-high three assists, two steals, and two rebounds. 

• Right behind her were freshman Alisyn MacGregor (Loves Park, Ill.) and junior Mikalah Ellis (Chicago, Ill.), who each had eight points.

• In addition to the points, MacGregor led the team with 13 rebounds, followed by Ellis with six. 

Both teams displayed aggressive defensive pressure in the first quarter which didn't allow either side to produce many good looks at the basket. Ellis delivered the first bucket of the game, while Gardner knocked down the only three pointer of the quarter for either team. She led all Cougars with five first-quarter points. 

Despite shooting just 4-14 from the floor in the first 10 minutes, the Cougars were able to create some separation thanks to a combined 4-4 performance at the line from Ludwig and MacGregor. MacGregor got to the line in typical fashion after pulling in an offensive board. 

The Cougars held a 13-8 advantage after one. A big reason they were able to take the early lead was a 10-6 edge on the boards, including three on the offensive end by MacGregor. 

Wade drilled a shot from deep within the first 15 seconds of the second quarter. This was followed by a 17-0 St. Norbert run, however, as the Cougars went the remainder of the quarter without scoring. 

They were just 1-9 from beyond the arc in the second quarter, while 16 of St. Norbert's 17 points came from inside the paint. The Green Knights went to the half with a 25-16 lead. 

Ellis once again got the scoring going for the Cougars out of the break, scoring the first six CUC points in the third. Her effort trimmed the St. Norbert lead down to five on more than one occasion. 

The Cougars began to move away from the three-point shot in the third, attempting just two while shooting 5-15 from the field as a whole. 

While the team was scoring more than they did in the second, the defense was unable to slow the Green Knights down as effectively as they did in the first half. 

After a two and a half minute scoring drought, Gardner fought through contact to convert a layup, cutting the deficit back to 11 with just over two minutes to play in the quarter. They kept this pace for the remainder of the quarter before St. Norbert beat the buzzer to take a 41-28 lead into the fourth.

The Cougars had a fast start to the fourth, scoring the first six points to suddenly make it a seven-point game at 41-34. The team even had a chance to pull closer following a steal, but couldn't convert on the offensive end. 

Another offensive drought followed the early run, as the Cougars went nearly six and a half minutes without a bucket until sophomore Nazuri Whigham (Naperville, Ill.) scored on the baseline with under a minute and half to play. 

Head Coach Lauren Martin gave her seniors a proper exit in the final 10 seconds, as they left the court to an ovation from the stands and their bench. 

The team wraps up the regular season this Tuesday with a trip to Lakeland University. Tip off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and a stream can be found on cucougars.com/coverage.