PLYMOUTH, Wis. --- Looking to close out the 2021-22 regular season with a win, the Concordia University Chicago women's basketball made the trip north to take on the Lakeland University Muskies on Tuesday night. The Cougars came out strong from the opening jump and cruised to a 54-44 road win.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Mikalah Ellis (Chicago, Ill.) led the team with 13 points and seven rebounds. She also recorded three blocks and two steals.
- Jaylene Wade (Lansing, Ill.) was 5-11 shooting on the night and also chipped in four rebounds and four assists.
- Alisyn MacGregor (Loves Park, Ill.) recorded eight points and nine rebounds.
The Cougars opened the scoring for the night on an Ellis jumper early in the first. Lakeland fought their way back to grab their only lead for the day, but CUC answered midway through the quarter on an
Ava Gardner (Park Ridge, Ill.) three. Concordia continued to build on their momentum late in the first when Wade knocked down a three to extend the lead to 18-11.
CUC continued to add on to their lead to open the second. Working quickly in transition,
Chloe Schaafsma (Lockport, Ill.) was able to convert a layup to extend the CUC lead to 20-11. The two offenses went cold for most of the quarter, with most of the scoring coming in the final few minutes. Lakeland got enough offense going to pull back within four, but a Gardner layup extended the lead back to six at 26-20 right before the half.
Concordia grabbed momentum for good in the third quarter with an 11-1 run over a four-minute stretch. Ellis started the run with a layup,
Nazuri Whigham (Naperville, Ill.) followed with a three-point play to extend the lead to ten. Wade, Ellis, and MacGregor followed with layups to extend the lead all the way out to 39-23 before Lakeland ended the run.
Madelyn McGrath added a final layup in the third with the right hand to give CUC a 44-32 lead after three.
The Cougars kept their foot on the gas in the fourth.
Jada Dixon (Gary, Ind.) helped the CUC lead reach 15 with a three from the top of the key early in the fourth. MacGregor and Wade both added layups to give CUC their largest lead of the day at 53-34. Lakeland was able to knock down a few baskets late, but it was not enough to overcome the deficit. CUC closed out the regular season with a 54-44 victory.
With the win, the Cougars improve to 7-15 overall and 6-11 in NACC play. Lakeland falls to 12-12 overall and 8-9 in NACC play. The Cougars will now prepare to take on Lakeland once again on Saturday afternoon, this time in the NACC playoffs. Opening tip is set for 2:00 pm from Plymouth, Wis. You can find links to coverage at cucougars.com/coverage.
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