RIVER FOREST, ILL. – As the heart of Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) play roars on, two of the top teams duked it out as the Aurora University Spartans downed the Concordia University Chicago Cougars 76-66.
INSIDE THE BOX
- Jaylene Wade (Lansing, Ill.) led the Cougars with a season-high 22 points while shooting 50% from the field and picking up three assists.
- Madelyn McGrath (Oak Lawn, Ill.) followed behind with ten points and two rebounds.
- Alisyn MacGregor (Loves Park, Ill.) led the battle of the boards for the Cougars with eight rebounds.
The Cougars battled a dry spell as they immediately fell behind 13-0, unable to get any of their ten shots to fall. Back-to-back layups from
Prentciss Gates (Gary, Ind.) and
Mckayley Hopkins (St. Louis, Mo.) finally put the Cougars on the board, and jumpstarted their comeback.
As shots continued to not fall for the Cougars, an offensive rebound putback from Hopkins followed by a pair of free throws for Gates kept the climb moving. Wade chimed in with a pair of threes to close the quarter, cutting the Spartans lead to seven
.
Finding their groove as the game went on, the Cougars took the first points of the second quarter off a jumper from Wade. A strong bucket in the paint from
Amaya Martin (Issaquah, Wash.) and two free throws from Perry cut the lead down to four before a swipe off their press resulted in a
Madelyn McGrath (Oak Lawn, Ill.) layup, cutting the lead down to two – the lowest of the night.
After battling to get back in the game, the Cougars found themselves on a dry spell once again and fell behind by as much as 18 points as they let the Spartans attack both inside the paint and outside the three-point line. A buzzer-beater three from
Chloe Schaafsma (Lockport, Ill.) off a dime pass from Wade cut the lead back down to 15.
After being in a deficit for the entirety of the game, the Cougars came out in the second half on a 6-0 run, forcing a Spartans timeout.
The Cougars didn't let the timeout rattle them as they continued to outwork the Spartans as they outscored them in the third quarter 17-12. They continued to find sparks sparingly throughout the quarter, emphasized by a three from Perry to close the quarter.
Following their big scoring quarter, the Cougars cut the Spartans lead back down to four, but couldn't withhold the intensity of the Spartans. Despite scoring evenly in the fourth, the deficit the Cougars faced early in the game would prove to be their downfall. The Cougars fall to 8-7 overall and 7-3 in the NACC while the Spartans sit at 14-2 overall and 8-1 in the NACC. The Cougars will be back in action this Saturday, January 21
st at home against Wisconsin Lutheran College at 4:15pm. Coverage can be found at cucougars.com.
