SEWARD, NEB. -- Playing in the championship game at CIT for the first time since 2018, the Concordia University Chicago Cougars fell to the reigning champion Concordia University Nebraska Bulldogs.
INSIDE THE BOX
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Melia Perry (Plainfield, Ill.) led the Cougars with 13 points on the night alongside a solo rebound.
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Alisyn MacGregor (Loves Park, Ill.) led off the glass for the Cougars after picking up 15 rebounds -- five offensive and ten defensive.
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Jaylene Wade (Lansing, Ill.) added seven points, four rebounds, and one assist.
FIRST QUARTER
After falling behind 4-0 to start the game, a three from Wade would bring the Cougars within one. After the Cougars tightened up their defense and held the Bulldogs scoreless for nearly five minutes, the Bulldogs eventually broke through the Cougar defense and took a four-point lead. Perry took matters into her own hands and drained her first pull-up jumper of the night and cut the lead back down to two.
Mckayley Hopkins (St. Louis, Mo.) stepped up for the Cougars as they slowly fell behind to as much as a 12-point deficit in the first quarter and swiped the ball from a Bulldog and turned it into a fastbreak layup to cut the Bulldog lead back down to single-digits as the quarter ended, but a last-second three from CUNE would bump their lead back up to 12.
SECOND QUARTER
A 9-0 run for the Bulldogs flustered the Cougars as they were unable to get shots to fall, but a layup inside the paint from MacGregor broke the Cougar dry spell and shifted the momentum. Following MacGregor's bucket, Perry decided to spark up and drained back-to-back triples within a minute of each other and followed with another jumper just a minute later.
Despite the Cougars' best defensive efforts, the Bulldogs couldn't be contained and jumped to a 24-point lead heading into the half.
THIRD QUARTER
With CUNE coming out and knocking a shot less than ten seconds into the half, the Cougars had to step up in order to try to start their climb back. Another three from Perry seemed like the jolt of electricity they needed but fell stale again as the Bulldogs continued to dominate.
Once again, doing what she does best, Hopkins picked up another steal and fastbreak layup to help chip away at the deficit that continued to grow. Despite their intense efforts, the Cougars were outscored 20-7 in the third quarter.
FOURTH QUARTER
With the Bulldogs showing no signs of slowing down, the Cougars continued to battle and found their first points of the fourth quarter nearly three minutes in. Prentciss Gates (Gary, Ind.) found her way into the paint and was able to finish at the rim.
As the quarter progressed, the Bulldog lead extended and the Cougars closed the night with an 85-33 loss and earning second place at the 70th Concordia Invitational Tournament. Before the night closed, Perry found herself standing alongside fellow Concordia athletes as she earned recognition on the All-Tournament team.
WHAT COACH MARTIN HAD TO SAY:
"CIT, there is absolutely nothing else in the country like it! Ecstatic with how our young women performed yesterday, and proud of the way the competed today in the championship game against a very talented CUNE team. We have our sights set on some very attainable goals in conference play, playing in this tournament gives us a taste of what battling for a title will be like in the future. We enjoyed this experience immensely and are grateful for the hospitality and kindness from CUNE and from one Concordia to another."
The Cougars will be back in action on Wednesday, February 1st, at home against Benedictine University at 7:00pm as they resume NACC play and the battle for the conference tournament. Coverage for this game, and all things CUC Women's Basketball can be found at cucougars.com and on Twitter and Instagram @cucwbball.
