RIVER FOREST, ILL. -- With Winter Break coming to an end, the Concordia University Chicago women's basketball team (7-5, 6-1) played host to Concordia University Wisconsin (6-6, 5-2). After a close first half, the Falcons ran away with things in the last 20 minutes, handing the Cougars their first conference loss of the season. 

Inside the Box Score

• Katherine Benes (Oconomowoc, Wis.) led CUC in scoring with her 27 points. It is her ninth time leading the Cougars in points this season.
• Alisyn MacGregor (Loves Park, Ill.) grabbed a team leading 14 rebounds. This is the seventh time MacGregor has corralled 10+ boards.
• Leading the team in assists was Jaylene Wade (Lansing, Ill.) with her four. 

First Quarter
It was a sluggish start for both offenses. An opening three from Benes 36 seconds in would be the only field goal until the 6:55 mark, when a CUW three-ball set the score at 4-3 in favor of CUC. 
The Cougars were able to extend their lead to five, 9-4 with 5:05 left in the first. However, just a minute-and-a-half later, a Lindsey Smitsdorff jumper kicked off a 13-0 run the Falcons rode until the end of the quarter, building a 17-9 CUW lead. 

Second Quarter
Another slow start was found in the second quarter, with the first field goal, a Benes three-pointer, not falling until the 7:28 mark. Benes would drain another three-ball a little over 30 seconds later, and followed that up with a layup 1:13 later. Throw in a Mckayley Hopkins (St. Louis, Mo.) free-throw, and CUC now led 19-17. The lead was short-lived, as a Reagan Obry three gave the advantage right back to the Falcons. 
Two more threes from CUW increased their lead to 26-19, with a Mikalah Ellis (Chicago, Ill.) make from beyond the arc interrupting the Falcon barrage. A free throw from Benes brought the Cougars within one, but CUW tacked on two free throws of their own before time ran out. At halftime, the score read 28-23 in favor of the Falcons. 

Third Quarter
Both Concordias traded blows in the early going of quarter three. Emily Hafemann started things off with a layup, quickly followed by an Ellis jumper. Lily Guerra responded with a layup of her own, before Ellis put away another jumper. Ellis tacked on yet another two points to pull CUC within three, 32-29, but an ensuing 9-2 run from the Falcons gave them a double-digit lead, 41-31.
The Cougars started clawing their way back, with an Ellis jumper and Benes layup pulling the deficit back to 10 after CUW temporarily put the lead at 12. The Falcons potted the next six points, before CUC scored three in the last 1:35. With one quarter to go, CUW sat atop the Cougars, 54-38.

Fourth Quarter
With a comeback needed, CUC scored six of the first eight points. The teams would alternate scoring buckets until the 4:12 mark when a Viergutz layup contributed to a nine-point Falcon run. 
The Cougars would score six in the last two minutes, but it was too little to overcome their deficit. With the clock reading 0:00, CUW pulled away with the win, 76-55.

After three days of rest, CUC will take a trip to Lakeland University this Wednesday, 1/11. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m., and coverage for the match can be found at cucougars.com, as well as the team's Twitter, @CUCWbball.