CLAREMONT, CALIF. — Taking a trip across the nation, the Concordia University Chicago (CUC) women's basketball traveled to California for some weekend non-conference competition. Heading out to the west coast, the Cougars took on Pomona-Pitzer College and lost in a close match of 61-58.
Inside the Box Score:
First Half
The Cougars would pick up the first points of California off of a Perry three 3-0. Crossing further into the first quarter, the Sagehens took a lead of 7-3. Whigham would get inside for a layup and get the Cougars back at a tie of 7-7.
An Abby Kulig (Carol Stream, Ill.) free throw would bring CUC to an 8-7 lead before Ponoma-Pitzer went on a rally. Before the end of the first quarter, Cydnei Mitchell (Aurora, Ill.) laid up a point to trail 11-9.
Desjarlait was hot to start the second quarter and drain two three-pointers 17-15 Sagehens. She continued this streak by drawing a foul and sinking two free throws to tie the game 17-17.
Whigham and Perry joined the fun to bring the Cougars ahead 21-20. Then back-to-back plays from MacGregor brought the CUC lead to 25-22. The points started pouring out of the Cougars, as Kulig had two layups in the paint and Lela Scott (Indianapolis, Ind.) drained a three to end the half. The Cougars would be leading 34-26 heading into halftime.
Second Half
The Sagehens began to chip away at the Cougar lead. However, Reid drained a three to keep a healthy CUC lead 37-31. However, Ponoma-Pitzer was not going to lay down easily, as they took the game back over at 43-37.
Kulig and Prentciss Gates (Gary, Ind.) would both pull their jumpers in to make it 46-44. Then, Desjarlait pulled up a layup, along with a Reid free throw to close the third quarter 48-47 Sagehens.
With a huge quarter ahead of them, CUC brought out the rally. MacGregor laid in some points, followed by a Whigham free throw, to take the lead 50-48. Whigham then went on a terror and scored the next six points all by herself, 55-50.
Reid pushed herself through the defense and scored a layup for herself 57-53. With the game in a tense position, Pomona-Pitzer began to chip away at the score. With the lead in tact, CUC was unable to take the lead and fell in this game 61-58.
The Cougars will be back tomorrow for more California action against University of Redlands at 5 p.m. PST. Coverage for all of our sports can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.
