CHICAGO, ILL – The Concordia University Chicago Women's Basketball team hit the Southside to take on the Illinois Institute of Technology Scarlet Hawks, falling 75-65.

INSIDE THE BOX

• Melia Perry (Plainfield, Ill.) led the Cougars with 16 points on the night.
• Trailing behind Perry was four additional Cougars who scored in double-digits with Cydnei Mitchell (Aurora, Ill.) and Nazuri Whigham (Naperville, Ill.) each scoring 12 and Alisyn MacGregor (Loves Park, Ill.) and Alexis Desjarlait (Red Lake, Minn.) each scoring 11.
• MacGregor picked up another double-double on the season with her 11 points and 13 rebounds.

FIRST HALF
The Cougars struck first with a layup from MacGregor while an and-one from Mitchell would put them up by two. Back-to-back jumpers from Perry would put them up by six and keep the momentum on their side. After letting the Scarlet Hawks find their way into the paint and pick up another two points, a steal from Perry turned three from Whigham would put the Cougars up by seven.
Keeping momentum on their side, the Cougars closed the first quarter on a 4-2 run with the three-point lead. Fresh into the second quarter, the Scarlet Hawks hit a jumper to bring them within one, but a retaliation three from Desjarlait would put the Cougars up by four.

The Scarlet Hawks matched the Cougars's total for the second quarter at 19 apiece, but the Cougar's three point lead from the first quarter would be enough to keep them on top as the first half expired.

SECOND HALF
The Cougars struck first to start the second half with a jumper from Perry, but seven points in a minute for the Scarlet Hawks would give them the lead for the first time of the game. A three from Desjarlait would cut the Cougar deficit down to one, but a quick basket from the Scarlet Hawks would put the Cougars behind by three. A pair of free throws from MacGregor followed by a three from Perry would put the Cougars ahead by two. With Mitchell subbing in for a fresh set of legs, a layup in the paint from the sophomore would put the Cougars up by four with under a minute to play in the quarter. A three point play from the Scarlet Hawks would cut the Cougar lead down to one.

The dagger came in the fourth quarter where the Cougars were outworked by the Scarlet Hawks. Opening the quarter with four quick points from Perry and Mitchell would seem promising and the Cougars would find themselves up by as much as six with under eight minutes to play. An 8-0 run in favor of the Scarlet Hawks would steal the lead from the Cougars. Falling into this deficit would be something the Cougars would be unable to find themselves out of for the remainder of the game.

With the Cougars finding themselves plagued by turnovers they would be unable to find their offensive momentum once again and fall to the Scarlet Hawks by 11. The Cougars now sit 5-10 overall and 2-5 in the NACC. They'll be back in action on Saturday inside Geiseman Gymnasium as the Cougars take on Marian University with a 4pm tip-off. Coverage can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.