PLYMOUTH, WIS. -- The Concordia University Chicago (CUC) women's basketball team travelled to Wisconsin as they took on fellow Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) school in Lakeland University. The Cougars struggled to get offensive production and eventually fell 77-51 to the Muskies.
INSIDE THE BOX
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Khaliah Reid (Naperville, Ill.) led the way with 19 points while adding in one assist.
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Mikalah Ellis (Chicago, Ill.) followed with 14 points while tossing in six rebounds and oen assist.
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Alisyn MacGregor (Loves Park, Ill.) put the work in on the defensive end collecting 13 rebounds, five points, and two assists.
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST QUARTER
With the Cougars seeing an early turnover after winning the tip, the Muskies would take an early 4-0 lead off back-to-back buckets. A three from Reid would put their first points on the board and cut their deficit down to one. Plagued by fouls and turnovers, the Muskies jumped out to as much as a 17 point lead in the quarter. Buckets from Abby Kulig (Carol Stream, Ill.), Aniyah Hinton-Henry (Gary, Ind.), Sydney Nimsakont (Glendale Heights, Ill.), and Reid would keep things moving as the quarter closed with the Cougars trailing by 15.
SECOND QUARTER
The Cougars struggled to get offensive momentum in the second quarter, being held to only five points. With three of the five points coming from the charity stripe, Ellis would break the dry streak from the field with a jumper in the paint as the Cougars would close the half trailing by 20.
THIRD QUARTER
The Muskies struck first in the second half with an early jumper, but a pair of free throws from Ellis would put the Cougars on the board. A block from Ellis translated to a layup in the paint for Reid and the Cougars officially found their rhythm in the second half. After giving up an and one, CUC retaliated quickly with an and one of their own at the hands of Reid.
A second consecutive and one for Reid while draining the free throw once again and put the Cougars up to 28. Four quick points for the Muskies would dampen the Cougar momentum.
As the Cougars struggled to score consecutively, they remained behind by a steady amount. In the final five minutes of the quarter, Ellis would be the only Cougar to score with the exception of one layup from Courtneye Schneider (Plainfield, Ill.).
FOURTH QUARTER
Heading into the final ten minutes trailing by 23, the Cougars would strike first with a pair of free throws from Kulig. They would then go on a four minute dry spell before a triple at the hands of Reid would break through. In the final five minutes of play, Ellis would once again take control with a jumper in the paint off the feed from Hannah Lopez (Chicago, Ill.).
With time running out, a layup from Schneider paired with free throws from her and MacGregor would close out the game with the Cougars behind 77-51.
CUC falls to 1-11 overall and 0-5 in the conference. They'll be back in action on January 15th as they play host to the Milwaukee School of Engineering. Tip-off is set for 7:00 pm inside Geiseman Gymnasium. Coverage can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.
