Notre Dame, Ind. - The Concordia University Chicago (CUC) Cougars women's basketball team traveled to Notre Dame, Ind. to play against Albion College at the Angela Athletic & Wellness Complex. After a long and hardworking game, the Cougars were defeated by the Britons in overtime with a final score of 88-84.
Inside the Box Score:
- Ai Yonemura (Yachiyo, Chiba-Japan ) led the team with 26 points, six rebounds, and four assists. Yonemura also broke the school record in three-point percentage going six for six and shooting 100% beyond the arch.
- Grace King (Fairland, Ind.) followed up with 21 points, three rebounds, and four assists.
- Hannah Lopez (Chicago, Ill.) earned 11 points and Naveya Jackson (Sun Prairie, Wis.) followed that with earning 10 points.
Here's What Happened:
First Quarter
The Cougars got off to an excellent start, setting the pace and making early shots to gain the lead. King gave the Cougars a great lead with several early mid-range jumpers to start the game. Yonemura helped CUC gain energy on the attacking end by earning many early points. Albion finished the first quarter with 12 points, while the Cougars finished with 16.
Second Quarter
With buckets from King and Lopez to start the period, the Cougars' continued a strong lead. With Yonemura pushing with defensive attacks and King making multiple baskets around the rim, the offense fell into a nice, balanced flow. CUC maintained a close game throughout the quarter, but Albion rallied with a run of points prior to halftime, putting the Cougars within their reach at Albion 28 and Cougars 37 going into halftime.
Third Quarter
Albion had a great scoring run to start the third quarter, which went heavily in their favor. CUC was unable to slow Albion's quickness despite King's persistent mid-range scoring. The final result for this quarter was 57 points for the Cougars and 52 points for Albion after the Britons outscored them by double digits.
Fourth Quarter
In the fourth, the Cougars displayed great resilience. King and Yonemura's consecutive baskets reduced the chances of Albion leading in this quarter. After outscoring Albion in the fourth quarter, Lopez hit a free throw with less than a minute remaining to help CUC force overtime. With a tie game at the end of the quarter at 70-70, the teams headed into overtime.
Overtime (OT)
Albion was quick to score at the start of overtime, and CUC was unable to keep up. The Cougars had strong plays by contributing many three pointers and free throws as CUC continued to compete, but Albion's rebounding and late free-throw shooting caused a gap. The Cougars lost 88-84 as a result of Albion's final score advantage over CUC.
What's Next:
On November 18th, the team will be traveling to Minneapolis, Minnesota to head against North Central University (MN) at 6:00 PM. Coverage for all things CUC Women's Basketball can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.
