RIVER FOREST, ILL. – The Concordia University Chicago women's basketball team took the home court to battle with the Rockford University Regents, dominating the first half of play before letting the Regents get hot in the second. Despite some hard fought battles, the Regents would run away in the final minutes and steal the win from the Cougars.
INSIDE THE BOX
- Mikalah Ellis (Chicago, Ill.) led the charge while picking up a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds while adding in one assist, one steal, and one block.
- Khaliah Reid (Naperville, Ill.) led the team in points with 24, while adding in three rebounds and two steals.
- The Cougars collected 12 steals as a team in comparison to the Regents' five.
- The Regents outscored the Cougars from the free throw line 18 to 5. The Regents also collected 24 more rebounds than the Cougars.
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST QUARTER
The Cougars struck first with a three from Ellis before a layup from the Regents would bring them within one. The Cougars would answer quickly with a three from Reid before two more consecutive threes from the Cougars, at the hands of
Sydney Nimsakont (Glendale Heights, Ill.) and Reid would quickly put them up by ten and force a Rockford timeout.
A jumper from the Regents would break the CUC scoring party while a layup from Nimsakont would be the first points for the Cougars not off a three. A steal and fastbreak three from Reid would get right back into the deep scoring party and put the Cougars up by 13. With a final layup end the scoring for the Cougars, Reid would collect 11 of the team's 19 first quarter points, while a last second block from
Courtneye Schneider (Plainfield, Ill.) would close the quarter with possession for the Cougars.
SECOND QUARTER
A 7-0 run for RU to start the second quarter would cut the CUC lead down to single-digits, while a steal and score from
Aniyah Hinton-Henry (Gary, Ind.) would score the first points for the Cougars in nearly three and a half minutes.
Another 6-0 run for the Regents would be broken up by two threes from Ellis and Reid to keep the game at a two possession lead in favor of the Cougars. A layup plus free throw near the end of the quarter for the Regents would cut the CUC lead down to three as the clock wound down in the first half.
HALFTIME
During halftime of the game, all CUC women's sports teams were recognized for National Girls and Women in Sports Day with a halftime group photo.
THIRD QUARTER
The Regents struck first in the second half with an offensive board and layup, cutting the Cougar lead down to one. Reid would answer with a layup of her own to bring the lead back up to three, but a retaliation three from the Regents would tie the game for the first time of the day. Exchanging buckets, the Cougars and Regents would tie things up and give CUC the lead a few times before two free throws, a three, and a jumper from the Regents would give them their first lead over the Cougars to close the third quarter.
FOURTH QUARTER
The Regents would strike first again in the fourth quarter with an offensive rebound and layup before a pair of free throws from Ellis would bring things within five. With the Regents keeping the Cougars out of reach, a layup from Hinton-Henry, a free throw from
Linley Southern (Decatur, Ill.), and a three from Ellis would bring things within one.
A 4-0 run for the Regents would bring them back ahead by six before the two teams would exchange free throws, allowing the Regents to extend out to as much as eight in the final three minutes. Unwilling to back down, the Cougars continued to fight, but fouls would plague them and let the Regents get back ahead by double digits. Unable to combat the offensive boards from Rockford, Concordia-Chicago would fall 65-53.
The Cougars will be back in action on Wednesday as they travel to Aurora University to take on the Spartans at 5:00pm. Coverage can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.
