AURORA, ILL. -- The Concordia University Chicago women's basketball team hit the road to take on fellow Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) mate in the Aurora University Spartans. The Cougars fell to the Spartans 92-57 despite some strong offensive bursts.
INSIDE THE BOX
- Alina Paul (Elmwood Park, Ill.) led the Cougars with a career-high 16 points while shooting 4-for-6 from deep.
- Khaliah Reid (Naperville, Ill.) followed behind with 12 points, five rebounds, five assists, and two steals.
- Abby Kulig (Carol Stream, Ill.) added a career-tying ten points while collecting one block and one assist.
- Aniyah Hinton-Henry (Gary, Ind.) was the only Cougar to collect stats in the power-five categories with nine points, five rebounds, two assists, two steals, and one block.
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST QUARTER
The Spartans struck first with a quick steal and score, but a and-one from Kulig would put the Cougars up 3-2. The Spartans would answer quickly, but a fastbreak layup from Hinton-Henry would put the Cougars up once again.
An 11-0 run for the Spartans would leave the Cougars in a tough spot, but a layup from
Sydney Nimsakont (Glendale Heights, Ill.) would break the drought. Another quick burst from the Spartans would put the Cougars down by double-digits, but Nimsakont would take control once again and drain a three to bring them back within single digits. A 12-3 run for the Spartans to close the quarter would leave the Cougars trailing by 17 after the first ten minutes.
SECOND QUARTER
The Cougars would see their first points of the new quarter more than two minutes in off a single free throw from Hinton-Henry, but would fall to as much as a 23 point deficit before Paul would find a three to break the CUC offensive drought.
Less than 30 seconds later, Paul would once again drain a triple and give the Cougars a burst of momentum. A pair of free throws on both sides would be combated with a three from the Spartans, but Paul would answer once again with another three to keep the CUC deficit under 20. The Cougars would utilize this momentum and go on a 7-0 run before a free throw from the Spartans would break it. A 12-0 run from the Spartans to close the half would leave the Cougars trailing by a quarter.
THIRD QUARTER
The Cougars would see more than half their third quarter points come from the free throw line as they went 7-8. Buckets from Hinton-Henry and Kulig would make up the remainder of the third quarter points, but leave the Cougars trailing by 28.
FOURTH QUARTER
A 10-0 run for the Spartans to start the final quarter would leave the Cougars trailing by 38, but a layup from Reid would break the dry streak. With the Spartans keeping their feet on the accelerator, the threes from Paul and
Hannah Lopez (Chicago, Ill.) would put some points on the board for CUC, but ultimately leave them trailing at the final buzzer.
The Cougars will be back in action at home on Saturday as they host St. Norbert College for a 2:00pm tipoff as they celebrate Alumni Day. Coverage can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.
