RIVER FOREST, ILL.- The Concordia University Chicago (CUC) women's basketball team went head-to-head with rival Concordia University Wisconsin (CUW). Fueled by strong defense, the Cougars dominated the Falcons, securing a 20-point victory to seal the Cougars' first win over the Falcons at home since 2014.
INSIDE THE BOX
- Naveya Jackson (Sun Prairie, Wis.) led the Cougars with 21-points and eight rebounds.
- Ai Yonemura (Yachiyo, Chiba-Japan) followed with 18 points and nine assists.
- Sophia Pedraza (Carol Stream, Ill.) contributed with 13 points and five rebounds while shooting three-for-four from deep.
- Grace King (Fairland, Ind.) finished in double-digits with 11 points for the Cougar offense.
HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED:
QUARTER ONE
The Cougars came out hot, opening the game with a nine-point run to fluster the Falcons. After two quick buckets from CUW, Yonemura knocked down a three-pointer to push the Cougar lead back to eight. The Falcons answered with a five-point run of their own to make it a one possession game. After being fouled, King converted both free throws to add two more for the Cougars. The Falcons matched the energy with a basket and kept the score within reach. A driving layup and two free throws from the Falcons tied the game at 14-14. During a two-minute scoring stretch, Jackson finished at the rim for the Cougars, but the Falcons responded with a basket of their own. The back-and-forth trend would leave things tied at 16 apiece to end the quarter.
QUARTER TWO
Starting off the second quarter, King hit the net for two to put the Cougars ahead 18-16. Strong defense from Abbi Dystrka (Yale, Mich.) created a connection to Jackson, who scored a driving layup for the Cougars. The Falcons responded with two free throws followed by a layup, to tie the game at 20-20. Yonemura took advantage of a sleeping Falcon defense and drained a three-pointer from the wing. The Cougars kept their momentum as Pedraza let it fly from deep, increasing their lead to 26-20. The Falcons responded back with a basket, only for Yonemura added three after shaking off her defender. Pedraza contributed again, extending the Cougars lead by nine. The Falcons went on a 5-0 run, bringing the score to 31-27. Yonemura closed the half out by sinking a free throw to give the Cougars the 32-27 advantage.
QUARTER THREE
The Falcons struck first in the second half, but the Cougars responded with a nine-point run to keep all momentum on their side. Two three-pointers from Jackson and a strong and-one from King would write the script for the second half. Yonemura battled for a jumper that found the net while Jackson followed up with a driving layup, to boost the CUC lead 45-31. Both teams traded free throws, but the Falcons gained a bit of momentum with five consecutive points before forcing a timeout from the Cougars. Fresh out of the timeout, Pedraza hit a three-pointer before the buzzer to keep the Cougars right where they needed to be with a 12 point lead. The third quarter ended in chaos, with the Falcons scoring five points and Dykstra making a crucial three-pointer, keeping the Cougars ahead 52-42.
QUARTER FOUR
The Falcons struck first again in the fourth quarter, but the Cougars responded quickly three consecutive layups followed up with a three from Jackson and another layup from Dykstra to extend the Cougars out to a 19-point lead. The Falcons hit a much needed bucket to halt the 19-0 run from CUC, but momentum was still in favor of the Cougars. Pedraza was fouled and converted both free throws, to increase the score to 65-46. After both teams fought for points, Pedraza found the net again with a three-pointer that would be the dagger to end the game. Despite the Falcons late effort, the Cougars secured a big time rivalry victory by 20 points, dominating the Cougars 68-48.
HERE'S WHAT IS NEXT:
The Cougars will travel to Lisle, Ill. to face off against Benedictine University on Wednesday, February 4th. All coverage can be found at
cucougars.com.
