ROCKFORD, ILL.- The Concordia University Chicago (CUC) women's basketball team traveled to Rockford, Ill. for another Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) game against Rockford University. After an early dominating lead, the Cougars defeated the Regents with a final score of 68-54.
INSIDE THE BOX
- Grace King (Fairland, Ind.) led the Cougars with 15 rebounds and 13 points, picking up her second double-double of the season.
- Kira Holliday (Roselle, Ill.) led the Cougars with a career-high ten assists while adding in 13 points for her first career double-double.
- Ai Yonemura (Yachiyo, Chiba-Japan) finished with 13 hard earned points.
- Jocelyn Chammas (Chicago, Ill.) ended the game with strong offensive efforts adding a career-high 11 points to the scoreboard.
- The Cougars sank 13 three-pointers coming from seven different shooters.
HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED
FIRST QUARTER
Yonemura started the game drawing a foul and making both free throws, which put the Cougars up by two. With aggressive defense, the Cougars found themselves up the court, adding another layup by King to the score, leading Rockford by four. The Regents joined the scoreboard with a layup, only for King to respond back with another two points, making the score 6-2. The Regents then made three free throws, trailing the Cougars by a only point. King then hit a three-pointer assisted by
Naveya Jackson (Sun Prairie, Wis.). The Regents responded back with a layup. After both teams exchanged possession, Jackson finally scored a free throw, creating a three-point lead over the Regents. Fighting to keep the score close, the Regents added another layup, but Jackson and
Hannah Lopez (Chicago, Ill.) added three points combined together to the score, 13-9. Adding a few more points before the end of the quarter, King made a jumper along with Jackson added a layup. The quarter ended with the Regents making a free throw, keeping the score close 17-14, still trailing the Cougars.
SECOND QUARTER
Yonemura opened the second quarter with a three-pointer for the Cougars, making it 20-14. Firing another shot, Yonemura hit her fifth point of the quarter assisted by Holliday. The Regents finally entered the scoreboard with a layup. Jackson subbed in and made a quick impact with a three-pointer assisted by King, totaling the score 25-16. The Cougar offense continued gaining momentum as Yonemura connected to Holliday, who scored her first successful three-pointer followed by Holliday assisting King for a layup. Feeding off their energies, Holliday assisted King for another layup, creating a 14-point lead as they extended out to a 32-18 advantage. King went on a 4-0 run, finishing with 13 points securing a double-double before halftime. Ending the half, Chammas scored a layup for the Cougars as they went up 34-20.
THIRD QUARTER
Entering the third quarter, the Regents were first to score with a layup, still trailing 34-22. As the Cougars struggled to get on the board, the Regents went on a 8-0 run, coming within single digits.
Emma Nickerson (Lake City, Mich.) got the Cougars going with a three-pointer assisted by
Linley Southern (Decatur, Ill.). The Regents continued their momentum, firing back four points in response to the Cougar scoring, still falling behind 40-32. Yonemura kept shooting and was able to drain another three-pointer for the Cougars before the quarter ended with Chammas hitting a three-pointer to put the Cougars back ahead by double-digits, 46-36.
FOURTH QUARTER
The Regents scored a jumper to start the final quarter, but Chammas started off the Cougar offense with a steal that connected to Holliday for a layup. Holliday gave back-to-back assists for both Lopez and Chammas, who each hit three-pointers to advance the Cougars score to 54-38. Holliday and Chammas found each other in two separate plays, adding five points to the scoreboard. Breaking down the double-digit lead for the Cougars, the Regents found a way to come back, closing the gap to eight points after a three-pointer. Yonemura fought back with a three-pointer of her own, followed by a jumper from Holliday to create another ten point lead. With a little less than a minute to play, Holliday found the net for a three-pointer as the shot clock ran down. The game clock expired with Holliday finishing with a free throw and the Cougars defeating the Regents 68-54.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Cougars will travel on January 10th to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to go against Milwaukee School of Engineering at 7 PM. Coverage for all things CUC women's basketball can be found at
cucougars.com/coverage.
