River Forest, Ill. - The Concordia University Chicago (CUC) women's basketball team welcomed the Sabres of Marian University. After a very offense-heavy matchup, the Sabres took the close game with a final score of 73-72.
Inside the Box Score:
- Grace King (Fairland, Ind.) led the afternoon's game with 21 points while also leading with 10 rebounds; under her belt, she also had four assists, a block and three steals.
- Ai Yonemura (Yachiyo, Chiba-Japan) left the afternoon's game with 15 points, four rebounds, five assists and two steals.
- Naveya Jackson (Sun Prairie, Wis.) ended the afternoon's game with 13 points, three rebounds and a steal.
- Sophia Pedraza (Carol Stream, Ill.) concluded the afternoon's game with 11 points, three rebounds, three assists, and led with seven steals.
Here's What Happened
First Quarter
The Sabres started off the scoring with a quick three, followed up by a jumper in the paint, putting five on the board. Pedraza was the first of the Cougars to get points up with a layup. Yonemura got in a layup as well, 4-7. Hannah Lopez (Chicago, Ill.) came out with a three-pointer, lessening the Cougar deficit to two. The Cougars took the lead with layups from Pedraza. Jackson landed a three, putting the Cougars up by seven. The Sabres pushed back and got themselves within two. A tip-in layup from Yonemura snatched the lead from the Sabres' view. The Cougars kept the lead going into the second quarter at 20-19.
Second Quarter
King got the first points of the second quarter with a layup. Yonemura got the Cougars up by five by drilling a jumper, 24-19. A three from a Sabre tied the teams up; another three from a Sabre had put the Sabre in the lead. King was able to get a layup in, but that was quickly countered with a layup from the Sabres. Jumpers from King helped the Cougars break 30. The Sabres battled with King, but a three from King pushed the Cougars forward, 33-32. Pedraza managed another three for the Cougars. Abbi Dykstra (Yale, Mich.) and Yonemura landed 3-pointers as well, giving the Cougars a nine-point advantage. The Cougars entered halftime at 42-33.
Third Quarter
Yonemura landed the first points out of the half with a three-pointer. The Cougars broke 50 with a three-pointer from Yonemura, leaving the Sabres trailing by 12. King landed a jumper from in the paint, 52-41. The Sabres tried to fight back against the Cougars with a three, but they struggled to catch up. King came in with a quick layup. The Sabres slowly started to stack up points, coming within seven of the Cougars. The Cougars remained in the lead, however, at 59-52.
Fourth Quarter
The Sabres started off the quarter with a tip-in layup and a jumper, closing up the point gap between the teams. On the fast break, Pedraza got in a layup, 61-57. King got in a jumper as well, helping to widen the point gap once again. The Sabres bit back with a layup and a three, getting within one of the Cougars. Jackson came in with a layup off of an opponent turnover. Lopez went in right after and landed a beautiful three-pointer. A Sabre had hit a three with 1:20 left on the clock, coming within one. The Sabres grabbed the lead at the last seconds and took the game with a final score of 73-72.
What's Next
The team will be back on their home court on February 18th to match up against the Stars of Dominican University. The game will take place at 5 pm. Coverage for all things CUC women's basketball can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.
