Dec. 17, 2016 - Lauren Orr triggered a 12-2 run in the third quarter, and freshman Crystal Corr recorded her first collegiate double-double of 10 points and 13 rebounds as the Concordia-Chicago Cougars pulled away from the Dominican Stars to a 67-45 victory in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference play at Geiseman Gymnasium this afternoon.

The pair got CUC going from the opening tipoff as Orr nailed a three for the game's opening points and Corr converted an inbounds pass from Courtney Lofink for a 5-4 lead. The Stars took a brief lead on a jumper by Shamia Clark, but Corr scored in close for a 7-6 lead, and the Cougars were in front to stay. Miranda Rogers came into the game to hit a couple of threes, and CUC ended the first quarter with a 22-14 lead.

Orr began the second quarter with a three as the Cougars grabbed their first double-digit lead. Concordia-Chicago maintained a lead in the teens for most of the quarter as the defense held the visitors to just one field goal over the first nine minutes. CUC's lead was at 34-20 with 1:28 left after Taylor Jacobsen was fouled in the right corner and knocked down all three free throws. However, Timiya Ray scored on a jumper, and a turnover gave DU the ball back with Ray's putback beating the buzzer and pulling Dominican within 10 points at the half, 34-24.

Three minutes into the third quarter, the decisive sequence of the game came about for the Cougars. Leading 35-26, Erin Jacobsen rebounded a Stars' miss and found Orr breaking downcourt. Orr hauled in the pass and beat the defender to the basket for an easy two. Moments later, Lofink grabbed an offensive rebound and fed Orr behind the three-point arc. Orr's shot was nothing but net, her third triple of the game. On DU's ensuing possession, Lofink made one of her eight steals on the day and drove in for a layup, forcing Dominican to take a timeout as Concordia-Chicago now held a 42-26 lead. Following the timeout, the lead grew to 19 as Annika Rae connected on a three. Later in the third, CUC took its first lead of 20 points (53-33) on Orr's two free throws. Sarah Smith's turnaround in the lane would close out the scoring in the quarter as CUC opened up a 57-34 advantage.  

The fourth quarter saw both teams use their bench liberally. Freshman Asia LaGrow drilled a three to give CUC its biggest lead of the game at 26 points (60-34), and the home team's lead never slipped below 20 for the remainder of the game.

Concordia-Chicago improved to 5-3 overall, 4-3 in conference play and a perfect 4-0 record at home this season. The win also gave the Cougars the lead in the River Forest Rivalry Cup standings, 35-30 in points. Competition for the cup, sponsored by Northwestern Mutual, will continue with the return women's match at Dominican on Feb. 15 as well as the two men's contests and competition in the other spring sports shared by the two schools.

Orr's 15 points led both teams, while Lofink added 12 points, seven assists and eight steals. For Dominican (1-7, 0-4 NACC), Claudia DeNigris recorded a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds while Ray added 10 points.     

The Cougar women will now take a break for Christmas before flying to the Phoenix, AZ area for two games at Arizona Christian University on Dec. 28-29.