Jan. 14, 2017 –Winners of five straight Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference games, the Concordia-Chicago women's basketball team went for number six this afternoon against the Raiders of the Milwaukee School of Engineering. The afternoon nearly ran into evening as the Cougars and Raiders battled into two overtimes, but Concordia-Chicago persevered and outlasted the Raiders by a final score of 81-75..

Unlike the previous few games, the Cougars got the three ball working early today. Lauren Orr notched the first field goal with one from the top of the key, and Taylor Jacobsen hit one a few possessions later to give CUC a 10-8 lead. Later on, a layup by Sarah Smith gave the Cougars a 17-13 lead. The Raiders scored twice to it, but a layup by T. Jacobsen beat the buzzer and gave CUC a 19-17 lead after one quarter.

Early in the second, Lofink dialed up a three, and Megan Lloyd followed with a 15-foot jumper to give the Cougars their biggest lead at 24-19. MSOE countered with a 7-0 run, halted only when Lofink drove inside for a layup to tie the game at 26-26. Lofink scored Concordia-Chicago's last six points of the half as the Cougars and Raiders went to the locker room at the half, tied 30-30.

The third quarter began ominously for the Cougars as a couple of turnovers helped the Raiders to an early 7-0 run. But T. Jacobsen hit a short jumper and then a three. Lofink followed by splitting a pair of free throws, and the Cougars trailed by just one. Crystal Corr blocked a shot by Denfeld to keep it a one-point game, and a T. Jacobsen three soon regained the lead at 39-37. MSOE regained the lead momentarily, but a three by Rogers made the score 42-40 Cougars. Smith then scored twice In the final minutes as CUC took a 48-43 lead into the final 10 minutes.

MSOE began the fourth with a 10-1 run before T. Jacobsen came to the rescue again. A three-pointer and a layup off a Lofink steal put the Cougars back on top 54-53. The lead see-sawed for a few minutes before Rogers nailed a three from the left wing for a 59-56 lead. However, MSOE's Jamie Spanbauer matched that from the left corner with 1:22 left. Both teams had cracks at the win, with the Cougars' try going off-target at the buzzer as the teams headed into overtime.

In the overtime, T.Jacobsen's three-point play and Orr's layup gave CUC a 64-62, but Lizzy Hilby countered with two free throws and a jumper. Once again, it was T. Jacobsen hitting the clutch three as Concordia-Chicago took a one-point lead with 22 seconds left. However, a foul with 9.6 seconds left put Denfeld at the free-throw line. Denfeld missed the first and made the second, and CUC's attempt for another buzzer-beating score was unsuccessful as the teams prepared for five more minutes.

Corr put the Cougars up in the second extra session, but two inside scores gave the Raiders a 71-69 lead. The next possession saw CUC have trouble handling the ball but, as the shot clock was running down, Orr launched a three from the left corner that rippled through the net for a 72-71 lead. However, two scores by Denfeld put the Cougars down 75-72.
The Cougars were not to be denied as Lofink drove the lane and got the layup to go down while being fouled. Lofink hit the free throw to tie the game, but the junior point guard was not finished yet. She grabbed the rebound of a Raiders' three-point attempt and, moments later, fed T. Jacobsen for a three from the right wing for the lead with 58.5 seconds left.

MSOE opted for a two on their next possession, but that missed as Corr snagged the rebound. The Cougars then wrapped up the game at the charity stripe as Lofink split a pair of free throws and T. Jacobsen hit a pair for the final points of the game.

T. Jacobsen continued her red-hot ways with a career-high 33 points today, shooting 6-11 from three-point range and 12-22 overall. Lofink added 14 points and commanded the floor in the second half and overtimes, finishing with seven assists and seven rebounds.

The win today tightened up the conference standings even more, with the Cougars moving up to 1.5 games out of first place despite remaining in fifth. Concordia-Chicago is now 9-5 overall and 8-3 in conference, their six-game winning streak in conference being the longest since the 2007-08 season, The Cougars will look to make it seven when they host Alverno College on Wednesday at 7:00.