January 21, 2017- The Concordia University Cougar women came into today looking to rebound after a disappointing loss Tuesday night against Alverno. The Cougars knew they had a tough game ahead of them as Lakeland came in looking to extend their winning streak to eight games. Both teams were also in need of a win to keep pace with the top teams of the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference. The Cougars rode hot shooting of Lauren Orr who matched her career high in points with 25, and Miranda Rogers who finished with five triples on the day. CUC had to fight furious comeback from Lakeland, which they were able to hold on by the final score of 87-82.
The first quarter was one of the best of the season. Erin Jacobsen and Miranda Rogers chipped in a pair of threes to give CUC an early 6-2 lead. Concordia-Chicago was tenacious in their press that didn't let the Muskies set their offense in the half court. Senior forward Orr, came off the bench today for the first time this season and responded well. Orr scored a quick six points when she got fouled on three and sunk all her free throws and hit a three from the corner to extend the CUC lead to 14-6 midway through the first quarter. The Cougars were firing on all cylinders. Taylor Jacobsen did what she did best and drive the lane for an and one, while freshman Annika Rae chipped in a three as the Cougars ended the quarter leading the Muskies 24-12.
The second quarter both teams came out firing. Lakeland's Bailey Grayvold tried to keep the Muskies in the game as she had nine of the Muskies first sixteen points. However, Orr was having none of it as she continued to shoot well from three extending the Cougars lead to fourteen. Grayvold cut the CUC lead to as little as nine, but the Cougars quickly went on a 11-0 run that was highlighted by Rogers and E.Jacobsen's three pointers to extend the lead to twenty. Concordia-Chicago ended the 1st half with a huge Rogers three at the buzzer to run their lead to 49-30 at halftime.
CUC didn't lose any momentum over the halftime break. Rogers continued her hot shooting as the Cougars were able to extend their lead to twenty-four, their largest of the day. The Cougars were able to deny any sort of Muskie run throughout the third quarter as Lakeland could not buy a bucket. However, CUC started getting sloppy with the ball and taking bad shots allowing Lakeland to go on a quick 7-0 run to cut the lead to 18 forcing a CUC timeout. The Cougars stopped the run stop there, finishing out the quarter with a 72-50 lead after three.
Early in the fourth, the Muskies jumped out to a 5-0 run that gave them life. Junior point guard Courtney Lofink chose an opportune time to get her first points of the game as she hit a big three to halt the short Muskie run. Grayvold and Rachel Stankevich were single handedly putting the Muskies within striking distance as they went on a 17-0 run to cut the lead to three with three minutes to play. Taylor Jacobsen ended the run with a quick five points of her own to swing the momentum back into the Cougars favor. Lakeland did not go away quietly battling all the way down to the final seconds cutting the Cougar lead to three with under a minute to go. Taylor Jacobsen had a huge final minute knocking down all of her free throws to edge out Lakeland by the final score of 87-82.
The Cougars leading scorers on the day were Orr who had 25 points which matches a career high, and T.Jacobsen with 18 points. Rogers finished with 15 on five threes, while Lofink finished with 13 assists, one off her career best. Lakeland had two players that kept them in the game all day long. Grayvold had a game high 28 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists. Stankevich recorded a double-double as she had 26 points and 10 rebounds. CUC shot 41% from the field and 46% from three compared to Lakeland's 37% from three. The Cougars made 7 more threes than the Muskies, which in the end was the deciding factor as to why the Cougars were able to build their lead and hold on late.
The Cougars (10-6, 9-4 NACC) return to action Tuesday night as they complete their three-game home stand against Rockford University. Tip-off is set for 7:00pm.