No. 7 Women’s Basketball Advances to CIT Title Game
by Jacy Johnston
The No. 7 Concordia women’s basketball team squeaked by with a 64-52 win over Concordia Ann Arbor to extend its CIT win streak to five.
“It was a good win. I am really proud of our kids bouncing back from our last game,” said coach Drew Olson. “I thought we had a lot better fight and a lot better toughness. Defensively, we were as good as we’ve been in a while and it’s really good to see moving forward.”
The Bulldogs started out on fire with an early 8-0 lead. Balanced scoring led to a 14-6 lead for the Bulldogs at the end of the first quarter. Ann Arbor’s offense soon heated up and closed the gap to 21-17 halfway through the second quarter. Sophomore Brenleigh Daum created a four-point play on a foul with a made 3-pointer and extended the Bulldog lead to 28-22. At the break, the Bulldogs led 28-25 over the Cardinals.
The third quarter started in favor of the Bulldogs with a layup by Daum. Senior Becky Mueller tallied another shot to make the score 32-25. Ann Arbor followed a carbon copy of the first half and worked hard to close the scoreboard deficit. The Bulldogs lost the lead with a minute left until the end of the third quarter. Freshman Quinn Wragge’s 3-pointer regained a 41-40 lead for the Bulldogs at the end of the third quarter.
The fourth quarter tipped in favor of the Bulldogs. Junior Shelby Quinn assisted on a Daum 3-pointer to make the score 49-43 with less than five minutes left to play. Senior Becky Mueller heated up for the Bulldogs late in the game to help create a double-digit lead. The Bulldogs’ concentration at the foul line late in the game finished the 64-52 victory.
Mueller led the Bulldogs in scoring with 19 points, and Wragge chipped in another 15 points. Daum and junior Devin Edwards also both contributed nine points apiece.
The Bulldogs now maintain a 16-6 record for the season. Concordia will play for the CIT title against Concordia Wisconsin on Saturday, Jan. 30 at 5 p.m. in Chicago. Looking forward to the championship game, “the team hopes to improve upon offensive rhythm and decreasing turnovers,” Olson said.
