3rd Quarter Rally Falls Short In Duluth
Concordia erased a 17-point deficit by outscoring St. Scholastica 22-11 in the third quarter but it wasn't enough as they fell 69-66 in the final non-conference game of the year.
DULUTH, Minn. (12/31/17)---Concordia had a pair of last-second game-tying 3-point field goal attempts come up just short and lost 69-66 at St. Scholastica in the final game of the 2017 calendar year.
The Cobbers trailed by as many as 17 points in the third quarter but then outscored the Saints 22-11 in the third period and cut the lead to a single point on several occasions in the fourth quarter but could never get all the way back and lost for the second straight game against a non-conference opponent.
Concordia's second-half rally was keyed by junior guard Grace Wolhowe who finished the game with a career-high 23 points and went 6-for-7 from the field.
The teams stayed close through the first quarter of play with St. Scholastica holding a 16-14 edge. The Saints then broke the game open by outscoring Concordia 25-13 in the second quarter. Scholastica went on an 11-0 run at the end of the half to push a three-point lead at 30-27 with 3:49 to play to a 14-point halftime margin at 41-27.
Concordia (5-5) would return the lopsided quarter margin in the third period when they put up 22 points and outscored the Saints by 11. Scholastica ballooned the lead to 17 points at the 8:06 mark of the third but then CC went on an 11-0 run of their own to cut the lead to 45-39 with 4:19 to play in the period.
St. Scholastica (5-6) would respond with a 4-0 run to retake a double-digit margin before the Cobbers finished the period on a 10-2 streak to get to within three points at the break.
The game would stay between five-to-seven points before the Cobbers got to within one point at 60-59 with 2:02 to play. On the very next possession the Saints missed two straight shots but grabbed two straight offensive rebounds and then scored on a layup to push the lead to three points.
Concordia would get to within a single point with 11-seconds remaining but Scholastica hit two straight free throws to push the lead back to three points at 69-66.
The Cobbers then took the inbounds pass and went up court and got a 3-point attempt from Jamie Mentzer that just missed. Cassidy Rahman grabbed the offensive rebound and was able to get off a second 3-point shot but her attempt also narrowly missed the mark.
St. Scholastica had 12 more field goal attempts in the game than Concordia. The Cobbers shot 39.1% (18-for-46) from the floor and 33.3% (5-for-15 from 3-point range. The Saints were at 39.7% (23-for-58) from the field and 30.4% (7-for-23) from beyond the arc.
Besides her game-high 23 points, Wolhowe also had two rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Freshman Mira Ellefson was the only other CC player in double figures in scoring. She scored eight points in the second half and finished with 12 points. She also tied for the game high in rebounds with six.
Mentzer also had six rebounds to go along with four points and a game-high four assists.
FREE THROW CONTEST: The teams combined for 52 free throws in the game. Concordia went 22-for-32 (68.8%) from the foul stripe while Scholastica was 13-for-20 (65.0%).
NON-CONFERENCE NOTION: The game against the Saints was the final non-conference tilt of the season for the Cobbers. Concordia went 3-4 in their seven non-league games this year and lost their last three non-con games.
WHAT'S NEXT: Concordia will start the New Year by hosting St. Benedict on Wednesday, Jan. 3 at 7:45 p.m. The Blazers have won five straight games and are 10-1 on the season. St. Benedict is coming off an 81-48 win at St. Scholastica on Saturday.