Heartbreak In A Blizzard

STORY LINE: Concordia erased a 5-point deficit in the final 20 seconds of regulation against St. Benedict and went to overtime before finally falling 92-91. The Cobbers tied the game on a corner 3-pointer from Autumn Thompson to push the game into the extra period and then had a 91-90 lead with 3-seconds left on OT before the Bennies stole an inbounds pass and then made the two game-deciding free throws after a foul on a layup attempt.

RECORDS: Concordia is now 7-15 overall and 4-11 in the MIAC while St. Benedict improves to 13-9 in all games and 9-6 in conference play.

STRETCH RECAP: The Cobbers trailed 90-88 with 35-seconds to play and called timeout to set up a play to tie the game - or take the lead. Grace Wolhowe missed a 3-point attempt but Elizabeth Birkemeyer grabbed the offensive rebound and gave it back to Wolhowe who didn't miss her second attempt at the shot from outside the arc and gave CC a 91-90 lead. The Bennies then had a chance to take the lead but turned the ball over underneath the Cobber basket. Concordia then tried to inbound the ball but the pass was knocked around before the Bennie point guard picked up the loose ball and went up for the layup. She was fouled on the way up and made the two ensuing foul shots.

WOLHOWE WINGS IT: Senior Grace Wolhowe put up a career-high point total in her second-to-last game in Memorial Auditorium. She went 12-for-17 from the floor and finished with 27 points. Her previous single game career-high point total was 24 which she put up last year against Carleton. Wolhowe scored 15 of her 27 points in the fourth quarter and overtime.

SO CLOSE: Grace Wolhowe was one rebound shy of recording her first career double-double. She led the Cobbers with nine rebounds in the game. All nine boards came on the defensive end.  

NICE TO HAVE YOU BACK: It was just 4:14 into the first period but Memorial Auditorium was full of energy as senior Kirstin Simmons entered the game for the first time since Jan. 2. Simmons injured her right wrist against Macalester and hadn't appeared in nine games but returned to the floor with a big cast on her arm and a smile on her face. Simmons played 13 minutes in the game and finished with 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.   

BLIZZARD OUTSIDE, HEAT WAVE INSIDE: Both teams wound up shooting around 50% from the floor for the game. The Cobbers connected on 49.4% (38-for-77) of their field goal attempts while St. Benedict made 50.8% (30-for-59) of their shots. The Bennies were extremely hot from outside the arc as they knocked down 70.6 (12-for-17) of their outside attempts. CC made 38.1% (8-for-21) of their 3-point shots. CSB was 20-for-27 (74.1%) from the free throw line as opposed to 7-for-9 (77.8%) for the Cobbers.

INSIDE EDGE: Sparked by the return of senior Kirstin Simmons, Concordia held a 44-29 advantage in rebounds and a 48-32 edge in points on the paint.     

INSIDE/OUTSIDE FRESHMEN CAREER HIGHS: Concordia had a pair of freshmen post career-high point totals. Mary Sem used her inside moves to go 6-for-9 from the floor and post 15 points while Autumn Thompson made a trio of shots from outside the arc and also had 15 points. Sem has now scored in double digits in four straight games and Thompson has 29 points in her last two games combined.

UP NEXT: Concordia will travel away from Moorhead for their final two road games of the season. The Cobbers will play at Bethel on Saturday, Feb. 9 and then square off against Carleton in Northfield on Wednesday, Feb. 13.