Series And Season Finale Winner
Concordia used a 42-point first half to roll to a 71-62 win over St. Benedict which gave the Cobbers the series victory between the two teams and a win in the 2021 season finale.
ST. JOSEPH, Minn. (3/12/21)---You could never tell that Concordia hadn't played for almost two weeks they way they bolted out of the gate and shot over 50.0% from the field and 3-point range in the first half. The Cobbers raced out to a 42-27 halftime lead and then coasted to a 71-62 win over St. Benedict in the final game of the abbreviated 2021 season.
The red-hot first half for the Cobbers helped them take the season series from the Bennies. Each team had won at home in the previous two meetings of the year until Friday when CC turned the table and pulled off the road win. The victory also brings Concordia's season record to 3-4.
Concordia pulled away from St. Ben's at the end of the first quarter and then again midway in the second period, just before halftime break. The Cobbers trailed 13-8 with 4:30 to play in the opening period before a pair of free throws from sophomore Emily Beseman would ignite a 13-1 run to finish the quarter and give CC a 21-14 lead heading into the second period of play.
St. Ben's cut the lead to three points at 23-20 with 7-minutes left in the half but then Concordia made another push started by baseman to push the lead to double digits at 36-22. Beseman hit a 3-ball with 6:49 left in the half and that helped the Cobbers score 13 of the next 15 points.
The biggest lead of the game for the Cobbers came in the first two minutes of the second half when they opened the quarter with the first four points to take a 19-point advantage at 46-27. The lead was still 15 points after three periods at 61-46.
CSB then cut the margin to single digits by scoring the first seven points of the fourth quarter. The would get to within five points on two occasions with 2-minutes left to go in the game but each time CC was able to come up with the next two points to keep the rally from getting closer. After CSB cut the margin to five with 1:16 to play, junior Autumn Thompson hit a couple of clutch free throws to push the lead back to seven and then a Mary Sem layup in the final 50-seconds of play would give CC the 9-point win.
Beseman led all players with 22 points. She also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Beseman was one of three Cobber players with a double-digit scoring total in the finale. Sem went for 16 points on an 8-for-14 night from the floor while Vanessa Kedl put up 10 points and hauled down a season-high six rebounds.
Concordia finished the game by shooting 47.2% (25-for-53) from the field and 33.3% (5-for-15) from outside the arc. CC was 5-for-9 (55.5%) from distance in the first half but then went 0-for-6 in the second half. The Bennies shot 34.4% (22-for-64) from the floor and 20.8% (5-for-24) from outside the arc.
The Cobbers held a 38-32 edge in rebounding and 36-34 advantage in points in the paint.
TEAM LEADERS: Beseman and Sem led the team in scoring in 2021 and both players averaged over 15.0 ppg. Beseman had a team-high 15.7 ppg average while Sem had a 15.1 ppg average in the seven games. Senior Elizabeth Birkemeyer led the team in rebounding with a 6.0 rpg mark. She also averaged 7.7 points per game. Beseman was second on the team in rebounding (5.3 rpg) and led the team in assists with 20. Thompson was second in assists (17) and averaged 7.6 ppg.
RECAP SPONSOR: Tonight's recap sponsor is Travelodge. Whenever the Cobbers need to have quality accommodations on the road they can always count on Travelodge to make them feel right at home.
