16-Minute Surge Secures Success In St. Paul
Concordia outscored St. Catherine 44-22 in the final 16 minutes of the game to turn an 11-point halftime deficit into a 75-67 victory.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (11/29/23)---With 6:37 left in the third quarter at St. Catherine, it looked like it wouldn't be the Cobbers' night and they were headed for their first conference loss of the year.
A funny thing happened on the way to the bus in St. Paul. Concordia found its offense in the locker room at the halftime break, put together a 16-3 run in a span of just over 2 minutes, outscored the Wildcats 44-22 in the final 16 minutes of play and walked out of the Butler Center with a 75-67 win.
The Cobbers shot 30.7% from the floor and committed 12 turnovers in the first half of play but went to the dressing and returned to shoot 50.0% and have only three miscues in the final 20 minutes as they beat St. Catherine for the fifth time in the past six meetings.
Concordia only scored 28 total points in the first half and nearly matched that in the third quarter alone as they outscored the Wildcats 27-18. CC then posted another 20-point quarter to secure the win, posting a 20-10 margin in the final 10 minutes of play.
The Cobbers finished the game by shooting 40.7% (22-for-54) from the floor and 59.1% (13-for-22) from outside the arc. CC was nearly perfect from the free throw line. They were 18-for-19 (94.7%) from the foul stripe. The 13 made threes, 3-point field goal percentage and free throwline are all season highs for the Cobbers.
St. Catherine (3-2, 2-1 MIAC) shot 40.0% (22-for-55) from the field, 42.1% (8-for-19) from distance and 71.4% (15-for-21) from the foul line.
The most significant statistical difference came from the turnover category, where the CC pressure defense forced 20 total turnovers and played that into a 28-19 advantage in points off of miscues.
It was a team effort for Concordia on the scoresheet. The Cobbers had four starters finish with at least 10 points, and three of the four came away with a team-high five boards.
Junior Carlee Sieben was 3-for-6 from outside the arc and had 20 points to go with three assists and two steals. It was her second game this season, where she has scored at least 20 points. She leads the team with a 17.8 ppg average.
Emily Beseman didn't have a point in the first half and then posted 12 points in the game-deciding second half. She added five boards, three helpers and three steals.
Makayla Anderson only had two points in the opening two quarters and finished with 11 points, five rebounds and team highs in steals (4) and assists (4). Anderson is averaging a team-best 7.0 rebounds per game this year.
Jordyn Kahler also finished with 11 points to go along with five rebounds.
UP NEXT: Concordia will stay on the road during the annual Christmas Concert celebration and play at Bethel on Saturday, Dec. 2 at 1 p.m.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
First Quarter
5:51 – CC 7, SCU 7
3:04 – CC 12, SCU 12
End of 1st quarter: CC 17, SCU 25
Second Quarter
7:03 – CC 17, SCU 29
2:35 – CC 22, SCU 36
Halftime – CC 28, SCU 39
Third Quarter
6:37 – CC 31, SCU 45
4:21 – CC 47, SCU 48
3:01 – CC 51, SCU 51
End of 3rd quarter: CC 55, SCU 57
Fourth Quarter
9:22 – CC 59, SCU 57
6:16 – CC 62, SCU 62
4:33 – CC 69, SCU 62
Final: CC 75, SCU 67