Hello Playoffs!
Concordia clinched its fourth straight MIAC playoff berth by outlasting Hamline 67-62. The Cobbers outscored the Pipers 19-13 down the stretch and made 19 free throws in the fourth quarter to secure their seventh win in the last eight games.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
8 | 15 | 15 | 24 | 62 |
|
|
8 | 14 | 16 | 29 | 67 |
Team Stats
Hamline
| Game Statistics | Hamline | Concordia-M'head |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (23-69) | (18-43) |
| Field Goal % | 33.3% | 41.9% |
| Rebounds | 36 | 41 |
| Assists | 14 | 15 |
| Turnovers | 13 | 21 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 21 | 14 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 3 | 1 |
| Pts in the Paint | 26 | 14 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 19 | 15 |
| Bench Pts | 22 | 15 |
MOORHEAD, Minn. (2/07/25)---Question – what's better than beating a Top 5 team in your conference? Answer – beating said Top 5 opponent and clinching a playoff spot while doing it.
That was exactly the scenario on Saturday inside Memorial Auditorium where No.24-ranked Concordia overcame a rugged first half, outscored Hamline 19-13 in the final 4:30 of the fourth quarter and battled their way to a 67-62 win.
The 5-point victory helped the Cobbers clinch their fourth straight MIAC playoff berth. Concordia becomes the first team in the conference to earn a spot in the postseason tournament.
The win also helped Concordia stay on top of the MIAC standings. CC is 12-2 in league which is one game ahead of St. Mary's and Bethel with four games left in the regular season. The Cobbers are now 18-3 overall.
The first quarter was a rock fight between the two teams as Concordia and Hamline combined to score 16 points and shoot 20.0% (6-for-30) from the floor. How bad was it for Concordia in the first 10 minutes of play? They had more turnovers (9) than points (8).
The Cobbers and Pipers started to find their offensive rhythm in the second quarter, settled in to play a back-and-forth game where neither team had more than an 8-point lead and finished with a fourth quarter that saw a total of 49 points being scored with the teams shooting 43.3% from the field.
Besides the late-game run for Concordia, the decided edge in the contest came at the free throw line where the Cobbers went 19-for-24 in the final 10 minutes of play. During that same time, Hamline went 6-for-8 from the foul stripe.
Concordia finished the game by making almost twice as many free throws as the Pipers attempted. CC was 24-for-32 (75.0%) from the free throw line, compared to 9-for-13 (69/2%) for Hamline.
The 32 free throw attempts are a season high for the Cobbers and the 24 made foul shots tie a season high. CC also made seven of its final 10 free throws in the final minute of play.
Concordia shot 41.9% (18-for-43) from the floor for the game and 50.0% (7-for-14) from distance.
Hamline (15-6, 9-5 MIAC) made 33.3% (23-for-69) of their attempts from the floor and 28.0% (7-for-25) of their shots from outside the arc.
Concordia had a trio of players finish with a double-digit point total. Molly Musland led all players with 17 points on a 5-for-9 shooting afternoon. She also collected a team-high seven boards.
Maya Metcalf had 14 points and five rebounds, while Taylor Safranski added 12 points and seven boards.
Taya Jeffrey tied her season high in assists with five.
Concordia will put its 4-game win streak on the line when they play at St. Catherine on Wednesday, Feb. 11 at 7 p.m.
