One Win Away

ST. PAUL, Minn. (2/09/13)—Tricia Sorensen scored 15 of her game-high 21 points in the second half as Concordia outscored Hamline 44-29 in the final 20 minutes of play and came away with a 74-61 in St. Paul.

The victory puts the Cobbers one victory away from clinching at least a share of their first MIAC regular-season championship since the 1989-90 season. Concordia is now 17-3 in league play and moves back into sole possession of first place after St. Ben's lost to St. Thomas 65-46. The Cobbers also up their overall record to 18-5 on the year.

The first half was a tale of two parts. The first stanza was all Concordia as they built a 14-2 lead and shot 50.0% from the floor and a perfect 100.0% from the foul line. The second part saw the Cobbers struggle and the Pipers grab a two-point halftime lead at 32-30. During the final 13 minutes of play in the opening period, CC shot 25.0% from the field and 22.2% from 3-point range.

The game changed midway through the second half. The teams traded baskets and the score was tied five different times during the first 9:27 of the period. That is when the Cobbers seized the game by the shirt collar and refused to let go. With a possible MIAC regular-season title at stake, Concordia went on a 14-2 run over a span of five minutes and took a 12-point lead at 61-49 with 5:25 to play. During that stretch the Cobbers were 4-for-6 from the floor and 4-for-4 from the free throw line.

"We just talked about turning up the intensity," said Cobber head coach Jessica Rahman. "We needed to play with more energy on both ends of the court."

Concordia was never threatened after that point and didn't allow the Pipers get within four points. CC finished off the game by scoring the final seven points in the game and by making 11 of their final 12 free throws.

Sorensen had just six points at the break but then went 4-for-6 from the floor and 6-for-6 from the free throw line to score her 21 points. She now has 995 career points and needs just five more points to become the 25^th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point milestone. She would also become the 10^th player in school history to score 1,000 points and grab 500 rebounds in a career.  Sorensen also had a game-high eight rebounds and added three assists.

Alley Fisher was the only other Concordia player with more than nine points in the game. She was 4-for-5 from behind the arc and finished with 15 points. Emily Thesing did not score in the first, had nine points and six rebounds in the second period and finished with nine points and eight boards.

Junior center Alexandra Lippert is the other Cobber player that sits on the cusp of a milestone. Lippert had seven points and six rebounds. She now has 144 rebounds for the season and 498 for her career. She needs two more rebounds to become the 16^th player in school history to reach the 500-rebound mark.

The biggest statistical edge in the game came from under the basket where the Cobbers outrebounded the Pipers 53-32. The 21-rebound difference is third largest of the season for Concordia. The rebounding margin was countered the huge difference in turnovers. The Cobbers had 22 miscues as compared to only nine for Hamline.

Concordia will now two chances at home to try and clinch the MIAC regular season title. The Cobbers can share at least a share of the championship with one win and can clinch the outright championship with a pair of wins. CC will host St. Kate's on Wednesday, Feb. 13 at 7:30 p.m. and then finish off the regular season with a home game against Gustavus on Saturday, Feb. 16 at 1 p.m.