Gimme, Gimme - Selfish Cobbers Claim Title Outright

MOORHEAD, Minn. (2/16/13)—Like a 4-year-old with a new toy on Christmas, Concordia refused to share their newly acquired MIAC regular-season championship. The Cobbers used a high-energy defense and a dribble-drive offense to pull away from Gustavus in the second half and earn a 65-49 win which clinches the outright conference title.

The Cobbers, who had already laid claim to the No.1 seed in the upcoming MIAC tournament, earned their 20^th win of the season which marks the second time in the past three years that CC has reached the 20-win plateau. Concordia finishes the conference season with a 19-3 record which is the most since the last time that the Cobbers won the regular-season crown back in 1989-90.


Postgame audio interview with head coach Jessica Rahman (2:34)


The game against the Gusties on Saturday wasn't a thing of beauty with each team struggling to get into their offensive sets throughout the first half. The teams combined for 18 turnovers and shot a combined 35.4% from the floor and 14.3% from outside the arc. Concordia was able to take a six-point lead into the second period when they went on a 9-1 run midway through the half.

Concordia was the most successful in the opening 20 minutes of play when the guard trio of Emily Thesing, Erika Jossart and Alley Fisher was able to penetrate the Gustavus defense off the dribble and get lay-up looks at the basket. The trio accounted for 22 of the team's 29 points in the first half. The Gusties were forced to make an adjustment at halftime which opened the outside for 3-point shots and open jumpers in the second frame. Thesing and Jossart were a combined 4-for-6 from outside the arc in the second period and put up 22 points.

On the other end of the floor, the Cobber defense turned up the energy to deny the Gustavus guards from getting easy looks at entry passes into the post and wound up forcing 19 turnovers in the game. Concordia held Gustavus to just 49 points in the game which is the second time this season that the Gusties weren't able to crack the 50-point barrier against CC. It is also the second consecutive game that Concordia hasn't allowed their opponent to score 50 points – and sixth overall in the season.

The Cobbers shot 40.4% (23-for-57) from the floor and 38.9% from 3-point range for the game.

Thesing took control of the game with her outside shooting and finished with a game-high 22 points. She also came away with four steals and five rebounds. Jossart added 13 points two assists. The newest member of the Cobber 1,000-point club, Tricia Sorensen, had 10 points and a game-high eight rebounds. Concordia's post duo of Kelsey Walloch and Erin Januschka combined for nine points and 10 rebounds as they filled in for starting center Alexandra Lippert who fouled out after playing for 11 minutes.

When asked how winning the outright MIAC regular-season title felt, Rahman smiled and succinctly said, "fantastic."

Concordia will now wait until Thursday, Jan. 21 to host a semifinal game in the conference tournament. Since the MIAC playoffs are not a structured game format, the Cobbers will face the lowest seed left in the tourney.