MIAC Semifinal Preview - Whiteout Warning

MIAC SEMIFINAL PREVIEW
#4 COLLEGE OF ST. BENEDICT (20-6)
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#1 CONCORDIA COLLEGE (20-5)

February 21, 2013
Memorial Auditorium - Moorhead, Minn. - 7:30 p.m.


Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats

EARLIER THIS YEAR: The teams split their regular-season series with each team holding serve at home. In the first game in Moorhead, Concordia survived a torrid second-half run from St. Ben's and regrouped to post an 81-68 win over the Blazers. The Cobbers built an 18-point lead with 14:56 to play in the second half but then watched as the Blazers whittled that down to a mere four points at 58-54 with 10:28 to play. Concordia responded by scoring the next seven points and never let St. Ben's get to within 10 points the rest of the game.  The two teams were almost even in shooting percentages except for at the free throw line. The Cobbers shot 46.8% (29-for-62) from the floor and 30.8% (4-for-13) from outside the arc while St. Ben's connected on 43.1% (25-for-58) of their attempts from the floor and 33.3% (4-for-12) of their shots from outside the arc.

The second game was a different story as the Cobbers gave up 40 points in the second half and lost 69-63. The Cobbers held a 33-29 lead at the halftime break but then allowed St. Ben's to go on a 16-9 run to start the second half. The Blazers went 6-for-10 from the floor during that stretch while CC struggled by going 2-for-10 from the field and coughing up the ball three times. That early second-half run set the stage for the remainder of the game as CC would never lead after the 11:29 mark.

SERIES: St. Benenedict leads 37-29

SERIES STARTED: 1980-81

SERIES HISTORY: The Cobbers have taken five of the last six from St. Ben's with the Blazers ending a five-game losing skid with their win in St. Joe on Feb. 6. Concordia has also won seven of the last nine in the series. Before that stretch CSB had won eight of the past 10 games. The Cobbers are 11-9 at home against St. Ben's in the last 20 games played in Memorial. However, CC has won five straight. The last time CSB claimed a win was in 2009.
PLAYOFF HISTORY: Concordia is 2-3 against St. Ben's in the MIAC playoffs with their last meeting coming in the semifinals back in 10-11 when the Cobbers prevailed 78-69 in Moorhead. CC is 2-1 against CSB in the semifinals and 1-1 against the Blazers at home in the MIAC tournament with both games coming in the semifinals.

CONCORDIA PROBABLE STARTERS
G – 12 – Erika Jossart, Jr., Bismarck, N.D.
G – 23 – Emily Thesing, Sr., Brainerd, Minn.
F – 24 – Tricia Sorensen, Sr., Bismarck, N.D.
G – 32 – Alley Fisher, So., Fargo, N.D.
C – 44 – Alexandra Lippert, Jr., Willmar, Minn.

ST. BEN'S PROBABLE STARTERS
F – 03– Morgan Dale, Sr., Jamestown, N.D.
F – 05 – Mattie Lueck, Fr., Pequot Lakes, Minn.  
G – 10 – Whitney Canton, Sr., Pine Island, Minn.
G – 14 – Brianna Barrett, Jr., Annandale, Minn.
G – 24 – Tish Alexander, Jr., Minneapolis, Minn.

COBBER NOTES

CONCORDIA MIAC PLAYOFF NOTES
Concordia is making its 11^th straight MIAC playoff appearance and 12^th overall appearance. The consecutive postseason streak dates all the way back to the 2001-02 season. That is the only time in the 13-year history of the MIAC Tournament that the Cobbers did not make the postseason. Concordia is making its first appearance in the conference tournament as the No.1 seed. The last time that the Cobbers won the regular-season crown was back in 1989-90 ...Concordia is 9-10 in their previous 11 appearances in the tourney. The Cobbers are 8-2 in their 10 playoff games in Moorhead...the Cobbers only title came back in 2005-06 when they were the No.2 seed and beat Gustavus in the semifinals and then outlasted No.4 seed Carleton 65-56 at home.

COBBER 2012-13 NOTES
Concordia enters tonight's game having won three straight, 11 out of 12 and 17 out of 19 in a streak that dates back to Dec. 3.  The Cobbers are 10-1 at home this year with their lone loss coming against Hamline on Jan. 12. Concordia is outscoring their opponents by an average of 71-57 at home. CC has only allowed one team to score more than 70 points in Memorial (the only loss vs. HU) and has held six opponents under 60 points – including their last four opponents at home. The other big statistical advantage at home for CC comes under the basket where the Cobbers are outrebounding their opponents by an average of almost 9.0 rebounds per home game...Concordia ended the regular season with three players averaging in double figures. MIAC MVP candidates Tricia Sorensen and Emily Thesing lead CC in almost every statistical category. Sorensen leads the team in scoring (14.0 ppg) and rebounding (7.0). She scored in double figures in all but three MIAC games and is in the top 10 in the MIAC in eight different categories. Thesing averaged 12.9 points per game and 3.3 assists. She was in the top 10 in the MIAC in five categories...sophomore guard Alley Fisher has made her last 19 consecutive free throws.

BLAZER NOTES

ST. BENEDICT MIAC PLAYOFF NOTES
Like the Cobbers, the Blazers are making their 12^th overall MIAC playoff appearance. They had their consecutive playoff-berth streak come to an end last season. This year's tournament marks the very first time that St. Ben's has been the No.4 seed...CSB is 5-7 in their 12 previous semifinal appearances (if you're scoring at home that means every time they have been in the playoffs they have made the semifinals!) and is 1-3 in semifinal games played on the road...St. Ben's was 12-8 in their previous 11 tourney appearances before posting the win over Hamline in the quarterfinals on Tuesday. The Blazers have three titles to their name having won the whole shebang in 2005, 2007 and 2009. CSB has only played five away games in the playoffs and is just 2-3. They have only played one away game in the MIAC playoffs since they won the whole thing in 2004-05.            

BLAZER 2012-13 NOTES
St. Ben's heads into the conference semifinal game riding a two-game winning streak and has won 12 of their last 14 games. The Blazers were tied for the league lead with three gsmes left in the regular season but then lost at St. Thomas and St. Mary's and dropped to fourth place in the final conference standings...St. Ben's is 9-4 on the road this year...the Blazers finished the conference season third in the MIAC in points per game (65.8) and field goal percentage (41.5%) and led the league in 3-point field goal percentage (36.9%). CSB averaged 69.45 in its 20 wins this year but just 59.0 points in its five losses...the Blazers are led by junior Brianna Barrett who averaged 15.2 points in the team's 22 league games. She was third in the MIAC in scoring average in conference games and second in 3-point field goal percentage (44.3%)...senior Morgan Dale is the only starter who played in Moorhead in the semifinals in 2011. She leads the team in rebounding and was fifth in the MIAC in rebounds per game (7.4).