Another First-Round Heartbreak

INDIANOLA, Iowa (3/01/13)---Concordia was outscored 14-8 in the final three minutes against UW-Stevens Pt. and suffered another heartbreaking loss in the first round of the NCAA Tourney.

The Cobbers were forced to chase the Pointers the entire game and took a 52-50 lead with just under six minutes to play but then tired down the stretch and lost for the fifth straight time in the first round of the national playoffs.


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Concordia (21-7) was led by Tricia Sorensen who finished with a team-high 17 points and grabbed six rebounds. Junior center Alexandra Lippert kept the Cobbers close in the first half and had 15 points to go along with a game-high 11 rebounds. It was her fourth double-double of the season.

UW-Stevens Point (24-5) was a two-player show as Liz Althoff and Sam Barber combined to score 53 of the team's 72 points. Althoff was 15-for-17 from the free throw line and had 28 points while Barber went 11-for-19 from the floor and finished with 25 points.

Both teams struggled to find an offensive rhythm in the first half. The teams combined to score just nine points in the first seven minutes of play. At the break, Stevens Point held a 25-22 lead and the squads were 5-for-15 (33.3%) from outside the arc and 19-for-51 (37.2%) from the floor. Concordia was done in by the turnover bug as CC made 12 miscues in the first 20 minutes of play. The Cobbers made up for the turnovers by dominating the glass and had a 23-14 advantage in rebounding at the break.

The second half saw the Pointers ease their way to an eight-point lead in the first eight minutes of play. Concordia then rallied with a 10-2 run to tie the game at 42-42 with 9:30 to play. The game would then stay within four points, and feature three tie scores, before UWSP would go on the game-changing run in the final 2:25 of play.

The Cobbers missed two field goal attempts and had two turnovers in four key possessions down the stretch. Stevens Point then finished off the game by connecting on nine of 10 free throws in the final minute of the game.

Both teams finished the game with very even shooting numbers. They both shot around 40.0% from the floor and 37.0% from outside the arc while making 85.0% of their foul shots. The Cobbers wound up outrebounding the Pointers 44-31 but UWSP held a 26-20 edge in points in the paint. Stevens Point scored 16 points in the second half on layups after they were able to penetrate the CC defense off the dribble and attack the basket.