22 Straight Earns 12th Consecutive MIAC Playoff Spot

MOORHEAD, Minn. (2/05/14)—In the end it was a 22-0 run in the second half that pushed Concordia into the conference playoffs for the 12^th consecutive season. The Cobbers rallied from a 13-point deficit in the final 17 minutes of play and beat St. Olaf 58-49.

The win clinches an MIAC playoff spot for Concordia and pushes their overall record to 16-4 on the year. The Cobbers are now 10-1 since Jan. 5. CC is 14-3 in MIAC play and remains in third place in the league standings. Concordia's consecutive playoff streak of 12 seasons is the second longest in the MIAC.

The Cobbers never got on track offensively in the first half and trailed for 18:23 of the first 20-minutes of play. CC made consecutive field goals on only two occasions during the first half play. That inconsistency led to a 25-17 halftime deficit.

St. Olaf (12-8/10-7) built their lead to 13 points in the first 3:05 of the second half.  The Oles took a 33-20 lead before Concordia's offense and pressure defense seized control of the game. The Cobbers rattled off 22 straight points and turned the 13-point deficit into a nine-point lead at 42-33 with 8:19 to play. St. Olaf didn't score for a total of 9 minutes, 19 seconds.

The Oles tried their own comeback attempt and got to within five points in the final four minutes of play but a pair of field goals by Alexandra Lippert and Emma Peterson put the game out of reach and sealed the Cobbers' trip to the playoffs.

Concordia outscored St. Olaf 41-24 in the second half. The Cobbers had nine more field goal attempts and outrebounded the Oles 24-12 in the second half. The CC defense was also able to force eight turnovers in the final 20 minutes of play.

The Cobbers shot 43.8% (14-for-32) from the floor in the second half and held St. Olaf to 34.8% (8-for-23) from the field and 23.1% (3-for-13) from 3-point range.

Concordia had three players score in double figures. Alley Fisher was 3-for-9 from behind the arc and finished with 13 points. CC is now 12-0 when Fisher scores at least 10 points in a game. Peterson posted her second straight double-digit scoring game. She was 4-for-9 from the floor, scored 12 points and grabbed five rebounds. Lippert hauled in a team-high eight rebounds and put up seven points.

Kelsey Walloch was one of the main driving forces behind Concordia's 22-point run in the second half. Walloch had eight points and four rebounds during that decisive run and finished the game with 10 points and five rebounds.  

Concordia will play at St. Catherine on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 3 p.m. before returning home to host Carleton on Monday, Feb. 10 at 5:45 p.m.