A Very Fitting Senior Celebration

MOORHEAD, Minn. (2/19/14)—It was only fitting that the driving force behind Concordia's sixth straight win, and 20th overall victory of the season, were seniors celebrating a very special Senior Night.

Erika Jossart hit four three-pointers in the second half and wound up with a team-high 16 points while Kelsey Walloch grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and added 12 points. The duo helped the Cobbers lead wire-to-wire in rolling to a 70-56 win over St. Benedict.

The victory is the 14th in the last 15 games for Concordia and pushes their overall record to 20-4. CC is now 18-3 in the MIAC and needs only one more win to secure the No.2 seed for the upcoming conference tournament. The 20 overall wins marks the second straight 20-win campaign and third time in the last four seasons the Cobbers have won at least 20 games in a season.

Concordia's pressure defense, up-tempo offense and long-range shooting paid dividends throughout the game. The Cobbers forced 20 Blazer turnovers, was able to take 12 more shots in the game and made eight more 3-point baskets in the game. CC was 10-for-20 from behind the arc. It is only the second time this season Concordia has recorded a double-digit 3-point field goal total. It is also the fourth time in the last five games that the Cobbers have put up at least 20 long-range shots.

The Cobbers bolted to a 15-6 lead in the first six minutes of play and then held of St. Ben's every time they tried to make a run. The closest CSB was able to come was four points in the third minute of the second half. But then Jossart hit one of her four 3-pointers in the half and put Concordia up by seven. She would then give CC its biggest lead of the night when she canned a long-range trifecta from the left wing.

Concordia was 10-for-20 from 3-point range and 44.6% (29-for-65) from the field. The Cobbers only took five free throws in the game which is a season low.

Concordia also had a decided edge in scoring after turnovers. The Cobbers turned the 20 Blazer miscues into a 29-11 edge in points off of turnovers.     

Jossart finished with 16 points and five assists while Walloch went for 12 and eight. Alexandra Lippert, the third senior on the team, had four points, four rebounds and anchored the defense by blocking three shots. The trio has now won 80 games in their three-plus seasons.

The Cobbers will finish off the regular season when they play at Hamline on Saturday, Feb. 22 at 1 p.m. If CC can beat the Pipers they will earn the No.2 seed for the MIAC Tournament and get a bye into the semifinals.