Johnson Joins 500-Rebound Club

ST. PAUL, Minn. (1/16/16)--- One outcome was never in doubt and the other was settled in the fourth quarter.

Olivia Johnson grabbed her 500th career rebound midway through the first quarter and then Concordia pulled away from Macalester in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter to earn a 63-50 win in St. Paul.

Johnson needed only two rebounds to become the 17th player in program history to reach the 500-rebound plateau. She came down with her first board of the game on the very first possession of the opening period and then collected her milestone rebound at the 5:06 mark of the first quarter.

Johnson finished the game with seven rebounds and 17 points to help the Cobbers end a two-game losing skid. CC is now 9-6 in all games and 5-3 in MIAC play.

Concordia trailed the Scots 13-9 after the first quarter. The Scots scored six of the first seven points in the game and led by as many as seven points at 10-3. The Cobbers cut the lead to a single point in the final minute of the period before Macalester knocked down a 3-pointer in the final 20-seconds of play to take a four-point lead into the second quarter.

The Cobbers slowly cut into the Scot lead and then grabbed a one-point advantage at 21-20 when Johnson made the second of two free throws at 4:30.

The teams would then exchange leads four times in the final four minutes of play with CC coming out on top at the half thanks to a Hannah Jeske lay-up in the final seconds of play.

Concordia tried to pull away from Macalester in the third quarter but each time they stretched the lead to five or more points, the Scots would come up with a big basket to stay within striking distance.

Jenna Januschka made a pair of free throws at the end of the third quarter and Concordia entered the fourth period with a 46-41 lead.

Macalester (6-8/2-6 MIAC) scored the first three points of the final quarter and then CC countered with a jumper by Crystal Amundson and an old-fashioned 3-pointer from Januschka.
 
Concordia was finally able to pull away from Macalester when they went on a 7-0 run midway through the period which finally pushed the margin into double digits and take the wind out of Macalester's comeback sails.

Befitting Johnson's 500th career rebound, the Cobbers won the game around the basket. Concordia held a 39-25 advantage in rebounding which included eight offensive rebounds and an 11-0 edge in second-chance points. CC also outscored Macalester 20-12 in points in the paint.

Concordia shot 43.1% (22-for-51) from the floor and 41.7% (5-for-12) from 3-point range. The Scots connected on 36.2% (17-for-47) of their attempts from the field and 30.4% (7-for-23) from outside the arc.

MISS 505
Olivia Johnson finished with seven rebounds in the game which gives her 505 for her career. Her seven boards were only the third best on the team. Hannah Jeske came away with 10 rebounds and Jenna Januschka had nine.  Johnson's 17 points is her most of 2016 and most since she scored 23 against St. Scholastica on Nov. 30.

WELCOME BACK TO THE DOUBLE-DIGIT CLUB
After having a seven-game double-digit scoring streak ended on Wednesday, Jenna Januschka responed with a 16-point, nine-rebound game. She was 5-for-11 from the field and 6-for-8 from the free throw line. Januschka is now averaging 14.5 points per game which is tied for seventh best in the MIAC.

MISS OUTSIDE
Greta Walsh continues to be the Cobbers' most consistent outside scoring threat. Walsh had 23 points on Wednesday after putting up 23 field goal attempts. She backed that up by going 6-for-9 from the field and 3-for-5 from outside the arc on Saturday to come away with 17 points. Walsh has scored at least 13 points in four of the past five games and is averaging 15.2 points per game during that stretch. She is now second on the team in scoring with a 13.9 ppg average.

WHAT'S NEXT
After finishing up a three-game road trip, Concordia will come home for three straight games. The Cobbers will open the home stand when they square off against St. Catherine on Wednesday, Jan. 20 at 7 p.m. The Wildcats lost 79-69 at home against St. Olaf on Saturday.