A Halftime To Bottle

MOORHEAD, Minn. (2/11/17)--- Concordia head coach Jessica Rahman might want to bottle her halftime talk on Saturday and take it out whenever the team needs a boost.

The Cobbers used Rahman's halftime inspiration to turn a seven-point halftime deficit into an 81-66 win over Hamline in the annual Leanne Miller Pink Zone Game.

Concordia scored on six of its final seven possessions of the third quarter which erased a five-point lead and gave the Cobbers a 53-50 lead heading into the final period of play. CC then outscored the Pipers 8-2 to start the fourth quarter to stretch the lead to nine points and put the game out of reach.

Concordia (8-15/5-11 MIAC) outscored Hamline 49-26 in the second half. The Cobbers shot 45.2% (14-for-31) from the floor in the second half and made 18 free throws in the final two quarters to earn their third win in the last five games.

The teams put on an outside shooting clinic in the final minutes of the opening period. Concordia and Hamline combined to go 8-for-17 (47.0%) from outside the arc and in the final 5-minutes of play the teams made eight 3-pointers.

The game then turned against the Cobbers in the second quarter. The Pipers continued to stay hot from the floor – shooting 50.0% (7-for-14). At the other end of the floor Concordia connected on only 23.1% (3-for-13) of their shots in the period.

Concordia finished the game by shooting 42.6% (26-for-61) from the field and 25.0% (4-for-16) from outside the arc. CC made 25 free throws while the Pipers attempted only 11 shots from the foul line and made five.

The Cobbers also held a decided edge under the basket where they outrebounded Hamline 49-31 and put up a 32-16 margin in points scored in the paint.

Both teams had four players score in double figures. Greta Walsh led all players with 24 points as she was a perfect 12-for-12 from the free throw line.

Jenna Januschka added 15 points and eight rebounds while Cassidy Rahman came away with 12 points and Grace Wolhowe finished with 10.

MOVING UP THE CHARTS: Greta Walsh's 24 points gives her 366 for the season and 1,144 for her career. The 366 points is the most in a single season for the senior guard. She is now 16th on the school's all-time scoring list. With her 24 points on Saturday she passed former Cobber greats Naomi Wahlin, Jenna Freudenberg and Alexandra Lippert.     

SPECIAL K: Sophomore post player Kirstin Simmons led the Cobber glass game. She collected 10 rebounds which marked the second time in the last four games she has put up a double-digit rebound total. Over that stretch of games she is averaging 10.25 boards.

BIG BOARD BONANZA: Concordia's 49 rebounds vs. Hamline is a season high. Their plus-18 rebound difference is the second highest of the season. Their season high of plus-27 came on Wednesday at St. Catherine.

WHAT'S NEXT: Concordia will finish out the season by playing at Bethel on Wednesday, Feb. 15 and then hosting league-leading St. Thomas on Saturday, Feb. 18.   

CONCORDIA vs. HAMLINE HIGHLIGHTS: