Frantic Last-Minute Rally Falls Just Short

ST. PAUL, Minn. (1/17/18)---Concordia's frantic last-minute rally fell inches short as the Cobbers nearly erased a 12-point deficit with 83-seconds left to play against St. Catherine.

Concordia trailed 61-49 with 1:23 left in the fourth quarter before they made four straight field goals to cut the lead to three points at 61-58 with 21-seconds left to play. The Cobbers then forced a turnover with 19-seconds remaining before a last-second 3-point attempt hit the rim and caromed away.

The Cobbers staged a 9-0 run the final 83 seconds only to lose 61-58 to the Wildcats. Concordia outscored St. Catherine in the first and fourth quarters but a six-point deficit in the third quarter proved to be the difference in the conference contest.

Concordia (5-11/2-7 MIAC) led for almost the entire first quarter and grabbed a seven-point advantage late in the period.

St. Catherine (7-9/3-6 MIAC) scored seven of the first 10 points in the second quarter to take a one-point edge at 19-18 with 5:58 to play in the period. The Wildcats pushed the lead to nine points in the final two minutes before CC netted the final five points of the half to go into the break down 32-28.

The Cobbers came all the way back at the start of the second half and regained the lead with 7:19 left in the third quarter. The teams then traded the lead for the next two minutes before SCU went on a 13-2 run in the final five minutes of the period to take a 10-point advantage heading into the last quarter.

The game would stay around the double-digit mark until the final two minutes when Concordia went on their frantic rally run.

Concordia shot 44.2% (23-for-52) from the floor and 40.9% (9-for-22) from 3-point range as compared to 40.7% (22-for-54) from the field and 35.3% (6-for-17) from outside the arc.

Both teams had 33 rebounds in the game.

Senior Cassidy Rahman tied for the game high in points as she went 5-for-8 from the floor, 4-for-7 from long range and finished with 15 points. She also collected seven rebounds.

Aleya Parker grabbed a career-high nine rebounds for CC. She also came away with four points and two assists.

Grace Wolhowe and Lincoln Haiby added nine points each. Wolhowe also came away with three steals while Haiby contributed four rebounds and a block.   

STAT ADVANTAGE: The two statistical advantages for St. Catherine came at the free throw line and from the turnover department. Concordia made only three free throws on six attempts while SCU went to the line 16 times and made 11 foul shots. The Cobbers committed seven more turnovers in the game (24-17) which led to a 28-24 edge for the Wildcats in points off of miscues.

WHAT'S NEXT: Concordia will head to the middle portion of its three-game road trip when they play at St. Olaf on Saturday, Jan. 20 at 3 p.m. The Oles are 3-13 in all games this year and 1-7 in league play.