With A Little Help From Friends

MOORHEAD, Minn. (2/03/18)---The box score will show that Concordia earned its second win in three games by outscoring Augsburg 25-22 in the fourth and holding off a last-minute comeback attempt. However fans that watched the game know that the turning point came when Kirstin Simmons drilled a three-quarter court, one-handed shot as time ran out in the third quarter to give the Cobbers a 53-52 lead.

Simmons' line drive 3-pointer gave Concordia the momentum leading into the final quarter and sparked a 78-74 win on the annual Leanne Miller Pink Zone game which also celebrated the life of former Cobber Jaynie Halvorson (Herbranson). With many of Halvorson's family in attendance you might argue that there was some divine intervention on the game-changing, last-second  3-pointer.

The win helps Concordia remain in the thick of the MIAC playoff race. The Cobbers are now 5-9 in league play and only two games out of the final playoff spot. The Cobbers will host sixth-place St. Mary's on Wednesday so the playoff race could tighten even further as the schedule heads into the final weeks of play. CC is now 8-13 overall.

Augsburg is now tied with St. Mary's with a 7-7 league record. The Auggies are 11-9 in all games.

The two teams traded the lead four times with three tie scores in the first quarter. The Cobbers then held the lead for almost the entire second quarter until a 3-pointer with 37-second remaining gave Augsburg a 35-32 lead. Concordia junior guard Grace Wolhowe would come up with the answer as she hit shot from just outside the arc with a little-under 10-seconds remaining in the half to send the teams into the break tied at 35-35.    

The teams once again traded leads in the third period with three lead changes and a pair of tie scores. Concordia held a 5-point edge before the Auggies responded to take a 6-point lead with 2:39 left in the quarter. The Cobbers would chip away at the lead until Simmons hit the game-turning shot at the buzzer.

The Cobbers used the momentum to go on a 13-7 run to start the fourth quarter and then held off Augsburg when the Auggies cut the lead to two points in the final minute of play.

Concordia had a pair of 20-point scorers in the game – a first for the season for CC. Wolhowe went 9-for-10 from the free throw line and finished with 20 points as did Lincoln Haiby who was 4-for-6 from outside the arc. Wolhowe also had a game-high five assists while Haiby added a game-high eight rebounds.

Simmons used the long-range 3-pointer to finish with 13 points. She was 5-for-10 from the floor.

The Cobbers shot 47.1% (24-for-51) from the floor and 57.9% from outside the arc while the Auggies made 40.4% (23-for-57) of their shots from the floor but only 32.1% (9-for-28) of their 3-point attempts.

Both teams made 19 free throws. The Cobbers were 19-for-26 (73.1%) as compared to 19-for-20 (95.0%) for Augsburg.

WHAT'S NEXT: Concordia will look to continue their momentum when they host St. Mary's in a key MIAC match-up of playoff contending teams on Wednesday, Feb. 7 at 7:45 p.m.