Second-Half Surge Is So Close
Concordia erased a 21-12 first-quarter deficit at the start of the fourth quarter but couldn't come up with a clutch basket down the stretch and lost 49-44 to St. Mary's.
MOORHEAD, Minn. (2/07/18)---Concordia outscored St. Mary's 26-20 in the second half but couldn't overcome a slow first-quarter start and lost 49-44 to the Cardinals in a showdown of teams fighting for the final playoff spot in the conference standings.
The Cobbers fell behind 21-12 after the first quarter and then staged a rally in the second half but couldn't convert on key possessions down the stretch and lost by five. The 21 points put up by St. Mary's in the first period was one more than they scored in all of the second half.
The loss knocks Concordia down eighth place in the league standings. CC is now 5-10 in MIAC games and two games behind the final playoff position. The Cobbers are 8-14 in all games. The Cardinals take a big step towards the postseason. They jump into fifth place at 8-7 and are 13-9 overall.
The Cobbers conceded 21 points in the first quarter but then only allowed a single-digit point total in the middle two periods.
Concordia trailed by as many as 13 points midway through the second quarter and went into the break down 11 at 29-18.
The Cobbers then got back into the game with their defense and going on a 12-3 run to start the third period. CC tied the game on a 3-point field goal from Lincoln Haiby with less than two minutes to play in the third period.
Concordia would take their only lead of the game by scoring the first two points of the final frame. Cassidy Rahman got free underneath the basket and Grace Wolhowe's pass threaded the SMU defense to allow Rahman to cash in on the layup.
The Cardinals would retake the lead with an "and one" on the next possession. The game would stay within five points for the final seven minutes of play but Concordia could never get closer than three points in the final minutes of regulation. CC had three shots from outside the arc just miss when they were down by three points and were never able to come up with the clutch outside stretch.
Neither team shot well from the floor in the game. Concordia shot 30.4% (17-for-26) from the field and 18.5% (5-for-27) from long range. The Cardinals were an equal icy 32.7% (18-for-55) from the floor and 22.2% (4-for-18) from 3-point range.
One of the differences on the stat page came at the free throw line where St. Mary's made four more free throws as they went 9-for-16 (56.3%) as compared to 5-for-13 (38.5%) for CC.
Haiby was the only Cobber player in double figures for the game. She posted 11 points and tied for the game high with eight rebounds.
Wolhowe had an all-around game from the perimeter. She went for nine points, four rebounds and three assists.
WHAT'S NEXT: Concordia will hit the road for their final two away games of the regular season. The Cobbers will play at Carleton on Saturday, Feb. 10 and then travel to St. Paul to take on Hamline on Wednesday, Feb. 14.