4th Quarter Rally Comes Up Short

MOORHEAD, Minn. (2/02/19)---Concordia nearly erased an 11-point deficit in the final six minutes of the fourth quarter before falling to St. Olaf 76-73.

The Cobbers trailed 68-57 with 5:45 left to play in regulation but then went on a 7-0 run to cut the lead down to four points with just under 4-minutes to play. The Oles then pushed back and moved the margin back to six points and held a 6-point lead into the final minute of play. Concordia trailed by seven points before Autumn Thompson knocked down a 3-pointer from the left corner to get CC within four at 75-71.

St. Olaf then turned the ball over and sophomore Rachel Hoernemann was able to drive the ball to the basket and convert on the layup to bring the Cobbers within two points at 75-73 with 6-seconds left to play.

Concordia then fouled on the inbound play and the Oles converted one of the two free throws to push the lead back to three points. The Cobbers were out of timeouts and had to move the ball up the floor with 3-seconds remaining and were never able to get off a potential game-tying shot.

The loss drops Concordia's overall record to 7-14 on the season. CC is now 4-10 in the MIAC. St. Olaf wins for the second straight game and is 8-13 in all games and 5-9 in conference play.

The Cobbers shot 37.3% (25-for-67) from the floor as compared to 43.1% (25-for-58) for the Oles. Both teams shot over 30-percent from outside the arc. Concordia knocked down eight long-range shots while St. Olaf made seven.

Concordia held a 44-40 edge in rebounds and both teams had 30 points in the paint.

Grace Wolhowe led the Cobber attack as she scored 16 points and came away with a career-high six steals.

Sophomore Elizabeth Birkemeyer recorded her first career double-double. She finished with 13 points and hauled down a team-high 10 rebounds.

Concordia had a total of five players score in double figures. Besides Wolhowe and Birkemeyer, Thompson, Hoernemann and Mary Sem all posted at least 10 points. Thompson's point total is a career-high total for the first-year player and Sem has now scored at least 10 points in three straight games.            
 
UP NEXT: Concordia will stay at home for their penultimate game in Memorial Auditorium. The Cobbers will host St. Benedict on Wednesday, Feb. 6 at 5:45 p.m. CC beat the Bennies earlier in the year in a non-conference game in St. Joseph.