Overtime Win In Northfield

STORY LINE: Concordia overcame a 3-point deficit and beat Carleton 70-68 in Northfield. The Cobbers outscored the Knights 19-14 in the third quarter and used a 4-0 run in the final 1:30 of overtime to come away with the victory.

RECORDS: Concordia snaps its 9-game losing streak and moves to 8-16 overall and 5-12 in the MIAC. Carleton falls to 3-21 in all games and 0-17 in conference play.

MOMENT THAT MATTERED: The teams traded the lead five times in the fourth quarter and Concordia trailed 56-54 with under 40-seconds to play. Elizabeth Birkemeyer was then fouled and sank both free throws to tie the game at 56-56. With 38-seconds remaining in regulation Carleton called timeout out but on the ensuing possession, as they went for the game-winning basket, the Cobber defense was able to force a turnover and get the game to overtime.   

EXCELLENT ELIZABETH: Elizabeth Birkemeyer led all scorers as she poured in a career-high 20 points and added nine rebounds. Her previous single-game high was 16 points which she posted against St. Mary's on Jan. 16. Birkemeyer was 8-for-12 from the floor against the Knights and made four of her five foul shots.

CAST POWER: Senior Kirstin Simmons has steadily gotten used to playing with a cast on her right arm due to a broken wrist suffered earlier in the year. Simmons returned to action two games ago and had only played a combined 24 minutes in those games. On Wednesday she played 32 minutes and scored 13 points and hauled in a career-high 16 rebounds. It was Simmons' third double-double of the season.

FREE THROW DIFFERENCE: The biggest statistical difference in the game came at the free throw line where the Cobbers made nine more foul shots and attempted 12 more free throws. Concordia was 20-for-29 (69.0%) from the stripe as opposed to 11-for-17 (64.7%) for Carleton. The Cobbers attempted 21 of their 29 free throws in the fourth quarter and overtime and went 14-for-21 in that 15-minute period.

STAT STUFF: Concordia shot 34.4% (22-for-64) from the floor in the game while Carleton hit on 36.2% (25-for-69) of their shots. CC was 6-for-25 (24.0%) from outside the arc as opposed to 7-for-19 (36.8%) for the Knights. Concordia held a 50-42 edge in rebounds and came away with 21 offensive rebounds which led to 22 second-chance points.

UP NEXT: Concordia will finish off the 2019 season when they host Gustavus in the annual Senior Day celebration game at 1 p.m. The Gusties are 13-11 overall and 10-7 in the MIAC.