Cobbers Turn It Over At St. Benedict

ST. JOSEPH, Minn. (12/04/19)---Even a career-high scoring output from sophomore Mary Sem couldn't help Concordia in their first conference road game of the year. Sem put up 25 points but the Cobbers couldn't overcome a sluggish second quarter and lost 82-67 at unbeaten St. Benedict.

The loss ends Concordia's 1-game win streak and drops the Cobbers to 2-5 overall. CC is 0-2 in conference play. The Bennies run their win streak to five games to start the year. They are now 5-0 and 2-0 in the MIAC.

Sem scored 18 of her game-high 25 points in the second half as the Cobbers outscored St. Benedict 23-22 in the fourth quarter and were only edge 43-40 in the final 20 minutes of play.

The speed bump in the game for Concordia was the second quarter where they turned the ball over 11 times and watched CSB turn that stat into a 14-0 advantage in points off of miscues.

The Cobbers trailed 39-27 at the break and still trailed by double digits heading into the fourth quarter. Concordia was able to cut the lead down to single digits when Braydn Dresser knocked down a 3-pointer. Dresser's long-range make dropped the lead to nine points. The teams then traded scoring possessions and the deficit was still at nine points at 64-55 but then St. Benedict went on an 8-1 run to put the game out of reach.

Concordia shot better from the floor and outside the arc. CC made 48.0% (24-for-50) of their chances from the floor and 47.1% (8-for-17) of their attempts from outside the arc while the Bennies shot 44.8% (30-for-67) from the floor and 36.8% (7-for-19) from long range.

The difference in the game came in turnovers where the Cobbers coughed the ball up 23 times and CSB held a 30-14 advantage in points off of turnovers.

Sem finished the night by going 9-for-16 from the floor, 1-for-1 from 3-point range and 6-for-14 from the free throw line. She also had five rebounds and two assists. Sem has now scored in double figures in six of the team's first seven games and leads the team in scoring with a 14.7 ppg average.

Sophomore Bailee Larson also put up a career-high point total. She was 4-for-9 from the floor and had 12 points to go along with six rebounds.

Freshman Emily Beseman came away with a game-high eight rebounds and also added eight points. Dresser also finished with a season-high eight points.  

UP NEXT: Concordia will travel south to Winona to take on St. Mary's on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 3 p.m. The Cardinals are 0-4 overall and 0-2 in league play and are coming off a 79-77 loss at home against St. Catherine on Wednesday.