Hot Start And Defense Propels Wire-To-Wire Win

MOORHEAD, Minn. (01/15/22)---Concordia scored the first 14 points in their game with St. Mary's, led wire-to-wire and rolled to a 62-41 win at home.

The 41 points allowed is the fewest of the season for Concordia. It is also least amount of points given up in a game since the 2016 season when CC beat Carleton 63-40 on Jan. 6.

The victory continues the Cobbers' success inside Memorial Auditorium. CC is now 4-1 at home. The win also ups Concordia's overall record to 4-8. They are 4-6 in MIAC games.

The Cobbers' defense played a huge role in the third straight home win. Concordia forced 25 turnovers in the game and limited the Cardinals to a 30.0% (15-for-50) shooting mark for the day. CC was able to take those 25 turnovers and find open shots on the other end of the floor.

The 25 miscues by SMU ties a season high by a Cobber opponent. The Cobbers also forced 25 turnovers last Saturday in a 19-point win over St. Scholastica.  

Concordia led 19-10 after the first quarter, but then SMU trimmed the margin to eight points at 26-18 at the halftime break.

The Cobbers' second-half surge came towards the end of the third quarter, with the Cardinals staying within double digits of the lead. Sophomore Maddie Guler made a shot from outside the arc, and then CC scored the final five points in the period on a layup and three straight free throw conversions by freshman Sophia Tobin.

Concordia led 47-31 after the third quarter and never let the Cardinals get closer than 13 points in the final 10 minutes of play.

The Cobbers finished the game by shooting 33.9% (21-for-62) from the floor and 25.9% (7-for-27) from distance. CC went 13-for-16 (81.3%) from the free throw line.

Concordia held a 38-32 edge in rebounds. The Cobbers also grabbed 10 offensive boards which marks the sixth time this season that CC has posted a double-digit offensive rebound total.

Jordyn Kahler led Concordia in scoring. She went 4-for-10 from the field and finished with 11 points.

Guler, the team's point guard, recorded a season-high total in points and 3-pointers made. She had 10 points and went 2-for-3 from 3-point range. Guler entered the game by having scored only nine points in the team's last nine games.

Freshman Symone Beld led all players with a season-high nine rebounds. She is averaging 5.2 rebounds per game in the Cobbers' last five games.

Junior Emily Beseman added nine points and had a game-high three steals, while Mary Sem posted a game-high five assists.

UP NEXT: Concordia will begin the second round of games in conference play when they travel to St. Paul to take on St. Catherine on Wednesday, Jan. 19 at 7 p.m. The Wildcats are just ahead of the Cobbers in the league standings with a 4-5 conference mark. CSU is 5-7 overall. Concordia beat St. Kate's 63-58 at home in the second game of the season.

CONCORDIA vs. ST. MARY'S HIGHLIGHTS