A 1,000-Point Scorer And A Thrilling Comeback Win

Recap courtesy of Calvin LaFave

ST. PAUL, Minn. (2/04/23)---Concordia's 10th consecutive win produced a team rarity and an individual milestone.

As a team, the Cobbers led for a total of :03-seconds in their 67-66 dramatic comeback win at St. Catherine. Fortunately for Concordia, it was the final :03-seconds.

The individual milestone came from Emily Beseman who became the 29th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point mark for a career. Beseman reached the 1,000-point mark at the end of the third quarter when she sank a free throw with :05-seconds left in the period.

The win keeps Concordia in sole possession of second place in the MIAC – only one game behind league-leading Gustavus. The Cobbers are now 18-3 overall and 15-3 in conference play.

Entering their road matchup with the Wildcats, who beat the Cobbers 57-44 in Moorhead on January 7, the Cobbers had strung together nine straight wins to position themselves within striking distance behind Gustavus for the MIAC lead. With the season drawing to a close, and St. Catherine in a four-way tie for third place at 11-6 in-conference, the stakes couldn't have been much higher for either team.

St. Catherine jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first quarter, thanks to a layup by senior Bree Glynn and a triple by sophomore Rachel Randleman. The period was hard-fought, as Concordia sophomore Symone Beld and senior Mary Sem each scored twice and Beseman contributed four free-throws to make it a 20-16 deficit after the first frame.

Beseman hit a triple early in the second to pull to within one, at which point St. Catherine began to pull away from the Cobbers, stretching their lead to seven on a layup by fifth-year senior Sam Orth. Concordia made another run thanks to a pair of free-throws and another deep shot by Beseman, making the score 30-28, but the Wildcats closed the half with an 8-point lead at 39-31.

Beseman continued her milestone game with yet another three-pointer to open the second half, but St. Catherine had another strong quarter, pushing their lead to 13 at one point. Beseman's 1,000th point on the free throw at the end of the period made the score 57-45 in favor of St. Catrherine heading into the final period.

The Wildcats scored first in the fourth, maxing out their advantage for the game at 14 points. The margin hovered around double digits for several minutes, and it was fair to wonder whether this would finally be the end of the Cobbers' run of success. Trailing by 11 with around 6-minutes to play, Beseman made a pair of free throws to pull to within single-digits and the comeback was on. After a scoreless stretch of more than a minute, Cobber sophomore Carlee Sieben kicked the ball out to a wide-open Beld for a three-pointer that pulled Concordia within six.

Out of a timeout called by Concordia head coach Kim Wagers, Sem bullied her way inside and made a layup to make the score 63-59. After another stop, Sem added another close-range bucket to make it a one-possession game for the first time in the second half.

Neither team would score for more than a minute, with the drought being ended by St. Catherine's Rachel Randleman's 3-pointer to take a 66-61 lead with slightly over a minute to play. It would be the Wildcats' final points of the afternoon.

On the following possession, Beseman found a cutting Beld with a beautiful high pass that led to a layup. After forcing a turnover, Beseman put the cherry on top of one of the finest performances of her career, as she knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Cobbers their first tie since the opening moments of the game. The game-tying basket was set up by an assist from junior Jordyn Kahler.

After the Wildcats failed to retake the lead on their penultimate possession, Sieben missed a jumper that was rebounded by Beld with the clock winding down. Beld was fouled on her put-back attempt and sent to the line with an opportunity to take the lead. She missed her first attempt but made the second, giving the Cobbers their first lead of the game, 67-66, with :03-seconds on the clock.

St. Catherine took their final timeout, advancing the ball up the court, and drew up a play that gave junior Karis Zezza a good opportunity to win the game, but her layup attempt was well-contested and bounced off the rim, sealing Concordia's 10th straight win.

Beseman led the game in scoring with 26 points. While she shot just 6-for-16 from the field, she dominated from deep, making 5-of-8 attempts, and made the free-throw line her second home. She converted on 9-of-10 foul shots. Beseman also added five rebounds to go along with team highs in assists (5) and steals (4).

Among the Cobbers' other leading contributors, Beld made 4-of-5 attempts from the field and scored some of the game's most critical points down the stretch. She finished with 11 points. Sem was a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor for the game, scoring ten points to go along with a pair of steals. Sophomore Makayla Anderson once again led the Cobbers in rebounds with eight. She also scored four points and nabbed two steals. Anderson has now led the Cobbers in rebounding in three straight games and 16 of the team's 21 contests.

For the game Concordia shot 43.4% (23-for-53) from the field to St. Catherine's 46.8% (29-for-62). The Cobbers held the advantage from outside as they made 10-of-18 shots from distance as compared to the Wildcats' 6-of-18. More telling than the Cobbers' hot hand from deep was their domination at the charity stripe, where they made 11-of-15 attempts, compared to St. Catherine's measly 2-of-3.

UP NEXT: With a playoff spot safely in hand, Concordia heads to St. Peter on Wednesday with a chance to take the top spot in the conference against the 19-2 (16-2 MIAC) Gusties, whom the Cobbers beat 64-63 at home in their first meeting.