Win Streak Stops In St. Peter

Recap reprinted courtesy of the Forum and reporter Eric Peterson

ST. PETER, Minn. (2/08/23)— Concordia saw its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship chances fade considerably Wednesday night.

Gustavus built a double-digit lead in the first quarter and rolled to an 82-56 victory against the Cobbers in a showdown between the top two teams in the conference before 379 fans.

"When you get down like that, it's hard not to go into fix-it mode where we try to fix the lead in one shot, one possession," said Cobbers head coach Kim Wagers. "Then we start forcing things a little bit. They're a very good defensive team. They were ready to go."

Concordia (18-4, 15-4 MIAC) had its 10-game winning streak snapped and fell two games behind the league-leading Gusties with three games remaining in the regular season. The Cobbers have a two-game lead over third-place Hamline.

"We just focus on the things that we can control, which is the outcomes of our next three games so we can lock up the 2 seed," Wagers said.

Gustavus (20-2, 17-2) extended its winning streak to 12 games and avenged its loss to Concordia earlier this season. The Cobbers earned a 64-63 home victory against the Gusties in late November at Memorial Auditorium.

Gustavus shot 53% (32 of 60) from the field and 43% (6 of 14) from 3-point range Wednesday and never trailed. The Gusties had a 14-point lead after the first quarter and never had their lead dip into single digits over the final three quarters.

"Against the top team in the league, we can't allow that big of a gap. We need to counter punch a lot sooner," Wagers said.

Gustavus led by as many as 32 points in the second half and had four different players reach double digits in scoring.

Gustavus took control early in the first half with a 15-2 run that started in the first quarter and ended early in the second quarter. Senior guard Anna Sanders scored seven points during that surge, including a 3-pointer.

"Defensively, it wasn't the start we would have liked to come out with and from there it kind of didn't go as well as we would have liked," Wagers said. "They made their presence known right away."

Junior guard Emma Kniefel capped the Gustavus rally with a transition layup for a 28-10 lead with 9:24 remaining in the first half. The Gusties carried a 37-22 lead into halftime, shooting 48% (14 of 29) from the floor in the opening 20 minutes.

Sophomore guard Kylie Baranick scored 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting from the field to lead the Gusties in the opening half. In contrast, the Cobbers shot 30% (8 of 27) from the floor through the first two quarters.

Senior guard Emily Beseman paced the Cobbers with 19 points, six rebounds and four assists. Sophomore guard Carlee Sieben added 13 points, three rebounds and two assists.

Concordia next plays host to St. Scholastica at 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11, at Memorial Auditorium.

"It wasn't our best effort, but I'm excited for the year that we've had and excited to be back home for the next three games," Wagers said. "It's a short memory, let's turn the page."

UP NEXT: Concordia will finish off the regular season with a 3-game homestand. The Cobbers will start the stretch run when they host St. Scholastica on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 3 p.m.