Second-Half Switch Stops Cobbers In St. Peter

ST. PETER, Minn. (01/03/24)---Concordia had a 12-point halftime lead erased in the second half as they lost 64-60 at No.8-ranked Gustavus in the first game in 26 days for the Cobbers.

Concordia scored 20 points in the second quarter in building up a lead that reached 12 points, but was then held to 24 points in the entire second half and forced to chase the game for most of the fourth quarter.

The loss snaps a 6-game win streak for the Cobbers, who went 4-0 in December. CC is now 7-3 overall and 6-1 in conference play. Gustavus remains unbeaten in the MIAC and moves to 6-0. They are 10-1 in their 11 games this year.    

The difference in the two halves can be found in the shooting numbers. The Cobbers shot 66.7% from the floor and 33.3% from distance in the first 20 minutes of play, but then went January cold in the second half and shot 27.2% from the field and 21.4% from outside the arc.

The other key area between the two halves came around the basket, where Concordia outscored the Gusties 16-14 in points in the paint in the first half but were then outscored 18-6 around the basket in the final 20 minutes. CC also allowed 10 second-chance points to Gustavus in the last two quarters as compared to only two in the first two periods of play.

Despite their cold ways in the second half, Concordia still had a chance to win the game in the final 65 seconds. Makayla Anderson connected on a jumper in the paint with 1:05 left to go to get CC within one point at 59-58. The Gusties then grabbed two offensive rebounds on the next possession to keep the lead, and a pair of made free throws pushed the margin to three points.

Senior Jordyn Kahler responded with two made free throws to get the Cobbers back to within one point at 61-60 with 11 seconds remaining. GAC had one more answer as they were able to drain their ensuing foul line shots after CC fouled on the inbounds play, which put the game away.

Concordia had better overall shooting numbers for the full 40 minutes. CC shot 36.0% (18-for-50) from the floor, 26.1% (6-for-23) from distance and 81.8% (18-for-22) from the free throw line for the game. Gustavus connected on 38.6% (22-for-57) of their attempts from the field, 31.3% (5-for-16) from 3-point range and 65.2% (15-for-23) from the foul line.

Gustavus held a 40-28 advantage in rebounds for the game, which included a 14-3 margin in offensive rebounds.

The Cobbers had three players score in double figures and a fourth with a double-digit board total. Emily Beseman posted a team-high 16 points, grabbed four rebounds and dropped three assists.

Greta Tollefson posted a season-high 15 points and was 5-for-6 from the floor. Carlee Sieben was 3-for-5 from distance and 4-for-4 from the foul line and added 13 points.

Anderson led CC under the basket. She hauled down a season-high 13 boards to go along with eight points.

UP NEXT: Concordia will have a week off before returning to action on Wednesday, Jan. 10 when they play at St. Olaf at 5:15 p.m.