Makayla Milestone & Playoff Berth All In One Game

MOORHEAD, Minn. (1/31/24)---It was a pretty good afternoon for the Cobbers. Junior Makayla Anderson reached the 500 rebound milestone and Concordia coasted past St. Mary's to earn a spot in the MIAC playoffs.

Anderson grabbed an offensive rebound in the first minute of the fourth quarter to become the 20th player in program history to reach the 500-rebound mark for a career. She is also the first to accomplish the feat since Olivia Johnson in 2016.

The 83-38 win over the Cardinals moves Concordia's league record to 13-2 on the year. CC only has five regular-season games remaining on the schedule, so the worst they could finish is 13-7. Augsburg is currently in seventh place with eight conference losses, which makes the Cobbers inside the magic number. The playoff berth is the second straight for Concordia.

Concordia never trailed against St. Mary's on Wednesday. They put the game out of reach early when they went on a 16-0 run to finish the first quarter, which turned a 6-5 lead into a 22-5 runaway.

The Cobbers would go on to outscore the Cardinals by double digits in the third and fourth quarters as they posted their largest margin of victory of the season and most since they beat Houghton (N.Y.) by 46 points in the first game of the 2014 season.  

The biggest factor in the game was Concordia's pressure defense, which forced 24 SMU turnovers and led to a 33-5 advantage in points off of turnovers. It marked the seventh time this season that CC has forced at least 20 miscues from their opponents.

Anderson ended her milestone game by scoring a game-high 22 points and hauling down 12 boards, which gave her exactly 500 for her career. She was 9-for-15 from the field and also added four steals.

Anderson was one of 11 players who scored at least 11 points in the game as CC was able to play 14 players in the game.

Concordia had three starters finish with at least 12 points. Besides Anderson, Emily Beseman went 7-for-9 from the field, 2-for-3 from distance and finished with 16 points. She also stuffed the stat column with five rebounds, four assists and three steals.  

Junior guard Carlee Sieben was 5-for-8 from the floor and had 12 points. She added four assists and two steals to the cause.    
 
UP NEXT: Concordia will have the weekend off before returning to action when they travel to St. Joseph to take on St. Benedict on Monday, Feb. 5 at 7 p.m.  

Cobber 500-Rebound Club
1. Kathy Meyer - 1228 (76-80)
2. Nancy Halda - 946 (78-82)
3. JoDee Bock - 942 (81-85)
4. Naomi Wahlin - 916 (80-84)
5. Michelle Tykeson - 867 (87-91)
6. Sara Spears - 759 (97-01)
7. Debbie Slack - 719 (01-05)
8. Ann Merjkens - 718 (93-97)
9. Alexandra Lippert - 709 (11-13)
10. Melanie Hageman - 690 (05-08)
11. Erica Hanson-Reid - 686 (91-94)
12. Cindy Hudson - 680 (74-77)
13. Patty Kubow - 650 (85-89)
14. Olivia Johnson - 610 (13-16)
15. Lindsey Schultz - 594 (08-12)
16. Tricia Sorensen - 560 (10-13)
17. Sue Ekberg - 556 (80-82)
18. Leah Sonstelie - 543 (94-98)
19. Kim Fierke - 537 (87-91)
20. Makayla Anderson - 500 (21-24)

 CONCORDIA vs. ST. MARY'S HIGHLIGHTS