Where's Toto? Memorial Is Looking A Lot Like Kansas

MOORHEAD, Minn. (2/07/24)---Click your Air Jordans and repeat after me: "There's no place like home, there's no place like home."

Concordia used their tangible home-court advantage to beat No.6-ranked Gustavus 73-65 in a match-up of the Top 2 teams in the MIAC. The victory for the Cobbers puts an end to the Gusties' 32-game win streak against conference opponents.

The victory is also the second straight in Moorhead over Gustavus and extends Concordia's home-court win streak to 17 games. CC is 9-0 in Memorial Auditorium this season and won their last eight games in the friendly confines of The Barn in 2023.

The Cobbers are now 16-4 in all games and 15-2 in conference play. The Gusties lose for the first time in 13 games and are now 19-2 overall and 15-1 in the league.

The game on Wednesday was decided in the third quarter. The teams were dead even in the first two quarters of play, with neither team holding more than a 4-point lead. The first half also featured eight tie scores as the teams went to the locker room knotted at 33-33.

The game turned in the first 5 minutes of the third quarter as Concordia scored 12 of the first 15 points to take a 9-point advantage at 45-36. Senior Jordyn Kahler ignited the game-deciding stretch. She scored the first eight points in the quarter for CC and helped Concordia go 5-for-5 from the field.

The Cobbers would push the lead to 12 points when Greta Tollefson drained a pair of free throws with 1:22 left in the period.

Concordia took a 10-point lead at 59-49 into the fourth quarter after going 7-for-11 from the floor and 11-for-14 from the free throw line in the third 10-minute stanza.

The Cobbers upped the lead to 14 points before Gustavus made one final push and cut the margin to six points on a pair of occasions in the final 2:30 of play. CC doused the GAC comeback flame by making four of their final five free throws. Fittingly it was Kahler who ended the second half as well as she made the final two free throws with 12 seconds to play.

The biggest statistical difference in the game came at the free throw line where Concordia went 26-for-35 (74.3%), while the Gusties were 10-for-17 (58.8%) in a game that featured 48 fouls and 52 free throw attempts.

Makayla Anderson, who is the reigning MIAC Defensive Player of the Week, added another 20-point game to her season resume. She went 7-for-14 from the floor, finished with 21 points and has now scored at least 20 points in two of the last three games. Anderson also came away with a team-best seven boards.

Kahler scored all 12 of her points in the second half. The 12 points marked the first time in 12 games she has posted a double-digit point total.

Carlee Sieben was the final Cobber with at least 10 points in the game. She came away with 15 points.

Tollefson and Genevieve Gruba posted five rebounds each.

UP NEXT: The Cobbers will look to continue their success when they take to the road on Saturday, Feb. 10 for a match-up in Minneapolis with Augsburg.

CONCORDIA vs. GUSTAVUS HIGHLIGHTS: