Late-Game Turnover Haunts Cobbers

MOORHEAD, Minn. (1/14/12)—Concordia's youthful inexperience turned up in the final minute of the second half and allowed league-leading St. Thomas to come away with a 49-48 win in Moorhead on Saturday.

The Cobbers led 48-47 and had possession of the ball with under :15 to play in the game but then a costly turnover gave the ball back to St. Thomas and the Tommies capitalized with a game-winning layup with :03 to play in regulation.

The loss continues the trend of Concordia and St. Thomas winning on the opposing team's court. Last year the away team won all three games in the series with the Cobbers claiming the MIAC tournament championship in St. Paul. The loss is also the first home defeat of the season for Concordia. The Cobbers are now 8-5 overall and 6-4 in the conference. The Tommies win for the 12^th straight time and move to 12-1 in all games and 10-0 in the MIAC.

Neither team was able to shoot the ball consistently. The Cobbers shot 32.2% (19-for-59) from the floor and 14.3% (2-for-14) from 3-point range while UST connected on 34.7% (17-for-49) of their attempts from the field and 27.3% (3-for-11) of their shots from outside the arc.

The game featured nine lead changes and was tied on five different occasions. Concordia opened the game by leading for the first 11:00. The Cobbers also led for almost the entire last 8:00 of the second half. The Tommies lone lead during that 19-minute stretch came in the dying seconds when Kelly Brandenburg was able to get free inside the lane and put up the game-winning shot from the right side of the basket.

Both teams featured a balanced scoring attack with only three players scoring more than eight points. All 18 players that played in the game scored at least two points. Tricia Sorensen had a game-high 14 points for the Cobbers. She also collected 12 rebounds to post her second double-double of the season. Emily Thesing had eight points, six rebounds and a game-high five assists. Brandenburg came off the bench to lead the Tommies with 12 points. She was 4-for-7 from the floor and 4-for-4 from the free throw line. Sarah Smith had 12 rebounds while Maggie Weiers added 10 points.

Concordia will have only one day to recover from the last-second loss. The Cobbers will play at Gustavus Monday, Jan. 16 at 5:45 p.m. The Gusties are 11-2 on the year and 9-1 in league play.