Bookend Quarters Take A Big Bite

ARDEN HILLS, Minn. (2/15/17)--- The first and fourth quarters were unkind to the Cobbers in a 74-49 loss at Bethel. Concordia was outscored by a combined 19 points in the bookend quarters and shot 15.1% (5-for-33) in the two periods.

While the Cobbers were cold from the floor in the first and fourth quarters the Royals were shooting 41.7% (10-for-24) and made a trio of 3-pointers and 12 free throw attempts as they won for the 10th straight game.

Concordia started slow in the first period as they fell behind 11-2 after missing eight of their first nine shots and turning the ball over six times in the first 8-minutes of play.

The Cobbers started to heat offensively at the end of the first quarter when senior Greta Walsh connected on a jumper to bring CC within single digits. Concordia then scored five of the first seven points to cut the lead to six at 17-11 with 7:53 left in the half.

The lead would stay in single digits until the midway point of the second quarter when Bethel went on a 9-0 run to seize a 15-point lead with 2:46 left in the half.

The Cobbers whittled away at the lead in the third quarter and got within single digits with 6:53 left in the period but once again the Royals had the answer and went on a 7-2 to push the cushion back to 14 points.

Concordia finished the game by shooting 24.1% (14-for-58) from the floor and were held off the board on 3-point attempts as they went 0-for-8 from outside the arc. It's the first time all season that the Cobbers haven't connected on at least one 3-point shot.

Concordia came up big underneath the basket rebounding the ball. CC outrebounded Bethel 44-36 and came away with 17 offensive boards which is the second highest total of the season. Concordia also had 11 players with at least one rebound.   

Walsh led the Cobbers with 16 points while sophomore Kirstin Simmons grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds and also had eight points. Jenna Januschka added 10 points and five rebounds while junior Cassidy Rahman was perfect from the field and finished with seven points. Sophomore Grace Wolhowe came away with seven boards which is one shy of a career high.

WALSH WAYS: Greta Walsh scored in double figures for the fourth straight game and the 21st time this season. She leads the team in scoring this year with a career-high 15.9 ppg average. She now has 1,160 career points which is No.15 on the school's all-time scoring list.

SIMMONS STYLE: Sophomore Kirstin Simmons collected 10 rebounds which marked the second straight game and third time in the last five contests she has amassed at least 10 boards. Simmons is second on the team in rebounds with a 5.4 rpg average,

WHAT'S NEXT: Concordia will finish off its season by hosting No.2-ranked St. Thomas on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 1 p.m. The Tommies are a perfect 24-0 this season and clinched a share of the MIAC regular-season title with a 77-66 win at St. Mary's on Wednesday.