Capping California With A Win

REDLANDS, Calif. (11/18/17)---It will be a happy flight home for Concordia after the Cobbers outscored Redlands 26-21 in the second half and downed the Bulldogs 46-42.

Concordia used an intense defense to limit Redlands to 27.9% (17-for-61) shooting from the floor and a 20.8% (5-for-24) mark from outside the arc. The Cobbers also outrebounded the Bulldogs 48-38 to earn their second win of the season.

CC is now 2-1 on the year while Redlands loses for the first time and is also 2-1.

The game was close throughout with neither team holding more than a five-point lead until the final seconds of play when Jamie Mentzer's free throw gave the Cobbers a six-point edge at 46-40.

It was a three-point game for most of the game as the teams traded leads on 14 occasions and there were four tie scores.

The final tie of the game came with 3:01 to play and then Concordia was able to go on a game-deciding 8-2 run to take the 46-40 lead. During that stretch CC scored on four straight trips down the floor and held the Bulldogs to 1-for-5 shooting from the floor. Junior Grace Wolhowe made four straight free throws in the 8-2 run while Mentzer made her only 3-pointer of the game.

Concordia didn't make a 3-point basket until the final four minutes of the third quarter when freshman Amber Lingen canned a long-range shot to give the Cobbers a 27-25 lead. Lexi Nelson would connect on the next trip down the court and then Lingen would finish off the period with a 3-pointer to propel Concordia to a 35-33 lead heading into the final period. CC went 3-for-5 from outside the arc in the first 10 minutes of the second half.

Mentzer finished the game with a game-high 13 points. Fellow junior Grace Wolhowe was the only Cobber in double digits as she went 6-for-6 from the free throw line and finished with 10 points. She also had six rebounds and an assist.

Senior Cassidy Rahman grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Lincoln Haiby had seven boards and Nelson recorded two assists.

Neither team shot above 30.0% for the game. Concordia shot 28.6% (16-for-56) from the field and 22.2% (4-for-18) from 3-point range.

CALIFORNIA DREAMING: The win against Redlands marks the second straight trip to California where the Cobbers went 1-1 and beat the host team. In the 2015-16 season Concordia lost to Augustana (Ill.) by four points but then beat host UC Santa Cruz in the UC Santa Cruz tournament.

GRACE UNDER PRESSURE: Grace Wolhowe went 6-for-6 from the free throw line on Saturday and is now 10-for-10 from the foul stripe this season. She has also made her last 16 free throw attempts in a streak that dates back to the fourth-to-last game a year ago.

JUST JAMIE: Jamie Mentzer posted her second double-digit scoring game of the season. That total is one more than she had in all of last season when she battled an injury and only played in 12 games. The Cobbers are 2-0 this year when Mentzer scores at least 10 points.  

WHAT'S NEXT: The Cobbers will fly home and have one non-conference game before the Thanksgiving break. Concordia will host Finlandia (Mich.) on Wednesday, Nov. 22 at 7 p.m. The Lions are 0-3 this season and lost a pair of games at the Hope Tip-Off Tournament over the weekend.