Rachel To The Rescue

STORY LINE: Sophomore Rachel Hoernemann stole an inbounds pass with 8-seconds left on the clock, raced the length of half court and made a contested layup to break a 60-60 deadlock and give Concordia a 62-60 win over Macalester in Moorhead. Hoernemann's heroics helped the Cobbers overcome a 5-point deficit in the final two minutes of play and earn their second straight victory.

RECORDS: Concordia starts 2019 with a win and improves to 5-7 overall and 2-3 in conference play. The victory is the first at home for the Cobbers this season. Macalester falls for the fifth straight game and is now 2-10 in all games and 0-5 in the MIAC.

MOMENT THAT MATTERED: Hoernemann scored the final two baskets for the Cobbers. She made a layup, on a nice interior pass from Elizabeth Birkemeyer, to tie the game at 60-60 with 8-seconds to go. Macalester then called timeout and chose to inbound the ball from inside halfcourt on the right side of the court. Hoernemann stole the subsequent inbounds pass by getting inside the Scot player who went to receive the ball. She then drove all the way to the basket and put home the game-winning shot with less than two seconds on the clock. Macalester tried to get the ball back up the court but were unable to get off a last-second shot.  

IT'S NOT HOW YOU START IT'S HOW YOU FINISH: Concordia fell behind early and played catch up for most of the game. The Cobbers trailed after the first quarter, at halftime and then again after three quarters of play. CC was behind 32-23 at the halftime break and trailed by 11 points in the first two minutes of the third quarter before erasing the Scot lead. Concordia was behind 58-53 with 2:04 remaining in the game when Autumn Thompson made a layup which started the decisive 9-2 run that culminated in Hoernemann's game-winnig layup.

STAT DIFFERENCE MAKER: Both teams made five 3-point field goals and were within four made filed goals but the big difference in the game came at the free throw line. Concordia went 21-for-28 (75.0%) from the foul stripe while Macalester was 11-for-17 (64.7%).

STARTING FIVE FREE THROW FINESSE: Concordia's starting five players went 17-for-20 (85.0%) in the game. The trio of Amber Lingen, Grace Wolhowe and Kirstin Simmons did not miss a foul shot in the game and were a combined 8-for-8.

TOP SCORERS: Amber Lingen and Mira Ellefson both had 12 points for the Cobbers. Lingen went 2-for-4 from behind the arc while Ellefson was 5-for-6 at the free throw line. Ellefson has now scored at least 10 points in 11 straight games and leads CC in scoring with a 13.7 ppg average.

UP NEXT: Concordia hits the road for a game at St. Olaf on Saturday, Jan. 5 before returning home for a 3-game home stand. The Oles are a similar 5-7 overall and 2-3 in conference play this season.      

CONCORDIA vs. MACALESTER HIGHLIGHTS: