A Long & Successful Night At The Office

MOORHEAD, Minn. (2/12/20)—Fans of marathons, 4-hour movies and 800-page books would have loved Concordia's MIAC overtime win over St. Olaf. The Cobber victory featured 50 fouls, 60 free throws, 16 tie scores, eight lead changes and lasted almost a full three hours as Concordia broke free at the end to post an 89-85 victory.

The win ends a 3-game losing slide for the Cobbers and keeps them in the middle of the playoff race for the sixth, and final, spot in the conference tournament. Concordia is now 7-10 in league play which is tied for seventh place in the MIAC standings – only a game behind sixth-place St. Catherine.

The win also sets up a huge game for the Cobbers when they host St. Catherine on Saturday, Feb. 15.

Concordia is now 9-13 in all games. St. Olaf loses for the fifth straight game and falls out of the playoff race. The Oles are now 8-14 in all games and 5-12 in conference play.

The game turned into a "take a lead and then watch St. Olaf catch-up" theme for the Cobbers. Concordia led 26-21 after the first quarter and then watched the Oles rattle off an 11-2 run to start the second quarter. The teams would head into the halftime break level at 41-41.

Concordia was then able to break away at the end of the third quarter and put together a 7-0 run in the final 3-minutes to grab a 65-58 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

The Oles then put together a 12-5 streak that gave them a 78-77 lead with 1:51 left in the fourth period. The Cobbers then held a 3-2 edge in free throws in the final two minutes to push the game into overtime at 80-80.

Concordia would never trail in the overtime period. They were able to continue to get to the free throw line, made five straight free throws to start the OT period and took an 85-80 lead. The Oles would get to within a single point at 86-85 with 20-seconds left to play but then three straight free throw makes by Autumn Thompson gave the Cobbers the 4-point win.          

The Cobbers shot 38 more free throws in the game and made 10 more foul shots than the Oles. CC drove to the basket all night long and was the beneficiary of a 32-18 edge in fouls called. The Cobbers went 25-for-38 (65.8%) from the free throw line while St. Olaf was 15-for-22 (68.2%) on foul shots.

St. Olaf made two more shots from the field and two more from outside the arc while Concordia held a 30-22 edge in points in the paint.

Thompson led a group of six players who all scored in double figures for the game. She went 4-for-9 from 3-point range and finished with 20 points. It marks the third time this season, and second in MAC play, that she has had at least 20 points.

Emily Beseman was 9-for-10 from the free throw line and came away with 19 points.

Elizabeth Birkemeyer, Bailee Larson and Rachel Hoernemann all finished with 11 points in the game and Mary Sem added 10. Larson also led the team with five rebounds and Hoernemann had a team-high four assists.

INSIDE STAT INFO: The 89 points scored by Concordia is the most in a single game this season. Their previous high point total came in the season opener when they put up 78 in a 78-63 win over Minn.-Morris. It is the points in a game since they scored 91 in an overtime loss to St. Benedict on Feb. 6 of last year.

SHE'S MOVING ON UP: Give Autumn Thompson four more made 3-pointers this season which brings her total for the 2019-20 campaign to 58 made shots from outside the arc. Thompson is now tied for second on the school's all-time single-season 3-point list. She is currently tied with Cobber assistant coach Alley Fisher who also made 58 long-range shots in 2015.  

Concordia 3-Pointers Made (Single Season)
1. 71- Cathy Johnson – 1990-91
T2. 58 – Autumn Thompson – 2019-20
T2. 58 - Alley Fisher - 2014-15
T4. 57 - Brandi Myers - 2000-01
T4. 57 - Brandi Myers – 1998-99
 
UP NEXT: Concordia will square off against St. Catherine in a battle for the remaining playoff spot on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 3 p.m. The Wildcats are 8-9 in the MIAC and 11-11 in all games. They lost 67-65 to Gustavus at home on Wednesday, which ended a 3-game win streak, and are 6-5 on the road this year.  

CONCORDIA vs. ST. OLAF HIGHLIGHTS