A Convincing Clincher

Recap courtesy of Calvin LaFave

MOORHEAD, Minn. (2/01/23)---Concordia clinched their place in the MIAC playoffs, courtesy of a convincing 73-57 win at home against Macalester on Wednesday night, their ninth consecutive win.

The playoff appearance will be the 17th in program history – and first since 2016.    

Even the final 16-point margin doesn't illustrate just how thoroughly the Cobbers rolled past the Scots (4-16, 3-14 MIAC). After Macalester scored on its first two possessions, taking an early 4-2 lead, the Cobbers quickly clamped up defensively, going the next three minutes without surrendering a basket.

Concordia (17-3, 14-3 MIAC) took a double-digit lead on a layup by sophomore Greta Tollefson with 3:37 remaining in the first quarter and never relinquished it. They scored three times as many points as Macalester (24-8) in the first quarter.

The Cobber defense was even better in the second, allowing just 6 points, and by halftime the score was 47-14.

Even with the student section chanting, "this one's over!" as the teams made their way to the locker room for halftime, Concordia rolled with its starters well into the third period, eventually pushing the lead to a game-high 35 points on sophomore Symone Beld's layup just over five minutes into the second half. The Cobbers took a 64-36 lead into the final frame.

With a rotation made up largely of their youngest players, the Cobbers were outscored 21-9 in the fourth quarter. Their priority by that point was to chew clock with long possessions as the outcome had long since been decided.

Concordia's leading scorer was sophomore Carlee Sieben, who tallied 17 points to go along with two assists and three steals. She needed only seven shots from the field (6-for-7 from the floor and 3-for-4 from deep) to reach the game-high mark. Sieben did most of her damage on a hot streak early in the first quarter, in which she scored 11 points including knocking down all three triples she attempted.

The Cobbers also received strong contributions from senior Emily Beseman (12 points, five rebounds, three assists and a steal) and Tollefson (12 points, four rebounds, three steals). Their leading rebounder was sophomore Makayla Anderson with eight.

Overall Concordia shot 26-for-59 (44.1%) from the field, 6-for-17 (35.3%) from beyond the arc, and 15-for-18 (83.3%) from the charity stripe. Macalester shot just 38.9% (21-for-54) from the field, 22.7% (5-for-22) from deep, and 66.7% (10-for-15) from the line.

Notably, the Cobbers dominated the boards, out-rebounding the Scots by a margin of 36-23.

UP NEXT: The Cobbers will travel to St. Paul to take on St. Catherine (12-7, 11-6 MIAC) on Saturday, Feb. 4 as they attempt to push their winning streak to 10.

CONCORDIA vs. MACALESTER HIGHLIGHTS