Cobbers Host Pipers In Semifinal Showdown

MOORHEAD, Minn. (2/23/23)—Concordia will host Hamline in the semifinals of the MIAC women's playoff on Friday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. in Memorial Auditorium. The Cobbers earned its first MIAC playoff appearance since 2016 and 17th in program history.

Below you will find all the information you need to get ready for the "second season".

TICKET INFORMATION: The first 50 Cobber students will be admitted free of charge. Ticket prices for all others are $10 for adults and $2 for any students (5 years old and younger are free). There is no senior discount. MIAC passes will be honored. No other passes will be accepted.

WHAT: MIAC Women's Basketball Quarterfinals

WHEN: Friday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m.

WHERE: Memorial Auditorium – Moorhead, Minn.

TEAMS: No.3 Seed Hamline (18-8/14-8 MIAC) at No.2 Seed Concordia (21-4/18-4 MIAC)

LIVE LINKS:  Live Video | Live Stats

HOW THEY GOT HERE: Concordia secured the No.2 seed in the conference playoffs by going 18-4 in conference play. The Cobbers earned their first trip to the league playoffs since 2016 by running off a 10-game win streak that started in the third game of the New Year and lasted all the way until the third game of February. CC started the conference season by going 3-2. During that 5-game stretch, the Cobbers handed league champion Gustavus one of their two losses on the year.   

Hamline entered the MIAC playoffs as the No.3 seed and opened the postseason by posting a 76-64 win over St. Olaf on Tuesday. The Pipers were 14-8 in conference play this year. They won four of their last six league games, and were 6-3 in the final nine regular-season games. The Pipers opened the MIAC slate by going 5-0. Overall, they won their first seven games of the season which was their longest winning streak of 2022-23.        

RECORDS VS. OTHER PLAYOFF TEAMS: Concordia went 8-2 against the other five MIAC playoff teams. The Cobbers swept Hamline, St. Benedict and St. Olaf. CC didn't get swept by any playoff team as they went 1-1 against the Gusties and Bethel. The Pipers went 4-6 in the regular season against conference playoff squads. Hamline swept Bethel, but was swept by Gustavus and the Cobbers.  

HOME AND AWAY: Concordia was 11-1 at home this year in all games. The Cobbers were 10-1 at home against MIAC teams. Hamline was 8-5 on the road this year. The Pipers were 6-5 away from home against conference opponents.

PLAYOFF PEDIGREE: Concordia is making its 17th overall MIAC playoff appearance. The Cobbers did advance to the "all-in" playoffs last season, but the last time they EARNED a trip to the postseason was 2016 when they advanced to the semifinals before losing at St. Thomas. CC is 13-14 all-time in the MIAC playoffs. The Cobbers have won the MIAC playoff tournament on two occasions (2006, 2011) and have played in the title game five times. Concordia is 10-3 at home in the MIAC postseason and 5-6 in semifinal games.

Hamline is making its seventh trip to the conference postseason. Before last year's "all in" tournament, the Pipers last trip to the postseason was 2020 when they lost in the quarterfinals at Gustavus. Hamline is now 2-6 all-time in the playoffs. Their only other playoff win, before Tuesday, came last season when they beat St. Benedict in the quarterfinals. Last year was also the only other time that Hamline has played in the semifinals of the tournament.           

PLAYOFF HEAD-TO-HEAD: This will be the first time the two teams have faced each other in the postseason.

REGULAR SEASON MATCH-UPS: Concordia swept Hamline in the regular season. The Cobbers posted a 73-59 win in St. Paul on Jan. 14, and then came away with an 86-76 victory in the regular-season finale last Saturday. CC never trailed in the opener. They raced out to a 7-point lead at 13-6 and never looked back. The Cobbers led 19-14 after the first quarter, 37-32 at the half, and then used their third-quarter surge to roll to a 54-51 advantage after 30 minutes of play. Emily Beseman led Concordia with 28 points as she went 5-for-9 from outside the arc.

The Cobbers outscored Hamline in each of the third and fourth quarters in the final game of the regular season. The Cobbers started slowly, but then took control of the game in the second quarter when they shot 69.2% from the floor and outscored HU 26-16. Concordia never trailed in the second half. Hamline did tie the game on a pair of occasions in the first 3-minutes of the third quarter, but then a layup by and a pair free throws gave CC a 48-44 lead – and the game would never be closer than three points after that. Beseman and Makayla Anderson both chipped in 15 points. Beseman went 6-for-7 from the floor and also had six boards, two assists and two steals. Anderson added six rebounds and four assists to her 15 points. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: How each team ranks in the MIAC for conference games only.

STAT STARS: Concordia is led in scoring by Beseman who averaged 14.5 points in the team's 22 conference games. She also averaged 5.0 rebounds and a team-high 3.2 assists. Beseman was sixth in the MIAC in scoring average, second in free throw percentage (87.3%) and third in assists. Anderson led the team in rebounding with a 8.0 rpg average which was third best in the MIAC. She was also fourth in field goal percentage (51.4%). Sophomore Carlee Sieben was second on the team in scoring (11.1 ppg) and finished fourth in the MIAC in 3-point percentage (35.3%).

Junior Lydia Lecher led the Pipers in scoring and rebounding in conference games. She averaged 12.5 ppg and 6.7 rpg. She was 10th in the MIAC in scoring and ninth in rebounding. She was also in the Top 20 in field goal percentage (39.7%) and 3-pointers made per game (1.7).   

PLAYOFF PREVIEW VIDEO