Cobbers Beat Pipers To Advance To MIAC Championship

Article reprinted courtesy of the Forum and reporter Eric Peterson

MOORHEAD — The Concordia Cobbers created a moment Friday night that was a decade in the making.

Sophomore guard Carlee Sieben scored a game-high 18 points to help spark the Cobbers to a 74-67 victory against the Hamline Pipers in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference women's basketball semifinals at Memorial Auditorium.

Concordia (22-4) advanced to the MIAC tournament championship game for the first time since 2013.

"It means everything, even to get this far," said Cobbers senior Emily Beseman, who scored 15 points, grabbed six rebounds and added five assists. "I think all of us girls deserve to be here. It's something that you think about at the beginning of the season that you really want, but it's really not real until you get there."

No. 2 seed Concordia plays at No. 1 seed Gustavus (24-2) at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 26, in St. Peter, Minn., for the MIAC tournament title. The winner earns and automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament. The teams split two games during the regular season.

The Cobbers finished in seventh place in the MIAC a season ago and now are playing for a league championship.

"That's outstanding and a lot of credit to the kids and what they did all summer and the belief they held all year," Cobbers head coach Kim Wagers said. "I know my kids are really competitive and they want another shot at Gustavus."

The Cobbers led by as many as 12 points in the second half and never trailed in the final 20 minutes, but the Pipers challenged to take the lead multiple times. Hamline scored eight consecutive points and cut Concordia's lead to 47-46 after a Camille Cummings drive and basket with 2 minutes, 30 seconds to play in the third quarter.

The Cobbers countered with a 13-5 surge and took a 60-51 lead after sophomore forward Makayla Anderson scored on a spin move to the basket with 9:15 remaining the fourth quarter.

"Being the point guard I just try to keep everyone calm and when it got close we just needed to have a lot of confidence and look at each other and say, 'We need to win this.' I was doing everything I could to help my team win," said Sieben, who added seven rebounds, three assists and five steals.

Hamline trimmed the Cobbers lead to 70-67 after junior forward Lydia Lecher scored a three-point play with 2:30 remaining. Concordia countered with the game's final four points, including three free throws from Sieben.

"It's exciting," said Wagers, in her fourth season as Cobbers head coach. "It's great for our program. It's great for our kids."

The 5-foot-7 Sieben, from Grafton, N.D., scored nine points in the second quarter to help the Cobbers build a double-digit lead. She scored all nine of those points — on three 3-pointers — during a 14-3 run. Junior guard Maddie Guler capped the surge with a 3-pointer for a 36-25 Concordia lead with 1:35 to play in the first half.

"Carlee can stretch the floor for us and that helps a ton," Wagers said. "I feel like we came out real tight and that lets everyone take a deep breath and relax a little bit."

The Cobbers took a 38-29 lead into halftime, shooting 69% (9 of 13) from the floor in the second quarter. They were 4-for-5 on 3-pointers in the second quarter. Concordia trailed by as many as five points in the first quarter before surging into the lead for good before halftime.

The 6-foot Anderson had a strong opening half for the Cobbers with eight points on 3-for-4 shooting from the field. She finished with 13 points and seven rebounds.

Concordia is now in position to win its first MIAC tournament championship since 2011.

"That was definitely our goal all year," Sieben said.

UP NEXT: at Gustavus in the MIAC Championship on Sunday, Feb. 26 at 2 p.m.

CONCORDIA vs. HAMLINE HIGHLIGHTS