Battled the traffic on I-94 and those wonderful St. Paul streets on this late Friday afternoon to get over to UST's Anderson Athletic Center and Schoenecker Arena for this NCAA Division III Sub-Regional pod being hosted by UST. The first game on tap on this Friday evening would pit Concordia against UW-Whitewater out of the WIAC. The Cobbers were looking to make amends for their MIAC semifinal playoff loss to UST while the Warhawks were looking to do likewise as they were shocked by UW-Superior at home in the WIAC playoff semifinals. As I would soon find out, this game would be marked by a contrast of vastly differently styles: the slow it down; half-court game favored by Concordia and the up-tempo style that UW-Whitewater likes to play.
The opening minutes of this contest saw things moving at a frenetic pace that made it difficult for yours truly to keep up with all the action. In fact, only some clock trouble right after the tip-off was the only thing that allowed me to get a breather early on. The Warhawks opened up a 5-2 lead behind a lay-up by senior guard Katie Burton at the 18:49 mark and a short jumper by senior forward Amy Mandrell. Concordia, on the other hand, was looking to establish its inside game with senior post Alexandra Lippert and she responded with the first six Concordia points of the contest. A "3" by Burton at the 17:40 mark gave UW-Whitewater a 10-6 advantage but Concordia sophomore Olivia Johnson; not necessarily known for her perimeter shooting prowess, drained a "3" of her own from the left wing at the 17:14 mark that brought the Cobbers back to within one trailing 10-9. Mandrell muscled her way into the paint for the Warhawks to convert on a lay-up attempt at the 16:58 mark but then Cobber junior three-point specialist guard Alley Fisher drained a "3" from the left corner at the 16:42 mark that tied the issue at 12 a piece. Fisher would elude the Warhawk defense to knock down two more treys - both from the right wing area - at the 15:44 and 15:19 marks to give the Cobbers an 18-14 advantage.
In my mind anyway, Fisher was the one Concordia player that simply had to have a big night for the Cobbers if they were going to pull off their first NCAA Tournament victory; especially against a very good and athletic team like UW-Whitewater. What I didn't count on, though, was for junior reserve forward Erin Januschka to rise up and steal the show but that's exactly what she did on this night. The lanky St. Cloud native made her first foray into the paint for her first points on this night at the 14:04 mark that expanded the Cobber lead to 20-15 before the Warhawks recovered somewhat to close the gap. Two freebies by Mandrell at the 13:50 mark and a score in the paint by strong senior reserve forward/post Kristen Ruchti pulled UW-Whitewater to within 20-19 at the 13:31 mark. The Cobbers would then get two scores from freshman point guard Greta Walsh - a "3" from the right corner at the 13:00 mark and a short jumper in the lane at the 12:02 mark - that enabled Concordia to hold a slim 25-22 lead.
Now it was the Warhawks turn to make a push. Senior guard Mary Merg connected with a jumper as the shot clock was set to expire with 9:42 left that pulled UW-Whitewater to within one and then the Warhawks started showing some full-court pressure that led to a Cobber turnover and a quick feed to Burton who drained a "3" that got UW-Whitewater back out in front 27-25. A rebound and putback by Mandrell with 8:39 left and two charity stripe shots by freshman reserve guard Reilly Stewart upped the Warhawk advantage to 31-27 with 8:14 left. A short jumper by Mandrell from the right side of the basket with 7:55 left gave UW-Whitewater its biggest lead at 33-27 and the Cobbers could have arguably been in some real trouble right then and there. But this Concordia squad; coming into this contest with a grim resolve to erase their reputation as a team that can't seem to get over the hump on the big stage, responded. First, Fisher made a hard drive into the paint for a finish that got her fouled with 7:04 left and she sank the obligatory free throw to make it a single-possession game trailing 33-30. Another Johnson "3"; this one from the left wing again, tied things up at 33-all with 5:37 left. The Warhawks would twice grab two-point leads thanks to scores by senior guard Kaitlyn Thill and Merg but Concordia would strike right back behind their unforeseen star on this night; Januschka. A lay-up with 3:16 left and a drive and finish by the former St. Cloud Cathedral standout with 1:25 left had things knotted up at 39 a piece. With :47 left, Januschka struck again as she maneuvered into the paint for a finish to put the Cobbers back out in front 41-39 and a near coast-to-coast lay-up by Januschka with the first half winding down had Cobber fans on their feet with joy as Concordia not only took a 43-40 lead into the locker room at the half but gave the Cobbers a new image - and momentum - as well.
Given that Concordia always seemed to be looking at a deficit in their previous NCAA Tournament appearances the question now was how well would the Cobbers respond in the second half protecting a lead? Early on, anyway, they seemed to respond quite well. Lippert started the second half in much the same way she started the first; getting scores in the paint at the 19:40 and 18:56 marks to propel the Cobbers to a 47-43 advantage. A Lippert free throw at the 17:48 mark and a lay-up by Fisher; the former Fargo South standout at the 17:21 mark had things looking rosy for Concordia as they established a 50-43 lead and had UW-Whitewater Head Coach Keri Carollo calling a thirty-second timeout to try and thwart this Cobber drive. Concordia came out of that timeout and decided it was time to give UW-Whitewater a taste of their own medicine as the Cobbers applied some full-court pressure of their own. While the Warhawks remained unfazed by it all, another Januschka lay-up at the 15:54 mark gave Concordia its biggest lead of the game at 52-43 and now the pressure was on UW-Whitewater to try and mount a comeback.
Ever so slowly, the Warhawks began chipping away at the Concordia lead. A short jumper off of an inbounds pass by Merg at the 15:43 mark and a Merg free throw brought UW-Whitewater to within six trailing 52-46 and also saddled Lippert with three fouls as well. Yet another Januschka score; a lay-up at the 14:49 mark that got her fouled by Mandrell and saddled Mandrell with four fouls could have squashed any comeback bid the Warhawks were entertaining by that point but this dogged UW-Whitewater team kept picking away at the Cobber lead. A drive into the lane and finish by Thill at the 14:27 mark and a lay-up in transition by Thill at the 13:10 mark shaved the Concordia lead down to 54-50. Ruchti, who would have a huge second half for the Warhawks, scored off of an inbounds pass at the 11:54 mark and then Burton helped the Warhawks get their up-tempo game going again as her lay-up in transition suddenly tied the score at 54-all at the 11:36 mark. Moroever, UW-Whitewater was beginning to apply that full-court pressure they like to employ that caused all sorts of problems for the Cobber backcourt and Concordia Head Coach Jessica Rahman; not liking the look of all this, knew it was time to call a thirty-second timeout of her own to get her squad calmed down.
Sitting where I was, you could just sense the pressure and intensity that was coming from both huddles as neither side was willing to give an inch. Two freebies to Ruchti at the 10:56 mark and an offensive rebound and putback by Ruchti at the 10:25 mark gave UW-Whitewater a 58-55 lead but the Cobbers refused to fold. Januschka snared an offensive rebound of her own for a putback with 9:27 left and then two lay-ups in transition by junior reserve guard Hannah Jeske with 9:11 and 8:45 left now had Concordia back out in front 61-58. Free throws by sophomore reserve guard Katie Rosenfeldt with 8:07 left and another by Walsh allowed the Cobbers to hold a 64-62 advantage with 4:36 left. But with things tight in the home stretch, UW-Whitewater made their decisive move. A "3" from the left corner by Stewart with 4:13 left put the Warhawks back out in front 65-64. Januschka was able to get Concordia tied up at 65-all by knocking down one charity stripe shot with 3:48 left but then a lay-up by Merg with 3:28 left and a score in the paint by Ruchti with 2:57 left now made it a two-possession game for the Warhawks up 69-65. Januschka did her darndest to try and save the day for Concordia by connecting with a lay-up with 2:26 left but just when the Cobbers needed that one extra score; that one last push that could have tied it or given them a lead again, they simply couldn't find it. A missed lay-up here; a turnover there, doomed the Cobbers in the critical moments. Concordia, now forced to foul in the waning moments, saw Merg, Thill and Stewart go to the charity stripe shot to widen the Warhawk advantage. A Fisher "3" from the left wing with :27.2 left and a drive and finish by senior guard Erika Jossart with just :00.9 left made some dents but it was way too little too late as UW-Whitewater secured a 79-72 win to move on to the second round while Concordia ended their season with a solid 21-6 record.
You can argue, I suppose, that Concordia definitely had their chances in this one when they had that nine-point advantage early on in the second half. Let's be clear here: This was not a choke job by the Cobbers in any way, shape or form; simply a great comeback win by a very talented UW-Whitewater team that has some very athletic players; particularly at the guard spots and a solid player in Ruchti in the paint that made the difference coming down the stretch. Lippert got hit with her fourth foul by the midway point of the second half and she wasn't a factor from a scoring standpoint when they could have used easy points in the paint. UW-Whitewater, save for that last-gasp "3" from Fisher, had the clamps on after the former Fargo South standout torched the Warhawks early on in this one. And who would have EVER thought that Januschka would have led the way for the Cobbers in this one; scoring 21 points? A disappointed Rahman; reflected on things afterward after having to swallow another bitter pill. "We knew that they (UW-Whitewater) are a team that gets on runs and we had to handle the pressure by being aggressive ourselves....We wanted to prevent those runs but that last run hurt." Rahman couldn't help but heap a ton of praise on both Januschka and Lippert when I asked her about those two. When I mentioned that I personally had never seen Januschka go off on a scoring spree like she did on this night, Rahman was quick to respond. "She has the ability to do that....She can also create a lot of mismatches with her height and length." On Lippert: "She's a great kid....She has such a strong faith and positive outlook on things." She mentioned how Lippert is the only Concordia player to have not only 1,000 points but also more than 500 rebounds and over 200 blocks as well which has never been done at Concordia before and may never be done again. I also spoke to her about the overall success that Concordia has had over the years since she's been there. Rahman alluded to how the veteran players are always there to take the younger players under their wing so to speak to help them along and teach them the Concordia way things are done. "They pass it down" she said. Moreover, she added, "I love to have kids who love to work...To be gym rats". "It's not so much about individual success with our program. Rather, it's the team." That is certainly the one thing that I've always noticed about the Cobbers over the years that I've watched them. This loss will sting for awhile (they always do) and its always sad to see a great group of seniors end their collegiate careers as Lippert, Jossart and Kelsey Walloch have played their last game in a Concordia uniform. But one thing you can count on (along with death and taxes) is for Concordia to be in the mix again; looking to get not only another chance to show their stuff in the MIAC playoffs but to be around for the Big Dance as well as long as Rahman is there. Hopefully she'll be around in Moorhead for a long, long time.
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