Another trip over to St. Kate's Butler Center was in the offing for this Wednesday evening as the host Wildcats prepared to take on visiting Concordia which made the long trek down from Moorhead earlier in the day. The Cobbers came into this contest with a very un-Concordia-like 11-8 record (7-5 in the MIAC) and also found themselves in a logjam with both GAC and CSB tied for fourth place in the conference so this game would be an absolute must for the Cobbers to stay in the hunt for one of the top four seeds in the MIAC playoffs. Meanwhile, the Wildcats were looking to do something big; something positive as they were riding a six-game skid and an upset of one of the upper-echelon teams might just be what the doctor ordered for St. Kate's.
The Wildcats got off to a good start in this one; turning up the heat early on a surprised Concordia team and grabbing a 5-0 lead on a lay-up by junior guard/forward Shauna Horsch at the 17:44 mark and a "3" from the top of the key by sophomore sensation forward LaShay Holt at the 16:45 mark. But the Cobbers would quickly recover and have things deadlocked at 5-all on a "3" by freshman reserve guard Annalise Savageau from the right corner at the 15:46 mark and a steal and lay-up the other way by savvy senior guard Alley Fisher at the 15:32 mark. A Horsch "3" from the left wing area at the 15:16 mark put St. Kate's up by four at 9-5 but again Concordia would recover and tighten things up. Two free throws by senior forward Erin Januschka at the 14:44 mark and a "3" by junior reserve forward Katie Rosenfeldt from the left top area at the 13:28 mark would give the Cobbers their first lead of the evening at 10-9. Another Savageau trey; this one from the right corner at the 12:43 mark gave Concordia a 13-11 advantage but a steal and lay-up the other way by Holt at the 11:51 mark would knot the issue at 13-all. A lay-up in transition by freshman guard Meg Clark at the 11:32 mark and a jumper from the free throw line by sophomore forward Mari Lee had the 'Cats back up by four again at 17-13 at the 10:20 mark.
Up to this point, it seemed as if the Cobbers were merely playing reactionary and hadn't yet kicked it into another gear but this St. Kate's squad was not going to back down. Another mini-run by Concordia which included a score in the paint by Fisher at the 10:06 mark and a "3" by junior guard Hannah Jeske from the right corner with 9:22 left had the Cobbers up 18-17 but now it was the Wildcats turn. A jumper from the right elbow by freshman guard Audra Clark and a "3" by senior reserve sharp-shooting forward Mary Neumann from the top of the key with 8:16 left gave St. Kate's a 22-18 advantage. Concordia would twice chip the deficit down to two points on scores by Erin Januschka and junior forward Olivia Johnson but the Cobbers still hadn't seemed to find that "spark" yet. The real turning point in the game, though, came at the 6:32 mark when Horsch and Erin Januschka both scrambled for a loose ball near the sideline. Horsch took the worst of the impending collision and was down on the floor for several minutes before she gingerly walked back to the Wildcat bench with assistance. That stoppage in play - along with Horsch's injury which took her out of the equation for the rest of the first half - seemed to suck the air and fight out of St. Kate's while the Cobbers got a second wind. An 18-3 Concordia run over the last six minutes of the first half completely changed the complexion of this contest and put the Cobbers firmly in control. A score in the paint by sophomore reserve forward Jenna Januschka with 6:20 left tied the issue at 24-all and with 5:39 left, Fisher uncorked a three-point bomb from the right corner for a 27-24 advantage and a lead that Concordia would not relinquish. Two Fisher freebies after she was fouled after she forced a steal and another "3" by the youngster Savageau from the left corner suddenly had the Cobbers up 32-24 and St. Kate's Head Coach Sean Pinkerton had seen enough to know this one was slipping away and he called a timeout to try and stop the bleeding. But a short jumper by Johnson off the glass with 3:08 left coupled with late scores by both sophomore forward Mikayla Forness and Fisher finished the run and Concordia had grabbed themselves a comfy 38-25 advantage when the buzzer sounded ending the first half.
The 'Cats got off to the worst possible start once the second half got underway. Though Horsch was back on the floor after suffering an apparent bruise on the cheek, the maroon-clad Cobbers were intent on building on their advantage as a quick 8-0 push by Concordia dashed any comeback hopes the Wildcats may have had entertained during halftime. Another three-point bomb by Fisher from the left corner at the 19:39 mark and a Fisher freebie at the 19:29 mark made it 42-25. Johnson connected with a lay-up in transition at the 19:04 mark and the Walcott, North Dakota product added two charity stripe shots at the 18:00 mark that not only gave the Cobbers a 46-25 lead but also saddled Audra Clark with her fourth foul early on in the second half as well. St. Kate's would try to respond with a sweet 8-0 push; highlighted by a lay-up by Holt at the 17:51 mark and a rare "3" by Lee from the top of the key at the 17:19 mark plus a steal and lay-up the other way by a feisty Horsch that got her fouled and allowed her to sink the obligatory free throw at the 16:56 mark cut the Concordia lead down to fifteen at 48-33. But another dazzling display of three-point shooting by the Cobbers - one by sophomore reserve guard Greta Walsh in the left corner at the 16:18 mark and another by Fisher from the right top area at the 15:38 mark - quickly upped the advantage to 54-33 and a frustrated Pinkerton was forced to burn a timeout. Moreover, the Cobbers were finally showing signs of crisp ball movement and passing; which, up to this point anyway, had seemed to be lacking in their previous games and likely played a big part in their up-and-down season.
The Cobbers kept this sharp display going as the second half progressed. A lay-up in transition by Erin Januschka at the 15:17 mark and two charity stripe shots by younger sis Jenna Januschka at the 14:42 mark made it a 58-35 game. A jumper along the left baseline by Rosenfeldt at the 12:55 mark and a drive into the lane and finish by Forness at the 12:06 mark made it 62-37. Jeske; the Bismarck, North Dakota native; got into the paint for a score at the 11:30 mark and two freebies by Erin Januschka at the 10:48 mark completed this 12-4 assault as the lead bulged to 66-37. From that point, the 'Cats could only make incremental dents into the deficit. Two "3's" by Mary Neumann - one from the left top area with 9:53 left and another one from the left wing area with 9:13 left - cut the Concordia lead down to 68-45 but the Cobbers would always have an answer on this night. One three-point bomb by Fisher from the left wing area with 8:22 left seemed like it was launched from I-94. A steal and lay-up the other way by Erin Januschka; who has not only elevated her game but has also had to shoulder the burden down low with both Alexandra Lippert and Kelsey Walloch graduated, gave Concordia a thirty-point 75-45 lead. A "3" by sophomore reserve guard Morgan Gunderson from the left wing area with 7:26 left made it 78-45 and, from that point on, Pinkerton and Cobber Head Coach Jessica Rahman both began to gradually insert their reserves. Wildcat freshman reserve guard Annie Schoeben connected with a short jumper off the glass with 6:11 left. Cobber freshman reserve guard Alexis Funaro was able to knock down three charity stripe shots with 3:35 left; two of them courtesy of a technical foul assessed to a slightly overzealous Pinkerton who had expressed his displeasure with the officiating. St. Kate's freshman reserve guard Emily Neumann was able to knock down a jumper from the left elbow with 2:56 left. Funaro added to the Concordia total with her score in the paint with 2:27 left. The Wildcats got two late scores - a score in the paint by sophomore reserve forward Katelyn Byers-Carter and a "3" from the left corner by sophomore reserve guard/forward Alexis Garcia but when the final buzzer sounded, the Cobbers had registered a convincing 84-59 victory.
I had to ask Concordia's Rahman afterward if this was Concordia basketball - the way she liked to see it played and she replied in the positive. While Rahman said that the Cobbers had taken a step forward in their play; particularly with ball movement and passing in their win over Macalester last Saturday at home, the game tonight was the best display of those two aspects so far this season and she's hopeful that it can continue. Fisher; who finished with a game-high 21 points, added that this was a huge win for her and her teammates going forward and the former Fargo South standout in her senior year seems poised to help her team do big things down the stretch - and quite possibly grab one of the top four playoff spots as well. Meanwhile, a frustrated Pinkerton was left to mull over another disappointing outcome - and things that seem to continually go against his squad which has never given up the fight in another long season. The 'Cats will get there. They just need to have some pieces added to the puzzle to get them over the hump.
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