Made a leisurely but good trip up US Highway 10 and the BNSF's Staples Sub mainline up to Fargo-Moorhead on this Tuesday and even though BNSF didn't provide much entertainment train-wise on the trip up, it certainly didn't dampen my spirits as I was very excited about covering this MIAC Quarterfinal Playoff Game between visiting CSB and host Concordia. As you may remember, the Cobbers swept the Bennies in the regular season; winning 80-68 at home back in mid-January and then snaring a big win at Claire Lynch Hall earlier this month 83-73 so, going into this particular contest, the smart money probably would have been riding Concordia. Then again, we all know how hard it is to beat a team three times in the same season so that aspect may have evened things out a bit. After getting settled in my motel room over on the Fargo side of town, I made the easy run over to cavernous Memorial Auditorium and got seated in plenty of time to watch the warm-ups and talk with people as well.
Concordia Head Coach Kim Wagers had her team in a 2-3 "matchup" zone defense and that certainly seemed to pay dividends early on as the Cobbers would jump out to a 4-0 lead thanks to a jumper from the top of the key just inside the arc at the 8:38 mark of the opening period by senior guard Jordyn Kahler and a pair of free throws by junior guard Molly Musland after she was fouled at the 7:57 mark. CSB would soon get this contest leveled at four a piece as freshman point guard Lauren Arnold would connect on a lay-up at the 6:37 mark and then slender junior combo forward/post Kira Young would knock down a jumper from the left corner just inside the arc at the 6:03 mark. Concordia would try and open up a lead again as strong senior forward Makayla Anderson connected on a short jumper in the lane with 4:48 left and then senior point guard Carlee Sieben would knock down a pair of free throws after she was fouled with 3:59 left that gave the Cobbers the upper hand with an 8-4 advantage. The Bennies would reduce this cushion to a scant point freshman reserve guard Tatum Findlay drained a "3" from the left wing area with 3:21 left but Concordia looked to be in command as Musland would use her 5'9" frame to snare an offensive rebound for a putback with 2:56 left and when Anderson was able to connect on a short, turnaround jumper with just :09.8 left, the Cobbers had their biggest lead yet at 12-7. But CSB would manage to crawl back to within a single possession with just :01.6 left in this first period as senior guard Sophia Jonas would knock down a short jumper in the lane off of the glass that had the Bennies down only 12-9.
Even though things went reasonably well for the Cobbers in that first period, the overall picture took a turn for the worse once the second period got underway as Concordia's Kahler attempted to make an offensive rebound of Anderson's errant three-point shot attempt from the top of the key at the 9:45 mark and found herself caught in an awkward position being off the floor while trying to snare the rebound. The officials tagged Kahler with the foul and Kahler; the former Wahpeton standout, apparently expressed her displeasure with the call a bit too vociferously and was promptly assessed a technical foul (more on this later). That not only sent CSB junior guard Megan Morgan to the line to cash in on a pair of free throws but it also sparked a 9-0 Bennie run. Jonas would follow up on this episode with a pretty drive into the lane for a finish at the 9:29 mark that gave CSB their first lead at 13-12 and that lead would grow to 15-12 when senior combo guard/forward Olivia Boily connect on a lay-up at the 9:08 mark. Then Jonas; one of the premier three-point slayers in the MIAC, drained one of her trademark bombs from the right top area that pushed the Bennies' lead to 18-12 before Concordia was finally able to shake off this latest mini disaster. Musland, the former LaMoure, ND standout, would take matters into her own hands by burying back-to-back three-point bombs - the first from the top of the key at the 7:57 mark and the second from the right corner at the 7:24 mark - that leveled this contest at 18 a piece. At the 6:01 mark, Musland would strike again when she connected on a lay-up that pushed the Cobbers back out in front by a 20-19 count before CSB could find stable footing. Findlay would connect on a lay-up at the 5:43 mark that also drew a foul and the former Albany standout would cash in on the "and one" that not only pushed the Bennies back out in front 22-20 but now CSB was in the bonus as well. Bennies Head Coach Mike Durbin took out a page from this last Saturday's playbook against Bethel and had his squad attacking at every opportunity. Boily would make a hard drive into the lane for a finish at the 5;14 mark for a 24-22 CSB lead and that lead would grow to 26-23 when Findlay made a hard drive into the lane for a finish with 4:23 left. Right back came the Cobbers as Anderson would cash in on a pair of free throws after getting fouled with 3:45 left and then senior forward Greta Tollefson would connect on a lay-up with 3:11 left that pushed Concordia back out in front 27-26. Both teams would trade one-point leads as the Bennies' Jonas knocked down a pair of charity stripe shots after getting fouled with 2:39 left and Cobber junior reserve guard Taya Jeffrey would follow suit after getting fouled with 2:27 left. CSB looked to grab control again when Jonas banged home her second trey of this ballgame - this one from the top of the key with 2:03 left - that put the Bennies back on top 31-29 but right back came Concordia with an 8-2 push to close out this wild and wacky third period. The Cobbers; now in the bonus themselves, cashed in at the charity stripe down the stretch. Freshman reserve guard Brooklyn Christianson knocked down a pair after getting fouled with 1:56 left as would Anderson with 1:36 left that pushed Concordia out in front 33-31. Sophomore reserve forward Genevieve Gruba would join in on the fun as well by dropping a pair of freebies after getting fouled with 1:02 left but it would be Anderson putting the finishing touches on this wild and weird second period as she would race from coast-to-coast and connect on a lay-up with just :00.2 left on the clock that gave the Cobbers a 37-33 lead as both teams headed to their respective locker rooms.
Even though CSB's Boily would connect on a lay-up at the 9:18 mark of the third period that cut into the deficit, the Cobbers would still maintain control for a good chunk of this third period but it didn't come without a cost. A score in the paint by Anderson at the 8:35 mark regained the four-point edge at 39-35 and a bit later at the 7:51 mark, Anderson would come through again as she would connect on a jumper from the right elbow area off of an inbounds pass that maintained this four-point edge at 41-37. However, Anderson would pick up her third foul of this contest at the 7:27 mark and Concordia's Wagers wasted little time in yanking the Bismarck, ND native off the floor for preservation purposes. Still, the Cobbers were able to grow their safety net a bit as Tollefson would connect on a lay-up at the 6:34 mark and when Sieben did the same at the 6:01 mark, Concordia appeared to be in pretty good shape with a 45-38 lead. But the Cobbers would soon see their lead shrink to a single possession as CSB's Morgan came through for her squad. The former Winona Cotter standout would grab an offensive rebound for a putback that also drew a foul and Morgan would sink the obligatory "and one". With 4:08 left, Morgan would strike again as she would snare a steal and be off to the races the other way for a lay-up that now had the deficit down to two at 45-43. Concordia got a bit of a reprieve as Jeffrey would connect on a short, turnaround jumper with 3:54 left but CSB would then proceed to get this game tied up once more. Findlay would maneuver into the paint for one score with 3:32 left and Young would do the same with 1:19 left that leveled the contest at 47 a piece. The Cobbers' Jeffrey would put her team ahead again as she connected on a lay-up with 1:02 left but that wouldn't last long as the Bennies still had something left before this third period was in the books. Findlay would get one free throw to go down after getting fouled with :47.7 left and then Morgan would snare an offensive rebound of her own miss and get a short jumper to go down with just :07.6 left as CSB was now carrying a 50-49 advantage.
The two teams would trade one-point leads in the early minutes of the fourth period but the Cobbers definitely appeared to have the better of it as time wore on. Sieben would connect on a routine lay-up at the 9:28 mark to put Concordia back in front 51-50 and Anderson would connect on a short, turnaround jumper in the lane at the 8:06 mark that had the Cobbers up 53-52. A bit later at the 7:43 mark, Sieben would come up big again as she would make a daring drive into traffic for a finish and would draw a foul in the process and her ensuing "and one" now had Concordia up 56-52. But the sequence of events that took place less than a minute later was a game-changer even if the effects of it weren't realized immediately. At the 7:13 mark, Sieben would manage to snare a steal in the backcourt and didn't waste any time in trying to take the ball to the hoop for what might have been an easy score. The victim of Sieben's steal, CSB's Young, wasn't about to let her opponent get away with such thievery and immediately transitioned into defensive mode in an attempt to stop Sieben's lay-up attempt. When Sieben attempted her lay-up, there was contact between the two players but no foul was called when Sieben's lay-up attempt was errant and was rebounded by Young. Not one to let one of her teammates down, Concordia's Anderson; who had just missed a three-point shot attempt from the right corner prior to Sieben's backcourt steal, came rushing in and, perhaps in a bit of an overzealous manner, tried to steal the ball away from CSB's Young. On this one, the officials were not going to let this one slide and Anderson was whistled for her fourth foul of the evening and there was no way on God's green earth that the Cobbers' Wagers was going to risk losing one of her star players so early and had no choice but to yank Anderson back to the bench again. Despite this setback, Concordia still seemed in prime position to come away with the win as Sieben was personally trying to will her team to victory and would connect on a lay-up with 5:43 left and then after a foiled CSB possession, Tollefson would grow the Cobbers lead to eight at 60-52 when she snared an offensive rebound for a putback. But it was at this point where Concordia's offense went into a funk at the most inopportune time and the Bennies saw the opening and took it. Sophomore reserve guard Emily Crandall would start this decisive CSB run with a three-point bomb from the left top area with 4:43 left and a pretty jumper along the left baseline by Young with 4:08 left pulled the Bennies back to within a single possession down 60-57. After a foiled Cobber possession, CSB's Findlay would get fouled making a drive to the basket and she would not only cash in on the two free throws that cut the deficit to a single point but now the Bennies were in the bonus the rest of the way as well. Concordia's Jeffrey would make a hard drive for a finish with 2:53 left that stretched the lead back to three at 62-59 but that score failed to light any fire for the Cobbers as CSB would not go quietly into the night. After yet another foiled Cobber possession, the Bennies would rely on their primary weapon from behind the arc - Jonas - and she came through big time as she delivered a heart-breaking "3" from the right wing area with 2:01 left that knotted this contest at 62 a piece. Concordia would again come up empty on its ensuing possession and after CSB's Durbin called a timeout with 1:29 left, Arnold, the youngster and former Chanhassen standout, would come up big for the Bennies as she would use a quick burst of speed to dart in for a lay-up with 1:22 left that pushed CSB ahead for good at 64-62. Still plenty of time left for the Cobbers but on their ensuing possession, Jeffrey would be whistled for a moving screen that wiped out another chance for Concordia. But the Cobbers weren't on a respirator just yet as Anderson would come up with a big block on the defensive end and Wagers would call for a timeout with 40.7 left. Once again, the Cobbers would come up empty as a Musland three-point attempt missed its mark with :16.3 left. After a subsequent timeout by CSB's Durbin, Concordia now had no choice but to foul to preserve time on the clock and Arnold would get fouled with :14.7 left and she would cash in on both free throw attempts that now made it a two-possession game at 66-62. The Cobbers' Wagers would then take a match to one of her remaining timeouts and drew up a play that was executed perfectly - and inbounds pass to Anderson who connected on a lay-up with :11.2 that cut the deficit to two. Unfortunately for Concordia, they still had to revert to fouling for clock preservation and once again, the Bennies got the ball into Arnold's hands as she was fouled with :10.6 left and she was calm and cool in dropping both free throw attempts that pushed the CSB lead to 68-64. Concordia's Wagers now took a match to her last thirty-second timeout in hopes of drawing up some quick magic but there was none to be found. Sophomore reserve guard Alexa Snesrud would launch a three-point attempt with :02.1 left that missed its mark and the Bennies pulled off a momentous victory to march into the semifinal round.
With the the Eagles "Take It Easy" blaring through the loudspeakers at Memorial Auditorium and Glenn Frey urging those inside to do just that after the final buzzer, the message was lost upon the collective faces of this Cobber team that was shocked and saddened to see such an incredibly frustrating season come to an equally frustrating end; especially for this group of four great seniors - Anderson, Sieben, Kahler and Tollefson whom I'll talk about later. As you would expect, it was jubilation on the CSB side and I was able to talk to Durbin when the team and coaches started filtering back out onto the floor afterward. I asked him about the resilience of this team and how players like Jonas, Arnold and others stepped up and made big plays when they had to. "We needed them to make those plays but not just at the offensive end.....We needed those stops we got to give us a chance at the offensive end.....I'm so pleased with our defensive end as I am with our big shotmaking.....Sophia's (Jonas) '3' which tied the game was big but there were other plays in there as well.....We've been shooting well from the free throw line and we were able to get the right person at the right time to make those." Durbin was also very complimentary when it came to the Concordia duo of Anderson and Sieben and their Head Coach (Wagers). "They're just the finest people that we've played." I mentioned to Durbin that we witnessed as we did in the second period against Bethel this last Saturday of his team showing the willingness to attack; to take the ball to the hole. He said that aspect was critical in that fourth period on this night as well. He also talked about the resilience of this team and how they kept battling; even when things weren't looking well early on in that fourth period and brought up the game against UW-Eau Claire back in November when the fell behind 21-0 early on but yet battled back and won the ballgame. "Even when we've been down double digits, we've fought back and fought back and fought back.....I've praised this team all year for their resiliency and the fight that they have." And you just have to give this team all the credit in the world for hanging tough in a hostile environment - especially when things weren't looking good when they fell behind by eight at the midway point of the fourth period and they refused to quit. That's what you have to like about this team.
As you can imagine, things took on a much more somber tone on the Concordia side afterward. Wagers expressed some frustration with how the game was called and I can't say as I blame her one bit. We saw both in the second and fourth period of this game of how this thing turned into a virtual foul fest that really didn't help either team. But I think the thing that drew the ire of Wagers and her staff was that the foul calls weren't always consistent in this game. Again, for me the turning point in this game came right around the 7:10 mark when Sieben made the steal in the backcourt and tried to get a lay-up out of it and when there was contact made that caused the attempt to be errant. I'm not saying that there was a foul, I'm just saying that one could have been called with the way the game was being called. And then after Young was able to get the defensive rebound, Anderson came in tried to snare the ball away; perhaps in an overzealous manner and got whistled for her fourth foul in the process. It was a double-whammy if there ever was one and the long-term effect it had on Concordia in this game was deflating; even after Wagers had to roll the dice and get Anderson back out onto the floor for the home stretch. But Wagers refused to use that particular sequence as the raison d'etre for her team's downfall in this one and rather pointed out the several missed lay-ups and jumpers that otherwise likely would have provided the margin for victory in this one. Here's the thing: When you look at the box score in this one, you'll see that the Cobbers did have a slight edge on the boards by a 38-32 count and Concordia did get the job done at the charity stripe going 18-21 for 85.7% which will normally win you ballgames. Contrast that with CSB going 19-28 for 67.9% for this game and one could argue they were lucky to get out of Dodge with that stat line alone. But, they made 'em when it counted. And CSB was only marginally better from FG range going 22-61 for 36.1% compared to Concordia going 22-65 for 33.8%. No, what cost the Cobbers on this night (and I was just as shocked as anyone) was that they were 2-23 from behind the arc for 8.7%. Ahem.....YIKES. That plus the fact that the Cobbers were only 2-8 down the stretch of that fourth period and were outscored 16-4 in the process and there's your ballgame folks. Them numbers don't lie. One other point that I wanted to make regarding the technical foul that was assessed to Concordia's Kahler early on in the second period. As I found out, apparently she uttered an expletive which is what prompted the call. Look, if a player does something egregiously wrong, I get it. Christ, I've done WAY worse on the tennis court in my competitive playing days (😅) than what Kahler ever did. But to T her up for something like that was just weak sauce. I'll leave it at that.
What a fun and unforgettable last few years it's been for this group of four great seniors at Concordia. They've experienced a lot and finally got a chance to get to the Big Dance last year and one couldn't help but be happy and excited when they did. Obviously this season didn't go as well as they would have liked and there were a lot of frustrating moments for this group - particularly tonight. But that doesn't diminish all that they've accomplished during their time at Concordia. As I told former Cobber Maddie Guler afterward who was there cheering on her former teammates, "The tree will grow again. But it'll be a different tree." And I guess that's always one of the sad realities of college sports. Makayla Anderson, Carlee Sieben, Jordyn Kahler and Greta Tollefson - thank you for the memories.
One thing that CSB's Durbin had to like about his team on this night was the incredible balance he had from his squad on the scoring front. Sophia Jonas was Sophia Jonas on this night as she led this Bennie attack with her 13 points but she had a lot of help on this night as the youngster, Arnold, was right behind with 12 points and another youngster, Findlay, poured in 11 points while Morgan was her rock steady self tallying 10 points and just missed out on a double-double with nine rebounds. And Young just missed out on a double-double herself as she finished with eight points but grabbed 14 (!) rebounds which was huge for the Bennies. Over on the Concordia side, what a way for Anderson to leave her mark on Memorial Auditorium as she easily led all scorers with her 19 points and was a monster on the board with 10 rebounds; doing everything she possibly could to try and will her team to victory. If you'll look closely, you'll probably find a piece of her heart on that floor as she left it all out there on this night. Ditto for Sieben as she kept coming back and coming back on the offensive end doing everything she could possibly do to get the dub as she finished with 11 points. The big surprise on this night was Musland tallying 14 points and she had an exceptional first half. The other pleasant surprise for Concordia on this night was Jeffrey who finished with eight points but did a lot of other things on the defensive side as well and I've been anxious to see her have something of a breakout game and there's little question that she'll take on a bigger role this next season.
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