Following a come from behind victory on Jan. 20th, the Eagles looked to make it a sweep over the Lancers Thursday night. For a stretch in the fourth, it appeared Concordia would come from behind again against the Lancers. Down 11, they forged a comeback to even the game at 63-63 with 4:40 to go. But the Lancers weren't ready to let history repeat itself and a 12-2 scoring run sealed the 76-65 win for CBU. The Eagles are now 10-9 and 7-9 in conference with seven games to play in regular season.
Concordia controls the boards: Montana Walters scored the first five for the Eagles to help the team earn an early 5-2 lead. Kennedy Fulcher fired next with a layup and two free throws, but the Lancers ended the first quarter with an eight point run for an 11-10 Concordia lead. In the start of the second, the two teams traded the lead three times before CBU built a nine point advantage. A layup from Sopavy Seng and a deep shot from Michaela Vanderklugt cut the deficit to four before the Lancers strung together five points to go up by nine again. Baskets from Vanderklugt and Seng sent the Eagles into the break down by six. Although they committed 11 turnovers, the Eagles' rebounding helped them stay in the game. They bested the Lancers on both sides of the court 24-15.
Cal Baptist closes it out: With Concordia trailing by 11 with 1:58 remaining in the third quarter, Walters woke the Eagle offense up. She hit a jumper and Vandeklugt followed with two free throws. Morgan Bryant finished the third with a layup to put Concordia within five. Concordia couldn't crack the Cal Baptist lead until three more points from Vanderklugt, followed by a deep three-pointer from Walters, put the Eagles within one. Bryant tied the game at 65 on a sharp jumper, but a 10-0 scoring run for the Lancers left the Eagles with a loss.
Eagle Eye: The dominant freshman duo of Fulcher and Vanderklugt struck again. Fulcher fought at the boards all night, grabbing 14 to go along with 19 points and two assists. Vanderklugt tallied 23 points, eight rebounds and two assists. She shot 3-6 from the three-point range. Montana Walters also had double-digits, adding 10 points, three rebounds and six assists. Sopavy Seng chipped in nine points with seven rebounds. Collectively, Concordia had 46 rebounds.
What's Next: Concordia plays four straight home games, beginning at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday against the Holy Names Hawks (4-11, 3-10 PWC).
