Monday night, Concordia Women's Basketball sent off its eight seniors with its fourth straight home win to improve to 10-6 in conference and hold their third place standing. Montana Walters, Portia Neale, Sopavy Seng, Morgan Bryant, Ashley Earles, Madeline Sulka, Judith Espinoza and Anne Studdert played their final game in CU Arena and have only three remaining games on the regular season schedule. With two spots clinched in the PacWest Tournament, by Hawaii Pacific and Azusa Pacific, the Eagles are vying for one of the final four slots. In true Concordia Eagle fashion, the team rallied together for the win, with points from all 13 Eagles who touched the court.
Concordia starts strong: Concordia did not hold back on Senior Night. CUI posted 50 points in the first half, with double-digit numbers from Kennedy Fulcher, Michaela Vanderklugt and Walters. The Eagles fought for an early 10-6 lead, led by the defensive prowess of Neale. Freshman point guard Reilly Walsh established a quick tempo with two drives for four points. Even with the Vulcans putting up 30 points, the Eagle offense continued to soar. With a 39-24 lead, Walsh passed the ball wide to find Neale in the corner for a three-pointer. A few minutes later, Vanderklugt swung a pass back to Walters, who tossed up a shot deep into three-point territory to extend the lead to 20. With the clock winding down, Walters drove and selflessly reversed a pass back to Vanderklugt for three more.
Seniors sign off in style: The Vulcans scored the first basket of the second half, but Walters responded with a no-look pass to Fulcher for a layup. Sulka checked in for the Eagles and banked two points from the line to increase the Eagle cushion to 27. Neale opened up the fourth with five-straight points, highlighted by a three-pointer on the offensive rebound and pass from Bryant. With 2:36 on the clock, Espinoza knocked down a shot from behind the arc and followed with an assist to Earles. The next possession, Earles drove to the basket for two more.
Eagle Eye: Fulcher led the team with 21 points, shooting 7-for-8 from the field. Walters ended her career in CU Arena with 19 points, six assists and four three-pointers.
What's Next: With a four game winning streak, CUI begins a three game stint on the road against Domincan University at 5:30 p.m.Â