Concordia Women's Basketball enters the PacWest Tournament, hosted March 1-3 in Riverside, Calif., as the no. 4 seed. Saturday, Concordia concluded its regular season with a loss to Academy of Art University, but will return to the floor Thursday in the quarter finals against Point Loma University.
The Eagles and Sea Lions played twice this year, splitting the games. Concordia won the first game 78-70 and then fell on the road 60-76. Concordia is joined by CBU (no. 3), Dominican University (no.6) , Hawaii Pacific (no. 2) and APU (no.1).
Academy of Art: Academy of Art raced to an early lead of 11-6, but
Michaela Vanderklugt hit a three-pointer to bring the Eagles within two. On the next possession, Vanderklugt sent another deep shot on the pass from
Reilly Walsh to take over the lead. CUI left the first up 24-21.
Montana Walters and
Riley Friauf helped the Eagle offense pick up tempo in the second, and
Sopavy Seng created an eight point lead with a layup. A few minutes later, her deep shot on the pass form
Morgan Bryant extended the Eagle advantage to 11. Bryant closed out the half with two free throws and a 13 point lead for CUI. Following the break, Concordia maintained its double-digit lead, but Academy of Art worked to reduce it to eight in the final minute of the third. The Urban Knights carried their momentum into the fourth, starting the quarter with a three-point shot to cut the lead to five.
Kennedy Fulcher dished a pass to Friauf, and she retaliated with a shot from behind the arc. CUI reclaimed a 10-point lead, but the Urban Knights' 8-0 scoring run put them within two. Vanderklugt increased the cushion with another three-pointer, but Academy fo Art surged to another 6-0 scoring run with under two minutes on the clock to take a 71-69 lead. Jazzlynn Brewster was sent to the line for ARTU and made one of two free throws to seal the 72-69 win.
Eagle Eye: Vanderklugt posted 22 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals. Friauf shot 3-4 from the field and banked nine points with one assist and one rebound. Walters scored eight with four assists and a rebound. Seng grabbed six defensive rebounds and seven points.
The PacWest Tournament: Fans can
purchase tickets now for the six-team tournament in Riverside, Calif.
