OAKLAND, Calif. - The Concordia women's basketball team took on the Holy Names Hawks on Thursday night, a team they crushed 90-68 on New Year's Eve. Looking for the season sweep over HNU, the Eagles showed off their strength, feeding the post, attacking the rim, and getting looks in the paint all game long.
It wasn't easy early on, however. In the first quarter, the Hawks played well. HNU scored the first six points of the game, knocking in two early three pointers before the Eagles got on the board. The Eagles bounced back and briefly took a first quarter lead, but at the end of one, it was HNU on top, 16-14.
The second quarter continued to be tough sledding for the Eagles. Though they were able to build a six point lead with just three minutes left in the half, the Hawks made a late run, scoring the last eight points of the quarter to take a 28-26 lead into the halftime break. Despite only trailing by two points at halftime, their offense struggled in the first half, shooting just 29 percent from the field.
In the second half, the Eagles' offense came alive, but for every made shot made by the Eagles, the Hawks matched them. Throughout the third quarter, the teams continually exchanged the lead, with neither team able to pull away from the other. In the final minutes, however, momentum finally swung in the Eagles' favor. They scored the final five points of the quarter and took a 50-45 lead to the fourth.
While the Hawks were able to battle the Eagles and keep the game close for three quarters, CUI finally pulled away in the fourth. After shooting 53.3 percent from the floor in the third, the Eagles hit 64.3 percent in the fourth. When the game ended, the Eagles were on top, 76-63.
For CUI, it was all about their frontcourt play. For
Michaela VanderKlugt, the go-to offensive weapon for the Eagles all season, it was more of what fans have become accustomed to seeing. She dominated statistically, scoring a game high 24 points and pulling down a game high 17 rebounds. She wasn't alone, however.
Riley Friauf scored 20 points,
Kennedy Fulcher added 13, and
Francesca Wade-Sanchez continued to provide a spark for the Eagles off the bench. Wade-Sanchez scored 10 points and had five rebounds. Freshman
Katie Timmerman also played all 40 minutes and added a career-high nine assists to go with seven points.
The success of VanderKlugt and Friauf comes as no surprise to CUI head coach
Christine Collins-Kiernan. "Michaela and Riley have been consistent and have had to handle physical game plans thrown at them from opposing teams."
As Wade-Sanchez has seen an increase in playing time, she has become more dependable, as well, crashing the glass, pulling down rebounds on the offensive end, and adding scoring punch off the bench.
"The boost of Frankie Wade-Sanchez has been huge for our program," said coach Collins-Kiernan. "Her continued growth throughout the season has given us another weapon."
With the win, the Eagles move to 7-8 in conference play as they head down the home stretch. Coach Collins-Kiernan is confident the Eagles can finish strong.
"If we continue to stay together, feed off our chemistry, and understand our jobs at hand, we will continue to find those pockets of success," said coach Collins-Kiernan.
The Eagles continue their road trip on Saturday, taking on Notre Dame de Namur at 1:00 PM in Belmont.
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