IRVINE, Calif. – The Concordia University Irvine women's basketball team was chasing down Academy of Art on Thursday night after falling behind early.
Michaela VanderKlugt is also chasing down the school record in career rebounds.
Despite a valiant effort, both the win and that record ultimately remained just out of reach.
The Eagles trailed the Urban Knights 12-1 and 14-4 in the early stages before chipping away in the second quarter.
CUI drew within five by the break as ART U led 27-22 after the first twenty minutes of action.
The Green and Gold cut the deficit to just one point on two occasions but could not retake the lead. In the final minute of regulation, ART U was clinging to a 62-61 lead after
Jasmine Rachal hit a trey, but the Knights forced a key turnover to hang on for the 64-61 win.
VanderKlugt led the Eagles with 17 points while Rachal added 16. VanderKlugt also collected six rebounds, which puts her just six shy of breaking the all-time record for career rebounds in CUI program history.
Gitte Mejer (1990-1994) holds the CUI women's basketball high mark with 973 career rebounds. VanderKlugt now has 968.
Both teams did an impressive job on the offensive glass. ART U hauled 14 offensive rebounds while the Eagles earned 10 more possessions that way.
Katie Timmerman also contributed 12 points against ART U and
Savannah Felix-Amoroso had a solid game as well with 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
That's four straight games that Felix-Amoroso has scored in double figures and she has done so in six of Concordia's first eight contests.
The Knights did not shoot a high percentage from downtown, but did hit 10 important three-pointers that seemed to always come at the right time. Rachal made all three of her triples and Timmerman was also 2-for-3 from long range.
Rachal is averaging just under 17 points per contest and has also scored at least 10 points in all but one appearance this season.
The Eagles return to action after finals with their next home game scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 18 against Central Washington. Please note this non-conference game has a new start time and tip-off is now slated for 2 p.m.
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