IRVINE, Calif. – Saturday featured a playoff-like atmosphere and a dramatic finish between two PacWest teams with deep postseason aspirations on Concordia's Senior Night.
Michaela VanderKlugt dominated the boards and finished with 14 points, 20 rebounds, three assists and two steals. The 20 boards wound up being half of her team's total rebounds.
Jasmine Rachal led all scorers with 20 points and drove the basket repeatedly to convert in traffic and keep the Eagles in the game.
Katie Timmerman added 14 points and starters
Sierra Clark and
Camryn Kiernan combined with
Lauren Richter to supply the other 10 points for CUI.
CUI trailed 56-46 in the second half but rallied to tie the game by going on a 10-0 run. Rachal even had a chance to win it in regulation but APU's defense forced a tough shot from downtown and the teams prepared for overtime.
The Cougars escaped with the win by outscoring the Green and Gold 5-2 in the extra period.
After the game, CUI honored VanderKlugt as well as recent graduates
Kennedy Fulcher and
Jennie Kwok who finished their playing careers in 2021.
The Eagles (17-9, 14-6 PacWest) finished the regular season winners of 12 of their last 16 games. They have a great shot at reserving their first-ever appearance in the NCAA DII West Regional and were ranked No. 8 in the regional rankings this past week. The top eight teams in the west region make the postseason after the conference tournaments are completed with the PacWest, GNAC and CCAA tournament winners receiving automatic bids as three of those eight spots.
CUI has already clinched a spot in the PacWest Conference Championships for the fourth time under head coach
Christine Collins-Kiernan.
CLICK HERE to buy TICKETS to the PacWest Conference Championships which will be hosted by Fresno Pacific University from Thursday, March 3 through Saturday, March 5.
Concordia will play a quarterfinal game on Thursday for the chance to advance.
Please Note that **MASKS ARE REQUIRED** if you plan to attend the conference tournament in Fresno for any games.
CLICK HERE for the full CUI women's basketball schedule
