- Senior becomes first Cobber player to record 1,000 pts and 500 assists.
Three important pieces of news were made for the Cobbers on Sunday in Winona. The first two items were made by senior guard Mandy Pearson, as she etched her name in Cobber women's basketball history. The final piece of news came almost an hour later, and was probably the most gratifying for Pearson and the rest of the Cobbers, as they pulled out a 77-76 win in overtime at St. Mary's.
Pearson surpassed a pair of major statistical milestones against the Cardinals, and in the process set herself all alone in the Cobber record book. First, she became the 19th player in the history of Cobber women's basketball to surpass the 1,000-point barrier. Next, she became only the fourth player to record 500 assists in a career. Put the two milestones together and you have the first player in program history to record 1,000 points and 500 assists.
In the bigger picture, the victory evens the Cobbers conference record at 2-2. This comes after Concordia had lost their first two league games and were staring at a back-to-back road trip at St. Olaf and St. Mary's. The win also keeps them on pace with the rest of the top teams in the MIAC.
The win moves Concordia's overall record to 3-2. St. Mary's, after having won their first five games of the season, falls for the second time in as many days. The Cardinals lost to Carleton on Saturday and are now 3-2 in the MIAC and 5-2 overall.
Pearson, buoyed by her milestone achievements, led all scorers with 25 points. It is the second time in five games she has put up over 20 points. She also added eight assists and is now averaging 7.4 assists per game, which is one assist higher then when she led the nation in assists in her freshman season. She now has 1,023 points and 502 assists in her career.
Pearson's backcourt runningmate Annie Keeley added 20 points to the cause and had an electrifying overtime period. Tori Ehlert, fresh off her career-best 14-rebound performance against St. Olaf chipped in 10 points to go along with four rebounds. Karie Visness was the only other Cobber to factor in double figures, as she added a season-best 10 points.
Ashley Luehmann had a team-high 20 points for the Cardinals. Three other St. Mary's players had at least 13 points. Angie Arrington knocked down 13 points, while Megan Moran and Jamie Rattunde each contributed 14 points.
St. Mary's came out of the starting gate like they wanted to run away and hide early on. They bolted to a 5-0 lead in the first two minutes of the game. Concordia finally got their travel legs out of the way and proceeded to score eight of the next ten points to take an 8-7 lead with 14:46 left in the opening half. The biggest basket of the streak was the last one of the run. It gave Concordia their first lead in game, and, more importantly, put Pearson over the 1,000-point milestone.
After that point, St. Mary's steadily pulled away and led by as many as eight points with under seven minutes to play in the half before the Cobbers came storming back to grab a 34-29 lead at the break. In the final 5:04 of the half, Concordia outscored the Cardinals 15-5.
The halftime lead was short-lived. Like the opening half, St. Mary's came storming out of the break and went on a 15-2 run in the first six minutes to grab a six-point lead at 44-38. The Cardinals built the margin to nine with 7:30 left to go in the game, and a still had an eight-point advantage with 5:30 remaining. With the score at 63-55, Keeley hit two free throws, Karie Visness nailed a 3-pointer, Pearson connected on a pair of free throws and Jamie Visnmess canned a 3-point shot and suddenly the Cobbers had a 65-63 lead with 2:00left to go in the game.
St. Mary's was able to score on their next possession, and then Ehlert sank a jump shot with 1:14 remaining to give Concordia a 67-65 lead. The Cardinals countered with a pair of Jamie Rattunde free throws, and then each team missed a shot with their final possession to send the game into overtime with the score tied at 67-67.
The overtime period belonged to Cobber guard Annie Keeley. Keeley hit on a pair of 3-point shots in the extra period and then iced the victory by blocking a shot and creating a steal in the final 20 seconds of the game.
For the third straight time in the game, the Cardinals scored the first points of the period. After taking a 69-67 lead, Keeley calmly sank the first of her 3-point attempts to give the Cobbers a 70-67 lead. Concordia widened the margin to five when Karie Visness made a lay up with 4:04 left in the overtime. The Cardinals gradually worked themselves back into the game and took a 76-74 lead of their own with just over 1:00 left.
That is when Keeley stepped up and stuck a dagger through the heart of the St. Mary's faithful. First, she hit her second 3-point shot of the extra frame with 46 seconds left to hand the Cobbers a 77-76 lead. After the Cobbers missed a pair of free throws, Keeley then blocked a shot with 19 seconds left and stole the ball with 12 seconds remaining to seal the win.
Statistically, the two teams were almost even. Concordia shot 41.3%(26-of-63) for the game from the floor, while St. Mary's connected on 40.3%(25-of-62) of their shots. The Cardinals sank 88.0%(22-of-25) of their free throw attempts, as compared to 77.3%(17-of-22) for the Cobbers.
The one area that might have decided the game for Concordia was long-range shooting. The Cobbers shot 40%(8-of-20) from 3-point range. St. Mary's struggled from the outside and shot 17.4%(4-of-23) from beyond the arc.
Concordia will now take a break for the Christmas holiday. They will return to action on December 29-30 when they participate in the Whitworth (Wash.) Invitational. The Cobbers will take on Whitman on December 29 at 4:00pm (CST) and then play undefeated Whitworth on December 30 at 6:00pm (CST). Concordia will return to MIAC action when they host Macalester on January 3 at 5:30pm. Only the Macalester game will be broadcast on the radio and also live via the internet at www.gocobbers.com.
Newspaper Box Score Concordia vs Saint Mary's 12/11/04 1:00 at SMU Gym, Winona, Minn. At SMU Gym, Winona, Minn. CONCORDIA 77, SAINT MARY'S 76 CONCORDIA (2-2 MIAC, 3-2) Mandy Pearson 7-13 10-10 25; Anne Keeley 6-11 4-4 20; Karie Visness 4-8 1-1 10; Tori Ehlert 5-11 0-2 10; Jamie Visness 2-7 0-0 6; Leanne White 1-1 0-0 2; Amanda Levos 1-2 0-0 2; Melanie Hageman 0-6 2-4 2; Kim Meyer 0-1 0-0 0; Christina Aarestad 0-1 0-0 0; Michelle Honek 0-2 0-1 0. Totals 26-63 17-22 77. SAINT MARY'S (3-2 MIAC, 5-2) Ashley Luehmann 5-11 8-9 20; Megan Moran 6-12 1-1 14; Jamie Rattunde 3-8 8-10 14; Angie Arrington 4-10 4-4 13; April Johnson 4-8 0-0 8; Jessica Weisbrod 2-3 1-1 5; Sarah Murphy 1-2 0-0 2; Megan Lick 0-1 0-0 0; Tessa Stranik 0-6 0-0 0; Alissa Banttari 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-62 22-25 76. Concordia..................... 34 33 10 - 77 Saint Mary's.................. 29 38 9 - 76 3-point goals-Concordia 8-20 (Anne Keeley 4-6; Jamie Visness 2-4; Karie Visness 1-4; Mandy Pearson 1-3; Kim Meyer 0-1; Christina Aarestad 0-1; Tori Ehlert 0-1), Saint Mary's 4-23 (Ashley Luehmann 2-8; Megan Moran 1-1; Angie Arrington 1-3; Sarah Murphy 0-1; Megan Lick 0-1; Tessa Stranik 0-5; Alissa Banttari 0-1; April Johnson 0-3). Fouled out--Concordia-None, Saint Mary's-Jamie Rattunde. Rebounds-Concordia 33 (Anne Keeley 4; Jamie Visness 4; Tori Ehlert 4), Saint Mary's 46 (Megan Moran 7; Jamie Rattunde 7). Assists-Concordia 16 (Mandy Pearson 8), Saint Mary's 14 (Ashley Luehmann 3). Total fouls-Concordia 19, Saint Mary's 21. A-89