With the win, Concordia is now 20-6 on the season. It marks the 17th time in the history of the program that the team has cracked that barrier. The victory total is the most since the 1995-96 season when the team went 20-6 and made the NCAA playoffs. St. Mary's loses for the fourth consecutive year in the first round of the conference tournament. The Cardinals are 0-4 in the postseason and fall to 17-9 to close out their 2003-04 season.
Debbie Slack saved one of her best games for her final appearance in Memorial Auditorium. The senior collected a
career-high 22 rebounds and scored 11 points. It is her fifth double-double of the year and 11th time she has posted rebound totals in double digits. Jamie Visness led Concordia in scoring. She accounted for 17 points, 15 of which came in the first half. Mandy Pearson had another solid game at the point for the Cobbers. She came away
with 12 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Karie Visness made a pair of clutch 3-point baskets and finished the game with 14 points.
Ashley Luehmann scored a game-high 18 points for the Cardinals. She also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. Jamie Rattunde was all over the court for St. Mary's. The junior guard scored 14 points, had 10 steals and added eight assists and seven rebounds.
Concordia jumped to an early 5-1 lead as both teams struggled to score in the first five minutes of the game. The Cobbers stretched the lead to 10-6 before the Cardinals went on a 5-0 run to take their first lead of the game at 11-10 with 13:17 left in the opening half. For the remainder of the period, the teams traded taking the lead in five-minute periods. The Cardinals built their biggest lead of the half, and the game, when Jamie Rattunde sank a free throw to push the score to 26-20. Concordia outscored St. Mary's 9-2 in the final four minutes of the opening half to take a 29-28 lead into the break.
In the second half, Concordia led for all but 3:45. The Cardinals took a two-point lead just three minutes into the final period and then led again by a single point at the midway point of the half. After that it was all Concordia as they were able to muscle the ball inside and convert on
transition baskets after St. mary's turnovers. The Cardinals finished the game with 18 turnovers, and the Cobbers turned that total into 19 points.
Concordia was finally able to pull away for good in the final four minutes of the game. Leading 60-57 with 4:27 to play, Concordia went on a 7-2 run sparked by two baskets from Annie Keeley and a layup from Tori Ehlert. With the lead at 67-69, the Cobbers were able to run down the final 2:25 and come away with the eight-point victory.
The Cobbers will play at St. Ben's on Wednesday, February 25 at 7:30pm in the semifinals of the MIAC tournament. The winner of that game will meet the winner of the Carleton/Gustavus contest for the MIAC championship and the automatic berth into the NCAA tournament. The game
against the Blazers can be heard live on KVOX 1280AM in the Fargo-Moorhead area and worldwide over the internet at
www.gocobbers.com.
Saint Mary's vs Concordia College 02/23/04 7:30 at Memorial Auditorium At Memorial Auditorium CONCORDIA COLLEGE 73, SAINT MARY'S 65 SAINT MARY'S (17-9) Ashley Luehmann 6-11 3-6 18; Jamie Rattunde 6-14 2-7 14; Beth Walch 5-14 0-0 12; Angie Arrington 2-6 1-4 6; Tessa Stranik 2-5 0-0 6; Libby Kiedrowski 2-5 0-0 5; Megan Moran 1-5 0-0 2; Megan Lick 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 25-61 6-17 65. CONCORDIA COLLEGE (20-6) Jamie Visness 6-9 2-2 17; Karie Visness 5-7 2-2 14; Mandy Pearson 5-16 2-2 12; Debbie Slack 3-9 5-8 11; Tori Ehlert 4-5 0-2 8; Anne Keeley 3-10 0-1 6; Beth Drager 2-7 0-0 4; Amanda Levos 0-1 1-2 1; Breanne Gottenborg 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-65 12-19 73. Saint Mary's.................. 28 37 - 65 Concordia College............. 29 44 - 73 3-point goals-Saint Mary's 9-21 (Ashley Luehmann 3-4; Tessa Stranik 2-4; Beth Walch 2-5; Angie Arrington 1-4; Libby Kiedrowski 1-3; Megan Moran 0-1), Concordia College 5-12 (Jamie Visness 3-3; Karie Visness 2-3; Anne Keeley 0-2; Mandy Pearson 0-4). Fouled out--Saint Mary's-None, Concordia College-None. Rebounds-Saint Mary's 30 (Jamie Rattunde 7; Ashley Luehmann 7), Concordia College 53 (Debbie Slack 22). Assists-Saint Mary's 18 (Jamie Rattunde 8), Concordia College 17 (Mandy Pearson 7). Total fouls-Saint Mary's 16, Concordia College 14. A-284 First Round of the 2004 MIAC Playoffs Concordia advances to play at #1 St. Ben's on Wednesday night at 7:30