Concordia's win, coupled with St. Ben's losing at St. Mary's, moves the Cobbers into sole possession of second place in the MIAC. Concordia is now 13-3 in league play and can clinch a first round bye, and a home semifinal playoff game, by winning three of their remaining four league games. The Cobbers are now 15-4 overall.
St. Kate's, playing better than their overall record shows, drops to 3-14 in the MIAC and 4-15 overall.
Concordia won the game in the first half when they exploded to an 18-point lead midway through the opening 20 minutes. The Wildcats whittled the lead down to 12 points at the break at 43-31, and then outscored the Cobbers 46-42 in the final half. The Concordia lead dwindled to as few as six points in the final 10 minutes of the game before the Cobbers were able to place the margin into double-figures throughout the final minutes of play.
Four of the five Concordia starters scored in double-digits. Mandy Pearson once again led the way for the Cobbers. She finished with a team-high 20 points and dished out six assists. She went 7-of-16 from the floor and hauled in four rebounds. For the second straight game, Annie Keeley, Pearson's backcourt teammate, was in the top two on the team in scoring. After scoring 14 points against Carleton on Saturday, she finished with 17 points and made 8-of-14 from the field.
Melanie Hageman went 6-of-7 from the field and had 14 points. She also grabbed six rebounds. Jamie Visness was the final member of the starting quartet in double figures. She scored 11 points and collected four rebounds. Karie Visness had the most impressive statistical night for the Cobbers. The junior guard scored eight points, collected a game-high seven rebounds, made two steals and went 6-of-6 from the free throw line.
Three St. Kate's players scored at least 18 points in their fourth highest offensive output this season. Rachel Berglund went 3-of-4 from 3-point range and 9-of-16 from the floor to finish with a game-high 21 points. Kate Bremmer and Sarah Schneider added 18 points a piece in the losing effort. Schneider went 5-of-7 from the floor and 8-of-10 from the line.
For the game, Concordia shot 54.1% (33-of-61) from the floor and 92.9% (13-of-14) from the free throw line. The Wildcats shot 48.6% (17-of-35) in the second half, and finished the game by shooting 42.9% (27-of-63). Each team turned the ball over 17 times and St. Kate's held a 33-32 edge in rebounds.
The Cobbers will return to the friendly confines of Memorial Auditorium when they play Augsburg on Wednesday, February 9 at 5:30pm. The game is the first half of a Concordia women's and men's basketball doubleheader. Both games can be heard live on 1280AM "The Fan" radio in the Fargo-Moorhead area and via the internet at www.gocobbers.com.