SCRANTON, Pa. (3/13/26)—-At home. On the road. It doesn't matter for Concordia on the national stage in the playoffs. The Cobbers overcame a pressure-happy Johns Hopkins squad, used the strength of their team and delivered a 64-59 win in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
Concordia will now take its tourney trek to the Elite 8 where they will face Scranton. The last time the Cobbers made it to the Sweet 16 was 1993.
Concordia leaned on rebounding dominance, clutch fourth‑quarter execution, and a massive night from sophomore forward Maya Metcalf to secure the victory.
Metcalf finished with a career-high 22 rebounds in helping CC secure its third straight NCAA tournament win.
The Cobbers trailed 17–13 after the first quarter, struggling with early turnovers and the Blue Jays defensive pressure.
But the Cobbers settled in during the second quarter, outscoring the Blue Jays 17–9 and taking a 30–26 lead into halftime. Bench production was crucial—Alexa Snesrud and Kaia Gack combined for 11 points in the period, including a huge steal and layup by Snesrurd to beat the buzzer at the end of the first quarter.
The third quarter featured two tie scores and four lead changes and this was the stretch where momentum swung wildly. Concordia's offense cooled (26.3% shooting), but their defense and rebounding kept them afloat.
The biggest moment came with 0:32 left in the third when Genevieve Gruba drilled a huge three to break a tie:
That shot sent Concordia into the fourth up 43–41.
The fourth quarter belonged to Concordia. They shot 50% (6-for-12) from the field, 66.7% (2-for-3) from distance and 87.5% (7-for-8) at the line, their best offensive period of the night.
Concordia outscored JHU 21–18 in the final frame to seal the win.
A monster on the glass, Metcalf's 19 defensive rebounds anchored the Cobbers' +8 rebounding margin. Her late-game poise and early fourth‑quarter three were pivotal.
Efficient and clutch, Snesrud went 7–8 at the line and repeatedly made momentum‑shifting plays, including the halftime and end‑game layups.
Concordia's depth was a major separator, outscoring Johns Hopkins bench 26–9. Another key factor came at the free throw line where the Cobbers were nearly perfect at the line. CC went 17-for-18 (94.4%) at the line for the game and was 7-for-8 down the stretch in the fourth quarter.
The Blue Jays went to the free throw stripe only eight times in the game and made three (37.5%).
CC also held a 45-37 advantage in rebounds and a 28-22 margin in points in the paint as they were able to get to the rim off the dribble at a consistent rate during the game.
Metcalf had nine points to go with her 22 boards.
Sneered finished with 13 points and four assists while Molly Musland added 10 points to give the Cobbers three players in double figures in scoring.