Women Advance in CIT
Photo by Sonja Brandt
By Eli Meyer
Seniors Philomena Lammers and Grace Barry combined for half of Concordia University, Nebraska’s points Friday afternoon in a rout of the Concordia University, Ann Arbor Cardinals 74-49.
The win put the Bulldogs in position to win the championship for the 69th annual Concordia Invitational Tournament, which is no new task for the team. Nebraska’s team has been all but dominant at CIT, last dropping a contest in the championship round of the 2011 tournament to the Cardinals 73-55. It’s been even longer since the Bulldogs have not made the championship round, as they have advanced every season within the 21st century.
Offense struggled on both teams, but Lammers and Barry both turned in performances that lead their team to victory. Barry led all players with 20 points, eight of them coming in the midst of a 28-7 third quarter scoring run. Lammers made sure to chime in with 17 points of her own, in part thanks to Barry’s seven assists. No other Bulldogs reached single digits in the contest, but nine other players put points on the board in an otherwise well-balanced attack.
The Cardinals had offensive weapons of their own to keep things close. Tris’styn Williams led the team in scoring, almost passing Barry’s total with 19 points. She also recorded 12 rebounds to obtain the only double-double performance for either side.
In the end, the Bulldog defense continued to perform. A total of 42 turnovers were committed by the overwhelmed Cardinals, more than half of them steals (22). While they won the rebound battle 43-33, the Cardinals could never quite produce the points they needed.
The Cardinals will play for consolation Saturday afternoon against the hosting Concordia University-Chicago.
The Bulldogs will play for the championship on Saturday, but a victory will not come easily. The Concordia University, Wisconsin Falcons have won seven straight games to start the new year after losing their first three games in a 3-6 first semester. The streak could have easily stretched as far as ten games if not for a one-point loss to 19th-ranked UW-Whitewater 53-52.
The championship game between the Bulldogs and Falcons will be played 5:30 p.m CT.
