Rachel Scarpelli led the Cavaliers with 16 points against the Boxers on Tuesday.
CU's Scarpelli Hits Three to Beat Boxers in Final Seconds
PORTLAND, Ore.—With six points representing the biggest lead by either team, a three-point shot by Rachel Scarpelli with 20 seconds remaining was the deciding blow as Concordia defeated Pacific 66-62 in women’s basketball action on Tuesday night.
With the win, Concordia, ranked No. 21 in the NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball Preseason Poll, improved to 3-0 on the season while Pacific fell to 0-1 after its season opener.
Scarpelli (Troutdale, Ore.) led Concordia with 16 points which included a 3-of-6 performance from three-point territory. Sarah Eischen (Hillsboro, Ore.) added 14 points and a game-high 12 rebounds for the ‘double-double’.
The Boxers received 40 of its 62 points from Julianne Erbe (Canby, Ore.) and Rochell Reeves-Howe (Gresham, Ore.) as Erbe posted a game-high 23 points and Reeves-Howe adding 17.
After a two-point margin at the half, Concordia opened up a six-point advantage on an Eischen layup with the score 41-35 at the 15:53 mark in the second, but the Boxers would respond with a 12-5 run capped by an Ashley Jacobs (Waimanalo, Hawaii) bucket in the paint to reclaim the lead with the score 47-46.
Pacific would push the lead to four, its largest of the evening, on a free throw conversion by Erica Schultz (Medford, Ore.) with 6:38 to play.
A minute later with Eischen at the line, the Cavaliers would square the contest 1t 54-54, one of nine ties in the game, before a three pointer by Rachel Bristow (Vancouver, Wash.) swung the lead in Concordia’s favor.
In an immediate response, Reeves-Howe connected on her third three of the game to even the score at 57-57 with less four minutes showing on the clock. Trading field goals, the two sides would balance the score on two more occasions down the stretch until Scarpelli knocked down a her final trey of the night with 20 seconds left in regulation. Scarpelli would tack on a free throw for the final score as a turnover and a last-ditch shot from long range would prove off the mark for Pacific.
Concordia held a slight advantage in field goal percentage as the Cavaliers shot 38.3 percent from the floor compared to 37.9 percent for the visiting Boxers. Pacific, however, snared one additional rebound over the taller Cavaliers with the final tally 42-to-41.
Concordia returns to action on Nov. 20 when it travels to George Fox to take on the defending NCAA Division III Champion Bruins who will be sporting a 33-game winning streak. Opening tip is set for 6 p.m. in Newberg, Ore.